China Human Rights and Rule of Law Update - July 2006

 
 
 

Message from the Chairmen

The Arrest of Chen Guangcheng

The Commission is concerned about the June 21st arrest of Chen Guangcheng, a blind legal advocate who has suffered months of official harassment and detention in retaliation for exposing violent abuses by local officials in Linyi city, Shandong province.

Mr. Chen spoke out courageously against abuses committed by population planning officials in Linyi, raising these issues peacefully, lawfully, and in the spirit of good citizenship. The activities that Mr. Chen criticized contravene Article 39 of the 2002 PRC Population and Family Planning Law, and a senior official of the National Population and Family Planning Commission called them "definitely illegal." The Chinese Constitution prohibits "unlawful deprivation or restriction of citizens' freedom of person," and confirms that the "State respects and safeguards human rights." The arbitrary restrictions placed on Mr. Chen's personal liberty, however, undermine these constitutional guarantees.

The Commission urges the Chinese government to ensure that Mr. Chen's rights are respected and to allow him to resume his valuable humanitarian work.

 
 
 

Announcements

Translations: Open Letters From Wife of Arrested Advocate Chen Guangcheng

In March 2006, local authorities in Linyi city, Shandong province, exceeded a six-month time limit on their house arrest of Chen Guangcheng and took him into custody for interrogation. They did not send formal notice of Chen's detention to his wife until June. Since June, authorities have placed Chen's wife, among other close relatives, under house arrest.

The Commission has translated An Open Letter From Chen Guangcheng's Wife to President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, dated March 24, and An Open Letter From Chen Guangcheng's Wife to UN General Secretary Kofi Annan on the Eve of His Visit to China, dated May 12, which raise these issues. For additional information, see Authorities Formally Arrest Legal Advocate Chen Guangcheng below.

 

Translation: Open Letter From Recently Confined Lawyer Zheng Enchong

Five years after local authorities suspended the law license of Shanghai lawyer and property rights activist Zheng Enchong, controversy over land disputes and forced demolitions remains prevalent there and throughout China. After releasing Zheng from prison on June 5, authorities provided him with written instruction about how to answer questions from the news media and confined him to the area immediately surrounding his home.

The Commission has translated Zheng's Open Letter to the UN Human Rights Council, dated June 15. For additional information, see Authorities Release Shanghai Lawyer Zheng Enchong, Restrict His Speech and Movement below.

 

Translation: Petition From Advocates Criticizing Internet Censorship

The Commission has translated a March 2006 petition that several groups have submitted to the Legislative Review and Filing Office of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, asking it to consider the constitutionality and legality of the Provisions on the Administration of Internet News Information Services, which the Chinese government used to shut down their Web sites.

The petition was organized by "Constitutional Review Application Delegations" from "Aegean Sea," which the Zhejiang Provincial Press and Publication Administration shut down on March 9; "Chinese Workers Net," "Worker, Farmer, Soldier BBS," and "Communist Party Peoples Net," which were shut down during a government crackdown on freedom of the press before the plenary sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; and "Democracy and Freedom" (Perspectives), which was shut down for the 47th time since the government first shut it down in November 2005. For additional information, see Groups Petition Government to Review Constitutionality of Internet News Rules below.

 
 
 

Authorities Formally Arrest Legal Advocate Chen Guangcheng

Public security officials in Yinan county, Shandong province, formally arrested legal advocate Chen Guangcheng on June 21, on charges of "intentional destruction or damage to property" and "gathering people to disturb traffic order," according to a June 25 Boxun report (in Chinese) containing the text of the notice of arrest. On March 11, about 100 security officials detained Chen after physically blocking him from seeking out Yinan county officials, according to a June 3 Chinese Rights Defenders (CRD) report. Chen and his relatives had planned to report the beating of Chen's cousin Chen Guangyu by four unidentified men earlier that day.

