Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2004 - China

Crackdown on cyber-activists⁵⁸

Cyber-activists still in jail

As of December 2004, many cyber-dissidents involved in the promotion of human rights and democracy in China were still in jail, e.g., Mr. Jiang Lijun, sentenced in November 2003 to four years in prison for posting political views in favour of democracy on the Internet; Mr. Huang Qi, sentenced to five years in prison for publishing several articles about the Tiananmen massacre on his Tianwang website; Mr. Tao Haidong, sentenced to seven years in prison in January 2003 for publishing books and posting articles on web sites in China and overseas; Mr. Luo Yongzhong, sentenced to three years imprisonment with two years' subsequent deprivation of political rights in October 2003 after having published more than 150 articles online on topics such as the plight of the disabled and the need for constitutional reform; Messrs. Jin Haike, Xu Wei and Zhang Honghai, co-founders of the New Youth Society in May 2000, a study group that discussed political and democratic reforms, and Mr. Yang Zili, a New Youth Society member. The four of them were arrested in March 2001 and reportedly suffered harsh treatment in custody because of their refusal to admit guilt. Messrs. Jin and Xu were sentenced to ten years in prison in October 2003 while Messrs. Zhang and Yang were condemned to a eight years jail term. In June 2004, Mr. Xu Wei went on hunger strike to protest against the ill-treatment he was suffering in custody. Detention centre officials also refused to pass on a message to the four men by their families advising them to appeal their sentences.

Cyber-activists sentenced and/or still in jail

Moreover, some other cyber-dissidents who had been detained in 2002 or 2003 were sentenced to prison sentences at the very end of 2003 and in 2004, e.g.:

– Mr. Ouyang Yi, a political activist who had been arrested on 4 December 2002 and subsequently charged with "incitement to overthrow State power" for having criticised the Chinese government and used the Internet to spread his demands for democratic reforms. On 16 March 2004, the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court sentenced Mr. Ouyang Yi to two years in prison. He was tried in secret without any prior notice given to his family or even to his lawyer, who was unable to represent him in court. The evidence presented against him was a copy of the Open Letter to the 16th Party Congress disseminated through the Internet in mid-November 2002, initially drafted by Mr. Ouyang. The letter called for progress in China's democratisation and human rights, and was ultimately signed after finalisation by 192 dissidents.

– Mr. Li Zhi who, on 10 December 2003, was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of "incitement to subvert State power", after having criticised official corruption. Mr. Li Zhi intended to make an appeal against this judgment but as of December 2004, the case was still pending.

– Mr. Yan Jun, another Internet activist, who was detained on 2 April 2003. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment for "subversion" on 8 December 2003 after he called for free labour unions, the release of

Mr. Zhao Ziyang, former secretary general of the Chinese Communist Party, and free press.

– Mrs. Ma Yalian, who, on 16 March 2004, was sentenced by the Shanghai's Administrative Committee for Reeducation Through Labour (RTL) to one and a half years of RTL.⁵⁹ The decision claimed that "from July 2003 until February 2004, Mrs. Ma Yalian, on numerous occasions, posted [...] websites articles falsely accusing the Shanghai authorities of causing her physical injury". The decision also stated that Mrs. Ma Yalian had "turned petitioning into pestering." The main reason for Mrs. Ma's arrest was an article she posted on several websites entitled A True Record of Being Turned Away from the National Petitions and Letters Office and the Petitions Bureau of the National People's Congress. In this article, Mrs. Ma Yalian reported on physical abuses suffered by petitioners from police and officials outside of Beijing's main petitions offices. The article included accounts by many petitioners describing their brutal treatment at the hands of the authorities, providing names, location and dates of the incidents. Accounts of petitioners who committed suicide outside the petitions offices were also included. Mrs. Ma Yalian described her own experience of physical abuse and humiliation at the petitions offices. She spent many years petitioning the authorities over her forcible removal during an urban redevelopment clearance operation in Shanghai. The Shanghai Public Security Bureau previously had sentenced her to one year of RTL in August 2001. While serving that RTL sentence, Mrs. Ma Yalian had both her legs broken by police. She has been physically disabled ever since.

