[...] Copyright 2003 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet)

BEIJING, Aug 22 (AFP) - China insisted Friday it has made "great achievements" in human rights and blasted the United States as irresponsible for saying it was "backsliding" on its commitments.

[...]

US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday that China's human rights record had nosedived.

Arrests of political activists and prison terms meted out to Internet essayists factored in the unflattering State Department assessment, which came at a critical point in US-China relations with Beijing poised to hold six-nation North Korea crisis talks next week.

"We have made (it) clear during the course of the year that there has been backsliding," said Boucher.

"Unfortunately, that pattern has continued.

"Despite the progress in 2002 we've been disappointed to see the negative developments in 2003," he said, adding that Washington was dismayed at Beijing's response to promises made at a US-China human rights talks last year.

"The commitments made by China at the conclusion of the December human rights dialogue have not been met."

His comments followed remarks by US Assistant Secretary of State Lorne Craner in an interview published Thursday in the Washington Post that also contained a scathing critique of China's performance.

"There were commitments made last December and those commitments have not been met," Craner was quoted as saying.

"As far as we're concerned the Chinese have not done well, and its disappointing."

Craner said President George W. Bush decided not to introduce a resolution critical of China at the UN Human Rights Commission in April, based on the promises Beijing officials made in December.

Boucher said Washington would maintain pressure on Beijing to live up to what he said were its commitments.

Human rights have been an open sore in US-China relations for years, but there was some optimism here that things could improve under newly-installed Chinese President Hu Jintao.

http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/be/Qchina-us-rights.R2HD_DaM.html