Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2003 - China

Mr. Zheng Enchong's sentence26

On 6th June 2003, Mr. Zheng Enchong, a Shanghai lawyer involved in the defence of economic and social rights of displaced persons, was arrested and led to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau Detention Center. He was assisting displaced families in more than 500 cases relating to Shanghai's urban redevelopment projects. Mr. Zheng's first family visit occurred on 20th August only. His house was searched at least twice. During the searches, Public Security police warned his wife, Ms. Jiang Meili, not to speak to the foreign media or other parties outside of China.

On 28th October 2003, Mr. Zheng Enchong was sentenced 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" (article 111 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China) by the Shanghai Second Intermediate People's Court.

Mr. Zheng Enchong was accused of sending two communications to Human Rights in China (HRIC). The first one refered to a message from Mr. Zheng Enchong about the fact that 500 policemen surrounded more than 500 workers who were on strike on 9th May 2003 following the announcement that three-quarters of Shanghai Yimin Food Product n° 1 factory's workers would be laid-off. The second document was a copy of an internal article of Xinhua News agency entitled "Reporters covering conflict sparked by forced removal come under attack". However HRIC never received this article from him and the Court acknowledges that this document never reached the organisation. Both communications were considered as "state secrets" by the Shanghai State Secrets Bureau.

Mr. Zheng Enchong had been tried behind closed doors on 28th August 2003. Mr. Zheng Enchong's wife, Mrs. Jiang Meili, and other observers had been barred from the court on the grounds that the case involved state secrets. Represented in court by his lawyers, Mr. Enchong had pleaded not guilty in the trial.

On 19th November 2003, Ms. Jiang Meili and her sister, Ms. Jiang Zhongli, while in Beijing to meet with Zheng Enchong's lawyer, Mr. Zhang Sizhi, about Zheng Enchong's planned appeal, were abducted by officials of Shanghai's Letters and Petitions Bureau and immediately put on a train for Shanghai. Mrs. Jiang Meili's sister was released upon their return to Shanghai. Mrs. Jiang Meili herself was held a little longer, but was finally allowed to return home at around 3 p.m. on 20th November.

On 18th December 2003, the Shanghai appeal court upheld the three-year sentence of lawyer Zheng Enchong on charges of circulating state secrets. He remains imprisoned at the Shanghai Detention Center.

Alarming prison conditions for labours activists27

On 8th October 2003, two labours activists, Mr. Yao Fuxin and Mr. Xiao Yunliang, imprisoned since March 2002, were transferred from the Jinzhou Prison to the Lingyuan Prison, considered to be one of the most brutal prisons in China. Lingyuan Prison is a huge penal colony, located in Liaoning Province close to the border of Inner Mongolia. The transfer was made despite the extremely poor health of both prisoners. Mr. Yao Fuxin and Mr. Xiao Yunliang's health has rapidly deteriorated since their transfer to Lingyuan prison, due to the lack of proper medical facilities available in that prison.

In December 2003, Yao has been sent to the prison hospital after losing consciousness twice due to a heart condition and because is also suffering from hearing loss and partial paralysis. Xiao is suffering from pleurisy and is almost entirely blind. He has oedema throughout his body, and his hands are numb from prolonged use of handcuffs. Both men are kept in isolation and surveillance around the clock, and other prisoners are not allowed to speak with them. Yao and Xiao's families have requested that they be released for medical treatment outside of the prison system, a right that is provided for in Chinese law. But prison officials notified Yao's family that their request had been denied because of the "special circumstances" of Yao's case. As of December 2003, Xiao's family is still awaiting a decision regarding their request.

Mr. Yao Fuxin and Mr. Xiao Yunliang had been arrested as the leaders of a mass workers demonstration, that took place in March 2002 against corruption and unpaid benefits in the city of Liaoyang, Liaoning Province. They had been tried in January 2003 on charges of "subverting state power" (Article 105 of the criminal law) and on 9th May 2003, they had been sentenced to seven and four years in prison respectively. Their appeals had been subsequently rejected by a higher court.

Cyber-activists in jail28

The circulation of information relative to human rights on the Internet can be sanctioned on grounds such as inciting the overthrow of state power, toppling the socialist system, destroying national unity, promoting "cults" (interpreted to mean groups such as the Falungong spiritual movement) or supporting the independence of Taiwan or Tibet. Sophisticated filtering technology enables government officials to monitor international traffic and block news, political sites, certain human rights NGOs websites and Tibetan and Taiwanese sites. The majority of the Web sites concerned are Western based.

As of December 2003, the following human rights defenders, who had used the Internet to promote human rights and democracy in China were still in jail:

On 27th November 2003, Mr. Jiang Lijun was condemned to four years in prison. Mr. Jiang Lijun had been arrested on 6th November 2002, then transferred to Beijing's Qincheng Prison because he had posted political views in favour of democracy on the Internet. He was tried on 4th November 2003 on charges of "incitement to subvert state power".

