China ramps up offensive against US on human rights record, accusing it of racism and fuelling terrorism
China hit back at the United States over its human rights record on Monday, bringing out government-backed academics to accuse Washington of everything from promoting Islamic State to being a racist plutocracy.
China was infuriated last week when the United States and 11 other countries at the United Nations criticised China’s crackdown on human rights and its detentions of lawyers and activists.
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At a press conference arranged by the Cabinet’s news department for mostly Chinese reporters, four academics at government-run bodies lambasted the United States for what they said was hypocritical criticism of China and others.
Certain extremist groups that now exist, including Islamic State, wasn’t it the Americans who first off promoted them?
Liu Hainian, director of the Human Rights Institution under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, blamed Europe’s “refugee wave” on the United States’ military involvement in the Middle East which was forcing people to leave their “beautiful homes”.
“Think about it: certain extremist groups that now exist, including Islamic State, wasn’t it the Americans who first off promoted them from behind?” Liu said.
Closer to home, the United States has a terrible problem with racism, with police killing about 1,000 people last year, he added. “Most of those were people of colour,” Liu said.
Chang Jian, vice director of the human rights research centre of Tianjin-based Nankai University, said the US electoral system was increasingly controlled by Super PACs, committees well-funded by corporate interests.