Appeals are rarely successful. In Xinjiang thousands of Uighur political prisoners are imprisoned. Many are arbitrarily detained merely on account of their suspected nationalist sympathies or for engaging in peaceful religious activities. Many have been executed after summary trials. There are reports of arbitrary killings by the security forces.
Torture is routine.
In Tibet hundreds of Tibetan political prisoners remain imprisoned. Many monks and nuns are jailed for peacefully expressing their views and are often subjected to torture, ill-treatment and harsh conditions. Over the past 18 months the UK Government has continued to place primary emphasis on dialogue as a means of attaining improvements in China's human rights situation. It has been commendably frank in acknowledging the gains of dialogue to be limited'. The Government has pointed to a number of achievements in regard to China's human rights record, which are welcome, but the 1999 crackdown on peaceful dissent has cast in doubt the Chinese Government's sincerity in signing international covenants on civil and political and social, economic and cultural rights.