China defiant on internet censorship
China hits back at criticism of internet censorship at Olympics and insists foreign journalists must comply with the law
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Thursday, 31, Jul 2008 10:27
China has hit back at withering criticism over internet censorship at the Olympics by insisting foreign journalists must comply with the country's laws.
Officials have also condemned US 'interference' in its domestic affairs by holding meeting with dissidents and criticising its human rights record.
Earlier this week China confirmed it was reneging on an earlier promise to give unrestricted access to overseas reporters at the Beijing Games.
Sites with information on banned spiritual movement Falun Gong, the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the Tibetan government in exile, as well as the websites of human rights organisations, are among those blocked across China.
Responding to the internet restrictions on journalists, dubbed the Great Firewall of China, the White House reminded Beijing it had "nothing to fear" from the web.
Amnesty International UK, one of the organisations whose websites are blocked in China, said the internet censorship was "a betrayal of the Olympic values".
Comment from the White House came after George Bush held talks with China's foreign minister Yang Jiechi and critics of Beijing in separate meetings in Washington this week.
Liu Jianchao, a spokesman at China's foreign ministry, said Mr Bush had "rudely interfered" in Chinese domestic affairs.
"[The White House has] sent a seriously wrong message to anti-China hostile forces," Mr Liu added.
But White House spokesperson Dana Perino played down the significance of the meeting with five dissidents.
"The president says he's going there to support our athletes and all the athletes who have made it this far in their sporting careers," Ms Perino said. "So he will go to cheer them on.
"At the same time, the president has continued to press China and given them a chance to [show] that the Olympics represents the best possible chance for you to share a compassionate heart and to show what the Chinese spirit can really be all about."