Access to Justice
Chinese authorities claim to have uncovered evidence of a new crime of fraud in the case of detained New York Times researcher Zhao Yan, just as the maximum pre-trial detention period in his case was set to expire. Law enforcement officials, who are investigating Zhao on charges that he revealed "state secrets," had already extended Zhao's pre-trial detention to the maximum seven months by invoking several legal exceptions. Under Chinese law, the new charge permits police to reset the pre-trial detention clock in Zhao's case back to zero and to hold Zhao for up to another seven months. While police have reportedly transferred the state secrets charges to prosecutors for an indictment decision, Zhao's defense lawyer says he has been unable to visit his client and has not been informed of the evidence that investigators have.
Chinese news media have carried several articles that discuss the practical application of new measures to combat torture.
About 14.5 percent of criminal suspects in Beijing meet with a lawyer during the first 48 hours of detention, according to an article in the Beijing Youth Daily. In cooperation with an NPC inspection of the implementation of the PRC Lawyers Law, the Beijing Public Security Bureau (PSB) surveyed 51,184 criminal detentions between October 2003 and April 2005 and found that only 7,425 suspects met with lawyers during the first 48 hours of detention. A PSB official attributed the low rate to poor legal consciousness, a perception on the part of suspects that lawyers won't do them any good, and financial barriers faced by suspects.
Prosecutors must exclude illegally obtained testimony when deciding whether or not to indict a suspect, declared a Vice President of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on May 26. According to an article in the China Youth Daily, the SPP Vice President said that "All oral evidence illegally obtained through torture or violence or illegally collected through intimidation, enticement, or fraud, etc. should be considered illegal evidence and resolutely excluded in accordance with the law." When police or prosecutors have collected evidence without strict respect for the law, they must collect the evidence anew or take other remedial measures before they can use it as a basis for a criminal charge.
The Ministry of Labor issued regulations on June 15 saying that workers who have not signed labor contracts can still obtain their back wages. Recognizing that workers who have not been given work contracts have difficulty proving their work record, the Ministry listed a number of different kinds of proof to be used in place of a work contract. Work unit records of wages and social security payments, worker identifications, service card identifications, credential check lists, and notes from workers are among the documents acceptable as proof of work performed. If no paper evidence exists, inspectors can consult fellow workers and other employees, according to the regulations.
On June 4, Sichuan provincial authorities released Huang Qi after he completed a five-year prison sentence for subversion. According to the Voice of America, however, authorities have forbidden Huang to return to Chengdu, where his wife resides, and are forcing him to remain in the village where he is officially registered. In a VOA interview after his release, Huang said:
Chinese authorities announced on May 13 that construction of the railroad bridge across the "Lhasa River" at Lhasa is complete, according to a Xinhua report. Tibetans know the river as the Kyichu. Many Tibetans speaking privately have expressed grave concern that the completion of the railroad could result in a transformation of the population mix.
Local regulations must conform to the Constitution and national law, concludes a commentary in the Hong Kong edition of the China Daily. The commentary takes aim at a new Dalian city regulation that prohibits begging in many parts of the city, citing objections on both policy and legal grounds.
A Hebei provincial government investigation into the Nie Shubin wrongful execution case is at an impasse, and local court resistance has blocked Nie’s family's petitions for justice, reports the Beijing Morning News . Nie Shubin was executed in 1995 for a rape and murder that another man confessed to in January 2005, but local authorities have resisted attempts to exonerate Nie (see related stories here and here). According to the Beijing Morning News report, Hebei authorities have released no information on the official investigation into the case, and “all signs point to the fact” that the investigation has reached an impasse.
Chinese disabled persons and their supporters and advocates celebrated the 13th National Disability Assistance Day on May 15. This year's events highlighted problems the disabled have in getting and maintaining employment. Provincial and county officials across China held special events designed to help disabled citizens understand their rights and the special government programs that exist to assist them. According to the China Disabled Person's Federation (CDPF), over 83 percent of China's disabled citizens are now employed, owing principally to the efforts of officials staffing more than 3,000 special disability employment assistance centers. Since the creation of the CDPF in 1988, the employment rate for disabled rural citizens has increased from 50 percent to over 75 percent.