China implemented “highly repressive policies” in 2002, using the global war on terror and a pivotal Communist Party Congress as excuses to violate human rights. In Tibet, permission for a private visit by representatives of the Dalai Lama and the release of seven “high profile" Tibetan political prisoners “opened a new chapter in China-Tibet relations. But the government continued to arrest “political offenders” and restrict religious practices, the Asia Watch reported said.