China rejects UN torture claims

A UN investigator's report of widespread torture in China has been denounced by the Foreign Ministry, which said the official did not spend enough time in China to draw an accurate conclusion. Manfred Nowak, the first torture investigator to visit China, said inmates in detention centers in Beijing, Tibet and the Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang told him stories of beatings, electric shocks and sleep deprivation. But ministry spokesman Qin Gang countered: "Within a short two weeks and a trip to only three cities, the rapporteur may jump to conclusions."