China Human Rights and Rule of Law Update - September 2005

 
 
 

Events

China's Household Registration (Hukou) System: Discrimination and Reform

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China will hold another in its series of staff-led Issues Roundtables, entitled China's Household Registration (Hukou) System: Discrimination and Reform on Friday, September 2, from 2:00 - 3:30 PM in Room 2168 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

 
 
 

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Visits China

Louise Arbour, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, is visiting China from August 29 to September 2, according to a United Nations press release. Ms. Arbour’s visit aims to renew technical cooperation programs between her office and the Chinese government. She also hopes to sign an agreement on facilitating the Chinese government’s ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and on implementing several recommendations from the U.N. Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. According to the press release, the High Commissioner will meet the Ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs, the President of the Supreme People’s Court, and other senior Chinese officials.

U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture to Visit China in November

Manfred Nowak, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, is scheduled to visit China from November 21 to December 2, 2005, according to an August 22 United Nations press release. Nowak will visit government officials, representatives of civil society, and detention centers in Beijing, Jinan, Urumqi, Yining, and Lhasa and will submit a comprehensive report to the Commission on Human Rights in 2006, according to the U.N. release.

Beijing Police Crack Down on Human Rights Activists During U.N. High Commissioner's Visit

According to several sources, Chinese authorities have launched a crackdown on human rights activists in Beijing during the visit of Louise Arbour, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to China from August 29 to September 2. On August 29, Chinese police raided the office of the Empowerment and Rights Institute, a legal and human rights advisory group in Beijing, shortly before Ms. Arbour's arrival, according to an August 30 New York Times article. The article cited employees of the Institute as saying that police searched the Institute's offices and copied computer files. The group's director, Hou Wenzhuo, said that the police had come to her home as well, but had not arrested her.

Government Campaign Intensifies Against Protestant House Churches

Chinese public security officials have stepped up a campaign against Chinese and American believers involved in the Protestant house church movement, particularly in north central China, according to the China Aid Association, a U.S. NGO that monitors religious freedom for Protestants.

Xinhua: Qinghai-Tibet Railroad Tracks Laid At Tanggula Pass in Qinghai

Rails for the Qinghai-Tibet railroad were laid at 16,641 feet (5,072 meters), the highest elevation that the railway will reach, on August 24, according to a Xinhua report. Vice Minister of Railways Sun Yongfu acknowledged that laying the tracks at Qinghai's Tanggula Pass was "a tough part" of the project. High altitude and frigid conditions pose "a major challenge," according to La Youyu, deputy director-general of the project's headquarters.

SPC Moving Ahead With Death Penalty Review Reform

The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) is in the process of adding two new criminal tribunals and several hundred new judges as it prepares to take back the power to review all death penalty decisions, according to an article in the Chengdu Daily. The new tribunals will be located in Beijing. An SPC research division is compiling a draft implementation opinion that lays out the mechanics of the procedural reform.

Chinese Government Increases Scrutiny of Environmental Civil Society Organizations

Chinese officials are conducting a large-scale survey of environmental civil society organizations in China, according to an August 18 South China Morning Post (SCMP) article (subscription required). According to unnamed government sources quoted in the article, the survey seeks to determine the extent of these organizations' operations, and uncovered unregistered organizations. This move strengthens the view of some analysts that the Chinese government is attempting to limit the independence of civil society organizations, particularly environmental groups.

Xinjiang Prefecture Bans Sala Branch of Islam and Reportedly Arrests 179

The Yili Kazahk Autonomous Prefecture government has banned the Sala branch of Islam in Xinjiang and arrested 179 practitioners, according to the German-based World Uighur Congress and a report by Agence-France Presse on August 19. High-ranking prefectural officials held a special work conference on the Sala "threat" on August 17, according to the Yili Daily.

New Joint Order Restricts Popular Access to Foreign Films and Television Programs

Five government agencies and the Communist Party's Central Propaganda Department (CPD) have issued a joint order increasing restrictions on the import of foreign "cultural products," according to an August 2 Xinhua report. The order is entitled the "Measures on Increasing the Administration of the Importation of Cultural Products" and was issued by the Ministry of Culture (MOC), State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT), General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), Office of Customs (Customs), and the CPD.

