May 25, 2005

(Kyodo) -- Repressions of freedoms are still rampant in China despite the insertion of human rights as a new clause to its Constitution, London-based Amnesty International said Wednesday.

"Human rights defenders and grassroots activities continued to be arbitrarily detained or put under house arrest during political sensitive periods in China," the annual report issued by the watchdog says in its section on China.

Religious groups, such as Falun Gong, unauthorized Christian groups, and the so-called "separatists" in Xinjiang, continue to be subject of repression, it says.

The report highlights the arbitrary system of reeducation through labor under which no trial or due process is made available for detainees. Torture and ill-treatment are reportedly commonplace in these camps.

China also accounted for 3,400 out of the 3,797 cases of prisoner execution reported worldwide in 2004, according to the report, adding that the unofficial estimate of executions in China alone last year is as high as 10,000.

In March 2004, Beijing inserted a new clause which stipulates "the state respects and protects human rights" into its Constitution. But Amnesty International said the government has failed to introduce necessary institutional reforms, severely compromising the enforcement of these measures in practice.

The group also expressed concerns about the erosion of freedoms for Hong Kong's people.

It said the interpretation by Beijing's National People's Congress on Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, in April 2004 has restricted the territory's freedom to push for political reforms.

The ruling eliminated any chances for a universal suffrage for Hong Kong's political chief in 2007 and its lawmaking body, the Legislative Council in 2008.