China Human Rights and Rule of Law Update - October 2006

 
 
 

Announcements

Commission Releases 2006 Annual Report

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China released its 2006 Annual Report on human rights conditions and the development of the rule of law in China to the President and the Congress on Wednesday, September 20.

The Commission is deeply concerned that some Chinese government policies designed to address growing social unrest and bolster Communist Party authority are resulting in a period of declining human rights for China's citizens. The Commission identified limited improvements in the Chinese government's human rights practices in 2004, but backward-stepping government decisions in 2005 and 2006 are leading the Commission to reevaluate the Chinese leadership's commitment to additional human rights improvements in the near term.

The Commission's 23 Legislative and Executive Branch members approved the report by a vote of 22-1.

The report is available on the Commission's Web site in Adobe Acrobat PDF and plain text format (note these files are over 1mb, and may take some time to download). Readers in China may be unable to view the report using these links, as the Chinese government is currently blocking the Commission's Web site. Those who are unable to access the Commission's Web site can try viewing the report via the Government Printing Office.

CECC link: https://www.cecc.gov/events/hearings/human-rights-and-rule-of-law-in-china

GPO link: https://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/joint/prccommission/index.html

 
 
 

Hearing: Human Rights and Rule of Law in China

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China held a Commission hearing entitled Human Rights and Rule of Law in China, on Wednesday, September 20. Senator Chuck Hagel, Chairman of the Commission, presided. Commission Members attending the hearing included:

U.S. Senate

  • Senator Sam Brownback
  • Senator Mel Martinez

U.S. House of Representatives

  • Representative Jim Leach - Cochairman
  • Representative Joseph R. Pitts
  • Representative Robert B. Aderholt
  • Representative Sander M. Levin - Ranking Member
  • Representative Michael M. Honda

Executive Branch

  • Steven J. Law, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor
  • Franklin L. Lavin, Under Secretary for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce

The witnesses were: Jerome A. Cohen, Professor of Law, New York University School of Law; John Kamm, Executive Director, The Dui Hua Foundation; Minxin Pei, Director, China Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Xiao Qiang, Director, China Internet Project, University of California at Berkeley.

A webcast of the hearing is available (requires RealPlayer. The hearing begins at minute 32).

Hearing link: https://www.cecc.gov/events/hearings/human-rights-and-rule-of-law-in-china

Hearing webcast: rtsp://video.webcastcenter.com/srs_g2/hagel092006.rm (paste in Realplayer)

 
 
 

Authorities Continue to Target Rights Defenders

Local government officials in China have continued to target for repression citizens who attempt to defend their legally protected rights, according to a September 25 Radio Free Asia (RFA) article. RFA reports: "Rather than penning well-crafted essays on broad themes aimed at Party ideologues and the urban elite, the new breed of Chinese activist is more likely to use their pens on countless official forms and letters, culminating in complaints, lawsuits, or appeals to Party disciplinary systems."

MFA Spokesman Calls North Koreans in China "Illegal Migrants" and "Not Refugees"

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesman Qin Gang reiterated at a September 19 press conference the Chinese government's longstanding view that North Koreans entering China without documents "are not refugees" but "illegal migrants" who "come to China because of economic reasons," according to a transcript of his remarks (in Chinese) on the MFA Web site. The MFA's English transcript of Qin Gang's regular press conference on September 19 did not include any discussion of North Korean refugees in China.

Detention, Torture of Anhui Teens Reflect Continuing Criminal Procedure Violations

The wrongful detentions and torture of four teenagers in 2005 in Chaohu city, Anhui province, reflect continuing criminal procedure violations and abuses by local police, as described in a September 12 Xinhua report (in Chinese) on the cases. The teenagers, who ranged in age from 16 to 18, were released in January 2006 after more than three months in police custody. According to the Xinhua account, the Anhui provincial-level Public Security Bureau (PSB) acknowledged that officials handled the teenagers' cases in error. In addition, public security officials have agreed to give each teenager 60,000 yuan (approximately US$7,600) in compensation for their wrongful detentions, pursuant to agreements signed with each individual teenager's guardians. Xinhua reports that authorities currently are investigating the three police officers who handled the cases for their suspected involvement in coercing confessions under torture.

Government Strengthens Enforcement of Requirements on Injury Insurance

The Chinese government will take "compulsory measures" to promote employer participation in on-the-job injury insurance for migrant workers, according to a September 9 article in the China Youth Daily (CYD). By the end of July 2006, 18.71 million migrant workers nationwide were covered by the insurance, according to the article. As of April 2006, 87 million workers overall had such insurance, according to a June 23 Legal Daily article.

Officials Demolish Catholic Church, Beat Catholics in Pingtang, Fujian Province

Officials demolished an unregistered Catholic church and beat several Catholics who attempted to prevent the demolition on Pingtang Island in Fujian province on September 1, according to a September 4 AsiaNews report. The AsiaNews account said that officials warned the Catholics that they would demolish another unregistered Catholic church on the same island.

