Blizzards, pandemic and human rights in America

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February 24, 2021

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Blizzards, pandemic and human rights in America

By Guo Yage | 00:00 UTC+8 February 24, 2021 |

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The American people are being thrashed by one crisis after another: The raging coronavirus pandemic has so far taken almost 500,000 lives in the country; roaring blizzards have killed some 50 people in Texas and other southern states, and left millions more struggling with frost, darkness and disrupted daily lives.

The dire situation has once again busted the human rights fairy tales the world’s sole superpower has flaunted for decades, and revealed the hollowness behind the country’s brassy promises to its citizens.

For quite some time, the human rights that have been truly preserved and promoted in the United States are those of the powerful and the wealthy. At the same time, such basic human rights as those to life, health and even survival of the general public have been either neglected or damaged.

Following the coronavirus outbreak in the country, the previous US administration, which should have devoted itself to beating the disease and saving lives, had chosen intentionally to downplay the threat of the deadly virus, spread lies and misinformation, and sought to shift responsibility to others.

Arrogance and ignorance

The American public has paid a heavy price for Washington’s arrogance and ignorance. The United States now still ranks first in terms of infections and deaths worldwide.

The ferocious winter storms have offered American politicians another chance to display their indifference to the welfare of the American people. While the howling storms have led to freezing temperatures and widespread power blackouts in Texas, the state government and local power grid operators have so far failed to bring forward a timetable for power restoration.

While showing little interest in promoting the human rights of their own people, some Washington politicians have turned human rights into an excuse for meddling in the businesses of others overseas.

Pretending to care about the human rights far beyond its shores, Washington militarily intervened in the Middle East, causing huge losses of human lives there, and smeared China over alleged human rights abuses to stoke divisions and instability in China, and to contain the country’s development.

The author is a Xinhua writer.

Opinion

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Blizzards, pandemic and human rights in America

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