China Human Rights and Rule of Law Update - No. 1 - January 30, 2009

 
 
 

Introduction

As global economic crisis unfolds around the world, its full impact inside China remains unclear. However, as the articles in this newsletter illustrate, the Chinese government appears to be focusing its attention on perceived sources of "instability" across a diverse cross-section of Chinese society. Leading intellectuals, lawyers, writers, farmers, workers, and others who have signed Charter 08, face harassment, detention and other abuses. So do China’s Tibetan and Uyghur citizens, religious adherents, and others who have engaged in peaceful political dissent.

The Chinese government’s efforts to control information and its instrumental use of law, which this Commission documented in its 2007 and 2008 Annual Reports, continues. In January, the Chinese government’s efforts to control information included official censorship of portions of President Obama's inaugural address. As this newsletter also shows, the Chinese government continues to invoke criminal law as a tool for punishing peaceful dissent, for punishing spiritual or religious adherents practicing outside state-sanctioned boundaries, and for bolstering security controls in ethnic minority regions. At the same time, many Chinese citizens nonetheless accept the risks of civic activism--and suffer consequences including harassment and detention. On February 9, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva will review China's human rights record under a new mechanism known as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). In the months ahead, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China will continue to monitor and report on the Chinese government’s record with respect to its international commitments to safeguard fundamental rights and to develop the rule of law.

 
 
 

UN Human Rights Council To Review China's Human Rights Record

On February 9, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva will review China's human rights record under a new mechanism known as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The UPR was created on March 15, 2006 by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/251 (A/Res/60/251), which established the 47-member Human Rights Council (Council), replacing the Commission on Human Rights.

Officials To Strengthen Security Before Anniversaries and During Economic Downturns

Chinese officials have warned of increasing "social unrest" in 2009 and have called for strengthening public security in the run-up to several significant anniversaries and amid the country's economic downturn. Security officials reportedly plan to use the "valuable" and "successful" experience of security measures deployed during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games to increase security controls in 2009, according to a January 6 People's Daily article and a January 13 South China Morning Post report (subscription required).

Officials Increase Censorship of Foreign and Domestic Web Sites

Chinese authorities appear to have stepped up censorship of the Internet in recent weeks with increased reports of foreign- and Hong Kong-based Web sites being blocked and the closure of a popular domestic blog hosting site for posting "harmful" political information.

Chinese Media Censor Parts of President Obama's Inauguration Speech

An official "full text" Chinese language translation of President Barack Obama's January 20, 2009, inauguration speech that appeared in major state-controlled Chinese news media omitted two paragraphs and the words "and communism," according to a review of the translation as it appeared on the Web sites of those media organizations on January 21.

Officials Harass Charter 08 Signers; Liu Xiaobo Under Residential Surveillance

Chinese authorities have harassed at least 101 signatories of Charter 08 and placed signer and prominent intellectual Liu Xiaobo under residential surveillance at an unknown location in Beijing in apparent violation of Chinese law following his detention on December 8, 2008, according to Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) reports on January 2 and January 9.

Chinese Government Mandates "Ethnic Unity Education" to Promote Party Policy on Ethnic Groups

The Chinese government has directed schools throughout the country to implement "ethnic unity education," in a stated effort to promote Communist Party policy on ethnic minorities. The trial Guiding Program on Ethnic Unity Education in Schools, issued November 26, 2008, by the Ministry of Education and State Ethnic Affairs Commission (SEAC) and publicized in December (see a December 15 Xinhua report on the Central People's Government Web site), calls for "ethnic unity education" starting in grade three of elementary school and extending to high school and vocational schools.

Lhasa Court Sentences Tibetans for Sharing Information With "The Dalai Clique"

A Communist Party-run newspaper has provided the first detailed information about Tibetans convicted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment for nonviolent activity that authorities link to rioting on March 14, 2008, in and near Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The November 8, 2008, Lhasa Evening News (LEN) report asserted that the defendants had "endangered state security."

