On December 10, 2024, in recognition of Human Rights Day 2024, the U.S. Embassy & Consulates in China issued the following statement:

Today the United States joins the international community in celebrating the 76th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which proclaims "a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want [. . .] as the highest aspiration of the common people."  As we reflect on the meaning of this day, the United States reiterates its deep concern with the People's Republic of China's (PRC) failure to live up to its international commitments to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the UDHR.

We call on the PRC to halt its ongoing abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong and reiterate our deep concern about the PRC's restrictions on fundamental freedoms and use of transnational repression.  The United States stands by Chinese citizens punished for defending human rights, standing up for human dignity, or simply expressing their beliefs or participating in their religious and cultural practices.  Source link.

It is wrong for Chinese citizens to be punished for "simply expressing their beliefs or participating in their religious and cultural practices". But, apparently, such punishment is permitted against U.S. citizens living in America.

"Do as I say, not as I do."

Yeah that's kind of the same thing here in the UK. Before our election, Prime Minister Starmer talked about trans people having the right to live with dignity, and since he's got in, they've gone after trans people like a proverbial witch hunt. The latest being a ban on puberty blockers for anyone under 18. Which... kind of misses the point of them.

It seems like human rights only apply to the people those in charge deem human. Which is appalling.