China Slams U.S. Plan for Human Rights Censure

BEIJING (Reuters) - China Wednesday slammed a U.S. proposal for a resolution critical of Beijing at the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in March as unacceptable interference in its internal affairs, Xinhua news agency said Wednesday.

``The Chinese government and people express their strong anger and resolute opposition to this,'' the official news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao as saying.

``The Chinese government consistently respects the universal principles of the international community on human rights, and based on China's actual conditions actively strives to promote and protect the people's human rights and basic freedoms,'' Zhu said.

The United States said Tuesday its decision to back the resolution was based on a deterioration in China's human rights performance, especially restrictions on freedom of speech, dissent and religion.

``The goal is to shine the international spotlight directly on China's human rights practices,'' State Department spokesman James Rubin told reporters.

The move came amid a gradual recovery in China-U.S. relations that had soured after last year's bombing of China's embassy during a NATO attack on Belgrade and allegations of Chinese nuclear spying.