China asks critics to 'respect facts' about Darfur

by Jarrett Martineau | February 13, 2008 at 07:04 pm

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Following Steven Spielberg's public withdrawal from his Beijing Olympic advisory position yesterday, China has responded to the public criticism being levelled against the country over its involvement in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan.

China urged activists linking its stance over Sudan to the Beijing Olympics to play fair and rebel groups in Darfur praised the decision by film director Steven Spielberg to quit as an artistic adviser to the Games.

For more background on Spielberg's decision, please see our previous story on the issue.

The Chinese embassy in Washington, while not directly referring to Spielberg's decision, called on "relevant parties" to respect the facts about the "positive role played by China on the Darfur issue" and shy away from politicizing the Olympics.

"As the Darfur issue is neither an internal issue of China, nor is it caused by China, it is completely unreasonable, irresponsible and unfair for certain organizations and individuals to link the two as one," the embassy said.