( dpa ) - China expressed harsh criticism Sunday of Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, in connection with unrest in Tibet and accused her of "turning a blind eye to merciless rioters."
The criticism was carried in a commentary by the official Xinhua news agency following Pelosi's visit to the Dalai Lama last week in Dharamsala in India where she had called on all peace-loving people to speak out against China's actions in Tibet.
Pelosi lost her own "moral authority to speak about human rights" when she acted as a defender of arsonists, looters and killers, the commentary added.
She and other politicians were accused of double standards which revealed her motives and "those of her kind - their indignation is reserved for those occasions where their interests are best served."
Their intention was to serve interest groups "who want to contain or smear China."
Foreign reportage of the unrest in Tibet also came under fire from both Chinese state media and online forums and accused several news organzations of manipulating the events.
The US news network CNN and German media also felt the wrath of Xinhua news agency Sunday.
A photograph on the CNN website showing people running in front of military truck had caused indignation, Xinhua reported. The original picture, uploaded by Chinese netizens had shown rioters in the background throwing stones at the truck and this had been cut out, the report said.
The German daily Berliner Morgenpost was accused of using an incorrect photo caption. The caption under a photograph showing police in Lhasa rescuing a man of Han nationality from being attacked by the rioters read: "Insurrectionist taken away by police," according to Xinhua's translation carried by the agency's English Service.
In a report on the violence in Tibet, the German news network N-TV had shown demonstrators being dragged off by police. But the footage been shot in Nepal and the police were Nepalese, Xinhua claimed.
The US broadcaster Fox TV had posted a photograph of Indian police dragging demonstrators into a vehicle on its website saying they were Chinese military, Xinhua noted.
Tens of thousands of internet users were "called on" to protest the manipulation of the facts, Xinhua reported. This was a tactic frequently used by some foreign media to destroy the reputation of the Chinese government with unfounded material," the report said in summary of opinions at one online forum.