Political bias concerning human rights "deeply rooted"

Prejudice resulting from differences between political systems has become deeply rooted in interpretations of China's human rights situation, according to an editorial in the Sunday edition of the People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The editorial, written in response to a Human Rights Watch report that described a "worsening human rights situation" in China, said that an "unsaid understanding" has been reached between many Western governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that China is on the "opposite side of human rights."

"For them, it does not matter whether China achieves progress in human rights or if the Chinese government respects and protects human rights. What matters is that China has to be condemned politically," the editorial said.

"It implies that China should not choose a development pattern that fits its reality, nor exercise its right to safeguard national security and stability as a sovereign country," the article said.

The editorial said that the attitudes held by Western countries concerning China's human rights conditions are the result of different political and ideological systems and are a legacy of a "Cold War mindset."

"As long as China remains a socialist country, the West will consider it a threat," the article said.

The arrogance of the Western countries has led them to label countries that refuse a Western political system as "non-democratic" and "dictatorial," the editorial said.

The Human Rights Watch report indicates that the West is uncomfortable with China's development, it said.

China's economic development has led developing countries to borrow from the country's experience, while the global economic crisis has led to doubts regarding Western development patterns, the article said.

Under such circumstances, a fear of China has grown among some people in the West and blinded them to the true development of human rights in China, the editorial said.

"China, of course, has lots of things to do to improve its human rights situation and is open to any constructive advice," it said.

Irrational condemnation and attacks driven by bias will only give China more confidence in its efforts to protect human rights, the article said.