Slovak president Caputova raps China over 'deteriorating' human rights

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BRATISLAVA: Slovakia's new president on Wednesday rapped China over its detention of human rights activists and treatment of ethnic minorities.

Zuzana Caputova, an environmental lawyer who won the March presidential election, made the comments on her official Facebook page following talks with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

"I have expressed, in line with the European Union's common position, concerns about the deteriorating human rights situation in China and the detention of lawyers and human rights activists, as well as about the position of ethnic and religious minorities," Caputova said.

Slovakia gets first woman president, choosing change over graft

Caputova's clear victory Saturday over the ruling party's candidate was a blow to the populist-left Smer-SD

Having put environmental protection high on her agenda, Caputova also said she "appreciated China's approach to reducing emissions" after speaking with Wang about how to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis.

Wang also met with Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, who underscored Bratislava's interest in boosting food exports to China.

Poland's foreign minister on Monday urged Beijing to invest more in central Europe and to drop tariff barriers as Wang, who is currently visiting several eastern EU states, sought assurances that Warsaw would consider Beijing's controversial 5G wireless network technology.