Activists attack \u2018unacceptable\u2019 statement by UK embassy, which lauds Beijing over civil and political rights but overlooks crackdown on critics<\/p>\n
Tom Phillips in Beijing
Friday 11 December 2015 06.35 EST<\/p>\n
Britain has sparked consternation among activists after marking the United Nations\u2019 Human Rights Day<\/a> by quoting the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and praising what it said were Beijing\u2019s attempts to better protect the civil and political rights of its citizens.<\/p>\n In a statement<\/a> commemorating the event on Thursday, the British embassy in Beijing made no mention of the severe political crackdown under way in China and has seen hundreds of government critics harassed, detained or jailed.<\/p>\n \u201cChina has taken strides to better protect civil and political rights by abolishing re-education through labour [camps]. Current reforms aim to produce a more transparent and professional justice system,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut as President Xi said during the joint press conference with prime minister [David] Cameron in October, \u2018there is always room for improvement\u2019, and the UK will continue to work closely with China<\/a> to this end.\u201d<\/p>\n The British pronouncement stood in stark contrast to criticism that the US, Germany and Canada levelled at Beijing this week over its human rights record.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s ambassador in Beijing, Guy Saint-Jacques, said he had \u201cwitnessed a worrisome increase in the number of Chinese citizens jailed<\/a> merely for peacefully expressing their views, as well as attempts to silence critics outside of China\u201d.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Beijing, Max Baucus, accused Beijing of treating peaceful activists and human rights lawyers as \u201cenemies\u201d.<\/p>\n In a statement marking Human Rights Day<\/a>, he said: \u201cWe remain concerned over the crackdown on human rights lawyers and others who seek peacefully to contribute their views to the public discourse on the future of China. In some cases, these Chinese citizens have been detained in secret locations without access to their families or their lawyers. This is deeply troubling and calls into question China\u2019s commitment to the rule of law.<\/p>\n Since coming to power in November 2012, Xi has overseen what campaigners say is one of the mostferocious crackdowns<\/a> on Chinese activists and opponents in decades.<\/p>\n That offensive against foes will reach a pinnacle on Monday with the trial of Pu Zhiqiang<\/a>, a respected civil rights lawyer and freedom of speech champion.<\/p>\n