We have significant areas of agreement and significant areas of disagreement. We acknowledge both the distance China has come and the distance it must travel to measure up to international standards or even its own commitments. Building on our shared interests, we can advance our relationship with China. We have tried private diplomacy, public criticism, and economic sanctions to encourage greater respect for human rights in China. None of us are satisfied with the results.
China continues to fall far short in the area of human rights.
China's government is still repressive and intolerant. The recent crackdown on the Falun Gong suggests that the Chinese government is as unwilling as ever to tolerate free expression that it views as a political threat. Voluntary organizations of civil society have proliferated. Free elections, in which non-party candidates run and win, have been held in the majority of China's villages. Chinese citizens can now take the government to court for wrongful exercise of administrative power, and many such suits have been found in favor of the plaintiffs.