Norwegian NGO Reports on the Case of House Church Leader Cai Zhuohua

In an August 24 report, Forum 18, a religious freedom NGO based in Norway, reviewed the case of Cai Zhuohua, a Beijing house church pastor who the Chinese government prosecuted for "illegal business practices." Pastor Cai's case "highlights the severe restrictions Christian publishing is forced to operate within in China," according to the report.

TAR Official Says Gedun Choekyi Nyima Living In His Hometown

Vice Governor Wu Jingjie of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) has suggested that Gedun Choekyi Nyima, recognized by the Dalai Lama in 1995 as the Panchen Lama, is living in the TAR, according to a Reuters report posted on Phayul.com, a Tibetan news site. "I wish you to believe he is living in his hometown happily," Wu told a group of journalists touring central Tibet on a government-arranged itinerary.

Farmers Claim Administrative License for Power Plant was Issued Illegally

A Zhejiang provincial court agreed in June to hear a case involving a lawsuit by 282 farmers against the Zhejiang Development and Reform Commission (DRC). The farmers alleged that the DRC's approval of an administrative license for a garbage burning power plant violated the Administrative Licensing Law, according to a June 13 report in the Legal Daily.

Xinjiang Authorities Detain More Than 40 for Possessing "Illegal Religious Materials"

Authorities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region have detained a Uighur religious instructor and 37 of her students, according to the German-based World Uighur Congress and as reported by Agence-France Presse on August 15. Aminan Momixi, 56, was teaching the Koran to students between the ages of 7 and 20 in her home on August 1, when police detained the group. Police accused Momixi of "illegally possessing religious materials and subversive historical information" and reportedly denied her access to a lawyer.

MII Reports China's Government Has Met its Goals in Private Web Site Crackdown

On August 11 and 12, Chinese authorities convened a forum in Shanghai to discuss the results of the recently-concluded nationwide crackdown on private Web site operators, according to an August 16 report in the Ministry of Information Industry's (MII) People's Post and Telecommunications News.

Nanjing Propaganda Department Curbs Critical Investigative Reporting

In a July 26 directive, the Nanjing municipal Communist Party Propaganda Department prohibited the publication of certain types of articles unless the writer or editor has given the article's subject the opportunity to first "review the article," "check the facts," and "give their opinion," according to reports on the Nanjing Daily and People's Daily Web sites. Entitled "Interim Measures on the Examination and Verification of News Unit Public Opinion Supervision Articles," the directive mandates that when journalists submit a critical investigative report to an editor, they must also submit a copy of the draft that has been signed by the subject of the article.

Chongqing Court Analysis: Increase in Petitions Caused by Institutional Weaknesses of the Judiciary

Chinese authorities are experiencing an increasing number of xinfang petitions of final court decisions, ongoing court cases, and legal issues which should be handled by the judiciary, according to an analysis by a Chongqing local court official published on the China Court Network Web site. Petitioners are increasingly resorting to extreme behavior, multiple petitions, and organized petitioning efforts to pursue their grievances.

RFA: Three Tibetans, Previously Unknown, Sentenced for Dalai Lama Photos, Teachings

Three Tibetans who attempted to carry photographs of the Dalai Lama and audio tapes of his religious teachings from Nepal into the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) were sentenced to imprisonment in July 2001, according to a Radio Free Asia (RFA) report on August 11. The Shigatse (Rikaze) Intermediate People's Court sentenced two of the men, Lungtog and Tennam, to four years imprisonment. The third man, identified by the pseudonym Jigme, was sentenced to two years imprisonment and recounted his experience to RFA after he fled the TAR. He showed RFA a copy of the official court document sentencing the men for illegally crossing the border into China and "instigation to split the country."

Chinese Statistics Show More IPR Criminal Enforcement in First Half of 2005

The Chinese government released statistics for the first half of 2005 showing that People's Courts at all levels have accepted 1,549 cases related to IPR violations from the manufacture and sale of products. That figure represents an increase of 25.53 percent over the first half of 2004. Officials completed 1,330 investigations, an increase of 22.83 percent over the same period in 2004.

