Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2009 - China

Political context

Despite hopes that the Olympic Games would contribute to a better respect of human rights in China and promises made by the regime to this effect, the opposite in fact occurred. In 2008, room for dissent was indeed further eroded, and crackdown on dissenting or critical voices continued unabated.

Various human rights violations were perpetrated in connection with the Olympics: hundreds of thousands of people were evicted from their homes, frequently without any compensation, to make way for Olympic venues; thousands of migrant workers involved in the construction of these venues were ordered to leave Beijing; and, in an attempt to beautify the city, Beijing was cleared of its beggars, hawkers and prostitutes. Everything was done by the Chinese authorities to prevent any protest during the Games.¹

In March 2008, mass protests erupted in Tibet. Demonstrations to celebrate the anniversary of the Tibetan rebellion against Beijing's rule in Tibet in 1959 escalated into riots after some of the protesters (many of whom were monks) were arrested by the security forces. Excessive force and violence, including beatings and the use of live ammunition, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests were used against protesters in Tibet during this crackdown, although precise details remained unknown, given the restrictions placed on independent observers and the foreign media in accessing the areas concerned.² Informal talks between Chinese officials and representatives of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, subsequently resumed in May 2008, but made no progress in resolving the future of Tibet.

2008 was also marked by the earthquake on May 12, 2008, in southwest China, affecting in particular Sichuan province, which resulted in the death of nearly 80,000 people and affected millions more. Despite the Chinese authorities' quick and open response to the disaster, restrictions on media coverage of the earthquake were introduced, individuals reporting on the disaster and the Government's handling of it were harassed and detained, and those seeking to provide humanitarian assistance to earthquake victims or to collect donations were interrogated and intimidated.³ A large number of victims remained as of the end of 2008 without shelter.

The contaminated milk scandal provoked another shock wave in the country in September 2008. This episode reflected once again China's restrictive media environment and the political and economic elite's disregard for the ordinary people. News of contaminated milk products came to light after four infants died and over 6,000 others became ill (the number quickly rising to more than 13,000). Evidence of tainted milk had been discovered in July 2008, but had not been publicised due to the authorities' concern of negative media coverage before the Olympic Games. Media censorship of the issue continued following the breaking news, with the authorities issuing guidelines to the media, including ordering newspapers not to publish articles on the scandal without prior approval by the authorities, and censoring Internet coverage by deleting references to the scandal and blocking blogs and articles on websites.⁴

In 2008, the Party's interference in the judiciary remained strong as demonstrated by the election, on March 16, 2008, of Mr. Wang Shengjun as the New President of the Supreme Court. With no formal legal education, Mr. Wang occupied various prestigious positions in the Communist Party, and his election as well as some of his first rulings represented a clear setback, contrasting with past signals towards more independence of the judiciary.⁵

In 2008, the authorities continued to use legislation to persecute human rights defenders. In particular, the crime of "inciting subversion of State power" under Article 105(2) of the Chinese Criminal Code was used against those exercising the right to freedom of expression; "illegal possession of State secrets" was arbitrarily invoked against defenders so as to deny them access to legal representation under Article 96 of the Criminal Procedure Law; and arbitrary detention, in particular in "black jails" (illegal and secret detention facilities) or under the Re-education Through Labour (RTL) system,⁶ was used against anyone considered a threat. Additionally, reports of torture and ill-treatment of those detained continued to be rife.⁷

Obstacles to freedom of association

In 2008, restrictions on the establishment of independent NGOs persisted, including the requirement for the NGO to be sponsored by an official body and to provide a large sum of money to the administration. The same was also still applying to independent trade unions, prohibited under the Trade Union Law of 1992 amended in 2001, which allows only the All China Confederation of Trade Unions (ACFTU). Indeed, Article 12 of the Trade Union Law implicitly requires that trade unions belong to the ACFTU, by stating that "[t]rade union organisations across the country form the All-China Confederation of Trade Unions". Article 4 of the law provides that trade unions "shall observe and safeguard the Constitution, take [the Constitution] as the fundamental criterion for their activities, take economic development as the central task, uphold the socialist road, the people's democratic dictatorship, leadership by the Communist Party of China, and Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory, persevere in reform and the open policy, and conduct their work independently in accordance with the Constitution of trade unions".

Increase of the repression against human rights defenders in the run-up to the Olympics – and beyond

In the run-up to, and during the Olympics, the authorities increased surveillance, harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders fighting for "a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity" and "respect for universal fundamental ethical principles", in accordance with the Olympic Charter. In an attempt to stifle potential criticism, dissidents, journalists and human rights activists were frequently arrested, detained or forced out of Beijing to prevent them carrying out potentially politically embarrassing activities. For example, Mrs. Zeng Jinyan, a human rights activist and the wife of prominent activist Mr. Hu Jia, was taken by police from her home in Beijing on August 7, 2008 and detained in a hotel until August 23, 2008. Both before and after this detention, she was under strict residential surveillance (house arrest) and warned against speaking about her own and her husband's situation.

