China condemns US human rights report

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, has clashed publicly with a Chinese official over China's treatment of the banned Falun Gong movement.

Speaking in Beijing, Mrs Robinson said it was clear that the human rights of individual Falun Gong members were being transgressed.

She said their rights must be respected, regardless of how China approached the movement itself.

A Chinese cabinet official, Liu Jing, accused Mrs Robinson of ignorance and said she had too little understanding of what he called the Falun Gong cult. Earlier, China hit back at criticism of its human rights record by the American State Department and Mrs Robinson.

It accused them of arbitrary interference in China's affairs.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service