Chinese doctors are working urgently to save critically ill Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, as the government hardened its position against growing pleas to allow China's best-known political prisoner to leave for treatment overseas.
A stark update issued by Mr Liu's hospital said he was suffering from poor kidney function and bleeding in the liver from metastasising tumours.
It heightened pressure on Beijing, which has resisted appeals from several nations to let Mr Liu and his family go.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang asked other countries at a daily news briefing "to respect China's national sovereignty and refrain from interfering in its domestic affairs due to an individual case".
On Monday the office of German chancellor Angela Merkel asked Beijing for a "signal of humanity for Liu Xiaobo and his family".
Mr Liu's health has been the subject of international attention after news emerged in late June that the dissident had been transferred to a Chinese hospital because of late-stage liver cancer.
Supporters and Western governments urged China to allow him to choose where he wanted to be treated and to release him.
Beijing has so far resisted, citing Mr Liu's fragile health and arguing that he is receiving the best possible care in China.
Mr Liu was convicted in 2009 of inciting subversion for his role in the "Charter 08" movement calling for political reform.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize a year later while in prison.
