China Human Rights and Rule of Law Update - June 2006
Message from the Chairman
Seventeenth Anniversary of Tiananmen
Seventeen years after the world witnessed the devastating events in and around Tiananmen Square, we remember the courage of the students and workers who peacefully exercised their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Today, Chinese citizens are turning to the law to assert their rights and speak out against government abuses. They do so in the tradition of those who gathered at Tiananmen, appealing to their leaders through peaceful means for the ability to enjoy rights protected by the Chinese Constitution.
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China remains hopeful that this type of positive change will continue to grow. But developments over the past year undermine the government's stated commitment to build a fair and just society based on the rule of law. New government rules published this year punish lawyers who defend politically sensitive cases. Chinese citizens, like Chen Guangcheng and Guo Feixiong, have faced harassment and imprisonment for legal challenges against government abuses. Political change is complex and imperfect, but China's leaders must take steps to build a more open and participatory society, and the United States must continue to assist in that effort.
Announcements
Roundtable: Political Change in China? Public Participation and Local Governance Reforms
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China held another in its series of staff-led Issues Roundtables on May 15 entitled Political Change in China? Public Participation and Local Governance Reforms. The panelists were Merle Goldman, Professor Emerita of Chinese History, Boston University and Executive Committee Member, Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, Harvard University, Joseph Fewsmith, Director of East Asian Studies Program and Professor of International Relations and Political Science, Boston University, and Xie Gang, Former Senior Program Officer, Law and Governance Programs, Asia Foundation.
Translations: Party and Government Regulation of Civil Society
Government control over the economic and social life of Chinese citizens has receded since the late 1970s, but authorities continue to restrict the development of an independent civil society. The Commission has prepared English translations of five Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA) documents establishing these controls. These and other resources are available at: /issues/civil-society.
- Circular on Problems Related to the Creation of Party Organizations in Social Organizations, issued jointly by MOCA and Communist Party Central Committee Organization Department in 1998.
- Temporary Measures on the Suppression of Illegal Civil Society Organizations, issued by MOCA in 2000.
- Circular on Suppressing Illegal Social Organizations, issued by MOCA in 1997.
- Circular Regarding Who May Serve as a Sponsor Organization, issued by MOCA in 2000.
- Reply to the Question of Whether Democratic Parties Can Be Sponsor Organizations, issued by MOCA in 2000.
Translations: Government Regulation and Industry Self-Regulation of the Legal Profession
The Party's goal of maintaining social harmony and stability has dominated its policy statements in 2006, and served as justification for increasing barriers to legal enforcement of citizen rights. The Commission has prepared English translations of documents from the government and the All China Lawyers Association (ACLA) that establish prohibitions and punishments against lawyers.
- Opinion Regarding the Further Strengthening of Guidance Over Lawyers Handling Major Cases, issued by the Nantong Municipal Justice Bureau, in Jiangsu province, in 2004.
- Guiding Opinion of the All China Lawyers Association Regarding Lawyers Handling Cases of a Mass Nature, distributed by the ACLA on March 20, 2006.