By Martin Banks - 23rd April 2008
China has hit back at criticism of its human rights record, its response to unrest in Tibet and calls for a boycott of the Olympics.
The move comes as commission president José Manuel Barroso started a two-day trip to Beijing on Thursday, where he and a nine-strong team of commissioners will hold discussions on human rights and freedom of expression.
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Belgium admitted that “as a developing country, China still needs to make further progress with regard to human rights”.
But he added, “China would like to engage in dialogues and exchanges with all concerned on these issues, but they should be carried out on the basis of equality and mutual respect. Political pressure will be counter-productive.
“The Chinese people are enjoying more protection of their civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights than before, becoming freer, wealthier and happier.”
China has come under increasing pressure following recent unrest in the Himalayan region and the embassy, on Avenue Tervuren, was recently the scene of violent anti-China protests. But the spokesman branded protests in Tibet itself as “brazen violent crimes”.
“What happened in Lhasa recently were by no means ‘peaceful demonstrations’ or ‘non-violent’ activities. They were brazen violent crimes. The rioters burned or slashed to death 18 innocent people, including a baby less than one-year-old, 382 innocent people were injured and the rioters set fire to more than 300 locations, burned down seven schools, five hospitals, 908 shops and many private residences.
“No responsible government will sit idly by in the face of such violent crimes. The authority of the Tibet Autonomous Region exercised maximum restraint in stopping the criminal activities and no lethal weapons were used. In fact, had it not been for the restraint, the law enforcement departments would not have suffered such heavy casualties — 241 law enforcement personnel were injured, including 23 severely injured and one person killed.”
On a possible boycott of the Olympic opening ceremony, he added, “Besides inciting and masterminding the riots in the region, the Dalai Lama Group also instigated and premeditated disruptive activities against the Olympics, especially against torch relays.
"The games represent peace, friendship, justice and fair play. Such an event is aspired to and supported by the people all over the world with great enthusiasm. The games are not only for China but a gala for the world as a whole.
"It is therefore wrong to boycott the games."
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