Friday August 22, 11:22 AM

The United States accused China of "backsliding" on its commitments to improve its human rights record, as a perennial feud flared up to test improving US-China relations.

Arrests of political activists and prison terms meted out to Internet essayists factored into 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 State Department spokesman Richard 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, which 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 it's 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 that Washington would keep up the pressure on Beijing to live up to what he said were its commitments.

"We're going to keep pushing for more progress in the dialogue and pushing also for progress on human rights," he said.

Boucher said "backsliding" in this context consisted of a number of "troubling incidents" including the execution of a Tibetan activist without due process.

In January, activist Lobsang Dhondup, 28, was put to death following a series of bomb blasts in southwestern China, on what supporters say were baseless and politically motivated charges.

Boucher also cited the "arrest of a number of democracy activists, the harsh sentences that were laid down for Internet essayists, labor protestors and a number of other things that constitute backsliding."

He also noted that members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom were forced to postpone a trip to China because Beijing insisted they not visit Hong Kong.[...]

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/030821/1/3dl2k.html