China blasts UK report on human rights

China refuted Britain’s most recent human rights study on Thursday, calling the annual report “an ideological political show.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a press conference, “China’s human rights cause is progressing continuously and it is obvious to any person without prejudice.”

The 192-page 2009 Annual Report on Human Rights, published by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband Wednesday afternoon, listed China as one of 22 “countries of concern” in the realm of human rights.

“China has been committed to promoting and protecting its people’s human rights and fundamental freedoms,” Qin said. He said Chinese people enjoy fundamental rights conferred by the Constitution according to law and the level of their enjoyment of human rights had increased significantly.

Miliband explained Beijing’s place on the list saying, “In China, 2009 ended with the execution of a mentally ill British citizen, Akmal Shaikh, and the imprisonment of prominent human rights activists, whose cases I raised in China yesterday and the day before.” Also listed among the reasons for concerns over China’s human rights were the case of rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who disappeared one year ago, and Beijing’s stance on Tibet, the death penalty and Xinjiang.

A defensive Qin said that China opposed confrontation, double standards on human rights issues and interference in other nations’ internal affairs. A survey of headlines shows China’s defiance to be a steadily growing trend.

We can expect China to become increasingly allied with other Asian powers.