NEW YORK, Sept. 28 (UPI) — U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Xi Jinping’s organization of a women’s rights meeting was a “shameless” act in an indirect reference to Beijing’s continued surveillance of five women activists.
China, in turn, cast a critical eye on Clinton, with Chinese state media drawing comparisons between her and rival candidate Donald Trump.
Clinton took to Twitter on Sunday to inveigh against the Chinese president, tweeting, “Xi hosting a meeting on women’s rights at the U.N. while persecuting feminists? Shameless.” The tweet included a link to a New York Times story about the young activists Wei Tingting, Wu Rongrong, Li Tingting, Wang Man and Zheng Churan.
Xi hosting a meeting on women’s rights at the UN while persecuting feminists? Shameless. #Freethe20 http://t.co/hRkaaAnMMp -H— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 27, 2015
In March, China detained five women who were protesting sexual harassment in public places, CNN reported.. They were released in April, but have said they could still face charges and are subject to surveillance for a year. Police also can bring them in for questioning at any time.
Bloomberg reported Clinton’s public criticism of the Chinese leader came on the same day Xi pledged $10 million to the U.N. agency for women, to “reaffirm [China’s] commitment to gender equality and women’s development” at a summit that marked the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on women held in 1995 in Beijing.
Xi also pledged $2 billion to assist with global development and poverty relief on Saturday.
In her capacity as first lady, Clinton had made a historic speech on women’s rights violations at the 1995 conference, and she has prioritized women’s causes in her 2016 presidential campaign.
China reacted quickly to Clinton’s comments. On Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said, “Everyone in the international community has their own prejudices,” when asked about Clinton’s tweet, and added that Beijing hopes others would respect China’s judicial sovereignty, Yonhap reported.
Chinese state media has decried Clinton’s comments, and state-owned Global Times said Clinton was emulating Republican candidate Donald Trump and engaging in “China-bashing” in order to garner support for her campaign, the BBC reported.
“It looks like Hillary is in a panicked frenzy, her eyes have turned red… She has started to copy Trump’s speaking style and allowed herself to become a fierce big mouth,” the Global Times editorial read.
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