Furthermore, in the framework of the Olympics, the authorities set up three special "Protest Zones", located far from the main sports venues, and thus intended to avoid disruption by dissenting voices. However, not one of the 77 applications to petition in these zones was granted.⁸ Besides, some of those who submitted applications were punished by the authorities. For example, Mr. Liu Xueli, an activist and petitioner against forced evictions, was sentenced to 21-months' RTL on September 24, 2008 for applying to protest at the "Protest Zones" in Beijing in early August 2008 against the forcible appropriation of his village land by the local Government.

In addition to new arrests and detentions, human rights defenders due to be released shortly before the Olympic Games after serving their prison terms saw their detention extended. For example, Mr. Ye Guozhu, due to be released on July 26, 2008 after serving four years in prison for his activities against forced eviction in the context of the Olympic Games, was kept in incommunicado detention by the police reportedly to keep him and his family "out of trouble" during the Olympics. Additionally, many of those arrested and detained in 2007 as a result of their criticisms of Olympic-related human rights violations continued to be held and were sentenced throughout 2008. They were also frequently the victims of ill-treatment and torture. For example, Mr. Hu Jia, an HIV/AIDS activist who had written articles and given interviews critical of the Chinese Government's general human rights record prior to the Olympic Games, was sentenced on April 3, 2008 to three and a half years' imprisonment and one year's deprivation of political rights for "inciting subversion of State power". During his detention from December 27, 2007 Mr. Hu was subjected to abuse and other acts of humiliating and ill-treatment, including being hand- and leg-cuffed and placed in solitary confinement and being denied adequate medical treatment. Similarly, Mr. Yang Chunlin, a human rights defender and farmers' representative detained on July 6, 2007 and formally arrested on August 13, 2007 for collecting signatures in the framework of the "We Want Human Rights, not the Olympics" campaign, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and two years'deprivation of political rights for "inciting subversion of State power" on March 24, 2008. During his detention, Mr. Yang was subjected to acts of torture and ill-treatment by prison guards.

Repression against journalists denouncing human rights violations

Although temporary media regulations adopted for foreign journalists in January 2007, which were made permanent by a decision by the Chinese Government in October 2008, provided greater freedom for foreign journalists reporting in China, some of the latter continued to report "interference incidents", including acts of intimidation and violence. In March 2008 for instance, several foreign journalists were prevented from working freely as they tried to cover the situation in the Tibetan regions, as illustrated by the arrest of a Finnish TV crew on March 17, 2008 in Xiahe (Gansu province), where there had been Tibetan demonstrations against the Chinese Government. The TV crew was threatened and its video recordings were confiscated despite its protests.⁹ On August 4, 2008, two accredited Japanese journalists, Messrs. Masami Kawakita, a photographer with the daily Chunichi Shimbun, and Shinji Katsuta, a reporter with Nippon Television Network, were violently removed from the street by Chinese paramilitary forces in Kashgar, Xinjiang province, as they were covering attacks on sixteen policemen a few days ahead of the Olympics in Kashgar. They were taken to an official hotel, where they were beaten and their equipment was broken. They were released two hours later with minor injuries.¹⁰

Furthermore, as the media regulations did not extend to Chinese journalists, those seeking to report on human rights or other sensitive issues continued to run the risk of being severely restricted, harassed, beaten or even detained.¹¹ For example, on December 1, 2008, Mr. Guan Jian, a reporter with the Beijing-based weekly Wangluo Bao (Network News), was arrested by police officers from Zhangjiakouwhile investigating allegedly corrupt real estate transactions in Taiyuan, the capital of the northern province of Shanxi. Likewise, Ms. Li Min, CCTV reporter, was arrested at her Beijing home on December 4 by four policemen who had been sent by Shanxi Prosecutor He Shusheng, whom Ms. Li had accused of abuse of authority in a report broadcast by CCTV. Both journalists were subsequently charged with "bribery" and remained detained as of the end of 2008.¹²

Those who gave interviews to the media were also punished, frequently by criminal detention. For example, Ms. Zhang Wei and Ms. Ma Xiulan, both members of a group seeking redress for forced eviction from their home, were detained on August 6, 2008 on suspicion of "disturbing social order" after speaking to foreign journalists.¹³

Lawyers under attack

In 2008, lawyers working on cases considered as sensitive by the authorities such as defending political dissidents, human rights defenders, members of the Uighurs or Tibetan minorities and Falun Gong practitioners continued to face repression and various obstacles in performing their professional duties.

