China has attacked other countries for supporting the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo.
In the first comprehensive and public response to the awarding of the prize, the government warned other nations to think again when considering making an issue of the Nobel Prize and not to meddle in China's internal affairs.
China's foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told a press conference the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to a prisoner was disrespectful.
"In China, the cause of human rights continues to progress - this is widely acknowledged by the world - and yet the Nobel Committee gave the Nobel Peace Prize to a prisoner who is serving his sentence in jail," he said.
"This is disrespectful to China's legal system."
The ABC asked Mr Ma what message Beijing had for governments around the world which had supported the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Mr Liu.
"Some politicians in some countries are using this opportunity to make irresponsible remarks," he said.
"It's not only disrespectful to China's legal system; we also suspect their true motives [are that]... some people want to use this method to change China's political system or to slow down Chinese people's progress.
"Obviously, they're wrong if they think this will work."
Mr Liu is serving an 11-year jail term in north-east China's Jinzhou Prison for co-authoring a document calling for widespread democratic reforms in the country.
The government saw this as advocating the overthrow of the Communist Party.
In Beijing, Mr Liu's wife, Liu Xia, is under effective house arrest.
The lockdown has stopped journalists from taking footage and interviewing her.
There is a sign outside Mrs Liu's compound saying that filming and interviews are not welcome.
Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/12/3036607.htm?section=justin
When Mr Ma was asked why Mr Liu's wife was being detained, he replied that he did not know who the reporter was talking about.
In the first comprehensive and public response to the awarding of the prize, the government warned other nations to think again when considering making an issue of the Nobel Prize and not to meddle in China's internal affairs.
China's foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told a press conference the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to a prisoner was disrespectful.
"In China, the cause of human rights continues to progress - this is widely acknowledged by the world - and yet the Nobel Committee gave the Nobel Peace Prize to a prisoner who is serving his sentence in jail," he said.
"This is disrespectful to China's legal system."
The ABC asked Mr Ma what message Beijing had for governments around the world which had supported the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Mr Liu.
"Some politicians in some countries are using this opportunity to make irresponsible remarks," he said.
"It's not only disrespectful to China's legal system; we also suspect their true motives [are that]... some people want to use this method to change China's political system or to slow down Chinese people's progress.
"Obviously, they're wrong if they think this will work."
Mr Liu is serving an 11-year jail term in north-east China's Jinzhou Prison for co-authoring a document calling for widespread democratic reforms in the country.
The government saw this as advocating the overthrow of the Communist Party.
In Beijing, Mr Liu's wife, Liu Xia, is under effective house arrest.
The lockdown has stopped journalists from taking footage and interviewing her.
There is a sign outside Mrs Liu's compound saying that filming and interviews are not welcome.
Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/12/3036607.htm?section=justin
When Mr Ma was asked why Mr Liu's wife was being detained, he replied that he did not know who the reporter was talking about.
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