China Human Rights and Rule of Law Update - December 2005

 
 
 

Events

Roundtable: China's Changing Security Concerns: The Impact on Human Rights in Xinjiang

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China held another in its series of staff-led Issues Roundtables, entitled China's Changing Security Concerns: The Impact on Human Rights in Xinjiang, on Wednesday, November 16. The panelists, James Millward, Associate Professor of History, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service; Daniel Southerland, Vice-President of Programming/Executive Editor at Radio Free Asia; and S. Frederick Starr, Chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, spoke about Chinese government controls over ethnic Uighur residents in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

 

Roundtable: Working Conditions in China: Just and Favorable?

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China held another in its series of staff-led Issues Roundtables, entitled Working Conditions in China: Just and Favorable?, on Thursday, November 3. The panelists, Judy Gearhart, Program Director, Social Accountability International; Dr. Ruth Rosenbaum, Executive Director, Center for Reflection, Education and Action, Inc.; and Dan Viederman, Executive Director, Verite, spoke about current working conditions for workers in China and the role that internationally accepted standards and their implementation play in fostering the changes that are taking place in the Chinese workplace.

 
 
 

Translation: Provisions on Legal Aid Work in Criminal Litigation

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China has prepared a translation of the Provisions on Legal Aid Work in Criminal Litigation.

 

Translation: Court Judgment in Cai Zhuohua et. al. Unauthorized Bible Printing Case

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China has prepared a translation of the Haidian District People's Court's Written Judgment in the trial of Cai Zhuohua, Xiao Yunfei, Xiao Gaowen, and Hu Jinyun, convicting them of crimes connected with their unauthorized printing and distributing of Bibles and other Christian literature.

 
 
 

Beijing Court Jails House Church Minister for Giving Away Bibles

The Beijing Haidian District People's Court found Cai Zhuohua, a Protestant house church leader, Xiao Yunfei, his wife, and Xiao Gaowen, her brother, guilty on November 8 of violating Article 225 of China's Criminal Law. The Protestant minister and his family members were accused of printing Bibles and other Christian literature without government permission.

Tens of Thousands March for Universal Suffrage in Hong Kong

Tens of thousands of protestors calling for universal suffrage marched in Hong Kong on December 4, according to a December 5 report in the Washington Post. The march was organized by opponents of the reform proposals contained in the Hong Kong Constitutional Development Task Force's Fifth Report issued in October. The report recommends doubling the size of the 800-member committee that picks Hong Kong’s chief executive, and expanding the 60-member Legislative Council (LegCo) by 10 seats.

SPC Incorporates Reform of Death Penalty Review into New Five Year Program

Supreme People's Court (SPC) President Xiao Yang announced on October 25 that the SPC will consolidate and reclaim its power over death penalty review as part of a Second Five Year Reform Program, according to an October 26 China Daily article. Xiao reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress that, beginning in 2006, the SPC would no longer permit provincial high courts to review death sentences.

Chinese Authorities Crack Down on Activists Before U.S. President's Visit

Government officials in a number of provinces launched a crackdown on activists and petitioners in the two weeks preceding U.S. President George W. Bush's November 19-20 visit to China, according to several news media sources. Reports in the London Daily Telegraph, Los Angeles Times, and New York Times noted that in advance of the visit, the Chinese government failed to release any prisoners of conscience that President Bush raised in a September meeting with Hu in New York.

Work Safety Chief Calls for Improved Coal Mine Inspections

Li Yizhong, Minister of the General Administration of Work Safety (GAWS), commented that the Chinese government should implement stricter safety standards for coal mines and a regularized process of mine inspections, according to a November 15 Legal Daily report. Li led an inspection tour of coal mines in Hunan province, one of nine province-wide inspections of unsafe mines that the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, a unit of GAWS, conducted in November.

