Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CHINA

China slams Spain over Tibet torture case

China on Friday criticized a lawsuit in Spain against former Chinese president Hu Jintao over allegations of human rights abuses in Tibet.

Published: 11 October 2013 12:44 CEST
China slams Spain over Tibet torture case
A Spanish court will hear a lawsuit against against former Chinese president Hu Jintao over claims he carried out genocide in Tibet in the 1980s and 1990s. Photo: Ed Jones/Pool/AFP

"Tibet is an inseparable part of China," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing, adding the region's affairs are a Chinese "domestic" matter.

"We are firmly opposed to any country or any individuals' interference in China's domestic affairs under the pretext of the Tibet-related issue," she said.

Hua's comments came after a Spanish court agreed to hear a lawsuit against Hu as part of an investigation into whether he carried out genocide in Tibet in the 1980s and 1990s.

The court decided to hear the complaint after accepting an appeal against a decision by Judge Ismael Moreno, who in June had rejected it, according to a judicial decree published on Thursday.

Since 2006, Moreno has been hearing a lawsuit for alleged genocide against various former Chinese leaders over repression carried out in Tibet in the 1980s and 1990s.

The lawsuit, which was filed by the Tibet Support Committee, targeted seven past Chinese leaders, among them former president Jiang Zemin and former prime minister Li Peng.

It asked for Hu to be charged once his immunity as head of state expired. He stepped down in March this year.

The court on Thursday accepted the allegations of the plaintiffs against Moreno's decision to say that Hu "had sufficient organic competency and capacity to lead a series of actions and campaigns tending to harass the Tibetan population".

Considering that "during the diverse campaigns of repression in Tibet between 1988-1992, he held the post of Chinese communist party secretary in the region of Tibet", it said.

Hua emphasized that China and Spain have "friendly relations" to which both sides "attach great importance".

She said that the organization behind the lawsuit is "attempting to attack the Chinese government and sabotage friendly relations between China and the relevant country", referring to Spain.

She said China hopes that the Spanish government will "not provide any platform or opportunity" to those behind the court case for what she termed "anti-China separatist activities".

"We also hope that they (the Spanish government) will take measures to ensure the sound and steady growth of our bilateral relations."

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CHINA

China derides Copenhagen democracy meet as ‘political farce’

China on Tuesday blasted a democracy conference in Copenhagen attended by Taiwan's president and a Hong Kong activist alongside Danish government officials this week, qualifying it a "political farce".

Published: 11 May 2021 13:30 CEST
China derides Copenhagen democracy meet as 'political farce'
Demonstrators gathered outside the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday. Photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix

The Copenhagen Democracy Summit was held Monday and Tuesday in the Danish capital and organised by the Alliance of Democracies, an organisation targeted by Beijing sanctions in March and founded by former NATO boss Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

In addition to Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod also participated in the forum by video link, which Beijing said violated “the one-China principle.”

“This summit is a political farce,” the Chinese embassy in Denmark wrote in a statement published on Tuesday. “Inviting those who advocate Taiwan and Hong Kong ‘independence’ to the meeting violates the one-China principle and interferes in China’s internal affairs,” it said.

“Some hypocritical western politicians are good at meddling in other countries’ internal affairs and creating divisions and confrontation in the name of ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom’. They are bound to fail,” it added.

At the conference on Monday, Kofod said it was “deplorable” that Beijing had imposed sanctions on 10 European individuals and organisations in response to EU sanctions on Xinjiang officials over their actions against the Uyghur Muslim minority.

Like most countries, Denmark applies the one-China principle — under which Beijing bars other countries from having simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taipei — though it does maintain relations with Taiwan.

Cut off politically from the rest of China since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the territory is self-governing but is not recognised by
the United Nations.

Beijing considers Taiwan a rebel province that will one day return under its control, by force if necessary.

China’s sabre-rattling has increased considerably over the past year, with fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers breaching Taiwan’s air defence zone on a near-daily basis.

“Our government is fully aware of the threats to regional security, and is actively enhancing our national defence capabilities to protect our
democracy,” Tsai told the conference in a video address on Monday. US President Joe Biden is expected to present his China strategy soon, as
calls mount for him to publicly commit to defending Taiwan militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.

SHOW COMMENTS