Beijing : China on Monday criticised Hillary Clinton calling her ‘biased’, after the US Democratic presidential candidate accused President Xi Jinping of hypocrisy for hosting a UN event championing women’s rights while punishing feminists in his own country.
“China protects interests of citizens and rights in accordance with the law. Some people hold biased opinions against China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei told a media briefing replying to question on Clinton’s comments. Citing China’s arrest of five feminists in March for campaigning against sexual harassment, Clinton called Xi’s presence at the summit ‘shameless.’
“Xi hosting a meeting on women’s rights at the UN while persecuting feminists? Shameless,” Clinton tweeted on Sunday, CNN reported. Although China released them on bail 37 days later, their ordeal continues. The five women are subject to surveillance for a year, their activities restricted, and police can call them in for questioning at any time, the report said.
Hong lauded the success of the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment held yesterday at the UN headquarters co-hosted by Xi. Around 100 representatives, including 80 heads of state attended the meeting, where they made concrete commitments to overcome gender equality gaps.
