Authorities Continue to Target Rights Defenders

October 3, 2006

Local government officials in China have continued to target for repression citizens who attempt to defend their legally protected rights, according to a September 25 Radio Free Asia (RFA) article. RFA reports: "Rather than penning well-crafted essays on broad themes aimed at Party ideologues and the urban elite, the new breed of Chinese activist is more likely to use their pens on countless official forms and letters, culminating in complaints, lawsuits, or appeals to Party disciplinary systems."

Local government officials in China have continued to target for repression citizens who attempt to defend their legally protected rights, according to a September 25 Radio Free Asia (RFA) article. RFA reports: "Rather than penning well-crafted essays on broad themes aimed at Party ideologues and the urban elite, the new breed of Chinese activist is more likely to use their pens on countless official forms and letters, culminating in complaints, lawsuits, or appeals to Party disciplinary systems." The article notes that the struggles of these rights defenders "seem inevitably to lead to beatings, detentions, and [criminal] sentences," and that the underlying problem giving rise to their grievances "is systemic, rather than ideological, and therefore isn't going away any time soon."

Since August, authorities in Beijing municipality, Guangdong province, and Shandong province have taken the following actions against rights defenders:

Authorities have also placed relatives and associates of rights defenders under strict surveillance and obstructed publicity and legal defense efforts in their cases. According to a September 5 RFA report (in Chinese), all six of Gao's siblings have been placed under surveillance and cannot travel to Beijing without prior approval from authorities. In addition, Beijing police took into custody three of Gao's nephews when they attempted to deliver a letter of retainer to Mo Shaoping, necessary for formalizing his legal representation in Gao's case. The Epoch Times reported (in Chinese) on September 20 that Mo received the letter of retainer (from one of the three nephews) on September 19, and that two of the three nephews were held for a total of 16 days before their release. A September 15 Voice of America report (in Chinese) quotes rights defender Hu Jia as saying that Guo's detention may have been part of an effort to threaten those who are rallying to provide assistance in Gao's case.

Both Chinese and international law protect a criminal suspect's access to legal counsel and right to present a defense. Articles 32 and 33 of the Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) provide that a defendant shall have the right to "entrust persons as his defenders." Furthermore, Article 30 of the Lawyers Law mandates that "[a lawyer's] right to argue or present a defense shall be protected in accordance with law." Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights requires that a criminal defendant have "all the guarantees necessary for his [defense]," and Article 14.3(b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights requires that he have "adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his [defense] and to communicate with counsel of his own choosing." Moreover, the UN General Assembly adopted in 1990 Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, which outline internationally recognized standards on the legal profession. These standards include an assurance that "all persons arrested or detained, with or without criminal charge, shall have prompt access to a lawyer," and that "[a]ll arrested, detained, or imprisoned persons shall be provided with adequate opportunities, time and facilities to be visited by and to communicate and consult with a lawyer."

For additional information about Gao Zhisheng, Guo Feixiong, and Chen Guangcheng, see their records of detention, searchable through the CECC's Political Prisoner Database. For additional information about the government's repression of rights defenders, including lawyers, or about access to counsel and the right to present a defense, see the CECC's 2006 Annual Report. The Report's Recommendations note that "China's leaders say they are committed to building a fair and just society based on the rule of law, and, in an effort to control social unrest, have moved toward strengthening government institutions that assist citizens with legal claims." The Recommendations urge that a full commitment to the rule of law will "require the Chinese government to cease its harassment, surveillance, and abuse of citizens such as [legal advocate Guo Feixiong], and to allow courageous lawyers such as Gao Zhisheng ... to resume their important legal advocacy." In addition, the Recommendations propose that the President and the Congress "continue to emphasize that continued detention and imprisonment of rights defenders such as Chen Guangcheng (sentenced in August for speaking out against population planning abuses) will only undermine the legitimacy of government actions and of China's developing legal system."