Human rights in China have not improved in the last two months said foreign affairs minister Maxim Verhagen on Tuesday.

According to Verhagen the Chinese authorities want to limit the risks of incidents and the potential for negative publicity which these could result in but have only been partially successful in doing so, reports ANP news service on Tuesday.
Last week Amnesty International published a damning report on China claiming that human rights in the country have become worse rather than better in the run up to the Olympic Games.
Nevertheless Verhagen is in favour of prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende and junior sports minister Jet Bussemaker attending the opening ceremony on Friday, says ANP.
He believes this will ensure that a dialogue remains possible with China. This is the only way to book progress, he added.
The minister also said that he would ‘systematically’ bring human rights to the attention of the Chinese authorities.