Communist China advises US to enact gun control, offers to teach lessons on human rights

A state-run newspaper in Shanghai ran an editorial Friday saying the U.S. should adopt China’s human rights and gun policies.

Why was this said?

The Global Times editorial was published in response to the high school shooting in Florida last week that left 17 dead, Reuters news reported.

"Washington has been pointing an accusing finger at other countries over human rights. ... However, more Americans have been killed by gunfire in the country than American soldiers being killed in all U.S. wars,” the editorial claimed.

Gun violence is rare in China because virtually no private citizens can own guns.

“Gun ownership in China is strictly regulated, which helps reduce gun-related crimes and deaths. The U.S. should learn from China and genuinely protect human rights,” the editorial stated.

The editorial also said it is “inhumane” to ignore gun violence after the shooting at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The editorial went on to say the U.S. has no choice but to implement gun control.

"The right of life is the most fundamental (of) human rights. The right to bear arms cannot overpower the individual’s right to live,” piece stated.

The comments underscore long-standing human rights tensions between China and the U.S. In 1989, the U.S. imposed sanctions on China after a violent crackdown on protesters around Beijing’s Tienanmen Square. The protesters held pro-democracy demonstrations centered on free speech and freedom of press.

Should China be lecturing us about citizen’s rights?

China’s human rights abuses are well-documented by various organizations, including Human Rights Watch.

China is known for restricting Internet access and punishing human rights defenders and activists. Additionally, China has “worked consistently to silence criticism" of its human rights practices and has tried to weaken central United Nations human rights efforts, the Human Rights Watch website states. And the communist country is famous for it's imposed restrictions on the number of children citizens are allowed to have.

Thousands have been detained against their will in political re-education facilities. Police in China collect DNA from people that is placed in nationally searchable databases with no oversight, transparency or privacy protections. And the government is gathering voice patterns from tens of thousands of people with little transparency on how the program works and how the information is going to be used.

In Tibet, the government has also ordered the mass demolition of monasteries and forced monks and nuns into re-education programs.