BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday rejected a U.S. report which criticized its religious situation, saying the report was biased and groundless.

    "It is a fact that the Chinese government protects its citizens' freedom of religious belief according to law, and every ethnic group in any part of China enjoys full religious freedom," said Ma Zhaoxu, spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

    The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2009 annual report last week, and criticized China and other countries' religious situation.

    The report reiterated its advice to the State Department that China should be listed as one of the "countries of particular concern."

    "The USCIRF's attempt to smear China with the report will never succeed," Ma stressed.

China urges the U.S. to stop intervening in its press freedom

    BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- China rejected the U.S. President Barack Obama's remarks in a statement marking World Press Freedom Day here on Monday, urging the U.S. to stop intervening in its press freedom.

    Ma Zhaoxu, spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that the Chinese government protected freedom of speech according to law, and had brought the public and media's supervision into full play. Full story

Wite paper: Protection and Development of Tibetan Culture (2008)