– Finally, Messrs. Du Daobin and Luo Changfu, who had organised a campaign in favour of the release of Mrs. Liu Di, (a cyber-dissident who was released on bail on 28 November 2003⁶⁰), were arrested in October 2003 by officers of the Public Security Bureau (PSB) of Yingcheng, Hubei province.

In November 2003 Mr. Luo Changfu received a three-year prison sentence and was still in detention at the end of 2004. On 17 February 2004, Mr. Du Daobin was ultimately charged with "subversion" by the Hubei Prosecution Office. He was put on trial on 18 May 2004 in closed proceedings and without the benefit of his chosen defence counsel. His lawyer had only been notified a few days before the hearing that he was to present his defence statement on Du's behalf at the Xiaogan Intermediate People's Court. The Court sentenced Mr. Du Daobin to three years in prison for "incitement to subvert State power".

In June 2004, the Intermediate Court suspended his three-year jail sentence for four years, with two years' subsequent deprivation of political rights, and the obligation to report to his local Public Security Bureau every week. After his sentencing, Mr. Du was allowed to return home and reunite with his family. The Supreme People's Court of the Hubei province upheld the Intermediate Court's decision in appeal in August 2004.

Deteriorating health conditions of Messrs. Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang⁶¹

In 2004, the situation of Messrs. Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang, two labour activists, continued to deteriorate.

Messrs. Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang were arrested in March 2002 as the leaders of a mass workers' demonstration against corruption and unpaid benefits in the city of Liaoyang, Liaoning province. On 9 May 2003, they were sentenced to seven and four years in prison respectively on charges of "subverting State power" (Article 105 of the Criminal Code). Their appeals were rejected by a higher court, and their health, already very poor, grew worse since their transfer on 8 October 2003, from the Jinzhou prison to the Lingyuan prison, considered to be one of the most brutal prisons in China.

In March 2004, without prior notification to the family, Mr. Xiao Yunliang was transferred to the Shenyang municipal Dabei prison, and it is likely that the two men were separated intentionally to create division between the two families.

In May 2004, his family found that his stomach and his face were swollen so badly that he had difficulty in sleeping, breathing and eating. In addition, Mr. Xiao Yunliang suffered from pleurisy and was almost entirely blind. On 2 June 2004, after many months of requests and pleas for improved medical care, Mr. Xiao, accompanied by his family, was sent to the Shenyang China medical university no. 2 hospital. He was found to have arteriosclerosis of the aorta, liver and gallbladder stones and chronic superficial gastritis – a possible symptom of other more threatening diseases. Despite this medical examination, Mr. Xiao was given no medicine and denied examination of his kidneys and lungs.

Mr. Yao was also still in a life-threatening situation despite some stabilisation in his condition. As of December 2004, he continued to suffer from intermittent heart failure and to lose consciousness regularly because of high blood pressure, which makes fear that he might have a heart attack at any moment. Further, he lost much of the use of his right leg, which began to turn black, and was deaf in his right ear due to an injury sustained while in detention in 2002.

Prison authorities treated Mr. Yao with particular harshness, fearing his continued influence among workers. He was not allowed to talk with other prisoners, to go outside for fresh air nor to read books or newspapers or telephone his family. Two prisoners were assigned to monitor Mr. Yao's every movement. Prison officials refused to issue padded garments to Mr. Yao or allowed his family to provide him with warmer clothes to ward off the winter chill. Finally, it was reported that prison officials threatened Mr. Yao with a curtailment of family visits if reports of his treatment and condition circulate outside. For that reason, Mr. Yao continued to bear his abusive treatment in silence for some time. However, instead of improving, his conditions deteriorated, and a letter to prison officials by his wife, Mrs. Guo Sujing, requesting better treatment, remained unanswered. As of December 2004, Mr. Yao had received no medical diagnosis or treatment.