Authorities Release Shanghai Lawyer Zheng Enchong, Restrict His Speech and Movement

Local authorities released Shanghai lawyer and property rights advocate Zheng Enchong on June 5, upon the expiration of his three-year prison sentence, according to a press release by Human Rights in China (HRIC) issued the same day. A June 5 Radio Free Asia (RFA) report (in Chinese) noted that authorities gave Zheng written instruction about how to answer questions from the news media, and stressed that he "lacked the right to serve as a source of information." Zheng was convicted in October 2003 for "illegally providing state secrets to entities outside of China," according to the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court criminal judgment (in Chinese) and Shanghai High People's Court appeals ruling. The trial court judgment subjects Zheng to an additional punishment of deprivation of political rights for one year following his release.

House Church Lawyers Promote Religious Freedom Through the Rule of Law

Li Baiguang and Fan Yafeng, lawyers who are also house church Protestants, have volunteered to represent a group of other house church members who were among the 28 persons public security officials detained without warrants following a May 28 raid on a religious service in Fugou county, Henan province, according to a June 8 report of the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S. NGO that monitors religious freedom in China.

Rebiya Kadeer's Sons Charged With State Security and Economic Crimes

Authorities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) arrested three adult sons of exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer and charged them on June 13 with state security and economic crimes, according to a June 14 press release from the Uyghur American Association (UAA).

Dalai Lama Urges Patience in Dialogue With China

The Dalai Lama, a Chinese government official, and the head of the Tibetan government-in-exile expressed views on the outlook for the dialogue between Chinese officials and the Dalai Lama's envoys, the definition of "Tibet," and the level of autonomy that Tibetans living in China should exercise in a series of separate public statements between May 19 and June 1. Differences between Chinese and Tibetan views have not narrowed, but the Dalai Lama urged observers of the dialogue process to be patient as they await results, and the Chinese official described contacts between the two sides as helpful.

Ministry of Health Implements Plan to Improve Rural Migrant Worker Health

The Ministry of Health implemented its 2006 Rural Migrant Worker Work Plan according to a May 16 announcement on the Ministry of Health Web site. The plan’s goals include preventing and controlling the spread of AIDS among rural migrant workers and improving infectious disease monitoring capabilities in large urban areas with migrant workers. The plan also seeks to raise the immunization rate among the children of migrant workers and improve workplace health and safety conditions for migrants.

Student Imprisoned for Falun Gong Activities Becomes Eligible for Parole

Imprisoned Falun Gong practitioner Wang Xin becomes eligible for parole between July and October 2006, after having served half of a nine-year sentence in relation to downloading, printing, and distributing Falun Gong materials.

Groups Petition Government to Review Constitutionality of Internet News Rules

Several groups have petitioned the Legislative Review and Filing Office (LRFO) of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) to consider the constitutionality and legality of a rule that the Chinese government used to shut down their Web sites, according to a copy of the petition posted on the Signature Net Web site on March 28 (in Chinese. A translation is available here). The petition campaign closed on April 28, and was organized by "Constitutional Review Application Delegations" from the following Web sites:

China Daily Editorial Advocates Government Action on Local Minimum Wage Rates

Provincial governments in China are reluctant to review their minimum wage levels every two years, despite a Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MOLSS) provision requiring such review, according to a May 9 editorial published on the China Daily Web site. Provincial officials fear that higher minimum wages will make companies relocate manufacturing facilities to provinces where wages are lower, according to the editorial. The editorial writer adds that, since China is not ready to have market forces determine wage levels, "the central government should take the lead to ensure [that] the workers are reasonably paid." In addition, the writer advocates that the central government should develop a "more clearly defined methodology for the calculation of the minimum wage level to ensure it is not artificially low," and should also monitor compliance by local governments.

