China Human Rights and Rule of Law Update - November 2005

 
 
 

Events

2005 Annual Report

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China released its 2005 Annual Report on October 11, 2005. The Commission found no improvement overall in human rights conditions in China over the past year, and increased government restrictions on Chinese citizens who worship in state-controlled venues or write for state-controlled publications. The Commission notes that the Chinese government continued to pursue certain judicial and criminal justice reforms that could result in improved protection of the rights of China's citizens. The Commission's 20 Legislative and Executive Branch members approved the report by a vote of 18-1, with one Commissioner answering "present."

Press Release: /media-center/press-releases/congressional-executive-commission-on-china-releases-2005-annual-report
Executive Summary: /publications/annual-reports/2005-annual-report#Executive Summary
Full Report (PDF - 1.35Mb): /sites/chinacommission.house.gov/files/2005%20CECC%20Annual%20Report.PDF
Full Report: /publications/annual-reports/2005-annual-report

 
 
 

Topic Paper: China's Household Registration System (Hukou)

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China released its latest topic paper: "China's Household Registration System: Sustained Reform Needed to Protect China's Rural Migrants" on October 7. This topic paper is available on the Commission's Web site in HTML and Adobe Acrobat PDF formats.

 

Translation: Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China has prepared a translation of the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law.

 

Translation: Court Judgment in Zhang Lin Incitement of Subversion Trial

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China has prepared a translation of the Bengbu Intermediate People's Court's Written Judgment in the Zhang Lin Incitement of Subversion of State Power Trial, sentencing him to five years imprisonment. The High Court in Anhui recently rejected his appeal.

 

Translation: MII Notice on Cellular Phone Short Messaging

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China has prepared a translation of the Notice Regarding Further Strengthening Control Over the Dissemination of Harmful Information Over Mobile Communication Networks, issued by the Ministry of Information Industry in late September 2005, and made public on October 7, 2005. A summary of the notice prepared by the Commission is available here.

 
 
 

Police in Chongqing Quash Largest Workers' Protest Since 1989

Police broke up one of the largest worker protests in China since 1989 on October 7 in Chongqing, an independent municipality in western China, according to an October 15 report in The Australian. An estimated 10,000 protesters, many of whom were laid off workers from the bankrupt Tegang Chongqing Special Steel Plant, threatened to derail the city government's efforts to successfully host the Asia-Pacific Cities Summit from October 10-14, according to the report.

Reporters Without Borders Ranks China as 1 of 10 Worst Countries for Press Freedom

Reporters Without Borders ranked China 159th out of 167 countries in its 2005 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, released on October 20. China ranked ahead of Nepal, Cuba, Libya, Burma, Iran, Turkmenistan, Eritrea, and North Korea in granting press freedom, according to the Index. The authors note that, despite some media privatization in China, "the government's propaganda department monitors the media, which were forbidden to mention dozens of sensitive subjects in the past year."

Public Security Officials Detain Nearly 50 Protestant Leaders in Hebei

Public security officials detained nearly 50 Protestant leaders in Hebei province, according to an October 20 report by the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S.-based NGO that monitors the religious freedom of Chinese Protestants.

SPC Takes Additional Steps to Reclaim Authority Over Death Penalty Review

Supreme People's Court (SPC) Vice President Wan Exiang announced September 25 that the SPC is taking further steps to reclaim the power of review over all death penalty decisions, according to the September 27 edition of the China Youth Daily. In a public lecture at the Beijing Institute of Technology, Vice President Wan said that the SPC will add three criminal tribunals to cope with the additional work from taking back the death penalty review power. He added that this latest move will be vital to maintaining judicial neutrality.

Legal Activist Chen Guangcheng Beaten Again

Local officials again beat blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng near his home in Shuanghou township, Shandong province, on October 24, according to a report the same day on Radio Free Asia. Since September 6, officials have held Chen under house arrest for publicizing abuses by local population planning officials.

Court Rejects Writer Zhang Lin's Appeal of Conviction for Subversive Writings

The High People's Court in Bengbu, Anhui province, rejected writer Zhang Lin's appeal of his conviction for subversion of state power, according to an October 15 report on the Boxun Web site. Zhang's wife told Boxun that officials at the Intermediate Court gave her the High Court's opinion on October 14, which stated simply: "Appeal rejected, original judgment upheld. This ruling is the final ruling."

Xinjiang Police Reportedly Bar Uighur Haj Pilgrimage By Confiscating Passports

Xinjiang police confiscated the passports of a group of Uighur pilgrims seeking to cross the border by bus at Qonjirap in Xinjiang on August 25, according to the East Turkistan Information Center (in Uighur). The group had planned to spend the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Mecca.

