Amnesty cited in counter-attack over human rights

A lengthy report hitting back at US criticism of the mainland's human rights record was released by Beijing yesterday.

The official report ranked the United States as 'the world's number one' in the growth of juvenile crime, private possession of firearms, violent crime and the use of high technology to suppress prisoners.

Amnesty International's 1998 report was also cited to reveal 'persistent and widespread patterns of human rights violations in the US', which was urged by Beijing to 'mind its own business'.

America was also accused of playing host to police brutality and the execution of juvenile and mentally ill criminals and foreign citizens.

Results of US research indicated rampant discrimination existed among Americans, said the report.

'The survey shows we have human rights problems right here in the US,' Xinhua quoted the research as saying.

Poverty, hunger and homelessness continued to plague the US 'due to serious polarisation of wealth distribution', Xinhua said.

The official mouthpiece called freedom of the press in the US a myth and its political framework a 'dollar democracy'.