Xinjiang Government Seizes, Confiscates Political and Religious Publications

Authorities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) launched a month-long campaign on May 17 aimed at rooting out "political and religious illegal publications," according to a June 3 article from Tianshan Net. Officials began the campaign to create a "good cultural environment" for a national book fair held in Urumqi, the XUAR capital, and as part of the region's 2006 Sweep Away Pornography and Strike Down Illegal Publications campaign. A May 18 Xinjiang Daily article (via Tianshan Net) on the campaign noted a large number of illegal political and religious publications in the XUAR, including political publications that "propagate holy war and propagate terrorism."

Women Sue Village Committees for Denying Them Land Rights

Twenty-eight women in a village in Hohhot city, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, have waited since November 2005 for the court judgment in a suit against their village committee, according to a May 22 article in China Women's News, posted on the All China Women's Federation (ACWF) Web site. The village committee denied the women land contracting rights when it reallocated collectively owned village land. The committee justified the decision by saying that the women did not have rights to collectively owned village property because they had married men from other villages, according to a May 15 Xinhua article (in Chinese).

Officials Arrest Third House Church Pastor for Giving Away Bibles

Officials in Anhui province questioned, detained, and eventually arrested house church pastor Wang Zaiqing on charges of "illegal operation of a business" in printing Bibles and other Christian literature, according to a June 14 report of the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S. NGO that monitors religious freedom in China. According to the CAA, Wang printed Bibles and other religious literature and gave them away without government authorization. Anhui public security officials questioned Pastor Wang and Zhang Hongyan, his wife, on April 25, and then searched their house and confiscated religious literature and other items. On April 28, public security officials detained Wang, and on May 26 Zhang received notice of her husband’s formal arrest for "illegal operation of a business." Li Baiguang, a prominent legal rights advocate who is also a house church member, has volunteered to represent Wang.

TAR Party Secretary Calls for Tighter Control of Tibetan Monasteries, Nunneries

Zhang Qingli, the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) Communist Party Secretary, told senior Party officials meeting in Lhasa on May 16 that the Party is engaged in a "fight to the death struggle" against the Dalai Lama and his supporters, according to a Tibet Daily report published the same day (in Chinese, reprinted on the Web site of Xinhua). For this reason, Zhang said, the Party must push ahead with the patriotic education campaign already underway in TAR Buddhist monasteries and nunneries, the report said. Zhang called on provincial Party and government officials to widen the patriotic education campaign to include a broader population, and to intensify the "rectification" and restructuring of each monastery and nunnery's Democratic Management Committee (DMC). Monks or nuns who administer a monastery or nunnery form the DMCs. DMC members must implement Party policies on religion and ensure that monks and nuns obey government regulations on religious practice.

Chinese Authorities Imprison Three for Publishing Without a License

Reports have recently come to light regarding two incidents in which Chinese government officials imprisoned three Chinese citizens for publishing without a license. The first case was reported on May 12 on the Web site of the National Sweep Away Pornography and Strike Down Illegal Publications Task Force (in Chinese), and stated that in 2005 Gansu provincial justice agencies made "ample" use of the law as a weapon to punish illegal publishing activities. The report said that in Gansu's first case of illegal newspaper publishing, in May 2005 the Chengguan District People's Court in Lanzhou sentenced Liu Xiaopeng and Shi Xiaojun to five years in prison and 10,000 yuan in fines for illegal operation of a business for publishing and selling magazines without government authorization.

Three Gorges Resettlement Activist Paralyzed After Assault

An unidentified assailant assaulted Three Gorges resettlement activist Fu Xiancai after he met with a public security official on June 8, according to a June 12 Human Rights in China (HRIC) press release, a June 13 HRIC press release, and a June 14 Associated Press (AP) article that appeared in the Guardian of London. Fu met with the official to discuss an interview that Fu gave in May to a German television station. According to HRIC sources, the official warned Fu at the meeting that his "oppositionist" interview "would not have good consequences." Fu is paralyzed from the shoulders down as a result of the assault and is currently under 24-hour police surveillance at the No. 1 People's Hospital in Yichang city, Hubei province. HRIC sources also report that authorities attempted to prevent the public release of news of Fu's assault and injury.