Court Sentences Uighur Editor to Three Years Imprisonment for "Splittist" Story

A court in Kashgar city, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR), has sentenced Korash Huseyin, the senior editor of the Kashgar Literature Journal, to three years imprisonment for publishing a short story in late 2004 that Chinese authorities allege "incites ethnic splittism," according to a November 11 Radio Free Asia report.

TAR Officials Ban Gold Mining Along Rivers, Citing Environmental Damage

Officials in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) banned alluvial gold mining within the TAR on October 8, according to an October 10 China Daily report. Gold mining in TAR riverbeds and flood plains must cease by November 30, and workers and their equipment must not be present at mining sites after December 31. The ban is a response to a central government call for better regulation of the country's mining industry, but the report emphasizes the role of TAR authorities in addressing the issue.

IOC Expresses Concern About Government Restrictions on News Media

International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokeswoman Giselle Davies said that the IOC has expressed concern about news media conditions in China, according to a November 13 Associated Press (AP) report available on the Mainichi Daily News Web site.

Security Officers Detain Activist Hu Jia at Henan AIDS Conference

Public security officers detained human rights activist Hu Jia when he attempted to deliver a petition to Vice Premier Wu Yi at an AIDS conference in Henan province, according to a November 7 report by Radio Free Asia. Public security officials have also detained 30 other petitioners at the conference, according to a November 8 South China Morning Post report (subscription required). Authorities closed the conference to the public and prevented civil society groups from participating.

Unregistered Catholic Bishop and Two Priests Detained in Hebei Province

Public security officers detained an unregistered Catholic bishop and two unregistered priests in Hebei province on November 7 and 8, according to a November 9 report by the Cardinal Kung Foundation (CKF), a U.S. NGO that monitors the religious freedom of Chinese Catholics.

Shanxi Authorities Arrest 293 Officials for Illegal Coal Mine Investments

Shanxi provincial authorities closed 2,203 illegal mines and detained 293 officials during a campaign against illegal coal mine investments and official collusion in their operations, according to a November 17 Legal Daily report. An official investigation identified 950 officials who held illegal shares in state-owned coal mines worth 155 million yuan ($19,176,527). Of these, the provincial government forced 871 officials to divest some 62 million yuan ($7,679,730) in mining shares. The Legal Daily report added that some Shanxi officials used the names of friends and family members to conceal their illegal investments.

Central Government Expands Provision of Legal Aid in Criminal Cases

The central government has issued a new regulation that will expand the scope of legal aid services available in criminal cases, according to a November 17 analysis in Dazhong Net, a Shandong provincial news site. The Supreme People's Court, Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, and Ministry of Justice jointly issued their Provisions on Legal Aid Work in Criminal Litigation (2005 Provisions) on September 28. The 2005 Provisions go into effect on December 1, and the analysis notes that they will expand both the existing categories of criminal suspects and defendants entitled to a lawyer and the role of lawyers in the criminal process.

Senior Official Claims Foreign Newspapers Raise Threat of Color Revolution in China

Shi Zongyuan, Director of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), said that Chinese authorities have halted plans to allow foreign newspapers to print in China because of concerns raised by the recent "color revolutions" against Soviet-era leaders in Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan, reports a November 16 article in the Financial Times (subscription required).

Supreme People's Court to Strengthen Handling of Citizen Petitions by Trial Judges

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced at a November 2 court conference that it will require all Chinese courts to establish systems of responding to citizen petitions and resolving citizen complaints following judicial decisions, according to a November 3 China Court article.

Ministry Proposes Revisions to the Laws on Villagers and Residents Committees

The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA) has begun preparing proposals for revising laws on villagers and urban residents committees (VCs, RCs), the lowest level of governance in China. Provincial MOCA officials convened in Qingdao in late October to prepare proposals for draft amendments to the Organic Law on Villagers Committees, according to a November 3 article posted on the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) Web site. A November 7 Legal Daily article notes that MOCA has submitted draft amendments to the Organic Law on Urban Residents Committees to the State Council.

Public Security Officers Detain Two Priests in Zhejiang Province

Public security officers detained two priests who are leaders of the unregistered Catholic community in Zhejiang province on October 27, according to an October 28 AsiaNews report. The same day that officials detained Fathers Shao Zhumin and Jiang Sunian, the Italian newsmagazine L'espresso published an interview (in Italian) with the two priests and Father Wang Zhoufa, a fellow cleric. Public security officers detained Fathers Shao and Jiang in separate locations, shortly after they celebrated Mass to mark the close of the Year of the Eucharist before a congregation of about 600 Catholics. Father Wang apparently was not detained.

Religious Affairs Establishes Office to Administer "Folk Religions"

The State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA) has established a special office to administer "folk religions" [minjian zongjiao], according to a September 20 article in the Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao. The Chinese government recognizes only five official state religions: Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism. The 2005 State Department International Religious Freedom Report section on China defined folk religions as "worship of local gods, heroes, and ancestors," and found that "hundreds of millions of citizens" practice folk religions.

Activist Li Jian Campaigns Against Government Restrictions on Internet News

Activist Li Jian issued a draft "opinion" on November 10 calling on the State Council and National People's Congress Standing Committee to review the constitutionality and legality of the Rules on the Administration of Internet News Information Services (Rules). The draft opinion declares that the Rules, which went into effect in late September and which prohibit anyone from using the Internet to post news reports without prior government authorization, violate the Chinese Constitution and national laws.

Public Security Officers Detain House Church Protestants in Henan Province

Public security officers raided a Protestant house church in Henan province on November 6 and detained six house church leaders, according to a November 7 report by the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S. NGO that monitors the religious freedom of Chinese Protestants.

Central Government Takes Further Steps to Control Avian Flu

The State Council issued the Emergency Response Regulations for Major Epidemics of Animal Diseases on November 16, in an attempt to ensure accurate reporting of avian flu outbreaks in poultry. Under the new regulation, provincial governments must report "major" animal epidemics to the State Council within four hours of discovering them, and county and city governments must report cases to provincial authorities within two hours. Officials found negligent in reporting outbreaks now face removal from office, and potential prosecution.

Reforms to Household Registration System Under Consideration

Public Security Vice Minister Liu Jinguo told an intergovernmental working group on migrant issues in late October that the government is considering national reforms to China's household registration (hukou) system, according to an October 26 Legal Daily article. Liu did not say, however, when the reforms would be adopted or implemented. Liu is the latest in a series of government officials to raise the subject of hukou reform since the Communist Party plenum concluded in October.

Monk Dies Following Dispute with Patriotic Education Instructors

Monks at Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), found 28-year-old monk Ngawang Jangchub dead in his room in early October, the day after he argued with instructors teaching “patriotic education” classes at the monastery, according to a November 8 report by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).

Additional Details Emerge on Religious Crackdown in Lhasa

Police in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), interrupted a July prayer session at one of Lhasa's principle monasteries, "fired" the presiding monastic official, and subjected him to one year of surveillance (see Criminal Procedure Law, Chapter VI), according to a November 18 Radio Free Asia (RFA) report.

Procuratorate Indicts Feng Bingxian and Three Other Shaanxi Oil Investors

The local procuratorate in Jingbian county, Shaanxi province, has indicted Feng Bingxian and three other oil investors for "gathering a crowd to disturb public order," a crime under Article 291 (amended in December 2001) of China's Criminal Law, according to an October 27 report by the Voice of America (VOA).

NPC Members Suggest Public Hearings on Draft Laws of Public Interest

Five members of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee have expressed support for holding public hearings for all draft laws that are of interest to the general public, according to an October 25 China Youth Daily report posted on the Xinhua Web site.

Beijing Officials Order Gao Zhisheng to Shut Down His Law Firm

The Beijing Justice Bureau ordered prominent rights advocate Gao Zhisheng to shut down his law firm and stop practicing law for one year beginning on November 4, according to reports from the China Aid Association, Washington Post (registration required), BBC, and Radio Free Asia (RFA).

