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 | Thursday, May 04, 2000, updated at 14:23(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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FM Spokesman Refutes US Religious Freedom Panel AccusationsChinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sun Yuxi said in Beijing Wednesday that the Chinese Government and people deeply resent and firmly oppose the slanderous report issued this week by a US religious rights commission.Sun said the so-called annual report, released Monday by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, has wantonly interfered in China's internal affairs and deeply hurt the feelings of the Chinese people, and they firmly oppose it. The spokesman said that the section of the report concerning China has "distorted the facts" and "confounded black and white". It groundlessly attacked China's policy on religion and the Chinese Government's banning of the Falun Gong cult in accordance with law, he said. On top of that, the commission recommended that the United States deny any bid by China to host the Olympics and that it " grant China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status only after China makes substantial improvement in regard to religious freedom," Sun said. The report also asks that the US Government continue to put forward anti-China bills in the UN Human Rights Commission, according to Sun. Sun said that the Chinese Government protects its citizens' religious freedom in accordance with law, and as in any other country that upholds the rule by law, religious people in China must abide by the law. The Falun Gong is not a religious organization but an evil cult that has seriously harmed the safety of the Chinese society and people, Sun said. By banning the Falun Gong cult according to law, the Chinese Government has safeguarded the basic human rights and freedom of the broad masses, and maintained the rule of law, he said. The Government's action is therefore firmly supported by the whole Chinese nation, he said. "The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has no right whatsoever to accuse China on matters concerning religion and Falun Gong," Sun said. The vicious motives of the commission's report will never be realized. The spokesman said, China is asking the US Government to stop interfering in China's internal affairs by using religious matters. The US Government should take practical measures to do away with the bad influences of the report and avoid creating any new trouble and obstacles to Sino-US relations that are at a crucial moment now, he said.
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