Officials deny Vatican claims that China has detained the Roman
Catholic bishop of an underground church in Hebei Province, said
spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue at a regular Foreign Ministry press
conference on Thursday in Beijing. She stated that the allegation
does not conform to the facts.
"I hope all parties concerned obtain a clear understanding of
the actual situation first," Zhang said.
The spokeswoman emphasized that China is a country ruled by law,
and that nobody will be punished for having religious beliefs. The
Constitution clearly states that citizens have the right to
religious belief.
However, everyone must abide by the law and violators must be
punished in accordance with the law.
Zhang went on to say that the claims by Reporters Without
Borders that China has taken into custody 61 web dissidents and use
advanced technology to censor websites were completely
irresponsible.
China's Constitution and other laws endow Chinese citizens the
right to freedom of speech. "As you live and work in China, you
should know speed of development of the country's Internet and
information industry," Zhang told reporters.
Incomplete statistics indicate that China now has 80 million
Internet users. Such a large number of users and well-developed
related technologies demonstrate that China gives full freedom to
its citizens in this regard.
"Without freedom, the Internet would not develop so quickly,"
Zhang said.
(China.org.cn June 25, 2004)