China's Internet Users Debate Shenzhen Public Security Bureau's "Real Name Internet" Requirement

Internet companies in Shenzhen should have finished "purifying and rectifying" all Internet chatrooms, bulletin board systems, news groups, and instant messaging systems ("forums") that they operate by August 25, under the terms of a Notice issued by the Shenzhen public security office on July 5. The Notice requires companies to shut down forums suspected of having "unauthorized mass organization activities." It also requires the closure of forums having a name, summary, or postings containing illegal information or information "not in harmony with the requirements of establishing a civilization with a socialist spirit."

Prominent Chinese Lawyers Call On Lawyers Association To Investigate the Detention of Zhu Jiuhu

A group of prominent Chinese lawyers has published an open letter to the All China Lawyers Association (ACLA) calling on it to investigate the detention of Beijing lawyer Zhu Jiuhu in Shaanxi province and work more actively to protect the legal rights of lawyers. Zhu had been representing thousands of investors in a sensitive administrative lawsuit against several local government entities in Shaanxi. The investors claim that Shaanxi officials illegally seized more than 5,000 privately run oil fields worth hundreds of millions of dollars after provincial officials encouraged them to invest in the properties. The seizures affected more than 1,000 private enterprises with more than 60,000 investors, and observers view the case as a test of the Chinese government's rhetoric on improving protections for private property rights.

Centuries-Old Buddhist Texts at Sakya Monastery to be Relocated During Renovation

The 80,000 volume collection of centuries-old texts at Sakya Monastery will be moved to another location temporarily, according to an August 17 Xinhua report. The texts will be handled carefully under the close watch of Sakya's monks, according to the same report. Each person handling the volumes will be required to sign a log, even though the storage facility is 250 feet from the monastery's main hall. Tibetan worshippers consider the chance to walk through the chamber behind the main altar, where the texts are kept in 30-foot high racks in near darkness, to be of profound religious significance.

Beijing News Reviews Progress and Problems in Criminal Procedure Law Amendment Process

A July 23 Beijing News article reviews in detail recent discussion and debate over amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law (CPL). According to the article, the CPL amendment has been added to the National People’s Congress (NPC) legislative calendar. An NPC source quoted in the article reports that the Legal Affairs Committee of the NPC Standing Committee is still researching amendment issues and has not yet begun drafting the amendment proposal. The NPC has tentatively scheduled consideration of a draft CPL amendment proposal during 2006, with final passage slated for 2007. The article provides insights into problems that the drafters have already encountered in the amendment drafting process. As with the 1996 amendments, investigative agencies reportedly are resisting some proposed reforms that would enhance the rights of criminal suspects.

Guangdong Weekly Reports on How Chinese Authorities Have "United to Purify the Internet"

An article in the August 18 edition of Guangdong's Southern Weekend offers the following perspective on how the Chinese government administers the Internet:

Shenzhen Municipal Authorities Announce Tighter Controls Over Migrant Population

Shenzhen authorities have tightened household registration (hukou) rules governing migrants, according to articles in the Beijing News, South China Morning Post, and on the Shenzhen municipal government Web site. Migrants who do not qualify for a local hukou usually cannot obtain public services such as health care and schooling for their children on an equal basis with registered residents.

Scholars Comment on Public Demands for Tighter Restrictions on Rural Migrants

Citizen representatives invited to comment on Beijing's municipal development plans demanded tighter restrictions on rural migrants, including tough hukou (household registration) policies and strict controls on providing housing and employment to migrants, according to a Southern Daily article. Commentary by scholars that was posted on the East Day Web site, however, called for a more cautious approach.

Beijing Olympic Committee Refusing All Telephone Interviews To Avoid Falun Gong Journalists

Jiang Xiaoyu, Vice Chairman of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Organizing Committee, said that the Committee will not accept interviews with international news media by telephone because the reporters might represent the Falun Gong spiritual movement, according to an August 8 report in The Australian.