Labor Ministry Officials Remove Regulatory Barrier to Migrants Seeking Work in Cities

The Ministry of Labor and Social Services (MOLSS) has issued a migrant rights handbook (2005 edition) that says that MOLSS will not require migrants to obtain a work registration card in their place of origin before they seek jobs in urban areas, according to a September 26 Xinhua article. The requirement to do so had been in place since 1994, and limited migrant employment prospects and allowed local authorities the discretion to charge migrants additional fees, according to a September 26 article published on the Yangcheng Evening News Web site.

State Council Report On Democratic Governance Emphasizes Communist Party Control

The Chinese government issued a white paper titled "Building of Political Democracy in China" on October 19, according to an International Herald Tribune article on October 19.

Scholars Complete Working Draft of Revised Criminal Procedure Law

Chinese legal scholars have completed a working draft of the second set of revisions to China's Criminal Procedure Law (CPL), according to an October 11 report by government-run China Radio International Online (CRI). Professor Xu Jingcun of Southwest University of Political Science and Law formally announced completion of the document during the 2005 National Conference on Procedure Law, held from September 24 through 26 in Tianjin.

Government Agencies Issue New Regulations Restricting News Reporting on the Internet

Among the Chinese government's "most pressing responsibilities" is controlling "harmful information" on the Internet, according to a September 1 editorial in the official newspaper of the Ministry of Information Industry (MII). The Ministry did not disclose, however, the nature of the "harmful information" it was referring to until September 25, when the MII and the State Council Information Office (SCIO) promulgated the Rules on the Administration of Internet News Information Services (Rules). The Rules "tighten supervision over online news services," according to a September 26 Xinhua article, and prohibit anyone from using the Internet to post or transmit news reports or commentary relating to politics, economics, and military, foreign, and public affairs without prior government authorization.

Public Security Officials Detain Two House Church Protestants in Henan

Public security officers detained two house church evangelists in Henan province on September 26 and October 2, reports the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S.-based NGO that monitors the religious freedom of Chinese Protestants. The report says that public security officers took Ma Yinzhou, a house church pastor, into custody on September 26 and demanded that he reveal the whereabouts of Ma Shulei, his son, who is a house church evangelist. Ma Shulei turned himself in to authorities on October 2. According to CAA, public security officers in Beijing detained Ma Yinzhou and Ma Shulei in 2002 during a raid on a meeting of house church leaders.

Leadership Congratulates Workers as Track Work Completed on Qinghai-Tibet Railway

Vice Premier Huang Ju attended an October 15 ceremony in Lhasa marking the completion of track laying for the Qinghai-Tibet railroad, Xinhua reported the same day.

Party and Government Censorship Results in News Media Being "Silent and Absent"

Communist Party and government control over, and censorship of, China's news media prevents journalists from writing and publishing critical investigative reports, according to an article by Professor Zheng Baowei in the October edition of Journalist Monthly [Xinwen Jizhe]. The monthly journal is a joint publication of the Shanghai Communist Party Central Committee and Academy of Social Sciences.

Xinjiang Discipline and Inspection Committee Attacks "False Reports"

The Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region's Discipline and Inspection Committee (Committee) issued a public statement on October 20 condemning "false reporting" about Xinjiang government efforts to force officials and state-owned enterprise managers to divest and disclose their illegal holdings in coal mines (CECC coverage of one such report is available here).

Ministry of Health Announces Flu Emergency Plan

The Ministry of Health announced a plan September 28 to control the emergence of a flu pandemic, according to an item posted on the Ministry's Web site.

Guangzhou Officials Formally Arrest Rural Activist Guo Feixiong

Public security officials in Guangzhou formally arrested rural activist Guo Feixiong on October 4, over three weeks after a Chinese news source reported him as missing and likely to be in police custody, according to the Epoch Times, BBC, and South China Morning Post (subscription required). Officials detained Guo on September 13 and have charged him with "gathering people to disturb public order," a crime under Article 290 of China's Criminal Law. The charges relate to efforts by Guo to provide legal advice to the villagers of Taishi village, Guangzhou city, in their recall campaign against the village committee head.

UN Committee Recommends Independent Expert to Visit Boy Named As Panchen Lama

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has recommended that the Chinese government "allow an independent expert to visit and confirm the well-being" of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the boy the Dalai Lama recognized as the Panchen Lama in 1995, in Concluding Observations of a report published on September 30.