Henan Officials Detain 28 House Church Protestants, Who Obtain Legal Counsel

Chinese officials raided a house church service on May 28 in Xiguan Ma Jia Chang, Fugou county, in Henan province, and detained 28 members of the church, according to a June 8 report of the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S. NGO that monitors religious freedom in China. Officials released 23 of the house church members on the same day, and thereafter released Liu Yuemei on June 1 after she paid a 1,600 yuan (US $200) fine, and Chang Xinhong on June 8 after she promised to pay a fine.

Supreme People's Procuratorate Recognizes Continuing Problem of Extended Detention

The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) recognized that unlawful extended detention is a continuing problem in China, in a May 21 article (in Chinese) published in the Procuratorial Daily. The article cites SPP figures to report a steady decline in the number of extended detentions since 2003, when the SPP passed Certain Provisions Regarding the Prevention and Correction of Extended Detention in Procuratorial Work (2003 Provisions). Despite this decline, the article notes that authorities continue to misuse provisions in the Criminal Procedure Law to disguise extended detentions. The SPP is now working with the Supreme People's Court and Ministry of Public Security to approve a final version of "Certain Provisions Regarding the Prevention and Correction of Extended Detention" by the end of 2006.

Lhasa Conference Considers Judicial Role in Protecting Qinghai-Tibet Railway

Supreme People’s Court and Party officials opened a conference on June 15 that considered the role the judiciary should play in assisting to maintain social stability following the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railroad in July. Vice President Zhang Jun of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) addressed a conference on "The Judicial Response to the Opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad" in Lhasa on June 15, according to a China Court Network report on June 16. Scheduled to begin operation on July 1, the railroad will link Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), with Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Xining, the capital of Qinghai province. Zhang said that the railway has an important role in the Great Western Development (GWD) program, and that the inauguration of the rail service would create "new demands regarding the work of the courts."

Censorship Task Force Meets to Discuss 2006 Spring Campaign

The National Sweep Away Pornography and Strike Down Illegal Publications Task Force (Task Force), which coordinates government efforts to combat illegal publishing in China, convened a meeting on April 27 in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, according to an April 29 Xinhua report (in Chinese). Over 200 representatives from the Central Propaganda Department, General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Information Industry, General Administration of Customs, Ministry of Culture, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, Ministry of Communications, Civil Aviation Administration, and Ministry of Railways attended the meeting.

National People's Congress Standing Committee Enacts Law on Passports

The National People's Congress Standing Committee enacted the Law on Passports (Law) on April 29. It replaces the 1980 Regulations on Passports and Visas (Regulations) and will become effective on January 1, 2007.

Two Ethnic Minority Web Sites in Inner Mongolia Closed

Authorities in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region closed down an ethnic Mongol bulletin board service (BBS) in April after the BBS posted messages from "overseas separatists," while a Web hosting company shut down another site in Inner Mongolia the same month after it permitted online chatting in the Mongolian language, according to a May 11 report from the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC). The events follow the closing of two Inner Mongolian Web sites in September 2005 for allegedly posting separatist materials.

Shenzhen Authorities Detain Five for Importing Publications Without Permission

Law enforcement and customs officials in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone raided three rented rooms and took five people into custody for storing and selling 120,900 "illegal foreign books" on May 30, according to a June 7 Southern Metropolitan Daily report (in Chinese). The report did not say why the government considered the books illegal, but Article 41 of the Regulation on the Administration of Publishing prohibits people from engaging in "publication importation services" without government authorization. In addition, Article 3 of the Provisions on the Administration of Printed Materials and Audio/Visual Materials Imported or Exported by Individuals Via Carriage or Post states that anyone importing publications for personal use must report it to customs authorities and submit to inspection.