BEIJING, Aug 3: The United States got few answers to questions about detained activists during its annual rights dialogue with China, and believes the situation in the country continues to deteriorate, a senior US official said today.
Uzra Zeya, Acting Assistant US Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, said she raised specific cases during the talks, including that of jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, as well as his wife Liu Xia, now under extra-judicial house arrest yesterday.
“Regrettably yes, I think we’ve continued to see a deterioration in the overall human rights situation in China,” Zeya said, pointing to growing harassment of family members, such as that of the relatives of blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng, now living in the United States.
“The targeting of family members is one reason for that assessment … This is a worrisome trend and one which we have raised at senior levels with the Chinese government,” Zeya added.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s appointment as Communist Party chief in a once-in-a-decade leadership change last November had inspired many Chinese with hope for political reform.
But rights groups say there has been no let up in the pressure on activists, dissidents and other groups, such as Tibetans, who have been pushing for reforms and more freedom.
China contested the US version of events, saying it punishes criminal offenders justly and that the US is interfering with its judicial sovereignty. (AGENCIES)
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