Finally, in 2004, the wives of both men were forcibly removed from Beijing after vain attempts to raise the case of their husbands with the Provincial Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Public Security and the Central Letters and Complaints Bureau, and to ask for a retrial. While at the Letters and Complaints Bureau, the women were picked up by officials from Liaoyang and taken to Huludao city where Liaoyang PSB officials forcibly took them back to Liaoyang. On their return, despite continued harassment, the two wives went again to the Provincial Supreme People's Court to demand a retrial. Their request was dismissed.

Arbitrary detention, harassment and ill treatment of activists involved in forced evictions

Detention of Mr. Zheng Enchong and abduction of his wife⁶²

Persecution of Mr. Zheng Enchong, a Shangai lawyer involved in the defence of economic and social rights of displaced persons, and his family, continued in 2004.

Arrested on 6 June 2003, Mr. Zheng Enchong was sentenced in October 2003 to three years in prison and deprivation of his political rights for one year, on charges of "illegally providing state secrets to entities outside of China", by the Shanghai Second Intermediate People's Court. He was accused of sending two communications to the NGO "Human Rights in China". The Shanghai appeal court upheld the sentence on 18 December 2003.⁶³

On 13 January 2004, Mr. Zheng Enchong was transferred from the Shanghai municipal detention centre to Tilanqiao prison. He was kept in solitary confinement and suffered physical abuse.

On 28 February 2004, his wife, Mrs. Jiang Meili, went to Beijing to petition the National People's Congress on behalf of her husband. That night, five women and two men burst into Mrs. Jiang's hotel room, bound and gagged her. She was forced into a vehicle and taken to another hotel in Canzhou City, Hubei province. The next day, five people took her back to Shanghai, where she was held in the Guangdi Hotel. The persons involved in her detention included officials of the Shanghai Representative Office in Beijing, the Shanghai Letters and Petitions Office and the Shanghai municipal PSB. At no time was Mrs. Jiang Meili presented with an arrest warrant or given any reason for her detention.

She was finally released on 1 March 2004, and was allowed to return home. However, the police kept her under close surveillance, and she remained under house arrest. The authorities destroyed her two mobile telephones and disconnected her home phone line. On 4 March 2004, plain-clothed police officers prevented Mrs. Jiang Meili from leaving her home to visit her husband. After she protested and continued walking, a group of people grabbed her by the hands and feet, and began to carry her away. After some struggling, her captors agreed to let her walk on her own feet and took her to the Guoqing Lu PSB. Mrs. Jiang Meili was released that same day. This was the third time Mrs. Jiang Meili was illegally detained since her husband was condemned.

At the end of July 2004, the police stopped watching her house, but they continued to visit her home from time to time.

On 10 November 2004, Mrs. Jiang Meili went to visit Mr. Zheng, along with other family members. During the visit, Mr. Zheng said he had been visited a number of times by the director of Shanghai's Judicial Bureau and Prisons Bureau, Mr. Miao Xiaobao, who told him that if he admitted wrongdoing, his three-year sentence would be reduced by one year. Mr. Zheng Enchong refused to do so.

Since the beginning of his imprisonment, Mr. Zheng has not been allowed to see his lawyer, and therefore has not been able to file an appeal against his sentence. His wife filed an appeal application on his behalf before the Shanghai Supreme People's Court but the Court did not register it.

During his wife's visit, Mr. Zheng also told his visitors that in spite of his relatively light sentence, he was housed in the prison's high security section, where he was obliged to share his 3.5 square meter cell with two other prisoners. In addition, repeated requests to telephone his family had been denied. Mr. Zheng also asked his wife to urge displaced residents to persevere in their legal action against Mr. Zhou Zhengyi, a wealthy property developer, and others involved in a redevelopment project. When he began speaking about this subject, prison guards immediately ended the visit, and five or six guards carried Mr. Zheng out of the visiting room.

Attack of Mrs. Mo Zhujie⁶⁴

On 5 March 2004, Mrs. Mo Zhujie, the mother of Mr. Shen Ting, a Hong Kong resident, was attacked by the Shanghai authorities because of her son's campaign on behalf of Mr. Zheng Enchong and other Shanghai residents displaced by urban redevelopment projects.

