A Chinese state-run newspaper said in a recent editorial that the United States should learn from China and restrict civilian gun ownership, Reuters recently reported.
The editorial, called “China Can Offer Lessons to U.S. in Protecting Human Rights,” ran in the Global Times newspaper on Feb. 22, just over a week after the Parkland shooting in Florida where 17 students and staff were killed.
“There is an urgent need for the U.S. to impose harsh restrictions on gun purchases nowadays,” the editorial said. “The U.S. has witnessed mad proliferation of guns and rampant gun violence.”
“The U.S. has no other choice but to adopt gun control,” it said. “The right of life is the most fundamental (of) human rights. The right to bear arms cannot overpower the individual’s right to live.”
The Global Times is run by the ruling Communist Party’s newspaper, the People’s Daily.
The paper called it “inhumane” to not take action on gun violence following the Parkland shooting.
“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 said.
The Chinese Communist Party has a history of issues with human rights violations. In 1989, the United States imposed sanctions on China following the deadly Tiananmen Square protests. The protests were student-led pro-democracy demonstrations in a post-Mao China.
“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 Global Times said in the editorial.
