China has denounced US criticisms of its human rights record, accusing the US of double standards and suggesting Washington reflect on its own problems, official websites said yesterday.
Foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) said the Chinese government has expressed its "strong opposition" to the US criticisms.
"As the year is drawing to an end, we suggest the US side should take a clear consideration of the situation and make self-reflection on its own human rights problems," Qin said.
"The US government is well advised to give up its double standard on human rights and readjust the mistaken practices of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries on the pretext of human rights issues," he said.
The US State Department issued a statement on Saturday listing China as one of the countries where it said the struggle for human rights continues.
"From Cuba to China, Belarus to Burma, Uzbekistan to Zimbabwe, and Iran to North Korea, courageous human rights activists remain harassed and imprisoned," State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said in a statement.
Human rights remains one of the strongest differences between Beijing and Washington despite improved relations over the past few years.
Qin said the US has "severe problems of violating human rights."
It highlighted a decision by a team of UN human rights experts in November to cancel a visit to the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay because Washington did not allow them free access to detainees there.
Qin also cited UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour's statement last week that the reported US practice of secretly detaining terrorist suspects was eroding the global ban on torture.
Arbour implied the US may be violating the global ban through cruel, degrading and other inhumane treatment of prisoners for the purpose of obtaining intelligence, and raised concerns about turning over prisoners to countries where they may face torture.
Defending China's record, Qin said Beijing has scored "remarkable achievements."
China has frequently stated that it considers raising the living standards of its vast population to be a higher human rights priority than providing individual freedoms.
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