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Access to Justice

September 7, 2006
November 30, 2012

The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court acquitted New York Times researcher Zhao Yan of disclosing state secrets on August 25, but sentenced him to three years' imprisonment on an unrelated fraud charge, according to an August 25 New York Times report. On August 26, the China Daily reported that the court also fined Zhao 2,000 yuan (US$250) and ordered him to pay back 20,000 yuan (US$2,500) that it ruled he had acquired through fraud. According to a September 5 Associated Press International report (via the Guardian), on that day Zhao filed an appeal arguing that the prosecution's evidence was insufficient and that the court did not allow a defense witness to testify.


September 1, 2006
November 30, 2012

Officials detained at least 2 unregistered Catholic clerics and about 90 Catholic laypersons in Hebei province between July 30 and August 2, according to an August 2 report of the Cardinal Kung Foundation (CKF), a U.S. NGO that monitors religious freedom in China, and AsiaNews reports of August 3 and August 11.


September 1, 2006
November 30, 2012

The Shuangyashan Municipal Intermediate People’s Court in Heilongjiang province convicted 17 members of the Three Grades of Servants house church on charges of murder and fraud, and defense lawyers said that several confessions were coerced under torture and that the defendants would appeal, according to a July 6 report of the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S. NGO that monitors religious freedom in China. The government accused the house church members of murdering 20 members of the Eastern Lightning religious group and of unspecified counts of fraud. The court sentenced three of the leaders to death, three others to death sentences with a two-year reprieve (which usually results in commutation to life in prison), and the remainder to prison terms ranging from 3 to 15 years.


August 31, 2006
November 30, 2012

The Henan High People's Court (HPC) issued an opinion in June that requires courts to use urban compensation standards for personal injury cases involving qualified rural migrants living in cities, according to a June 23 Xinhua article (in Chinese). Article 15 of the opinion provides that compensation for injured rural migrants who have a "regular place of residence in the city" and whose "main source of income is earned in the city" must be calculated using the same standards as for urban residents.


August 31, 2006
November 30, 2012

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) enacted an amendment to the Compulsory Education Law on June 29, to take effect September 1. Article 2 of the amended law bans authorities from collecting tuition or "arbitrary" fees for compulsory education. But article 61 leaves the definition of such fees unclear, stating that the State Council will issue regulations determining the administration of "arbitrary" fees at a later date. Chinese schools charge students additional fees, ostensibly for school supplies, bedding, uniforms, or other items, to make up for inadequate school budgets resulting from a lack of local revenue.


August 30, 2006
November 30, 2012

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) currently is researching the adoption of a uniform set of rules to govern how courts respond to citizen petitions following court decisions, according to a July 25 Legal Daily article (in Chinese) posted on the Procuratorate Daily Web site. SPC officials announced at a November 2005 conference that they would require all Chinese courts to establish such rules, and courts in Anhui, Guizhou, Hainan, Hubei, and Henan provinces and Chongqing municipality have already done so, according to the Legal Daily article. Guangdong provincial officials announced in July that Guangdong courts at all levels would also implement such rules, according to a July 20 Xinhua article.


August 30, 2006
November 30, 2012

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.


August 30, 2006
November 30, 2012

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.


August 14, 2006
November 30, 2012

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.

Under the new system, trial judges who issue judicial decisions will be responsible for responding to parties who visit the court and raise questions or complaints about the verdict. Trial judges will work with docketing tribunal (li'an) judges to resolve complaints. The trial judges' record of handling such complaints will be made part of their regular performance reviews, along with their trial records.


July 31, 2006
November 30, 2012

Human Rights Watch and Boxun both posted on July 19 timelines of events related to the Chinese government's criminal case against Chen Guangcheng. The timelines recount several weeks of continuing harassment and violence against Chinese human rights defenders, including legal scholars and advocates who have attempted to participate in Chen's criminal defense:

Obstruction of Attempts By Rights Defenders to Publicize Chen's Case