While Mrs. Mo Zhujie was watching television at the home of a displaced resident, Mr. Ding Jundi, a group of eleven individuals, some wearing police uniforms, abducted her (one of the individuals was later identified as Yan Haipeng of the Shimen Erlu PSB). They forced her into a police vehicle, placed a plastic bag over her head, and threatened to kill her.

Mrs. Mo Zhujie was finally freed shortly after midnight.

Arrest and ill treatment of Mr. Hua Huiqi⁶⁵

In mid-February 2004, Mr. Hua Huiqi, a protestant church leader and a social activist campaigning against forced evictions in Beijing, was placed under de facto house arrest.

On 5 March 2004, Mr. Hua Huiqi and his wife, Mrs. Wei Jumei, were forced into a police vehicle and taken to the Fengtai PSB station after attempting to leave their home. Mr. Hua was beaten by several police officers and had to be taken to the hospital. While they were at the hospital, the police broke into their home, ransacked the place and stole their money.

When Mr. Hua and his wife later left their home to go to the Fengtai PSB station to report the theft, they were once again beaten by the police officers, who tried to bar their way. Once at the police station, the police showed no interest in pursuing their complaint.

Arbitrary detention and house arrest of "Tiananmen Mothers"⁶⁶

On 28 March 2004, Mrs. Ding Zilin, Mrs. Zhang Xianling and Mrs. Huang Jinping, three "Tiananmen Mothers" were arrested and their homes were subsequently searched by the police. Mrs. Ding Zilin, a key spokesperson for the victims' families, was arrested at her home by three police officers without presenting any arrest warrant. Mrs. Zhang Xianling was apprehended in her home by two police officers, who presented a warrant stating that she was being detained under Article 50 of China's National Security Law. Police told her husband that the Tiananmen Mothers Campaign and the Tiananmen Mothers Network, as a group, were reactionary organisations through which entities inside and outside China were conspiring to harm national security and to incite subversion of State power. Mrs. Huang Jinping was arrested at her home by national security police bearing an arrest warrant.

The three women's arrest was linked with the importation of T-shirts from Hong Kong printed with a Tiananmen Mothers logo in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre. It seems that a video CD that had been released earlier in Hong Kong, presenting the testimonies of six family members of June 4th victims, including Mrs. Ding Zilin, Mrs. Zhang Xianling and Mrs. Huang Jinping, was the alleged impetus for the arrests. This video CD had then been taken to Geneva by members of the Tiananmen Mothers Campaign, to be presented to the UN Commission's Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

Mrs. Ding Zilin, Zhang Xianling and Huang Jinping were released on 1 April 2004, after confessing they had "conspired with overseas forces to evade Chinese customs and import illegal goods to China (...) and engaged in other activities in violation of China's State Security Law".

In May 2004, Mrs. Ding Zilin, Zhang Xianling and Huang Jinping and Mrs. Yin Min, also a member of the Tiananmen Mothers Network, were held under house arrest. They were planning to file a legal complaint with the Supreme People's Prosecution Office against former Prime Minister Mr. Li Peng on behalf of 126 people who lost a family member in the Tiananmen Massacre. Since then, no one was allowed to enter Mrs. Ding's home, and she and her husband were not allowed to leave home except for the purchase of basic necessities. On 25 May 2004, police warned Mrs. Ding Zilin not to go to the Prosecution Office.

On 28 May 2004, Mrs. Zhang Xianling and Mrs. Yin Min were again placed under surveillance. The police warned them not to file any legal complaints.

Up to December 2004, Mrs. Ding Zilin, Mrs. Zhang Xianling and Mrs. Yin Min were confined almost entirely to their homes, apart from closely monitored shopping trips.

