BEIJING (AP) — China today rejected a U.S. State Department report that criticized China’s human rights record, saying Washington’s critique was inaccurate and irresponsible.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei called the China section of the annual State Department human rights report “baseless, biased and completely wrong.”
The State Department report released Thursday said that China’s human rights situation deteriorated in 2011, with more aggressive silencing of activists. It comes just weeks after Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng escaped illegal and abusive house arrest and sought shelter at the U.S. Embassy. Chen has since been allowed to travel to New York to study.
Hong said China has made world-recognized gains in improving human rights since broad social and economic reforms were launched 30 years ago. China’s economy has grown rapidly over the last three decades, and the government marks poverty reduction as one of its greatest human rights achievements.
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