Amnesty International urged the European Union to rethink...

Amnesty International urged the European Union to rethink its China policy, saying the Asian country's economic success overshadows a justice system plagued with human rights abuses. Amnesty released a report detailing alleged human rights violations, including frequent use of the death penalty, forced labour camps, arbitrary detention and torture of AIDS patients and the continuing crackdown on the Falun Gong spiritual movement. The report was published as Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, leading a delegation of senior EU officials, headed for Beijing for talks with Chinese leaders. China executes some 15,000 prisoners a year, Amnesty said, although the government's own annual official tally barely exceeds 1,000. "Official reports in China ... hailing the introduction of 'mobile execution chambers' for their 'cost-effectiveness and efficiency' should send alarm bells ringing in the corridors of the EU," said Dick Oosting, head of the human rights group's EU office.