Q: On November 12, the Swedish Presidency, on behalf of the European Union, issued a statement, condemning China's recent execution of nine criminals who participated in Urumqi July 5 Incident and asking China to abolish death penalty. Do you have any comment?

A: We express our strong dissatisfaction with the second EU statement in half a month that seriously interferers in China's internal affairs. China is a country ruled by law, where there must be laws to go by, the laws must be observed and strictly enforced, and lawbreakers must be prosecuted. The judicial authorities of China have carried out fair and open trials of the suspects and brought to justice criminals guilty of the most heinous crimes. This is China's judicial sovereignty which brooks no interference from any foreign parties. China strongly opposes the practice of breaking the rule of law under the pretext of rule of law, and urges the EU to earnestly abide by the principle of equality and mutual respect rather than make the same mistakes over and over again, with a view to contributing to the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations.