Officials Conclude Investigation, Increase Surveillance Over Activist Fu Xiancai

The official investigation into the June 8 assault of Three Gorges resettlement activist Fu Xiancai has concluded that his injuries were self-inflicted, according to a July 26 Human Rights in China (HRIC) press release. HRIC reported that the Zigui county Public Security Bureau (PSB) in Hubei province found no footprints other than those of Fu's at the scene of the incident, and that this finding served as the basis for the PSB's decision to drop its criminal investigation. The PSB also cited the medical conclusion of forensic experts who examined Fu's injuries to support its decision to drop the case.

As Fu's condition has improved, PSB officials have continued to monitor Fu's family and associates, and to increase control over information concerning his condition. According to a July 20 HRIC press release, officials have placed Fu's family and friends under surveillance and have increased the number of police officers guarding Fu's hospital room. HRIC reported that Fu cannot receive visitors without prior permission from the Zigui PSB, and that PSB officials limit the number of visitors present, the amount of time they may spend with Fu, and access to Fu's medical records. In addition, the July 26 HRIC press release reported that PSB officials have visited Fu in his hospital room and warned him against filing a new complaint or challenging the PSB's decision not to investigate further.

The conclusion of the investigation, and the increased monitoring of Fu and his associates, follow earlier reports of official harassment targeting Fu as a result of his complaints about resettlement and compensation terms for those displaced by the Three Gorges Dam Project. According to a June 12 HRIC press release, Fu was assaulted and threatened on approximately 10 different occasions in 2005 and 2006, either by the PSB, village officials, or unidentified assailants. In September 2005, village officials assaulted Fu and other petitioners who were on their way to Beijing to petition the central government about their case. Zigui county officials and police officers reportedly watched the assault, but did not intervene, according to the July 26 HRIC press release and the June 12 HRIC press release. The July 26 HRIC press release reported that Jia Li, a senior PSB official who oversaw the recently concluded investigation into Fu's assault, condoned and colluded in previous acts of harassment against Fu.

Government harassment and beatings against Fu and his associates violate Chinese law, and violators may be subject to criminal liability. Chinese citizens are entitled under Article 41 of the Constitution to criticize, or make suggestions to, any government agency or personnel. Furthermore, "No one may suppress such complaints, charges and exposures, or retaliate against the citizens making them." Article 234 of the Criminal Law provides that any person (whether or not a government official) who causes severe "intentional injury" short of death is punishable by at least 3, but not more than 10, years' imprisonment. In addition, Article 254 of the Criminal Law provides that government personnel who abuse their power to retaliate against, or frame, a complainant, petitioner, or critic are punishable by criminal detention or imprisonment of not more than two years. Under new Provisions on the Criteria for Filing Rights-Infringing Dereliction of Duty Criminal Cases, issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on December 29, 2005, and effective July 26, government personnel can be investigated and prosecuted under Article 254 if suspected of abuse of power that results in serious harm to the legal rights of the complainant, petitioner, or critic.

The government has harassed and intensified surveillance of Fu and his associates in response to peaceful activities that are protected under international human rights standards. Article 12 of the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (also known as the "Declaration on Human Rights Defenders") provides that "everyone is entitled, individually and in association with others, to be protected effectively under national law in reacting against or opposing, through peaceful means," government abuses and violence infringing on citizen rights. The Declaration, adopted in 1998 by consensus of the UN General Assembly, also stipulates that "the state shall take all necessary measures to ensure protection against violence, threats, or retaliation for those who exercise this right." Officials in Zigui have permitted sustained harassment and beatings against Fu and his associates in disregard of these protections.

For additional information on government abuses related to the Three Gorges Dam Project, see the CECC's analysis on forced evictions and land scandals in late 2005. For information on prosecution of officials who abuse their power, see related CECC analyses on the new SPP provisions effective July 26, lenient punishment of officials who committed human rights abuses, and a case in which local officials were convicted for authorizing shootings of villagers in Shengyou village, Hebei province.