Ministry of Education Offers Loan Waivers to Graduates Who "Go West" To Find Work

The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on September 14 that students graduating from about 100 universities run by the central government and who have borrowed from the government to finance their educations may have their loan repayments waived if they agree to work in China's "western or remote areas," according to a September 15 China Daily report.

Gao Zhisheng Held Incommunicado, Without Charge or Access to His Defense Lawyer

The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau (PSB) continues to hold Beijing lawyer Gao Zhisheng without a formal charge, and has denied him access to a lawyer on the grounds that his case involves "state secrets," according to a September 25 Radio Free Asia (RFA) report (in Chinese). More than 10 plainclothes police officers abducted Gao on August 15 from his sister's home in Dongying city, Shandong province, where he was visiting his critically ill brother-in-law, according to an August 17 RFA report (in Chinese).

Hebei Officials Release Catholic Bishop An Shuxin After 10 Years' Detention

Hebei provincial officials released An Shuxin, formerly the unregistered auxiliary bishop of Baoding diocese in Hebei province, on August 24 after detaining him for over 10 years, according to an August 25 report of the Cardinal Kung Foundation (CKF), a U.S. NGO that monitors religious freedom in China. Before officials released Bishop An, the government and Bishop An agreed that he would register with the government but would not be required to register with the Party-controlled Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA), according to an August 26 AsiaNews report.

New Measures Increase Xinhua Control Over Foreign News Sources

The Xinhua News Agency (Xinhua) issued on September 10 the Measures for Administering the Release of News and Information in China by Foreign News Agencies (Measures), which prohibit foreign news agencies from distributing news and information in China without government permission. Xinhua is a Chinese government agency directly subordinate to the State Council.

Officials Detain Protestants in Six Provinces

In July and August, provincial officials detained house church Protestants in Anhui, Henan, Hubei, and Yunnan provinces, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and placed a registered Protestant pastor under house arrest and evicted him from his parish in Shanxi, according to the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S. NGO that monitors religious freedom in China.

Communist Party Adds Tibetan Affairs Bureau to the United Front Work Department

The Communist Party's United Front Work Department (UFWD) established a new bureau to handle Tibetan affairs in 2005 and appointed Sithar (Sita, or Si Ta), a Tibetan, as Director, according to an article in Singtao Daily (translated in OSC 15 September 06). The Tibetan affairs portfolio moved from the Second Bureau, which handles ethnic and religious affairs, to the new Seventh Bureau. Sithar previously served as a deputy director of the Second Bureau.

Authorities Accuse Rights Defender Guo Feixiong of Illegally Operating a Business

Guangzhou police have accused rights defender Yang Maodong (who uses the pen name Guo Feixiong) of posing as a publisher, misappropriating the book numbers of various publications, and illegally publishing, printing, and issuing over 20,000 publications, according to a September 15 Guangzhou Daily report (in Chinese, via the Guangdong provincial government Web site). The report characterized Guo's alleged wrongdoing as "illegal operation of a business," a crime punishable under Article 225 of the Criminal Law.

Authorities Release One China Democracy Party Leader, Detain Another Member

Authorities in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province, released Zhu Yufu, a China Democracy Party (CDP) leader, on September 15 after he completed a seven-year sentence for participating in pro-democracy activities, according to a September 17 Voice of America (VOA) article (in Chinese). Other sources, such as a September 14 Radio Free Asia (RFA) interview (in Chinese), report that Zhu was released on September 14, the date that his sentence expired under Article 47 of the Criminal Law. The VOA article and the RFA interview further note that Zhu was released from Zhejiang No. 6 Prison, also known as Qiaosi Prison, where he served most of his sentence. Zhu is subject to three years' deprivation of political rights after release.

Health Ministry Criticizes Hospitals Failing To Report Disease-Related Deaths

The Ministry of Health (MOH) issued a circular on August 8 announcing the results of an investigation that identified "gaps and omissions" in the online reporting of disease-related deaths, calling the lapses a "grave phenomenon." Investigators surveyed 130 medical facilities at the county-level and above in 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. They found that 20 percent of the hospitals surveyed had failed to develop an online network for the reporting of disease-related deaths. The investigation also found that hospitals that had developed online reporting failed to report deaths more than 30 percent of the time.

Anhui Government Amends Provincial Religious Regulation

The Anhui Province People's Congress Standing Committee issued a decision on June 29 that amended its 1999 Anhui Province Regulation on Religious Affairs. The decision made the Anhui government the fifth provincial-level government to amend or issue a new comprehensive regulation on religious affairs since the national Regulation on Religious Affairs (RRA) entered into force in March 2005.

Agencies Limit Foreign Role in Government Procurement of Equipment, Software

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has issued an order prohibiting foreign participation in equipment procurement for projects related to China's national high voltage electric grid, according to an Economic Observer report (in Chinese). The report says that, except for "key technology that can be provided by foreigners," the NDRC would prohibit foreign enterprises and joint ventures in which foreign enterprises hold controlling shares from manufacturing or supplying the estimated 250 billion yuan (US$33 billion) worth of equipment that will be required for the 15-year construction project.