Washington - The United States has issued a damning assessment of China's human rights record in 1998 and said it reflected Beijing's fear of unrest and intolerance of public dissent.
Although economic reforms have raised the standard of living for many Chinese, the case of China shows that "economic freedoms cannot compensate for the lack of political freedom", said the Assistant Secretary of State, Mr Henry Koh. In last year's version of its annual report on human rights throughout the world, the State Department slackened criticism of China.
The report said human rights improved last year in parts of the Middle East, including Syria, Iran and the Palestinian territories.