Detention of a farmers group's leader⁶⁷

On 6 July 2004, public security police arrived at the home of Mr. Zhang Youren, the leader of a farmers group in Tangshan, Hubei province, who was protesting the terms of their forced relocation. They instructed him to pack his diabetes medication before taking him away – an indication that he would be held in custody for a certain period of time. After having arrested Mr. Zhang Youren, the police conducted a search of his home, and when his wife, Mrs. Wang Yushu, and his son, Mr. Zhang Guodong, declined to co-operate with the search, police officers beat Mrs. Wang and forcibly removed her to the local police station.

Mr. Zhang's detention was probably related to a visit to Tangshan by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao scheduled for 8-10 July 2004. The relocated farmers were planning to petition Wen Jiabao to intervene in their case, and the arrest of their leader was seen as an attempt to forestall any such action. Another peasant leader, Mr. Li Tie, anticipating similar treatment, fled the city.

As of December 2004, although seriously ill, Mr. Zhang Youren was still confined to his home under house arrest. Mr. Zhang is reported to be almost blind with glaucoma because his diabetic condition has become worse and the terms of his residential surveillance do not allow him to be in contact with other people and, thus, receive medical treatment.

Moreover, those assisting the peasant protesters have come under increasing pressure since Mr. Zhang Youren's detention. Indeed, Mr. Zhao Yan, a researcher for the Beijing bureau of the New York Times known for his reports on China's peasantry, has been held since 17 September 2004, and was formally arrested on 20 October on the charge of "divulging State secrets", which is punishable by the death penalty. Among other reasons, it seems that Chinese authorities wished to prevent Mr. Zhao Yan from starting a hunger strike on behalf of Mr. Zhang Youren. As of December 2004, Mr. Zhao was still detained, and his case was pending.

Arbitrary detention, adjournment of court proceedings and release of Mr. Yan Zhengxue⁶⁸

In late 2003, while Mr. Yan Zhengxue, an outspoken human rights promoter and a well-known artist and dissident, was in the United States, his mother was intimidated by thugs sent by Mr. Zhu Yongjie, of the Taizhou City Prosecution Office. After Mr. Yan returned to China, he went to ask for protection at the Zhejiang local police station but the police refused to investigate the incident. Short after, Mr. Zhu Yongjie and a group of thugs demanded that Mr. Yan hand over his flat and threatened him with serious bodily harm. Mr. Yan Zhengxue went to the Jiaojiang district public security substation to ask for protection, but the police not only refused to help and to pursue the case but also tried to discredit him with slander.

In June 2004, Mr. Yan filed a complaint against the Beijing and Zhejiang public security authorities and the Jiaojiang District public security authorities for "slandering his reputation with false information", with the Beijing No.2 Intermediate Court and the Jiaojiang District Court in Zhejiang.

Following Mr. Yan's complaint for slander, a court hearing took place on 27 October 2004. The presiding judge called for an adjournment after Mr. Yan brought some arguments against the records produced by the Jiaojiang district public security substation. No date has yet been set for resumption of the proceedings.

Finally, in the lead up to the meeting of the Central Party Committee of the 16th Party Congress, Mr. Yan Zhengxue was arrested and secretly detained by the State Security Department police on 14 September 2004. Mr. Yan Zhengxue was taken away by car from Taizhou City at 2.35 p.m. by the Zhejiang province State Security Department police. He was released without charges soon after being detained.

---

[Refworld note: This report as posted on the FIDH website (www.fidh.org) was in pdf format with country chapters run together by region. Footnote numbers have been retained here, so do not necessarily begin at 1.]

57. Idem.

58. See Annual Report 2003.

59. See Urgent Appeal CHN 002/0304/OBS 021.

60. See Annual Report 2003.

61. Idem.

62. See Open Letter to the Chinese authorities, 11 March 2004, and Urgent Appeal CHN 001/0803/OBS 041.4.

63. See Annual Report 2003.

64. See Open Letter to the Chinese authorities, 11 March 2004.

65. Idem.

66. See Urgent Appeal CHN 001/0304/OBS 019 and 019.1.

67. See Urgent Appeal CHN 003/0704/OBS 056.

68. See Urgent Appeal CHN 004/0904/OBS 071 and 071.1.