Chinese show concern over Ferguson

The protests - some violent - sweeping US cities following the announcement by a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, not to indict the police officer who shot and killed a black teenager in August, have drawn a lot of attention in China, as well as other parts of the world.

Major news organizations have closely followed the developments with daily updates. So have the many other news outlets both at the national and local levels.

Many readers have left comments, most expressing their surprise and disappointment in the case and the racial tensions in the US.

One observer by the name of Ma Linshu from Tianjin said in a posting on Sina.com on Wednesday that "Democracy in America is just lip service".

Another, ytsolitude from Shandong province, asked, "Why does the US not practice what it preaches to others?"

"What allows the United States to use National Guard, police, batons, tear gas against its people? There must be something wrong with the system. I sank into deep reflection," wrote jjf3388 from Shanghai.

Some have voiced support for the jury's decision. "This reflects the judicial independence in the US. The US will not bend its laws due to pressure," said one reader.

"Why haven't the human rights groups and celebrity commentators in the US spoken up yet? Are they only concerned about situations in other countries?" asked one from Beijing.

Organizations in the US, such as American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have commented on the situation. In a press release right after the grand jury decision, ACLU executive director Jeffrey Mittman said the ACLU will continue to fight for racial justice. "We must end the prevailing policing paradigm where police departments are more like occupying forces, imposing their will to control communities," he said.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also commented on the situation in Ferguson on Tuesday.

"I have noticed that the trial has generated wide attention. It belongs to America's internal affairs. I have no comment on that," she said.

"However, the incident you brought up is a case in point showing that when it comes to human rights record, there is no such a thing as perfection," she told a daily briefing.

"All countries should engage in dialogue, communication and cooperation, and learn from each other to improve the human rights record altogether, rather than pointing fingers at each other," Hua said.

As in previous years, the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2013, a report published by China's State Council Information Office in February this year, has listed racial discrimination as one of the key issues of human rights violations facing the US.

The Chinese have shown great concern over the racial tensions in the US as early as early as the 1960s under Chairman Mao Zedong.

On Aug 8, 1963, Mao, asked by American civil rights leader and revolutionary Robert F. Williams, made a declaration in support of African Americans' just struggle against racial discrimination.

Mao wrote his second declaration in support of African Americans' struggle on Apr 16, 1968, 12 days after civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

Many Chinese visiting the US today are often appalled to see that racial tensions in the US still exist in the 21st century. Many US schools and communities still look "segregated" albeit racial segregation is already outlawed.

The Chinese are not alone in their reaction. On Tuesday, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a statement from his office in Geneva: "I am deeply concerned at the disproportionate number of young African Americans who die in encounters with police officers, as well as the disproportionate number of African Americans in US prisons and the disproportionate number of African Americans on Death Row."

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com