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China accuses US of ‘fabricating facts’ with hacking charges
BEIJING, Dec 21, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Beijing on Friday accused Washington of
“fabricating facts” after the US Justice Department indicted two Chinese
hackers tied to Asian nation’s security services who allegedly targeted
companies and agencies in a dozen countries.
We urge the US to “stop smearing the Chinese side on cyber security
issues,” China’s foreign ministry said in statement, adding that it had
lodged an official protest.
China said the US should drop the prosecution “to avoid serious damage to
the relations between the two countries”.
Beijing accused Washington of “blame-shifting” and of carrying out hacking
attacks against other countries.
“It has long been an open secret for the relevant departments of the United
States to conduct large-scale and organised network theft and monitoring and
monitoring activities against foreign governments, enterprises and
individuals,” said the statement, attributed to foreign ministry spokeswoman
Hua Chunying.
In charging the two alleged Chinese hackers, the Justice Department said
the group they work for targeted firms which help other companies manage
their information technology systems — potentially giving attackers an entry
into the computer networks of dozens of companies.
Western governments, including US allies Britain and Australia, have
accused Beijing of cyber-attacks.
China described those claims as “purely made out of thin air”, warning
other countries to “stop deliberate defamation of China, so as not to
damage… bilateral relations”.
BSS/AFP/MRI/0844 hrs