I stumbled upon this interesting article today. China’s Foreign Ministry responded to the U.S. State Department’s criticism of their human rights record by basically telling us to mind our own business and take a look in the mirror.

An excerpt from the article:

“The United States ignores its own severe human rights problems, ardently promoting its so-called ‘human rights diplomacy’, treating human rights as a political tool to vilify other countries and to advance its own strategic interests,” said a passage from the Chinese report.

Produced by the State Council Information Office, the government’s public relations arm, the report dwelled on what it said were severe deprivations and threats facing many Americans, as well as Washington’s invasion of Iraq.

It also cited the United States’ refusal to ratify a number of international human rights pacts, and listed poverty, hunger and homelessness as stains on the country’s rights record.

“The United States is the world’s worst country for violent crimes,” said the report. “Citizens’ lives, property and personal safety do not receive the protection they should.”

“Racial discrimination is deeply rooted in the United States, permeating every aspect of social life,” it said.

It leaves me wondering…do they have a point? We have Guantanamo Bay. A recent poll showed that 46 percent of “hardcore Republicans” in Mississippi think that interracial marriage should be illegal. Gay marriage is illegal in the majority of our states. Then there is the resistance to signing human rights treaties that they cited. If you want to go back in time, we have the treatment of Native Americans, slavery and Jim Crow.

In spite of that, I think China wins in terms of human rights violations. Just saying. Can any country cast the first stone when it comes to human rights? Maybe Sweden or the Netherlands, but do they have the economic or military power to force a country like China to release political prisoners or allow freedom of religion?

Yes, we have some work to do in cleaning up our own human rights record. So do a lot of countries. However, what would happen if the United States didn’t try to use its political clout to curb human rights violations?

I don’t have any answers on this. I’ve just been thinking about it.

What do you think?