Frankfurt - As a special show of Chinese books and their authors was being readied at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Amnesty International appealed Monday to Beijing to end censorship.

Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit the five-day fair, which opens Wednesday and features China as this year's guest of honour. He was in Berlin Monday to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"Even if it is here as a guest, China must be constantly reminded that it needs to observe human rights," said Monika Lueke, secretary general of the German section of the human rights organization, in an interview with the German Press Agency dpa.

Lueke said China routinely prevented certain authors from publishing their writings or travelling abroad. It also censored what its people could read on the internet, she said in Berlin.

"They have a censorship authority with 30,000 employees that monitors the internet day and night," she said, demanding this cease.

"Of course one is polite to guests. But you are also frank with a guest: you don't mislead your guest. The Chinese have to be told that there are certain basics which need to be observed," she said.

Beijing is sending nearly 1,000 performers, authors and officials to Frankfurt for the special show. The fair is the world's biggest trade show in book publishing. Special guests gain extra attention from the German arts media before and during the event.

In September there was a clash when Beijing insisted that two dissident authors not be invited to a pre-fair symposium in Frankfurt about modern Chinese literature. Chinese officials briefly walked out when they showed up anyway.

Merkel was set to inaugurate the fair Tuesday evening and Germany's ARD television said Xi would also speak at the ceremony. (dpa)