In the U. S. Report, there are numerous instances of confusing right and wrong and calling protection an "abuse" of human rights.

1. The Report cited seven cases in its first chapter in an attempt to prove that there exists in China "extensive political and extrajudicial killing." The first (the death of Lhasa nun Puncog Yangji of illness) is a sheer distortion of facts. The other six are actually about China's judicial organs investigating into crimes committed by judicial and law-enforcement personnel. These only go to prove that China is working in real earnest to protect human rights and, in accordance with its laws, prohibits maltreatment of prisoners. In the Report, however, they were used as source materials to prove China's "human rights abuse."

There is another example: China's public security and judicial organs have been resolute in cracking down on crimes of abducting women and children. This crackdown is meant to protect women and children. In the Report of the U. S. State Department, however, the crackdown is called "human rights abuse" by the Chinese Government.

2. The Report talked in length about the allegation that prisons in China "continue to employ torture and degrading treatment in dealing with detained and imprisoned persons," picturing them as an abyss of darkness. The truth is that China's prisons, while meant to jail convicted criminals, are charged with reforming and educating them like schools. Last year, the death rate of prison inmates throughout China was as low as 3.41 per thousand, and those who died for abnormal reasons accounted for only 0.59 per thousand. Meanwhile, more than 90 percent of the prison inmates showed improvements in conduct through reform. Prisons have also set up schools special for inmates. Over the past decade, 1.41 million prison inmates, studying at these schools while serving their terms, have received diplomas for education of different levels or certificates for their completion of specific courses. An accumulative total of Some 1.16 million have received certificates qualifying them for technical jobs of different grades and those who have completed junior college or even higher education number nearly 30, 000. In 1994, about 282,000 or 21.9 percent of the total number of the prison inmates had their terms reduced or released on probation - one more proof to China's relative success in reforming criminals. How can these achievements be made by "means of torture and degrading treatment" of prisoners?

Even more absurd is this allegation in the Report; "some other criminals were forced to work in state-owned enterprises after being released from detaining or jails, for at there they may receive more closer supervision." Any person with a little knowledge of China knows that in general, the Chinese prefer to work in state-owned enterprises. China treats former prison inmates equally without discrimination. In February of last year, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce jointly issued a circular demanding that local government departments make further proper arrangements for those released from prison or completion of education through labor and help them get employed. And accordingly, local governments and departments at various levels have included this into their work schedule. Labor, justice and administration departments in many places are starting enterprises, trying as far as they can to provide these people with jobs to their satisfaction. It goes without saying that this is an important move taken by China to safeguard human rights.

Devoted work on the part of Chinese prisons to reform criminals and help them turn a new lease in life, plus access enjoyed by former prison inmates to employment like other citizens - this is exactly the reason for the fact that in China, the rate of recidivism is as low as six to eight percent. With a recidivism rate that exceeds 40 percent, shouldn't the united states feel ashamed of itself when it tries to pick up fault with China's prison administration?

3. The Report blamed the Chinese Government for "subjecting religious freedom to restrictions of varying severity," alleging that "there are persistent complaints that the number of Bibles and other religious materials allowed to be printed falls far short of demand." In fact, China has published 10 million copies of Bibles since 1980, exceeding the number of Christians. The Report also accused China of "continuing to restrict the construction of mosques," citing alleged restrictions imposed by the authorities in Xinjiang on religious activities. The truth is that there are nearly 30,000 mosques and other places for religious activities of Islam in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In proportion to population, Moslems in Xinjiang have twice as many mosques as their counterparts in the Gulf region.

The Report also cited cases in support of the allegation that "a number of religious activists remained imprisoned in 1994." This accusation has been repeated in the U. S. "Human Rights Report" published every year. The truth is that up to now, not a single person in China has been arrested for his or her religious belief or for participation in normal religious activities. Meanwhile, it is a matter of course to punish, in accordance with law, those proven to be guilty of engaging in law-breaking and criminal activities under the guise of religion, and this is what all countries do. Among those jailed in the United States, aren't there many believers of Christianity, Catholicism and other religions-and does the U. S. State Department see this as a restriction on the freedom of religious belief? In China's Shandong Province, there was once a cult called the "Family of Jesus." The chief of the cult cheated some people into building housing on publicly-owned cultivated land for a gregarious life of the "family," within which group marriage is practised -men and women assigned to marry at the will of the chief. Poor living conditions and sanitation in the "family" caused diseases to spread and malnutrition of members, and children were deprived of parental care. In dealing with the cult, the local government did not follow the example set by the U. S. Government which sent armoured cars to attack a Branch Davidian Sect manor and burned more than 80 people there to death. Instead, it banned the cult in accordance with law and the demand of the broad masses of the people and with regard to those who had been cheated, it educated them and helped them go back home, leaving only the so-called "chief of the family" to be dealt with by the public security authorities for his violation of the law. Can such a cult be allowed to do whatever it wants just because it names itself the "Family of Jesus"? China provides equal treatment to all citizens, whether they believe or do not believe a religion. On no account is a person subjected to arrest because he or she is a religious believer, and neither can a person be free to commit a crime without being punished by the law simply because he or she belongs to a certain religion.

4. in light of the situation in the United States, some other accusations made by the U. S. State Department against China amount to de facto praises the country deserves, while constituting an irony to the United States itself.

China already has acceded to the 1979 U. N. Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and has been implementing its obligations accordingly. The United States, which has all along refused to accede to the Convention, accused China of "discrimination against women" in the Report. The Report criticized China on the ground that women account for "only 21 percent of the National People's Congress delegates." In comparison, the United States has 54 female Congress members, accounting for 10 percent of the combined body of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Another criticism o China in the Report was that "Chinese women's salaries averaged 77 percent of men's." In comparison, American women's salaries average 51 percent of men's.

The Report also criticized Chinese universities for having less female students than male students. Nevertheless, in d1992, female graduates of engineering accounted for 27 percent of the total in China, while the figure was 15 percent in the United States. In 1993, China had nearly 8.1 million female scientists and technicians. This accounted for 35 percent of the national total, compared to 12.2 percent for the United States.