BEIJING, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- China's Communist Party attacked the Western news media Wednesday, calling coverage of the recent U.N. World Conference on Women a "sad commentary" on press freedom.

"The behavior of the Western media at the conference gave eloquent proof to the maxim that a negative teacher can often play a role a positive one cannot," the party's official voice, the People's Daily, said in a editorial.

"It's high time to impose strict controls on the Western media," it said.

The conference, held in China, ended Sept. 15. It drew thousands of government and non-government representatives and speakers, including first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

China was broadly criticized for its handling of a forum for non-government representatives held outside Beijing. The government was accused of selective issuing of visas and exclusion of groups advocating independence for Taiwan and Tibet and tight surveillance of delegates.

Coordinators of the meeting demanded China end the "harassment of delegates on U.N. soil."

China denied the charges.