Beijing defends human rights record

China’s foreign minister dismissed criticism of the country’s human rights record amid what activists have described as a crackdown on dissent in the run up to the Beijing Olympics, the Financial Times reported. Yang Jiechi said it was "impossible" that anyone would be arrested for valuing human rights above the Olympics and suggested that police would rather give dissidents a cup of tea than arrest them. "The Chinese people enjoy extensive freedom of speech," he added. Several high-profile activists have been detained in recent weeks. These include Yang Chunlin who went on trial last week on subversion charges after organizing a land rights petition entitled "We Want Human Rights, Not the Olympics."