July 2, 2003

According to AFP's report, U.S. State Department's spokesman Richard Boucher said the following in a written response to a question asked earlier at a daily press briefing.

"The commitments to make progress on human rights concerns made by China at the conclusion of the December human rights dialogue have not been met, and there have been a number of troubling incidents since the beginning of the year."

[...]

"This backsliding on human rights is of great concern to the United States and the international community," the spokesman said.

"We urge the Chinese government to take steps to ensure that its citizens are not persecuted for the peaceful expression of their views, and to release all prisoners of conscience," Boucher said.