China Rejects EU Criticism Of Taiwan Spy Execution

China Rejects EU, Austria's Criticism Of Taiwan Spy Execution, Says Trial Was Fair

(AP)  China dismissed criticisms by the European Union and Austria over the execution of a Chinese medical researcher and businessman accused of spying for Taiwan, saying Monday that he received a fair trial.

Wo Weihan was executed Friday after being convicted of passing data on missile guidance systems to a group linked to Taiwanese intelligence agencies. Taiwan and China were divided amid civil war in 1949.

The EU issued a statement condemning Wo's execution and deploring the conditions under which Wo was detained and tried, saying it did not comply with international standards.

It said China had not heeded repeated calls by the EU and several of its member states for the execution to be deferred and for the death sentence passed against Wo to be commuted.

The trial of Wo Weihan was just and his rights had been protected, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement Monday on the ministry's Web site.

Qin said China views the EU's criticism as a "rude interference in China's judiciary that tramples the spirit of the rule of law and undermines the basis of the healthy development of bilateral talks on human rights."

"We were strongly dissatisfied with and opposed to (the accusation) and urged all concerned parties to immediately correct the mistake and stop the words and actions concerning interventions in other country's judicature," Qin said.

The United States also expressed concerns over the case, saying Friday it was "deeply disturbed" by the execution and that Wo's arrest and trial appeared to have fallen "far short of international standards for due process."

Wo was sentenced to death by the Beijing court in May 2007 and his final appeal was denied on Feb. 29. The sentence was automatically forwarded to the supreme court for review.

The exchange is the latest in which China and Europe have clashed on the issue of human rights. In October, Beijing reacted angrily to the European Parliament's decision to give its top human rights prize to jailed dissident Hu Jia, with the Chinese government calling him a criminal and the award an interference.

The clash comes after China last week indefinitely postponed a summit scheduled for this week with the European Union because of European leaders' plans to meet with the exiled leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama.

The decision is an example of the lengths to which Beijing is prepared to go to try to internationally isolate the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who wants greater autonomy for his Himalayan homeland that China says is part of its territory.