Civil Society
Chinese officials have cracked down on independent rights advocacy, detaining large numbers of individuals for peacefully advocating on issues ranging from combating official corruption and protecting the rights of ethnic minorities to ensuring educational equality for migrant children and seeking greater freedom of the press. Those detained include Ilham Tohti, a scholar and an advocate for the Uyghur ethnic minority, who sought to build bridges between Uyghurs and the majority Han population. They also include individuals from the New Citizens’ Movement, who have called for social justice, rule of law, and citizen rights.
Congressional-Executive Commission on China
www.cecc.gov
CECC Contact: 202–226–3766
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – CECC Chairman Senator Sherrod Brown and Cochairman Representative Christopher Smith today urged the Chinese government to end the unlawful home confinement of Liu Xia, the wife of imprisoned 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, and to respect her internationally-recognized right to freedom of movement.
Update: Anticorruption and Transparency Advocates Already Sentenced
In 2013, authorities commenced a crackdown on anticorruption and transparency advocates, many linked to the “New Citizens’ Movement,” which is a broad network of individuals promoting legal and political reforms, human rights, and social justice. In late 2013 and early 2014, authorities began trials for several of these advocates and courts have already handed down sentences in some cases:
Amended Law Contains Provisions That Could Help Improve Consumer Protections
Transcript (PDF) (Text)
Corruption takes many forms in China, from corrupt officials at all levels using their public office for private gain and seizing land for development to corrupt state-owned enterprises gaming the system to their advantage. Corruption also continues to be among the root causes of rights abuses against Chinese citizens.
On July 16, 2013, public security officials from Beijing municipality's traffic security division criminally detained prominent law scholar and civic rights advocate Xu Zhiyong on suspicion of "gathering a crowd to disturb order in a public place" (Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), 17 July 13; Human Rights in China (HRIC), 16 July 13). For more than a decade, Xu has been involved in rights advocacy as a legal counsel, law lecturer, and independently elected People's Congress deputy for the Haidian district of Beijing (Economic Observer, 13 November 08; China Daily, 17 December 03).
Cyber attacks from China have become a key point of contention between the United States and China. Both sides recently agreed to form a working group and hold regular talks on cybersecurity and industrial espionage, and the issue will feature prominently during President Obama and President Xi Jinping's upcoming summit in California. This hearing will examine the impact of Chinese cyber attacks on Chinese activists and human rights organizations as well as on American businesses and industries harmed by intellectual property theft.
This hearing was webcast live.