Freedom of Expression
Western news sources, including Radio Free Asia, the BBC, and the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), have reported that authorities at China's prestigious Beijing University have fired Jiao Guobiao. According to the South China Morning Post, a spokesman for Beijing University's journalism school yesterday confirmed that the school had decided to dismiss Jiao on March 17 because he went to the United States "without permission," and that constituted "leaving his post."
Jiao arrived in Washington DC on March 16 at the invitation of the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy.
Continuing concerns in the United States and elsewhere about the Chinese government's poor human rights record and unease about the effect of recent anti-succession legislation on the security situation in the Taiwan Strait evidently have complicated EU plans to lift an arms embargo in place since 1989. In particular, international reaction to the passage of China's Anti-Secession Law has increased pressure on the EU to keep its embargo in place at present. The then-existing European Community originally imposed the embargo in June 1989 in response to the Chinese government's use of military forces to suppress peaceful student and worker protests in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. (Click here to see the relevant European Council document).
The OpenNet Initiative, a partnership of the Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, and the Advanced Network Research Group at the Centre for Security in International Society (Cambridge Security Programme), University of Cambridge, has issued two reports discussing how the Chinese government restricts Chinese citizens' access to information via Internet search engines. The first report, "Probing Chinese Search Engine Filtering" found that the Yisou and Baidu search engines are actively filtering keyword search requests, and concludes that, considering both Yahoo!'s and Google's investment relationships with these companies, it is certainly legitimate to raise questions of corporate responsibility and adherence to human rights .
Several human rights groups, including the Independent Chinese PEN Center, Reporters Without Borders, and the Committee to Protect Journalists, have expressed concern that Chinese public security authorities have arrested journalist Zheng Yichun. According to these groups, Zheng's family reported that public security officers initially detained him on December 3, 2004. Since December 20, police have held him in No. 1 Prison of Panjin city, Liaoning province. Authorities notified Zheng's family on December 31 that he had been arrested and charged with advocating subversion. At that time, officials warned the family not to inform the news media or human rights groups, and the family therefore did not speak about the arrest until China's state-controlled media published news accounts of the charges on February 24, 2005.
Chinese delegates responded to criticism of PRC government human rights practices and described Chinese government views on the right to development in statements March 22 at the annual session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. According to an official U.N. press release reporting on the proceedings, Chinese delegate Li Wen replied to a statement by German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer that included China among nations that violate human rights. Li charged that Fischer’s statement was politically motivated and that Germany should raise the issue in the Sino-German bilateral human rights dialogue.
Chinese authorities formally arrested Zhang Lin for inciting the subversion of state power, reports Agence France Presse (AFP). Public security authorities evidently informed Fang Caofang, Zhang's wife, about the move on March 19. As the CECC noted in its 2004 Annual Report, Chinese authorities often use vague and overbroad national security laws to silence critics of the Party and the central government.
Chinese authorities have banned a new novel by Yan Lianke because the title satirizes the slogan "Serve the People" coined by late Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong, according to a report by Reuters. The report cites an unnamed industry source as saying: "It uses low, vulgar and obscene description to vilify the lofty aim to 'serve the people'." According to Reuters, a notice from the General Administration of Press and Publication announced the ban to publishing houses, newspapers, and magazines in late February.
On March 17, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued an open letter to PRC President Hu Jintao calling for the release of Zhao Yan, a Chinese employee of the New York Times who was detained in September 2004. According to the letter:
Today marks the six-month anniversary of the imprisonment of Zhao Yan, a news assistant at The New York Times who has been held incommunicado and without charge or trial since September 17, 2004. The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores Zhao's ongoing detention, which violates international law and the 2004 amendment to the Chinese Constitution safeguarding human rights.
The CECC staff previously prepared a summary of the events relating to Zhao's detention to date.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reports that on March 11, a Chinese court found the journalist Shi Tao guilty of "disclosing state secrets." He is due to be sentenced on March 25. Under Chinese law Shi could be sentenced to between 10 years to life.
According to RSF, the trial was closed to the public. Also, Shi's attorney, Guo Guoting, was not able to defend Shi because Chinese authorities revoked Guo's law license on February 24. Authorities placed him under house arrest earlier this week.
Shi Tao was arrested in November 2004 as part of a government crackdown on public intellectuals.
PRC Ambassador to the U.N. Missions in Geneva Sha Zukang criticized the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in a March 14 address, citing the panel for unfair treatment of developing nations. Ambassador Sha also attacked unspecified NGOs for abuse of their consultative status at Commission meetings. The senior Chinese diplomat addressed the Human Rights Commission on behalf of a "like minded group" of developing nations.