EU spy criticism amounts to interference

By Zhang Haizhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-02 07:25

A Foreign Ministry spokesman has dismissed the European Union's (EU) criticisms over the execution of a man found guilty of spying for Taiwan, and said he was sentenced after a "just and fair" trial.

Wo Weihan, a 59-year-old medical scientist, was executed on Friday for passing information on the mainland's missile guidance systems to a group linked to intelligence agencies in Taiwan.

The EU has issued a statement, condemning the execution and saying that China had ignored repeated calls by the EU and several of its member states to defer it.

The criticism came after China postponed a meeting with EU leaders because some European countries' leaders had planned to meet with the Dalai Lama.

Ursula Plassnik, foreign minister of Austria - Wo's daughter is a citizen of that country - said the execution should be considered "a premeditated affront by the entire EU".

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang responded, saying China is "strongly dissatisfied with and opposed to (the accusation)".

In a statement issued on Sunday, Qin asked the EU to correct its mistakes immediately and stop passing remarks and taking actions that tantamount to interfering in China's judiciary's works.

"China is governed by the rule of law, and Wo was a Chinese citizen. Evidence proved his crime The accusation against the Chinese judiciary is a direct interference in China's judicial sovereignty, it tramples the spirit of the rule of law and undermines the basis of healthy development of bilateral talks on human rights," Qin said.

On the Dalai Lama controversy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he hoped good relations with China would continue.

"We hope that there will be wisdom on the part of China and also on the part of Europe to overcome this problem," he said.

But despite insisting that Sino-EU relations were very important, he told RTL radio on Sunday that European politicians had the right to meet whoever they wanted.

Wu Baiyi, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, reacted to the statement, saying that if Europe wanted to maintain good ties with China, its leaders should have long-term strategic considerations, especially while working together to resolve the global financial crisis.

"Some European politicians should first ask themselves if meeting with the Dalai Lama would help them solve the economic problems."

Wu said China and Europe have a common interest: to resolve the financial crisis. At the G20 summit held in Washington last month, China said it hoped a new global financial system would take shape in which the developing countries would have a greater say.

That proposition is in conformity with the EU's wish to see a multilateral world, Wu said.