BEIJING – China has protested a US congressional report which criticised its human rights record and said Beijing had tightened controls on religion, speech, media and assembly.
A report released by the US Congress said China’s human rights conditions showed ‘no improvement’ over the past year, with new detentions and state policies designed to protect the Communist Party and assert more control over society.
The commission also found ‘increased government restrictions on Chinese citizens who worship in state-controlled venues or write for state-controlled publications.’
China said it expressed ‘resolute opposition’ to the comments.
In a statement posted on the Chinese foreign ministry website, spokesman Kong Quan said the report ‘distorted facts’ and disregarded China’s achievements in human rights protection and legislation.
‘The report wantonly interferes in China’s internal affairs and we express resolute opposition to it,’ Kong said, according to Agence France-Presse.
‘We urge the US Congress and other bodies to focus more on the affairs of their own country and contribute more to the mutual understanding and cooperation between China and the United States.’
Senator Chuck Hagel, the chairman of the 20-member Executive Commission on China, said the report was honest and took a comprehensive look at human rights and rule of law in China.
‘These detentions and policies violated not only China’s constitution and laws, but also internationally recognized human rights standards,’ said the commission, set up by Congress in 2000 to monitor human rights and development of the rule of law in the world’s most populous nation.
Among other recommendations, the report called on US President George W Bush and Congress to prod Beijing to hold direct dialogue with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and not to use the ‘global war on terror’ as a pretext to suppress the rights of minority groups.
