Institutions of Democratic Governance

Between May and July 2006, Chinese authorities arrested or sentenced the individuals below for criticizing the Chinese government on foreign Web sites, claiming such actions "subverted state power" or "incited subversion of state power."

The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) has issued new provisions that detail the criteria for prosecuting official abuses of power, according to a July 26 Xinhua report. The SPP's Provisions on the Criteria for Filing Dereliction of Duty and Rights Infringement Criminal Cases went into effect on July 26, and clarify standards previously established in 1999 by the SPP's Provisions on the Criteria for Filing Cases Directly Received by People's Procuratorates for Filing and Investigation (Trial).

The Beijing Communications Administration (BCA) shut down the "Century China" Web site on July 26, according to a statement (in Chinese, via Boxun) issued by the Web site's operators. The operators said they received a notice (reprinted on Boxun's Web site) from the BCA on July 25 that ordered them to shut down the Web site immediately. "Century China," founded in 2000, was a popular Internet discussion forum for commentary on political, historical, and cultural issues, according to an August 1 South China Morning Post (SCMP) article (subscription required).

The following is a partial translation by CECC staff of a speech given by Liu Yunshan, member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, secretary of the Secretariat, and director of the Central Propaganda Department, on September 22, 2004 at the National Propaganda Directors Seminar, and subsequently published in the October 16 edition of "Seeking Truth," the official journal of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee, under the title "Earnestly Study and Implement the Spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th Chinese Communist Party Central Committee; Strive to Increase the Party's Ability to Lead Ideological Work."

The government has begun the 2006-2007 round of county and township elections for local people's congresses (LPCs) while maintaining strict Communist Party control over the process and candidates. Officials will hold elections for about 35,400 township LPCs and 2,800 county LPCs between July 1, 2006, and December 31, 2007, according to a July 27 Legal Daily article.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) enacted an amendment to the Compulsory Education Law on June 29, to take effect September 1. Article 2 of the amended law bans authorities from collecting tuition or "arbitrary" fees for compulsory education. But article 61 leaves the definition of such fees unclear, stating that the State Council will issue regulations determining the administration of "arbitrary" fees at a later date. Chinese schools charge students additional fees, ostensibly for school supplies, bedding, uniforms, or other items, to make up for inadequate school budgets resulting from a lack of local revenue.

A July 7, 2006, article (in Chinese) in the Guangming Daily Observer criticized Chinese officials for shielding one another from punishment and thereby allowing the continued abuse of authority in violation of human rights. Gao Yifei, a legal scholar at Southwest University of Politics and Law, argued that the Chinese government has been too lenient in punishing officials who abuse their authority to coerce confessions under torture, acquire evidence through the use of force, or maltreat prisoners. In support of his argument, Gao highlighted several cases in which torture resulted in the deaths of Chinese citizens while in custody. State-run media reported in 2006 that courts imposed criminal sentences of varying lengths on the parties responsible for the deaths in three of those cases:

Ethnic and religious affairs offices from several provinces in China reported in June on local efforts by government offices and patriotic religious associations to instruct religious communities in the socialist concept of glory and shame, part of a new nationwide Party campaign on morals. Termed the "eight glories and eight shames" by PRC President Hu Jintao, the concept describes eight sets of moral guidelines for Chinese society. The guidelines include "taking ardent love for the motherland as a glory and harm of the motherland as a shame," and "taking obedience of discipline and law as a glory and the violation of them as a shame." The Party campaign, launched in March, is designed to address corruption and social disillusionment as China undergoes swift economic and social changes.