Freedom of Expression
On October 19, 2011, the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), an administrative agency that controls the regulation and the distribution of news in print and Internet publications, issued the Several Provisions To Prevent and Guard Against False Reporting (Provisions), which entered into effect on the same day. The Provisions prohibit journalists from using information from the Internet or mobile phones in their reporting that authorities deem "unverified," and the Provisions require that news agencies improve accountability mechanisms to safeguard against "false" reporting. The Provisions also state penalties applicable to journalists and news agencies that publish "false" information that authorities deem to be harmful to national or public interests or that authorities decide may bring about "adverse social impacts."
Official Rationale Behind New Regulations
Detailed Charges Against Zhu Yufu
On February 10, 2012, the Hangzhou Municipal Intermediate People's Court sentenced democracy advocate Zhu Yufu to seven years in prison for "inciting subversion of state power," a crime under Article 105, Paragraph 2, of China's Criminal Law, according to the court's judgment released by ChinaAid (10 February 12). The court also sentenced Zhu to three years' deprivation of political rights upon completion of his sentence. The court declared Zhu a recidivist, and based on Articles 65 and 66 of the Criminal Law, gave him a heavier punishment. In the court's judgment, authorities cited several of Zhu's writings and his activities associated with an "illegal" democracy party as evidence of "incitement," as noted below.
Congressional-Executive Commission on China | www.cecc.gov
Statement of CECC Chairman Christopher Smith and Cochairman Sherrod Brown on Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's Visit to the United States
February 14, 2012
(Washington, DC)—The chairmen of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China today called on Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to take concrete steps to improve human rights and the rule of law in China.
The Suining Municipal Intermediate People's Court in Sichuan province sentenced democracy activist Chen Wei on December 23, 2011, to nine years in prison for "inciting subversion of state power" (Associated Press via Washington Post, 23 December 11; New York Times, 23 December 11). Inciting subversion is a crime under Article 105, Paragraph 2, of the Criminal Law.
Transcript (PDF) (Text)
One year ago, the Nobel Committee awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China." Today, Liu Xiaobo remains in a Chinese prison serving the third year of an 11-year sentence, while authorities hold his wife under a de facto form of house arrest.
Transcript (PDF) (Text)
China's tightening censorship amidst a boom in the popularity of social media and the Internet raises important questions regarding both the human dimension and the trade impact of these trends. Chinese citizens are increasingly criticizing the government and Party while accessing greater information online, but face imprisonment and harassment for their actions.
Ding Mao and Chen Wei Cases Twice Transferred to Public Security Officials for Supplementary Investigation