Amnesty International urges Obama to press Chinese counterpart on human rights

A senior official of Amnesty International told a Sept. 22 National Press Club Newsmaker audience that when President Barack Obama meets with Chinese president Xi Jinping later this week that Obama should press him to improve China's human rights situation, which he said is "deteriorating."

The Amnesty International official, T Kumar, said that in China "hundreds of lawyers have been arrested and some have disappeared." He also asserted that approximately 500,000 people are arbitrarily detained without being charged or put on trial.

"China also executes more people than the rest of the world combined," Kumar said. He also charged that the country routinely suppresses freedom of the press, religion, expression and "other fundamental freedoms."

As the world's only super power, the United States alone can "exert meaningful pressure (on Beijing) to improve human rights for the Chinese people," Kumar said.

He added: "I hope President Obama will take steps in this direction when he meets the day after tomorrow with his Chinese counterpart."