China slams US election ‘farce’ in annual rights report
Waves of boycotts, protests expose the hypocritical nature of US democracy
However, Beijing’s report highlighted recent cases of police violence and racial discrimination in America to argue that the US is in no position to take the moral high ground.
The report relied heavily on coverage by US media outlets such as the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.
Beijing is highly sensitive about critical coverage of its political system in the international press, with multiple journalists being denied authorization to stay in China in recent years.
The US State Department’s own report accused China of “repression and coercion” of civil society groups. It also noted encroach- ment on residents’ liberties in the semi-autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
In another development, China on Thursday demanded the US “stop its cyberattacks” after Wikileaks released a trove of documents which they said exposed the CIA’s hacking operations.
According to the documents leaked this week, the US spy agency has produced more than 1,000 malware systems — viruses, trojans, and other software that can infiltrate and take control of target electronics.
“We are concerned about the relevant reports. China is opposed to any forms of cyberattacks,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said.
“We urge the US side to stop its wiretapping, video surveillance, espionage and cyberattacks on China and other countries,” Geng Shuang told reporters at a regular press conference.
“China will firmly safeguard its own cybersecurity. It is ready to enhance dialogue and cooperation with the international community to formulate a set of international rules on cyberspace acceptable to all parties,” he added.
By infecting and effectively taking over the software of smartphones, WikiLeaks said, the CIA can get around the encryption technologies of popular apps like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Weibo, and Confide by collecting communications before they are encrypted.
The CIA on Wednesday denounced the leaks, saying they put agents in danger and aid the enemies of the US.
China and America regularly carry out cyberattacks on the other, to the detriment of bilateral ties.