China Human Rights and Rule of Law Update - No. 2 - March 11, 2009

 
 
 

Introduction

One year after a wave of protests began in Lhasa and swept across the Tibetan Plateau, the Chinese government continues to focus its attention on perceived sources of “instability” not just in ethnic minority areas, but across a diverse cross-section of Chinese society. As the articles in this newsletter show, official efforts to promote Party policy through the control of information extend beyond media coverage of ethnic affairs. A broad sweep of issues ranging from press coverage of national economic matters to reporting on Beijing building fires has been subject to the close scrutiny of censors. Prompted by anniversaries of events they deem to be “sensitive,” authorities have vowed to “strike hard” against perceived threats to “social stability.” Official announcements indicate that authorities will respond early to “social unrest” prompted by rising unemployment or other causes. The case of a Uyghur historian recently released from prison, and the postponement of the trial of rights activist Huang Qi illustrate that China’s criminal law system continues to function as a tool to punish people for exercising the right to free speech. In the months ahead, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China will continue to monitor and report on these and other developments, and on China's record with respect to its international commitments to develop the rule of law and to safeguard human rights.

 
 
 

Restrictions on Information Access in Tibetan Areas Increase

Internet and cell phone text messaging services in Tibetan areas of western China reportedly have been disrupted, according to a March 10, 2009, Associated Press (AP) article and a February 22, 2009, Reuters article.

Ahead of Sensitive Dates, Lhasa Officials Add "Strike Hard" to Crackdown

Officials in Lhasa city, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), have implemented a "strike hard" anti-crime campaign running from mid-January until late March 2009―a period of time that brackets a series of dates that many Tibetans consider to have a high level of cultural and political sensitivity.

TAR Creates March 28 Holiday To Celebrate 1959 Dissolution of Dalai Lama's Government

Deputies to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) People's Congress voted on January 19, 2009, to establish "Serfs Emancipation Day," a public holiday celebrating the March 28, 1959, Chinese government decree that dissolved the Dalai Lama's Lhasa-based Tibetan government, according to two January 19 Xinhua reports (1, 2 (translated in OSC, 22 January 09).

Government Calls for Strengthening Propaganda on Ethnic Policy

Officials' Early Response to Unemployment and "Social Unrest" During Downturn

Since late 2008, Premier Wen Jiabao and other high level officials have made public statements acknowledging rising unemployment in China and the new challenges to "social stability" posed by unemployed migrant workers, according to a January 28 BBC report and a February 2 Financial Times report. (For more discussion of "social stability" and "social unrest," see the Preface and General Overview in the Congressional-Executive Commission on China 2008 Annual Report.)

Top Officials Say Propaganda in 2009 To Focus on Economy and Stability

In early January 2009, top Chinese Communist Party officials outlined a propaganda agenda for the year that focuses on safeguarding economic development and social stability. Li Changchun, a member of the Party's Politburo Standing Committee, and Liu Yunshan, Director of the Party's Central Propaganda Department (CPD), a department responsible for censorship of China's media, outlined the agenda during the National Propaganda Directors' meeting in Beijing on January 4-5, according to a January 5 Xinhua article.

Chengdu Court Postpones Trial of Activist Huang Qi

The Wuhou District People's Court in Chengdu, Sichuan province, postponed the trial of rights activist Huang Qi after initially notifying Huang's wife and his lawyer on February 2, 2009, that the trial would be held the next day, according to February 2 articles in the Washington Post (WP) and Associated Press (AP, via WTOP.com).

Uyghur Historian Released From Prison

Uyghur historian Tohti Tunyaz completed his 11-year sentence for "inciting splittism" and "unlawfully obtaining state secrets" on February 10, 2009, according to information accessible to the public in the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) Political Prisoner Database, and he has since been released from prison, according to February 10 reports from the Sankei and Mainichi (via Yahoo) newspapers, based on information from sources close to the case.

Governments in Xinjiang Continue to Sponsor, Sanction Job Recruitment That Discriminates Against Ethnic Minorities

Hiring practices that discriminate against ethnic minorities have continued in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), according to Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) monitoring of job recruiting announcements from the past year. The CECC found employment advertisements posted on government Web sites that reserved positions for Han Chinese in civil servant posts, state-owned enterprises, and private posts, indicating direct government involvement in discriminatory practices, as well as implicit government endorsement of and failure to prevent discriminatory practices in private hiring. The practices contravene provisions in the PRC Constitution and in Chinese laws that forbid discrimination. See, for example, Article 4 of the Constitution and Article 9 of the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law (REAL), both of which forbid discrimination based on ethnicity. Article 12 of the Labor Law and Article 3 of the Employment Promotion Law state that job applicants shall not face discrimination in job hiring based on factors including ethnicity, and Article 28 of the Employment Promotion Law states that all ethnicities enjoy equal labor rights. Within this framework of non-discrimination, Article 14 of the Labor Law allows for separate legal stipulations to govern the hiring of ethnic minorities, and Article 28 of the Employment Promotion Law says that employing units shall give appropriate consideration to ethnic minority workers in job hiring. In addition, Article 22 of the REAL provides that ethnic autonomous government agencies shall give appropriate consideration to ethnic minorities in job hiring. Article 28 of the Implementing Provisions for the REAL also provides that ethnic autonomous areas give appropriate consideration to ethnic minorities in the job hiring process for government positions and includes provisions for their participation in higher levels of government.

Propaganda Officials Censor Coverage of Beijing Fire

Propaganda officials in Beijing ordered Chinese Web sites to delete blogs and discussion groups about a fire at a hotel under construction on the grounds of China Central Television's (CCTV) headquarters that began on the evening of February 9, 2009, according to a February 11 Los Angeles (LA) Times article. The officials also ordered Chinese media not to publish photos, videos, or in-depth reports about the fire, which took place in Beijing, and to run only official stories issued by the Xinhua News Agency instead of their own reports, the article said