The United States accused China's communist leaders...

The United States accused China's communist leaders of backsliding on their human rights record as arrests of democracy activists and extrajudicial killings continued apace during 2003.
In its annual human rights report, the US State Department said hopes had risen that China would push forward "incremental" advances on its rights record that had been seen in 2002, but it concluded China's approach to rights had in fact regressed.
"We began 2003 with hopes that the incremental but unprecedented progress in China seen in 2002 would be continued and expanded; however, throughout the year, we saw backsliding on key human rights issues," the report said.
"The government's human rights record remained poor, and the government continued to commit numerous and serious abuses."
It cited "arrests of democracy activists (and) individuals discussing subjects deemed sensitive by the government on the Internet."
Also targetted were labor protesters, defense lawyers, journalists, house church members and "others seeking to take advantage of the space created by reforms," according to the US report.
The report also said a "harsh repression" of the Falun Gong had continued, that China's record in Tibet remained "poor," and that the government had used the war on terror to justify its ongoing crackdown against Muslim Uighurs.
"The Chinese government's record in Tibet remains poor, and ongoing abuses include execution without due process, torture, arbitrary arrest, detention without public trial and lengthy detention of Tibetans for peacefully expressing their political or religious views."