China just published its annual Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States.
The U.S. constantly tells China what to do and how to do it, so it's only fair China gives some advice back!
A short 🧵 of the human rights low-lights in the Land of the Free last year...
▶️Divide between rich and poor widened
Last year, economic and social inequalities in the U.S. worsened, with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Over 40 million Americans were living in poverty, and 700,000 were homeless.
On top of that, 13.5% of U.S. households face food insecurity, and 13.8 million kids lived in families that didn't have enough food on the table.
▶️Drugs, guns and cops continued to kill
More than 100,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdose. More than 1,400 children died from gunshot, and 1,300 died at the hands of police.
African Americans were three times more likely to be shot dead by police.
▶️Racial inequality continued
The United Nations Human Rights Council said racism in the U.S. persists "from cradle to grave."
The Los Angeles Times reported that Native Americans have the highest mortality rates and the lowest life expectancy of any racial group in the U.S., and added that the disparity is not owing to genetic factors.
Asian Americans continue to face systemic discrimination in various aspects.
▶️Women and children helpless
The U.S. has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and is the only UN member state that has refused to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
About 40% of women said they have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.
The protection of children's right to life and health is inadequate. The U.S. sees 5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, fare exceeding the rates of other high-income countries.
▶️American hegemony steps on human rights
The U.S. has long pursued hegemony and unilateralism. Washington, DC has repeatedly trampled on int'l law and the fundamental norms of global relations, violated human rights in other countries, and posed a grave threat to global peace, security and development.
The U.S. has been serving as an accomplice to the genocide in Gaza.
Their excessive use of unilateral sanctions is fueling humanitarian crises, negatively affecting the lives of billions across the globe.
Shanghai is currently holding its largest government meetings of the year, the Two Sessions.
They've announced achievements from last year, and goals for this year.
So what are they?
A short 🧵
Shanghai's GDP grew by 5.4% last year, to 5.6 trillion yuan (about $US$814 billion).
The city's GDP growth outperformed the country's national average of 5%, reflecting resilience in services, advanced manufacturing, high-tech sectors, and infrastructure investment.
The city's research and development spending totaled 4.5% of Shanghai's GDP.
As a comparison, New York typically spends 2.5–3.5%, while London sits around 2-3%.
Last week, after China’s military parade, I did a video about int’l reaction.
After being online for a day or so, the video was deleted by a large Chinese app.
Why?
The reason might surprise you.
A short 🧵
The video was actually about Trump sending a salty Truth Social post asking Xi to give his regards to Putin and Kim, before accusing the three of “conspiring against the United States.”
My video wasn’t just deleted, some apps didn’t even allow me to post at all.
Weibo, Douyin and Xigua didn’t allow the video to even pass the first check. Usually no reason is given, and you need to figure out the reason yourself.
A lot like YouTube who will tell users they violated the rules without pointing to which one.
I had a bit of an accident on my electric scooter here in Shanghai. 🏍️
The police suggested I go for a hospital checkup, but I was worried it would take forever.
30 minutes later and I was done, including an X-Ray!
What was the process and cost? A short 🧵
Firstly, I’m totally fine! They wanted to X-ray my ankle, since it was a bit battered under my bike. No problems! The rest was just fairly surface scratching.
A whole group of scooter riders went through a red light, and while trying to stop I ended up on the ground.
I think I hit my head pretty hard, so please wear your helmets folks! (I was.)
The police came and told me to go to the nearest hospital for a checkup.
Being from NZ, I had in my mind that it would take hours upon hours.
Anyone saying Speed was paid by the "CCP"* or worked with the "CCP"* for his recent live streams in China is just showing how little they understand this country.
A quick 🧵:
*CPC
QUICK BACKGROUND:
YouTuber iSpeedShow has over 37 million followers on the app, and recently streamed from Shanghai and Beijing.
His two streams gained around 10M views, and were heralded as a massive boon for China, showing his young fans a more fair and realistic view.
CRITICISM:
Some claimed Speed was paid by the "CCP" for his streams in China, especially after he was praised by China's embassy in the US for helping "bridge gaps."
This is an ill-informed criticism, since the CPC doesn't work directly with any foreign celebrities etc.