China slams U.S. house speaker's statement on Tibet

Chinese Foreign Ministry voiced firm opposition here Friday to U.S. house speaker's recent statement on Tibet, saying it was "extremely irresponsible."

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly released a statement Wednesday on the 51st anniversary of the Dalai Lama group's armed rebellion, in which she criticized the Chinese government on its Tibet policy.

In response to questions concerning the statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the statement was "finger pointing" about China's internal affairs in disregard of the facts.

"We urged relevant member of the U.S. Congress to respect the facts, discard prejudices and stop using Tibet related issues to interfere in China's domestic affairs," Qin said.

He said tremendous progress has taken place in fields such as Tibet's social and economic development, human rights, as well as religious and cultural conservation.

Source: Xinhua