From Reuters:
China said the United States is unfit to present itself as a “defender of human rights” and a senior official accused Western critics of conspiring to use the Beijing Olympic Games as a tool to subvert Communist Party rule.
The U.S. State Department’s latest report on human rights across the globe, issued this week, did not name China among the world’s very worst offenders but said its record remained “poor”.
But with Beijing due to host the Summer Olympic Games starting August 8, training intense international attention on China’s often harsh restrictions on dissidents, religious groups and disgruntled citizens, Chinese officials hit back on Thursday with sarcasm and their own accusations.
“We humbly suggest that the U.S. desist from posing as a ‘defender of human rights’ and pay more attention to the United States’ own human rights record,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement issued by the official Xinhua news agency.
Read also Cardinal: Olympics Chance for Rights from AP.
