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Full text of Human Rights Record of the U.S. in 2005
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-03-09 11:47 Following is the full text of the Human Rights
Record of the United States in 2005, released by the Information office of
China's State Council Thursday.
The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2005
The Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
March 9, 2006
On March 8, the U.S. Department of State, posing once again as "the world's
judge of human rights," released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
for 2005. As in previous years, the State Department pointed the finger at human
rights situations in more than 190 countries and regions, including China, but
kept silent on the serious violations of human rights in the United States. To
help people realize the true features of this self-styled "guardian of human
rights," it is necessary to probe into the human rights abuses in the United
States in 2005.
I. On Life and Security of Person
For a long time, the life and personal security of people of the United
States have not been under efficient protection. American society is
characterized with rampant violent crimes. Across the country each year, 50,000
suicides and homicides are committed (Va.Violent Deaths Are Mostly Suicides, The
Washington Post, October12, 2005).
The U.S. Justice Department reported on Sept. 25, 2005 that there were
5,182,670 violent crimes in the United States in 2004. There were 21.4 victims
for every 1,000 people aged 12 and older, which amounts to about one violent
crime victim for every 47 U.S. citizens (Crime Rate Remains at 2003 Level, Study
Says, The Washington Post, September 26, 2005).
According to figures released by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), murder increased by 2.1 percent across the United States during the first
six months of 2005, compared with the same period of 2004. A total of 4,080
murders were reported in cities with more than 10,000 people, while homicides
were up 13 percent in cities with a population of 10,000 or less (Murder Ratein
Small Cities Jumps 13%, USA Today, Dec. 20, 2005).
The Washington D.C., with a population of less than 600,000, had 194 slayings
in 2005 (D. C. Area Slaying Climbed In 2005, The Washington Post, Jan. 2, 2006).
In Chicago, the number of various crimes exceeded 125,000 from January to
September of 2005, including 352 murders, 11,564 robberies, 8,903 assaults and
534 arsons (http://egov.cityofchicago.org).
From January to mid-November of 2005, 334 persons were
murdered in Philadelphia, exceeding the total number of murderees in the city in
2004 ( Philly: 334 Killings So Far This Year, Philadelphia Daily News, Nov. 14,
2005).
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