The United States should concentrate on interior human rights-related problems, instead of interfering in the domestic affairs of China under the pretext of fighting for rights and freedoms of people, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said on Friday, commenting on the recent statements by US Vice President Mike Pence.
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th October, 2018) The United States should concentrate on interior human rights-related problems, instead of interfering in the domestic affairs of China under the pretext of fighting for rights and freedoms of people, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said on Friday, commenting on the recent statements by US Vice President Mike Pence.
On Thursday, Pence said that China had taken "a sharp U-turn toward control and oppression," with such policies hitting Chinese Christians, Buddhists and Muslims.
"Our advice for the US is to buy itself a mirror and take a look at itself, and spend more time thinking about its own human rights problems, instead of exploiting human rights and religious issues to interfere in China's internal affairs," Hua said as quoted in a statement published on the ministry's website.
She stressed that Beijing attached great importance to defending and promoting human rights.
"People of all ethnic groups in China are entitled to full freedom of religious belief in accordance with law," Hua said.
Beijing has been repeatedly criticized for the reported human rights violations, including alleged discrimination of the Uyghur Muslim minority. The Uyghurs tried to seek independence from China between 1930-40s, with the government introducing stricter security measures in recent years and justifying their actions by citing the fight against extremism. According to Amnesty International, the repression and arbitrary detentions of Uyghurs have intensified since the adoption of the de-extremification regulation, with people facing persecution for displaying their religious and cultural affiliation, using messengers with encryption or traveling abroad to get education.
