Some analysts contend that the U.S. policy of engagement with China has failed to produce meaningful political reform, and that without fundamental progress in this area, the bilateral relationship will remain unstable. Others argue that U.S. engagement has helped to accelerate economic and social change and build social and legal foundations for democracy and the advancement of human rights in the PRC. Some analysts also blame decreasing leverage by the United States on Chinese human rights policies. These changes have come about through both government policies and the development of civil society. Nonetheless, the Internet has made it impossible for the government to restrict information as fully as before. The U.S. government has developed a comprehensive array of tactics and programs aimed at promoting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in China, but their effects have been felt primarily along the margins of the PRC political system. Congressional committees, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and other congressionally mandated bodies and fora have investigated, publicized, and reported on human rights conditions in China. Recent Developments

		Crackdown on Dissent

In the winter and spring of 2011, the PRC government intensified efforts to suppress China's increasingly active civil society, including rights defenders, activist lawyers, bloggers and other critical voices, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), independent churches, restive ethnic minority groups, and others whom it deemed threatening to social and political stability. Moreover, the official press has become more critical of some human rights abuses. Major Human Rights Issues

Major, ongoing human rights violations in China include the following: excessive use of violence by security forces and their proxies; unlawful and abusive detention; torture; arbitrary use of state security laws against political dissidents; coercive family planning policies; state control of information; harassment and persecution of people involved in unsanctioned religious activities, including worship in unregistered Protestant "house churches" and Catholic churches that express loyalty to the Pope; and mistreatment and deportation of North Korean refugees. Many Tibetans, Uighurs, and Falun Gong adherents have been singled out for especially harsh treatment. According to some analysts, legal reforms may ultimately provide foundations for far-reaching social and political change in China. In recent years, the government has attempted to impose greater surveillance upon Internet users. Nonetheless, government efforts to suppress the group continued. The developing rights awareness of many Chinese citizens, combined with small but passionate networks of lawyers, journalists, and activists, suggests that social pressures for advancing human rights are likely to continue. U.S. Efforts to Advance Human Rights in China

In the past two decades, successive U.S. administrations have developed a comprehensive array of tactics and programs aimed toward promoting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in China, but their effects have been felt primarily along the margins of the PRC political system. Policy tools include private discussions; sanctions; open criticism of PRC human rights policies; coordinating international pressure; support of and contact with dissidents; bilateral dialogue; human rights, democracy, and related programs in the PRC; promoting Internet freedom; public diplomacy efforts; and monitoring and highlighting human rights abuses.
This report examines human rights conditions in China, including the 2011 crackdown on rights activists and dissent; ongoing human rights abuses; recent PRC efforts to protect human rights; and the development of civil society. Ongoing human rights problems in China include the excessive use of violence by public security forces, unlawful detention, torture of detainees, arbitrary use of state security laws against political dissidents, coercive family planning policies, state control of information, and religious and ethnic persecution. Tibetans, Uighur Muslims, and Falun Gong adherents have been singled out for especially harsh treatment. For additional, comprehensive information about human rights conditions in China, see the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Annual Report 2010, and the U.S. Department of State, 2010 Human Rights Report: China.
The Chinese leadership's resistance to major political reform and fuller support of civil liberties has been driven largely by its fears of social unrest and political instability. Moreover, some public opinion surveys suggest that many Chinese people, while wanting greater freedoms, do not support rapid political change. Nonetheless, Chinese society has become more assertive. Incidents of social protests are frequent, numerous, and widespread. Economic, social, and demographic changes have given rise to labor unrest. PRC citizens have become increasingly aware of their legal rights, while emerging networks of lawyers, journalists, and activists have advanced the causes of many aggrieved individuals and groups. The mass media continues to push the boundaries of officially approved discourse, and the Internet has made it impossible for the government to restrict information as fully as before.
The PRC government has attempted to respond to some popular grievances, develop the legal system, and cautiously support the expansion of civil society, while suppressing activists who attempt to organize mass protests and dissidents who openly question sensitive policies or call for fundamental political change. This approach has produced modest improvements in some human rights conditions, but also allowed for continued, serious abuses. In recent months, the government has intensified efforts to suppress legal activists, rights defenders, and other individuals and groups whom it has deemed to be threatening to social and political stability.
The United States government has developed a comprehensive array of policy tools aimed toward promoting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in China, but their effects have been felt primarily along the margins of the PRC political system. U.S. government efforts to promote human rights in China have included sanctions; openly criticizing PRC human rights policies and calling for the release of political prisoners; bilateral dialogue; "quiet diplomacy;" and hearings and investigations. The U.S. Congress has appropriated funding for democracy, human rights, rule of law, environmental, and other programs in China, including Tibet, and supported Internet freedom and public diplomacy efforts aimed at the PRC. Some policy makers contend that U.S. engagement with China has failed to produce meaningful political reform and improvements in human rights conditions. Other experts argue that engagement has helped to advance economic and social change in China, to develop social and legal foundations for democracy and human rights, and to open channels through which to directly communicate U.S. concerns.