THE Chinese Foreign Ministry has dismissed as "not practical" criticisms of its treatment of journalists and restrictions on press freedom in China, made this week by a delegation from the World Association of Newspapers (FIEJ).
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mr Shen Guofang said: "Freedom of the press cannot exceed legal limits." All Chinese authorities must abide by state decrees, he said, and "it is not practical to demand that administrative departments in China release criminals who broke Chinese laws".
The FIEJ delegation raised with the Chinese Foreign Minister, Mr Qian Qichen, and top Chinese press officials the fate of 26 arrested Chinese journalists, 10 of whom are known to be in prison.
They focused in particular on the case of Mr Gao Yu (49), former deputy editor of Economics Weekly, who is serving a six-year sentence for allegedly publishing state secrets in a Hong Kong magazine.
The Chinese officials replied that the journalists had broken the law and been sentenced accordingly. Mr Shen said "people cannot be punished because they criticise the government of China
The world publishers' body director general, Mr Timothy Balding, told a press conference before leaving Beijing: "We were very upset by the general attitude of our hosts," the official People's Daily. One of the delegation, Mr Pedro Ramirez, publisher of El Mundo, Spain, described the Chinese reply to their accusations as "disgusting".
Mr Shen said: "We hope foreigners respect the fact that justice in China is independent."
Reuter reports from Washington:
Tibet's exiled political and spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama will visit Washington this month in search of support for self-rule talks with China.
The White House welcomed the visit, planned for April 21st to 24th, but said no decision had been made on a possible meeting between President Clinton and the monk who has led a government-in-exile in India since a failed anti-Chinese uprising in Tibet in 1959.
A White House spokesman said: "He will definitely be meeting members of the administration but at what level and with whom has not been decided."