hui zhou- Utter nonsense-
You post in the vein of repeating what the Information Office of the State Council said. I'm going to assume that it represents your perspective. Please correct if I am wrong about this.
<<The United States reports an average of more than one million gun-related murders each year. >>
You- or the Chinese government- cannot even bother getting facts straight. Bad as the situation may be, there are a long way from a million gun-related murders in this country every year. Much closer to 50,000, which is bad enough. But would it be too much to ask that you get your facts even approximately correct before you lash out at the United States?
<<The article notes that in the United States, the safety of the general public and individuals is threatened by the presence of a huge number of private firearms and widespread violent crime. >>
I suppose that is true, so far as it goes. It is also totally irrelevant to the discussion of how human rights are violated by government. For your information, rights and security often do not go hand in hand: they may even be at odds with one another in the short run. Many Americans would say that it would be an infringement of their rights for the government to prohibit them from owning a gun. Moreover- as I have said before to you on this thread, and you did not bother responding to the claim- the presence of many criminals in this country does not address the question of whether or not government is suppressing peoples rights, and that is what China is accused of of doing on a massive scale.
<<Shooting rampages at high schools in the United States, with one out of every ten schools witnessing at least one severe criminal incident, the article says.>>
No question that this reveals something quite unsavory about contemporary America. But what, may I ask, does it have to do with government repression of human rights? What is your point??
<<According to statistics issued in 1999 by the U.S Department of Justice, the number of American adults in prison, on probation and on parole, topped 5.92 million in 1998.>>
Again, you have mentioned America's high prison population before, and I have responded as I am about to. But you failed in any way to respond to my previous challenge. Perhaps you could pay me the respect of responding this time. America's prisoners are, with very rare exceptions, (and our system goes to great lengths to avoid miscarriages of justice) in prision because they violated well-defined laws. And they were convicted by a jury of their peers. Where is the human rights violation? You seem to like to have it both ways- criticize America for putting people in jail, and to criticize us for having things like gun-related murders.
<<The incomes of the richest families, making up one-fifth of the total American families, account for half of the total incomes of American families, while the earnings of the poorest, about one- fifth of the total, claimed a mere four percent of the total.>>
I gather you don't quite get what a free society is all about. Where is the violation of anybody's "rights" here? In a capitalist system you have the right to try to earn money by a system of mutally voluntary economic transactions. People vary enormously in their productive capacities, and some will profit handsomely by providing other people with things they want to buy. It is up to each adult to earn the money he needs to live, and most certainly it is not the role of a government to provide you with material things. Whose rights are violated by the distribution of wealth in the United States?
<<The article also notes that sexual discrimination has been a chronic malady in the United States, and women have been the major victims of domestic violence.>>
I suspect you are talking about things you know nothing about. Perhaps you should learn a bit about the United States before you mindlessly parrot totalitarian propaganda. In any event, I think the case can be made that the rights of women are protected in the US. How specifically do you think the government has violated women's rights? Or is this just some vacuous, mindless smear? Again, note that domestic violence would not qualify as government oppression. Why are you so anxious to lump the action of husbands/partners/boyfriends into a discussion of violation of human rights on the part of government? WHAT ARE YOUR MOTIVES HERE?? They certainly are not an attempt to reach the truth.
It is very patriotic- mindlessly so- of you to repeat the propaganda of the leaders of your nation. I'm sure the dictators in Beijing are most appreciative. Kindly feel welcome to post when you have something to say other that repeating turgid propaganda which you apparently lack the insight to see through.
hui zhou, I realize I've been quite harsh with you. I do hope, unlike previous times, that this time you will respond to the questions I have posed to you. Or, like Stephen, do you run away from questions that you find inconvenient? And I realize that you may have a language difficulty on this thread. I will try hard to understand what you have to say (and I promise I won't make fun of your English- heck, I hear Konglish every day!). I would ask that you speak your thoughts, and don't simply repeat the mindless propaganda of the Chinese government. That is created only to enlist the support of fools.
Regards,
Larry |
