Freedom of Expression
The People's Daily Web site has published the text of a speech given by Liu Binjie in October, 2004. Liu, deputy director of the General Administration of Press and Publication (the agency responsible for enforcing China's strict publishing and censorship laws), was once quoted as saying that "Currently China is one of the world's countries richest in freedom of speech and freedom of publication." The text of Liu's speech clearly indicates that Chinese authorities are continuing to struggle with two conflicting imperatives: on the one hand the government wants to encourage China's media to become economically profitable and globally influential:
According to a report issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists, China, Cuba, Eritrea, and Burma account for more than three-quarters of the total number of journalists imprisoned around the world. Of 122 imprisoned journalists, CPJ found that the Chinese government, which it called the "leading jailer of journalists," was responsible for jailing 42.
Citing an unnamed journalist based in Shanghai, Boxun reports that the Communist Party's Central Propaganda Department has banned China's domestic media from reporting information regarding Wang Daohan, chairman of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits. According to Boxun, the Party has forbidden all Chinese media outlets except Xinhua from reporting that Wang sent condolences to the family of Gu Zhenfu, the late chairman of the Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation. Xinhua is operated directly by China's State Council. On Sunday Xinhua reported that Sun Yafu, ARATS Vice President, and Li Yafei, ARATS Secretary-General, would fly to Taiwan on February 1 to express condolences on behalf of Wang.
Xinhua reports that the General Administration of Press and Publication and the National Anti-Pornography Counter-Illegal Publishing Task Force have banned the sale of 50 "illegal electronic games." To quote the article:
According to an explanation of the General Administration of Press and Publication, in order to purify the video game publishing market, protect the legal interests of consumers, especially minors, and protect intellectual property, departments of the GAPP and the Task Force recently conducted a comprehensive investigation of the electronic games and software markets, and discovered over 50 illegal electronic game publications.
Boxun reports that Yang Tianshui, a member of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, contacted people to say that he has been released from custody and has returned home. The report did not provide further information. Boxun had previously reported that Chinese authorities detained Yang on December 24 in Hangzhou. On December 31 the Nanjing Public Security Bureau issued a warrant stating that Yang had been arrested on charges of "inciting subversion of state power."
According to the Independent Chinese PEN Center, Yang, aged 43, is a freelance writer who served ten years in prison from 1990-2000 on charges of "counter revolution." He is said to have remained under an order of deprivation of civil rights for a further four years, during which time he reportedly was detained twice for violation of the conditions of the order. Most recent was a 15-day imprisonment from 27 May to 11 June 2004 for his writings commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square democracy movement.
According to a report on the People's Daily Web site, Jinan, the capital of Shandong province, has deployed a system that will allow monitors to view the information running on any computer in the city’s 700+ Internet cafes at any time. The report states that the system, which it dubs "clairvoyant," is part of a "cultural monitoring platform" established last November to monitor the online activity of Internet cafe customers. The report says that the software employed in this system is capable of monitoring the identity of the person registered to use the computer, and of filtering "illegal Web sites." The Jinan municipal cultural bureau intends to use the resources of this platform's hardware to develop what the report calls a "dedicated culture market management information system," in order to "implement management of data collection for the entire city's culture market."
According to a press release issued by Freedom Now, January 19th marks the 1000th day that democracy activist Yang Jianli has been imprisoned in China. Yang’s wife, Christina Fu, recently returned from her first and only visit with her husband since he was detained in April 2002. According to Ms. Fu, Yang remains in high spirits but suffered a minor stroke in July 2004 and has lost some function in his left arm and hand. She expressed concern about her husband’s deteriorating health and hope that the Chinese government would release him on medical parole as soon as possible.
The following is a partial translation by CECC staff of a report that appeared on the Web site of China's national Sweep Away Pornography and Strike Down Illegal Publications Task Force:
It appears that Chinese authorities have launched a new campaign against authors who have voiced disagreement with the government and the Communist Party. In the past two weeks Chinese government officials have detained four prominent writers known for publishing their criticisms on foreign Web sites:
According to a report by Freedom Now, democracy activist Yang Jianli has suffered a minor stroke and is having other health problems. Yang, 41, a U.S. permanent resident who is serving a five-year sentence in Beijing, revealed the health conditions during a one-hour visit with family members last week. He reportedly plans to petition for medical parole.