Supreme People's Court Issues Reply on Eviction Cases

The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) has issued a Reply to the Zhejiang High People’s Court confirming that people’s courts may not directly accept civil lawsuits involving disputes over compensation for urban evictions. The Reply provides that such disputes must first be submitted to administrative adjudication boards under procedures outlined in China’s Urban Housing Demolition and Relocation Management Regulations.

Qiansu City Expands Legal Counseling Services for Ethnic Migrants

The State Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission (SERAC) in Qiansu city, Jiangsu province, signed cooperative agreements in July with legal aid centers in 36 cities to provide legal counsel to ethnic migrant workers. The number of minority migrant workers living in Qiansu has risen from 9,500 in the 1980s to over 24,000 today, according to an August 2 State Ethnic Affairs Commission report. More than 3,600 of Qiansu's minority citizens are currently employed in temporary jobs outside of the city and will now be able to seek legal counsel at legal aid centers in any of the 36 partner cities.

Anhui Court Sentences Writer Zhang Lin to Five Years Imprisonment for Inciting Subversion

A court in Anhui province has sentenced writer Zhang Lin to five years imprisonment and four years of deprivation of political rights for inciting subversion, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported on August 2. According to CPJ, on August 2 authorities notified Zhang Lin's family and his lawyer, Mo Shaoping, that on July 28 the Intermediate People's Court of Bengbu ruled that Zhang was guilty of crimes related to articles he has posted on the Internet, and to a radio interview.

Drug Addict Reportedly Beaten to Death In Police-Run Detoxification Center in Guangdong Province

The parents of a 24-year-old addict who died in a Guangdong province drug detoxification center received an anonymous call indicating that their son had been beaten to death, according to South China Morning Post articles published on August 4 and 5. An autopsy reportedly supports the caller’s assertion. The addict's parents, both doctors, had admitted him to the facility. According to one man who was detained there, the Guangdong center had a reputation for irregular fatalities and had been ordered to improve its record. Key footage from a surveillance camera that had been installed to prevent abuses is apparently missing without explanation.

Chinese Scholar Says Revised Criminal Procedure Law Likely To Require Witnesses to Appear in Court

A Chinese scholar who has participated in discussions on the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Law has said that a requirement that witnesses appear in court is very likely to be written into the law, according to a China Youth Daily report. The scholar notes that the failure of witnesses to appear in court is a "chronic disease" in the judicial process and has made it difficult to establish an adversarial framework in China’s criminal justice system. If witnesses do not appear in court, he concludes, defense lawyers cannot cross-examine them, and judges find it more difficult to evaluate the veracity of witness testimony. The scholar sees this as a key flaw in the criminal justice system.

Pollution Continues To Threaten the South-North Water Diversion Project

Thousands of tons of waste continue to pollute water that the government intends to be diverted through the eastern and middle routes of the South-North Water Diversion Project, according to an August 5 Xinhua article. The diversion project is part of national development plans to relieve severe water shortages by diverting water from south China to the north, but financial difficulties and lack of water treatment facilities threaten the project’s timely completion and effectiveness.

Citizens Petition NPC Standing Committee for Review of Conflicting Legal Provisions on Marriage Registration

Two private citizens have petitioned the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) to resolve an apparent contradiction between national and local legal requirements related to marriage registration, according to an article in the Procuratorate Daily.

Jilin Provincial Government Will Allow Citizens To Challenge Internal Regulations

Jilin provincial authorities will allow citizens to challenge internal, nonpublic regulations that administrative agencies often rely on as a legal basis for government action, according to a report appearing on the Ministry of Justice Web site. Media reports and scholars have criticized the use of such internal regulations, which are often drafted without citizen participation.

Henan Provincial Authorities Expand Medical Services to Migrants and Rural Residents

Henan provincial authorities will include several urban medical facilities in a rural health cooperative system that provides health services to migrants and rural residents, according to a Beijing News report. Chinese migrants and rural residents are often excluded from receiving urban public services, including health care, on the same terms as urban residents. The Henan decision appears to be a positive step aimed at removing some of these barriers.