State Security Cases From Xinjiang Appear to Surge in 2008

Courts in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) completed trials in 2008 for a total of 268 cases involving crimes of endangering state security (ESS), a number that appears to represent a surge over previous years, based on available data. (See analysis below for more details.) The XUAR High People's Court announced the number of cases during a report made at a January 9, 2009, meeting of the XUAR People's Congress, according to a January 10 report on the Xinhua Xinjiang Web site.

Xinjiang Authorities Issue Plan Combining Rural Reform With Continued Political Controls

Authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) issued an opinion in December 2008 to accelerate rural reform and development, combining policies aimed at improving conditions in rural areas with steps to continue tight political controls in the region. The Opinion on Deepening the Promotion of Rural Reform and Development (Opinion), issued by the XUAR Communist Party Committee and XUAR government on December 8, follows national plans issued in 2007 and earlier in 2008 to promote development in ethnic minority regions.

Two Young Uyghurs Detained for Distributing Leaflets Calling for Student Demonstration

Authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) capital of Urumqi have detained two young Uyghur men for distributing leaflets on a university campus calling on students to organize a public demonstration. Available information suggests the leaflets may have called on students to protest tobacco and alcohol sales. Two security staff at Xinjiang University (XU) detained 20-year-old Miradil (Mir'adil) Yasin and 19-year-old Mutellip Téyip on December 20, 2008, after seeing them distribute leaflets within the campus gates, according to a December 25 report of the event on the XU Web site and a Xinhua report posted January 1, 2009, on the Xinhua Bingtuan Web site.

State-Controlled Catholic Church Celebrates Independence from "Foreign Interference"

China's state-controlled Catholic church held a meeting in December to celebrate the Chinese church's policy of appointing bishops independently of Holy See practices for designating the religious leaders. The Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) and the Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference, the two Communist Party-controlled organizations that lead China's state-sanctioned Catholic church, convened the meeting on December 19 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the church's policy of "self-selecting" and "self-ordaining" bishops, according to a December 19 Xinhua report.

Authorities Target Protestant House Churches for Harassment, Detentions in December

Authorities disrupted several Protestant house church gatherings in December 2008, in some cases detaining church leaders, according to reports from the China Aid Association (CAA), an organization that monitors conditions for religious freedom in China. The reports come amid calls from local governments in late 2008 to stem Protestant house church gatherings and meetings of other unregistered religious groups. The CAA also issued a report in December on the demolition of a registered church and provided information on new developments in ongoing cases.

Manipulation of the Criminal Law to Penalize "Cults" Continues in Case of Painter and Popular Musician

Continuing a trend in which the PRC Criminal Law is used to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, a Beijing court sentenced a 40-year-old award-winning artist to three years in prison late last year on account of her association with the banned spiritual movement. On November 25, 2008, the Beijing Chongwen District People's Court sentenced Xu Na to three years in prison for "using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law," according to Xu's attorney as reported by the Associated Press (AP) (reprinted in the International Herald Tribune), Agence France-Presse (AFP) (reprinted in Yahoo! News), and Radio Free Asia (RFA) on November 25. The AP reporter spoke with a clerk at the Chongwen court who confirmed that a verdict against Xu was issued, but refused to disclose the details of her sentence.

Yunnan To Establish Anti-Trafficking Office To Focus on Women and Children

The Yunnan provincial government issued the Yunnan Province Implementing Opinion on the National Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Women and Children (2008-2012) (Yunnan provincial implementing opinion) for the National Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Women and Children (2008-2012) (National Action Plan) on November 21, 2008, calling for the establishment of an anti-trafficking office to coordinate the province's anti-trafficking efforts. The implementing opinion, like the National Action Plan, focuses on women and children. Yunnan is the fourth province to issue an implementation plan after the State Council issued the National Action Plan in December 2007. Guizhou province issued an implementing opinion in May 2008, followed by Hainan and Fujian provinces in June 2008.