Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin Photo: fmprc.gov.cn

China urged the US to take American people's human rights seriously and reflect on why the US has become the world's worst country for gun violence, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday following the Texas school shooting which has killed at least 21 people including 19 children.

It was the 39th school shooting in the US this year, according to US media. 

We are deeply saddened by the repeated deadly gun shootings that have caused heavy casualties, Wang said at Wednesday's press briefing.

We extend our deep condolences to the victims and express our sincere sympathy to the injured and the bereaved families, Wang said.

An 18-year-old man opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde in Texas, US, on Tuesday afternoon, leaving at least 21 people dead, including 19 children, according to US media reports.

Also, exactly two years ago, African American man George Floyd died under the knee of a white police officer in Minneapolis. However, two years after that, injustices against minorities in the US continue unabated.

"The right to life is the most important human right, and racial discrimination is the greatest injustice," Wang said. The US is the country with the worst gun violence and racial discrimination and the severest rights deficits, Wang said. 

What is unacceptable is that no substantive measures have been taken to address the issues by the US government in the past decade, he said. 

Why is the probability of children and adolescents dying of gunshot in the US 15 times greater than in 31 other high-income countries combined? Why do Asians in New York live in fear as discrimination against them and the Muslim community continues without any reduction in intensity or amount, and racial persecution of indigenous people continues? Why does the US, with the best medical technology and conditions in the world, have the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths globally, Wang asked.

Over the past 25 years, the US federal government has failed to introduce a gun control act, Wang said. It has been nearly 60 years since Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the speech "I Have a Dream," but what people still see is the harsh reality of Floyd's "I can't breathe," Wang noted.

If the US government does not care about its own people's human rights, how can it really care about the human rights in other countries, Wang said, noting that what the US really cares about is using human rights as a tool to control and oppress other countries.

The US should take effective measures as soon as possible to protect the American people's safety and ensure that they enjoy the right and freedom to be away from fear, gun violence and racial discrimination, Wang said.