Access to Justice
A July 7, 2006, article (in Chinese) in the Guangming Daily Observer criticized Chinese officials for shielding one another from punishment and thereby allowing the continued abuse of authority in violation of human rights. Gao Yifei, a legal scholar at Southwest University of Politics and Law, argued that the Chinese government has been too lenient in punishing officials who abuse their authority to coerce confessions under torture, acquire evidence through the use of force, or maltreat prisoners. In support of his argument, Gao highlighted several cases in which torture resulted in the deaths of Chinese citizens while in custody. State-run media reported in 2006 that courts imposed criminal sentences of varying lengths on the parties responsible for the deaths in three of those cases:
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) distributed "Six Prohibitions on People's Prison Police" and "Six Prohibitions on People's Reeducation Through Labor (RTL) Police" on February 14 for implementation by justice bureaus across China, according to a February 16 Legal Daily article (in Chinese). MOJ Vice Minister Fan Fangping told Legal Daily that, beginning on the date of the announcement, prison and RTL police found violating the prohibitions would be subject to punishments ranging from warnings to dismissal. In cases in which police behavior may constitute a crime, authorities will also investigate the actor's criminal liability. Vice Minister Fan disclosed that the MOJ is preparing to dispatch a supervisory group of its own, and that local justice bureaus will also be expected to implement regular supervision and investigation of police activities.
Judges in Henan province convicted a man for rape and murder on the strength of his confession under torture, according to a September 20 report on the New York Times Web site. Public security officials relied on the statements of three child witnesses to detain and interrogate the suspect. The court ordered a closed trial, excluded defense witnesses from the courtroom, and ended the proceedings within several hours. The suspect avoided execution only after a local retired soldier voluntarily confessed to the crime, according to the report.
The Hohhot Intermediate People's Court tried ethnic Mongol physician Naguunbilig and his spouse Daguulaa on June 12 for crimes related to "practicing an evil cult," "printing and distributing illegal publications," "advocating idealism and superstition," and "conducting illegal business," according to a June 20 report from the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC). Authorities first arrested Naguunbilig and Daguulaa on June 7, 2005 for engaging in what officials labeled "a Mongol version of Falun Gong" and for holding "illegal gatherings." The SMHRIC reported that the court adjourned the trial on the afternoon of the 12th without issuing a decision.
Former political prisoner Wang Wanxing has spoken out about his experiences in the Beijing Public Security Bureau's Ankang Hospital for the Custody and Treatment of Mentally Ill Offenders (Beijing Ankang Hospital), according to a November 2 news release from Human Rights Watch (HRW) and a November 3 article in the German weekly Die Zeit. Both reports note that on August 16, Wang became the most prominent political prisoner so far that Chinese authorities have released from psychiatric custody. The reports include new details about the Chinese government's system of custody and treatment hospitals for mentally ill criminal offenders, also known as the "ankang" system.
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.
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.
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.
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:
The following is a translation prepared by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China of an open letter from Yuan Weijing to Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, dated March 24, 2006. The Chinese text was retrieved from a March 25 Boxun posting.