Party Scholars, Government Officials Discuss Reform Of Household Registration System

Party scholars and government officials publicly raised the subject of reform of the Chinese hukou (household registration) system following the conclusion of the Communist Party plenary session on October 11. Restrictions linked to hukou identification often prevent rural migrants from obtaining social services in Chinese cities on an equal basis with other residents, as noted in a recent Commission topic paper.

Ministries Form Working Group to Prevent Animal-Human Disease Transmission

The Ministries of Health and Agriculture announced on October 13 the establishment of a working group to prevent the transmission of diseases from animals to humans. The purpose of the working group is to strengthen coordination between the two ministries to prevent the outbreak of diseases such as avian flu and swine flu within the human population.

Government Campaign to Settle Tibetan Nomads Moving Toward Completion

A government program to settle Tibetan nomadic herders has placed about 10,000 families in Qinghai province (89 percent of the nomads) in communities of fixed dwellings, according to an October 4 report in the Sydney Morning Herald. The government program may mean the end of a traditional way of life that Tibetans, Mongols, and other ethnic groups in China regard as integral to their culture and self-identity.

Senior Official Credits WTO Accession for Advancing Transparency

Zhou Hanhua, the head of the State Council-designated drafting team on open government measures, credited WTO accession with raising people's awareness about their rights and the importance of openness and transparency, according to an interview published on October 13 in the Beijing Review.

Ministry of Information Industry Launches Campaign to Censor Cell Phone Short Messaging Systems

The Ministry of Information Industry (MII) will "carry out strict screening of information contents on cellular phones, pagers, and fixed line phones" during October, to "address the increased spread of pornography, superstition, and other unhealthy content," according to an October 7 Beijing News article posted on the Beijing News Web site.

Shanghai Court Sentences Petitioner Xu Zhengqing to Three Years in Prison

A local court in Shanghai sentenced petitioner Xu Zhengqing to three years in prison on October 17, according to reports available through Human Rights in China (HRIC) and the International Herald Tribune. Xu has been in police custody since January 29, when he traveled to Beijing to attend memorial services for former senior leader Zhao Ziyang. The Shanghai Putuo District Procuratorate charged Xu with "creating disturbances," a crime punishable by up to five years imprisonment under Article 293 of China's Criminal Law.

Officials Beat Protestant Businessman in Xinjiang

Xinjiang state security officials questioned and beat Tong Qimiao, a Protestant businessman, on September 28 and on October 1 threatened to revoke his business license, according to September 30 and October 3 reports of the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S.-based NGO that monitors the religious freedom of Chinese Protestants.

Seven Legal Aid Centers to Open In Urumqi

The government of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region has approved the establishment of a legal aid center in the city of Urumqi and in each of the six counties that the city administers, according to an October 21 Urumqi Evening News report. All of the centers will begin operation by the end of 2005. To date, defendants in 574 criminal, 226 civil, and 16 notarization cases have received legal aid in Urumqi.

Lhasa Area Monks and Nuns Face a New Round of "Patriotic Education"

Officials in the Lhasa area are increasing both supervision of "patriotic education" programs conducted in Tibetan monasteries and nunneries and examinations of monks and nuns, according to a report by the India-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) on October 13.

Traffic Police in Zhejiang Beat, Detain Editor After Newspaper Publishes Critical Report

More than 10 traffic police officers stormed a Communist Party newspaper office in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, and beat and detained Wu Xianghu, a deputy editor at the Taizhou Evening News, after a scuffle between Wu and a senior police officer over the paper's recent report about unreasonable traffic license charges, according to an October 22 South China Morning Post (SCMP) report (subscription required). A newspaper employee confirmed to the SCMP that the beating required Wu to be hospitalized for "severe injuries."

Local Officials Suppress Citizen Effort to Remove Village Committee Head in Guangdong Province

Local officials have suppressed a campaign by villagers in Taishi village, Guangzhou city, to remove village committee head Chen Jinsheng, who they accuse of embezzling village funds. Despite national law guaranteeing village electoral rights, local officials have blocked recall efforts by forcing elected village representatives to resign and detaining lawyers providing legal advice to the villagers. This has resulted in clashes between villagers and police, reports the South China Morning Post in a series of articles on September 2, 3, 4, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 28.

Local People's Congress Representative, Journalists Beaten While Covering Taishi Village Incident

Lu Banglie, a local people's congress representative escorting an British journalist seeking to report on events in Taishi village, Guangdong province, was beaten by a number of unidentified individuals on October 9, according to an October 10 Guardian report and an October 11 South China Morning Post (SCMP) report (subscription required). Similarly, reporters working for Radio France and the SCMP were assaulted on October 7, according to an October 10 SCMP article (subscription required).