Deadline Nears for Release of Rural Activist Guo Feixiong

Lawyers for rural activist Guo Feixiong are taking advantage of a December 27 deadline to request his release from detention, according to articles in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) (subscription required) on November 10 and 16. The filing of their request on November 11 comes two weeks after the Panyu District Procuratorate returned Guo's case to public security officials for further investigation. Guo remains in official custody and has ended the hunger strike that he began on September 13 to protest his detention.

Shenzhen Public Security Authorities Release Activist and Journalist Liu Shui

Authorities in Shenzhen released activist Liu Shui on November 2, after he had completed 18 months of a 2-year administrative detention sentence, according to a November 4 Radio Free Asia (RFA) report (in Chinese). Liu told RFA that authorities required him to sign a written pledge that he would return to appear in court when summoned. Authorities also required him to pay over 4,700 yuan in room, board, and medical fees, according to a November 7 report on the Epoch Times Web site.

Rise in Collective Disputes Attributed to Weak Protections of Worker Rights

About 5,000 workers took part in a mass protest in Shenzhen on November 4, seeking to draw attention to claims of inadequate compensation for their dismissal from state-owned enterprises following restructurings, according to a November 5 Radio Free Asia report. Workers from three separate factories protested, and five detentions resulted.

Party Propaganda Chief Calls for Increased Control Over the Media

Liu Yunshan, a Communist Party Central Committee member who also serves as secretary of the Secretariat and Director of the Central Propaganda Department, set out the tasks and issues that Party propaganda officials should focus on in 2006 during an August 23 speech at the National Propaganda Directors Seminar.

Research Outlines Healthcare Challenges Faced By Rural Residents

New research shows that residents of large cities in China live 12 years longer than rural residents, and that the infant mortality rate is nine times higher in rural areas than in large cities, according to a November 17 Beijing News report posted on the Xinhua Web site.

U.S. Department of State Releases 2005 International Religious Freedom Report

The U.S. Department of State issued an Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom on November 8, as required under U.S. law. Prepared by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, the report includes a section on China that describes continued government repression of religious activities, especially among unregistered groups, despite a constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.

First Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Since Amendment to Women's Law

The parties in a Beijing sexual harassment case reached a settlement out of court in favor of the plaintiff, according to a November 4 Beijing Morning Post article posted on Xinhua's Web site. The case was the first since the National People's Congress Standing Committee outlawed sexual harassment in an August 2005 amendment to the Law on the Protection of the Interests and Rights of Women.

Public Security Bureau Compensates She Xianglin for Wrongful Imprisonment

The Public Security Bureau (PSB) in Jingshan county, Hubei province, agreed on October 27 to pay 450,000 renminbi ($55,500) to She Xianglin's family as compensation for his wrongful imprisonment, according to an October 28 report from the official Xinhua news agency. Most of that amount will go toward compensating Mr. She for physical and emotional damages he suffered during 11 years in prison. The rest provides compensation for false imprisonment and emotional damages suffered by Mr. She's mother and elder brother as they attempted to appeal to authorities over his unjust treatment.

SEPA Closes Factory After Official Negligence Causes Lead Poisoning in Children

State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) officials postponed all new construction projects in Jiaozuo city, Henan province, after investigations revealed that official negligence allowed pollution from an illegal electrolytic lead factory to poison hundreds of children in Mafang district, Jiaozuo, according to an October 24 21st Century Business Herald report, an October 19 China Daily report, and an October 18 SEPA press release.

Chinese and U.S. Automakers Settle Intellectual Property Dispute

Automakers GM Daewoo and Chery Automotive have settled a contentious intellectual property lawsuit, according to a November 18 Associated Press report (via Forbes) and a similar Xinhua account (in Chinese) dated the same day. GM Daewoo is a Korea-based subsidiary of General Motors Corporation, and Chery is a Chinese domestic automaker. GM Daewoo alleged that an automobile model manufactured by Chery was an exact copy of a GM Daewoo model.