Mr. Ouyang Yi, a political activist criticizing the Chinese government and using the Internet to spread his demands for democratic reforms was tried on 16th October 2003. He had been arrested on 4th December 2002 and charged on 7th January 2003 with "incitement to overthrow state power" by the Chengdu Public Security Bureau. The Court has not rendered a decision yet, although he faces up to 15 years in prison. Mr Ouyang Yi is currently being detained at the Sichuan Province n° 1 Detention Center.

Mr. Yan Jun, another Internet activist, was detained on 2nd April 2003 and formally arrested on 9th May. His trial began in closed proceedings on 27th October and his sentence has not been announced yet. While in detention, he has been constantly beaten by other prisoners under the encouragement of Public Security Police.

Internet activist Mr. Li Zhi, from Dazhou city, Sichuan province, was formally arrested on 3rd September 2003 on charges of "conspiracy to subvert state power". He was detained since 8th August. Mr. Li Zhi had frequently expressed his views in Internet bulletin boards and chat rooms. Under those charges, Mr. Li Zhi could be sentenced to up to 15 year in prison.

Mr. Jin Haike, Mr. Xu Wei and Mr. Zhang Honghai founded the New Youth Society in May 2000, a study group that discussed political and democratic reforms, and published its findings and theoretical ideas on the Internet. On 13th March 2001, the Beijing state security bureau detained them along with Mr. Yang Zili, another New Youth Society member. On 28th August 2001, they were tried by the n° 1 Intermediate People's Court on charges of "incitement to subvert state power", and found guilty of the charges on 28th October 2003. Mr. Jin Haike and Mr. Xu Wei were each sentenced to ten years in prison at the Beijing State Security Bureau Detention Center. Mr. Yang Zili and Mr. Zhang Honghai, were sentenced to eight years each. On 4th November 2003, a Beijing Court heard their appeals, but they were rejected on 11th November 2003. The four men have repeatedly complained to the n° 1 Intermediate People's Court that they have been tortured in prison, but the Court has refused to initiate an investigation.

Mr. Huang Qi, an Internet activist and web master who gained notoriety for publishing several articles about the 4th June massacre on his Tianwang web site, was detained on 3rd June 2003. He was arrested on charges of "organizing national separatism, destroying national unity, (...) organizing, plotting or carrying out activities aimed at subverting state power" and "overthrowing the socialist system" on 5th June 2003. He is currently serving a five-year sentence at Chengdu Public Security Bureau n° 1 Detention Center. According to some information, Huang would have been tortured while in prison.

Mr. Tao Haidong, released in January 2001 from Reeducation Through Labor to which he had been condemned for publishing a book, was arrested again on 9th July 2002, while he was posting articles on web sites in China and overseas. On 8th January 2003, he was tried in secret at the Urumqi People's intermediate court and found guilty of "incitement to overthrow state power", for which he received a seven-year prison sentence. He is being held at the Urumqi Dadaowan Detention Center.

Mr. Wang Daqi was arrested on 24th January 2002, and sentenced on 19th December 2002 to one year in prison on charges of "inciting the overthrow of state power" because of articles he had published in his magazine Ecology. He is being detained at the Hefei Luosigang Detention Center in Anhui province.

Mr. Jiang Lijun was arrested on 6th November 2002, then transferred to Beijing's Qincheng Prison because he had posted political views on the Internet. He was tried on 4th November 2003 on charges of "incitement to subvert state power". Mr Jiang Lijun's crime was to publishing essays and comments on political issues in China. He was condemned on 28th November 2003 to four years in prison.

Mr. Luo Yongzhong was detained by public security officials on 13th June 2003 at his apartment in the Northeastern city of Changchun, Jilin province. Mr. Luo Yongzhong had published more than 150 articles online on topics such as the plight of the disabled and the need for constitutional reform. He was charged with subversion and sentenced to three years imprisonment and two years of deprivation of his political rights upon release on 14th October 2003.

In a positive development, on 28th November 2003, Mr. Li Yibin, editor of the online magazine "Democracy and Freedom", detained

since November 2002, was released as well as Ms. Liu Di, known by her Internet pen name as "the Stainless Steel Mouse", who was released on bail. Mrs. Liu Di was ordered not to speak to journalists. Moreover, Mr. Du Daobin and Mr. Luo Changfu, who had organised a campaign in favour of her release were arrested in October 2003. Mr. Luo Changfu received a three-year prison sentence in November 2003. As of December 2003, Mr. Du Daobin is still awaiting is trial.


[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.]

26. See Urgent Appeals CHN 001/0803/OBS 041, 041.1, 041.2 and 041.3.

27. See Urgent Appeal CHN 002/1103/OBS 060, 060.1 and Annual Report 2002.

28. See Open Letter to the Chinese authorities of the 3rd December 2003 and annual report 2002.

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