MFA Spokesperson Criticizes Foreign Reporters Covering Taishi Village Protests

Foreign Ministry (MFA) press spokesman Kong Quan addressed violence against foreign journalists trying to cover the Taishi village protests in Guangdong province during a press briefing on October 11, according to a transcript published in Chinese and English on the Ministry's Web site.

Justice Ministry Takes Steps To Improve the Independence of Expert Factual Determinations

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) issued Measures on the Registration of Judicial Forensic Centers and Measures on the Registration of Judicial Forensic Personnel on September 30 implementing a February 28 National People’s Congress (NPC) decision barring courts from establishing their own forensics centers to provide expert determinations of fact.

Chinese Government Expresses Continuing Concern Over Arable Land Loss

Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) Vice Minister Lu Xinshe expressed continuing concern over arable land loss at a National Conference on the Protection of Basic Agricultural Land, according to an October 24 report by the Legal Daily. Lu revealed that the central government has renewed its focus on monitoring the occupation and use of basic farmland and will require local authorities to announce and hold public hearings before they appropriate arable land in the future.

Anhui Province Expands Merger of Party and Government Posts

Anhui provincial authorities have expanded an experimental merger of Communist Party and government township level posts to 17 counties throughout the province, according to an October 19 article in the 21st Century Business Herald. The experiment began in late 2004 in Xuancheng city. The reforms require the township Party secretary to serve concurrently as the head of the township government. Individual township reforms require lower level Party officials to hold other government positions. For example, one township's rules require deputy township Party secretaries to head both the local people's congress (LPC) and the discipline committee.

Authorities Close Two Mongolian-Language Web Sites for Posting "Separatist" Materials

Authorities in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region shut down two popular Mongolian-language Web sites (Ehoron, or "homeland" and Monghal, translated as "eternal fire") on September 26 for posting what officials are calling "separatist" content, according to the Southern Mongolia Human Rights Information Center.

Education Department Requires Xinjiang Students to Pick Cotton and Hops

The Xinjiang Education Department is requiring nearly 100,000 students to pick cotton and hops in the People's Liberation Army's Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps farms as part of a mandatory work study program, according to a September 12 Urumqi Evening News report.

Two Provinces Force Universities to Implement "Real Name Systems" for Internet Forums

The people's governments and Communist Party central committees of Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces have each issued opinions informing universities in those jurisdictions that they must increase their supervision over campus Web sites and Internet forums, according to articles in the Southern Metropolitan Daily and the Yangtse Daily on September 29 and October 5, respectively.

Migrant Sues Government for Denying Welfare Claim on Basis of Residency Status

Migrant worker Wu Yongzhong has sued the Guangdong Department of Civil Affairs for denying his claim for welfare payments on the basis of his hukou (household registration) status, according to a September 30 Beijing News report. Wu is an injured, unemployed electrician originally from Sichuan province who has worked in Guangzhou city for eight years.

Chengdu Homeowners Protest Inadequate Regulation of Property Development

Members of over 400 households gathered on the streets of Chengdu, Sichuan province, to hold a press conference protesting the government's inadequate regulation of a local development company, according to an October 15 Radio Free Asia (RFA) report. Riot police eventually dispersed the crowds. A Chengdu Economic Daily report revealed that more than 80 households filed a complaint against the same company with the local investigative unit of the public security bureau on October 10, identifying themselves as victims of fraud.

Student Sues Henan University For Hepatitis Discrimination

A student in Henan province has filed a law suit against the Henan Institute of Finance and Economics alleging that the school discriminated against him because he is a carrier of the hepatitis B virus, according to China Youth Daily. The university denied the student admission last spring, despite the fact that the student scored above the cut-off point on the entrance examination. According to the university, officials denied the student admission because his application showed that he had tested positive for hepatitis B.

Hong Kong Constitutional Development Task Force Issues Proposals for Reform

The Hong Kong SAR's Constitutional Development Task Force issued its fifth report on October 19. The report contains a package of proposals on methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2007 and for forming the Legislative Council (LegCo) in 2008.

Web Site Openings and Closings After the Taishi Protests and New Regulations

Chinese authorities shut down the Web site of Ai Xiaoming, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong province, on October 5, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported (subscription required) on October 7. Ai wrote an open letter (in Chinese) to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on September 15 that included a list of people in Taishi village who were detained the previous day.