Chinese authorities have lost sight of the promises they made when they were won the Olympic hosting rights seven years ago; and now they're tarnishing the legacy of the Games.

For a start, China must release all imprisoned peaceful activists, it must allow all journalists to report freely in China and take more steps towards abolishing the death penalty.

Below is a rundown of just a few of the things Amnesty International's research has found.

Rights defenders at risk

  • Authorities are trying to silence dissent and as a result human rights activists have been imprisoned, harassed or kept under tight police surveillance.

  • Thousands of people, who went to Beijing seeking justice from the government, have been swept up in efforts to "clean up" the city.

  • Shanghai activists have been barred activists from speaking to foreigners or leaving the city without permission before the end of the Olympics.

Media under attack

  • Authorities have barred media from Tibet and Tibetan-populated areas of surrounding provinces since the protests in March.

  • Foreign journalists continue to be prevented from covering "sensitive issues". The Foreign Correspondents Club of China documented about 180 cases of journalists being hampered or obstructed from doing their job last year; by this July that figure had increased to 230.

  • Internet control and censorship is increasing as the Olympics approach. Many sites, including several reporting on HIV/AIDS issues, have been targeted.

Leading executioner

  • Authorities continue to refuse to say how many people are sentenced to death and executed in China each year – the figure is a state secret. Estimates put the number of those executed every year in the thousands.

  • About 68 offences – including non-violent crimes such as drug-related offences – are punishable by death in China.

  • Those facing capital charges do not receive fair trials, for example there's no presumption of innocence and the law doesn't stop the use of evidence extracted through torture.

For more information check out our report: The Olympics countdown - broken promises.