Human rights call for Apec leaders

Chinese dissidents have called on world leaders at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit in Shanghai to stop Beijing using the war on terrorism as an excuse for suppressing human rights.

In a letter to President Bush, two dissidents, Wan Dan and Wang Juntao, urged him not to abandon efforts to promote human rights.

The two dissidents were jailed for leading the pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and now live in exile in the United States.

In a letter to Apec leaders, a third dissident, Shen Lianggi, who still lives in China, said Beijing was using the fight against terrorism as a pretext to increase oppression of political dissent.

The letter was released by the New-York based Human Rights in China group.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service