Berlin - Amnesty International called Saturday on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to criticize the human rights situation in China when she meets the country's leaders in Beijing next week. "We hope that Chancellor Merkel will speak forcefully about the disastrous human rights situation in China," said Barbara Lochbihler, secretary general of the human rights group's German section.
"The continued human rights violations in China are in strong contrast to the official pledges to improve the human rights situation," she told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
She said she expected Chinese authorities to "continue their harassment of human rights campaigners" ahead of the Olympic Games that take place in Beijing next year.
There were also fears that journalists would also be subjected to increased pressure before the games begin, she said.
Merkel leaves Berlin on Sunday for Beijing at the start of a six- day trip to China and Japan that is designed to underscore her commitment to the fight against global warming.
The chancellor raised the issue of human rights and appealed for more democracy when she met Chinese leaders during a previous visit to the world's most populous nation.
Officials in Berlin say Merkel will not shy away from difficult areas this time and will bring up human rights and press freedom in her official talks in the Chinese capital.
She is scheduled to meet Chinese journalists, but it is not clear which ones and whether these have been put under pressure by Chinese authorities.
Calling the human rights situation in China "catastrophic," Lochbihler pointed out that the death sentence can be imposed for around 70 different crimes, including drug possession and tax evasion.
Even the right of citizens to freedom of information is severely restricted, she said.
"If you key in the words human rights, democracy or Amnesty International on an internet search engine in China you won't get a single response," Lochbihler said.
As well as holding talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Merkel is expected to meet cultural and civil rights groups in China and is to visit the German-Chinese Law Institute at the University of Nanjing.
