Criminal Justice

Police in Guilin city, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, detained Internet essayist Wang Dejia (whose pen name is Jing Chu) on December 13, 2007, alleging that Wang "incited subversion of state power," according to a December 14 Radio Free Asia (RFA) report. The Associated Press reported on December 19 (reprinted in CNN) that Wang was detained at his home in Quanzhou County in Guilin, and that officers had confiscated Wang's "computer, memory cards, books and banking documents." According to Wang's wife, as reported by RFA, police told her that they had been monitoring Wang's online activities for three or four years.

Relatives of four Tibetan men -- two nomads, a monk, and a school teacher -- traveled from a Tibetan area of Sichuan province to the provincial capital, Chengdu City, to submit appeals to the Sichuan High People's Court following the men's sentencing on November 20, 2007, on splittism and espionage charges, according to a December 4 Radio Free Asia (RFA) report. The Ganzi (Kardze) Intermediate People's Court, located in Kangding (Dartsedo), the capital of Ganzi (Kardze) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (TAP), Sichuan province, sentenced the four men to prison terms of up to 10 years on charges of splittism, espionage, or both, for actions linked to an August 1 incident at a horse-racing festival in Litang (Lithang) county in Ganzi TAP, according to a Xinhua report published the same day as the sentencing.

A Guangzhou court sentenced rights defender Yang Maodong (who uses the pen name Guo Feixiong) to five years in prison for "illegal operation of a business," a crime under Article 225 of China's Criminal Law, according to a November 16 Guangzhou Daily article (in Chinese, via the Web site of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government). A November 14 Human Rights in China (HRIC) press release said that the Tianhe District People's Court, in Guangzhou city, Guangdong province, handed down the sentence on November 14 and also fined him 40,000 yuan (US$5,400). The Guangzhou Daily article said that Guo's punishment stemmed from activities he allegedly undertook beginning in 2001.

Convicting Ronggyal Adrag on the dual charges of "splittism" (Criminal Law, Article 103: "splitting the State or undermining unity of the country") and "subversion" (Article 105: "subverting the State power or overthrowing the socialist system") could result in an unusually long sentence that authorities may intend to serve as a warning to Tibetans that they must adhere to Communist Party policies on ethnic and religious issues. (See the CECC 2007 Annual Report for more information about Party policy and government implementation.) If Tibetans view his punishment as provocative, it may further increase regional tension. Ronggyal Adrag addressed the court, according to the RFA report, and explained the actions that led to his conviction:

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said that it is "impossible" for someone in China to be arrested for saying "human rights are more important than the Olympics," a statement that conflicts with the recent arrest, detention, and questioning of a number of Chinese citizens who have publicly criticized China's human rights record in relation to the Olympics. According to a February 28 Reuters article, Yang told reporters that Chinese citizens enjoy "extensive freedom of speech." His comments followed a meeting that day in Beijing with Britain's foreign minister. "No one will get arrested because he said that human rights are more important than the Olympics. This is impossible. Ask 10 people from the street to face public security officers and ask them to say 'human rights are more important than the Olympics' 10 times or even 100 times, and I will see which security officer would put him in jail," Yang reportedly said.