The United States government has done itself great harm by its treatment of prisoners from Iraq and Afghanistan. The country’s reputation and moral authority have been damaged by extralegal renditions that ship detainees off to other countries for interrogation and torture. And the CIA’s practice of disappearing possible terrorists is deplorable.

All that being said, China has no standing to be critical of the United States on the subject of human rights. The communist country objected to being placed on the State Department’s list of countries that violate human rights.

Every year, the State Department holds accountable countries that violate human rights and support terrorism. Every year, the countries that are criticized respond that the United States should look in the mirror before criticizing others. In most years, the critique can be ignored. This year, as more information comes to light about Abu Ghraib and other shady U.S. practices, the rebuke comes too close to the truth.

But we can’t forget a few important facts. China jails political dissidents. It murders political protesters in the streets. It represses freedom and has tried to destroy the Tibetan culture. It maintains a dangerous and aggressive policy against a democratic Taiwan.

There is no moral equivalency between the United States and China, Russia, North Korea and other abusive regimes. That does not mean, however, that we should not hold ourselves and our government to a higher level of conduct. We must clean up our own house, and it should be U.S. citizens and members of Congress demanding that we do – not the likes of China.