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China rights 'worsened', says US China rights 'worsened', says US
(about 1 hour later)
The US state department has criticised China in an annual report on human rights around the world.The US state department has criticised China in an annual report on human rights around the world.
China's human rights record worsened in some areas, including the repression of dissidents and of minorities in Tibet, the report said. China's human rights record worsened in some areas in 2008, including the repression of dissidents and of minorities in Tibet, the report said.
The report came a week after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on a trip to China that co-operation should take precedence over tensions. It came just a week after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on a trip to China that co-operation should take precedence over tensions.
Among the other countries criticised were Russia and North Korea.Among the other countries criticised were Russia and North Korea.
Russia had "continued a negative trajectory in its overall domestic human rights record", the report said.Russia had "continued a negative trajectory in its overall domestic human rights record", the report said.
In North Korea, it said, the human rights record "remained abysmal", giving the example of authorities killing babies at birth in prisons.In North Korea, it said, the human rights record "remained abysmal", giving the example of authorities killing babies at birth in prisons.
The report covers 2008, the final year of former President George W Bush's administration. Other countries mentioned in an introduction to the report included:
In its preface, Mrs Clinton vowed to heed criticism of Washington's own human rights record.
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  • Egypt, where the state department said there had been a decline in the government's respect for freedoms of speech, press, association and religion
  • Iran, which the report said had intensified its systematic campaign of intimidation against reformers, academics, journalists and dissidents
  • Zimbabwe, where the report said the systematic abuse of human rights had "increased dramatically" during 2008.
"Not only will we seek to live up to our ideals on American soil, we will pursue greater respect for human rights as we engage other nations and people around the world," she said. During her recent trip to China, human rights activists had criticised Mrs Clinton for not speaking out over the issue. Pushback against demands for greater personal and political freedom continued in many countries across the globe US state department report
Internet curbs
Human rights activists criticised Mrs Clinton for not speaking out over human rights during her recent trip to China.
However, the secretary of state said she had held candid discussions on human rights issues with her Chinese counterpart.However, the secretary of state said she had held candid discussions on human rights issues with her Chinese counterpart.
The state department report said that in 2008 Chinese authorities had "committed extrajudicial killings and torture, coerced confessions of prisoners, and used forced labour". The state department's report said that in 2008 Chinese authorities had "committed extrajudicial killings and torture, coerced confessions of prisoners, and used forced labour".
Cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities got worse in largely Muslim Xinjiang and in Buddhist Tibet, it said, with repression peaking around the time of last summer's Beijing Olympics. Cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities got worse in largely Muslim Xinjiang and in Buddhist Tibet, it said, with repression peaking around the time of protests in Tibet and last summer's Beijing Olympics.
The report also cited Chinese curbs on freedom of speech and the press, including the internet.The report also cited Chinese curbs on freedom of speech and the press, including the internet.
US performance
Overall, "pushback against demands for greater personal and political freedom continued in many countries across the globe" in 2008, the report said.
It said the most serious abuses were "where unaccountable rulers wielded unchecked power or there was government failure or collapse".
Karen Stewart, a state department spokeswoman, said the trends showed "the continuing need for vigorous United States diplomacy to speak out and act against human rights abuses at the same time as our country carefully reviews its own performance".
"We do not consider views about our performance voiced by others in the international community - whether by other governments or non-governmental actors - to be interference in our internal affairs," she said.
"Nor should other governments regard expressions about their performance as such."