Do we really need to bring out this picture for China to look back on itself?
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China is willing to conduct a dialogue on the basis of equality and mutual respect. He was referring to human rights outcry by the U.S. China at first rejected a recent Washington official report about it and said U.S. was meddling with its internal affairs.
Protesters, human rights lawyers and those who question the Communist Party governance have been the subject of an extended Chinese crackdown. So far, among those detained by police included a prominent figure, artist Ai WeiWei for suspicion of economic crimes. The family of Ai said the government is trying to oppress his open criticism for government censorship and abuses.
The crackdown on protesters has caused Washington, U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton and other Western nations to be concerned. Hong said the U.S. should instead reflect on its own human rights issues and not position itself as a human rights preacher. He added human rights reports should not be used by U.S. as reason to interfere in internal affairs of other countries.
China is known to be curt about how other nations perceive the way it restricts legal, political and religious activities of its people. Compared to how they lived in the past, they have better lives and freedom today. It added that the U.S. is being a hypocrite about human rights values. Recent global human rights report from the U.S. State Department said more limitations were given to lawyers, activists, bloggers and journalists in China. Even the press, civil society, Internet and its access have been controlled, it said. There were also reports of forced disappearances, house arrest and unlawful ‘black jails’ detention of activists and petitioners including their families.
