Tuesday February 27, 3:10 AM

WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (AFP) - China's "poor" human rights record has got worse in the last year, with political and religious freedom stifled under a climate of severe repression, the United States charged Monday.

In its annual human rights report, the State Department said China's communist rulers targeted any "person or group perceived to threaten the government."

The report is likely to provoke an angry response from the Chinese government, especially as it was published Monday as the new US administration of President George W. Bush said it would sponsor a UN resolution critical of Beijing's human rights performance.

"The government's poor human rights record worsened, and it continued to commit numerous serious abuses," said the 134 page summary of human rights in China.

Condemning the government's tough line on religious groups not sanctioned by the state, the report said hundreds of members of the Falun Gong religious group had been detained, sentenced to hard labor or incarcerated in mental institutions.

"Various sources report that approximately 100 or more Falun Gong practitioners died as a result of torture and mistreatment in custody." ... "Persons detained ... included political activists; leaders of unregistered religious groups; journalists; authors; intellectuals; labor leaders; and members of the Falun Gong movement, among others."

While it sketches a grim picture of the human rights situation in China, the report points to growing trends arising out of the gradual liberalisation of the state-controlled economy and the dawn of the information age, which are appearing to challenge the tight government control.

"Many Chinese had more individual choice, greater access to information and expanded economic opportunity," it said.