26. Feb 2009
China rejects US rights report as interference
(AP) Beijing dismissed a US State Department report criticising its human rights record, calling the claims groundless and accusing Washington of interfering in its internal affairs. The report accuses China of stepping up cultural and religious repression of minorities in Tibet and elsewhere and increasing the detention and harassment of dissidents. It said authorities continued to limit citizens' right to privacy, freedom of speech, assembly, movement and association. Authorities also committed extrajudicial killings and torture, coerced confessions from prisoners and used forced labor, the US report said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said China favoured a rights dialogue but opposed "any countries interfering in China's internal affairs under the pretext of human rights. We urge the US side to reflect on its own human rights problems, stop acting as a human rights guardian, stop interfering in others' internal affairs by issuing such human rights reports", Ma told reporters at a scheduled news conference.