On June 1, 2008, a revised Lawyers' Law came into force, intending to protect the legal practice by providing, inter alia, the right for lawyers to consult with criminal suspects and defendants without permission from judicial authorities. However, because of flawed local implementation and the continued abuse by the authorities of China's highly restrictive State secrets laws, in practice the Lawyers' Law did not bring additional protection for the independence of lawyers. On the contrary, Article 37 of this amended law, which refers to national security, defines this concept so vaguely that any comment against the Communist Party could be interpreted as "damaging national security".¹⁴ The Chinese authorities also abused the lawyer registration system to harass lawyers who defend people's rights. For instance, on May 31, 2008, the authorities refused to renew the lawyer's license of Mr. Teng Biao, a prominent lawyer who was among the 21 rights defence lawyers who signed a letter offering legal assistance to Tibetans detained following the March 2008 protests. Article 306 of the Criminal Law also continued to be used to accuse lawyers of fabricating evidence in the course of collecting evidence to support their client's case. For instance, Ms. Xue Hui, a lawyer of the Beijing Kangsheng Law Firm, was sentenced to one and a half year's imprisonment on the basis of this provision.¹⁵ Likewise, Mr. Huang Zhenghong, a lawyer from Wuzhou City, Guangxi Province, was also found guilty on May 4, 2008 on the basis of this provision, but exempted from criminal sanction on September 22, following a six-month detention period.¹⁶

Significant pressure was also exerted by local authorities on a group of voluntary lawyers seeking redress for child victims of contaminated milk products in September 2008. Lawyers were told that they would face "serious repercussions if they stayed involved". In another example, some of the 35 lawyers who published an appeal on the Internet on August 26, 2008 calling for direct election of the officials of the State-controlled Beijing Lawyers Association were subsequently dismissed for signing the online appeal. Thus, at the beginning of September 2008, Mr. Tang Jitian was asked by his superiors at the Beijing Haodong Law Firm to leave, "for the sake of the future of the firm".¹⁷ Similarly, Messrs. Cheng Hai, Li Subin and three other lawyers were dismissed from the Yitong Law Firm on October 30, 2008, reportedly following strong pressure from the authorities.¹⁸

Repression of human rights lawyers was not limited to restrictions on freedom of expression. On March 6, 2008, Mr. Teng Biao¹⁹ was abducted by unknown people and detained until March 8, 2008. During his detention, he was reportedly questioned by officers of the Beijing Public Security Bureau about essays he had written and other "activities". Mr. Teng had co-written with Mr. Hu Jia an open letter criticising the human rights record of pre-Olympic China as well as other essays critical of the Governments human rights policies. Following Mr. Hu's arrest, Mr. Teng had been closely monitored by security police and warned not to write about Mr. Hu's detention or other sensitive topics, including the Olympics.

Defenders of economic, social and cultural rights still a target for repression

Defenders of economic, social and cultural rights continued to face repression in 2008, including being subjected to arbitrary detention and acts of ill-treatment. Indeed, as widespread social unrest continued throughout 2008 to protest notably against unpaid wages, corruption, forced evictions of people from their home, or massive lay-offs of workers, those defending petitioners continued to be a target of repression. For example, Mr. Zheng Enchong, a human rights lawyer in Shanghai who had provided legal aid to petitioners and victims of land grabs, was beaten by police officers on February 16 and 17, 2008 before being summoned to the police station where he was kept in detention for over 12 hours. Whilst in detention, he was beaten and questioned about the legal aid he had provided, as well as interviews he had given regarding corruption to the Epoch Times on February 12, 2008. On February 19, 2008, the interview to the Epoch Times was published and, the following day, Mr. Zheng was again arrested and beaten before being released later the same evening.

Those who were already in detention as a result of their activities faced harsh sentences, harassment and even ill-treatment and torture. A prime example of this is Mrs. Mao Hengfeng, a defender of housing rights and women's reproductive rights. Reportedly, Mrs. Mao was subjected to abusive and humiliating treatment, beatings and other forms of torture and ill-treatment during her detention at Shanghai Women's Prison. In particular, on June 3, 2008, she was taken to a prison hospital where she was stripped naked and tied to a bed for fourteen days, during which doctors forcibly injected her with a dozen different unknown medications leading to discomfort and pain, and forcibly withdrew blood from her. She was released on November 29, 2008 after completing a sentence of two and a half years' imprisonment but detained once again on January 12, 2008 for seven days for "disturbing public order" after she petitioned attendees of the annual Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and the Shanghai Municipal Political Consultative Conference.

Silencing critical voices in Sichuan province

Ahead of the Olympic Games, those bringing bad publicity to China by questioning the Government's role in the Sichuan earthquake disaster were targeted. Mr. Huang Qi, a cyber-dissident and human rights activist, was detained on June 10, 2008 and formally charged with "illegal possession of State secrets" on July 18, 2008. Shortly before his arrest, Mr. Huang had visited the Sichuan earthquake zone on a number of occasions to investigate allegations that poor construction had contributed to the collapse of schools, provided aid to the victims and had published information on his website (www.64tianwang.com) regarding the plight of parents who had lost their children. As of the end of 2008, he remained in detention. Similarly, on June 25, 2008, Mr. Liu Shaokun, a school teacher, was arrested on "suspicion of the crime of inciting subversion" after he had taken photos of collapsed school buildings and put them online, and had also expressed his anger in a media interview at the "shoddy 'tofu' buildings". He was sentenced to one year of RTL but, on September 24, 2008, was released by the authorities to serve his sentence outside the labour camp. He nonetheless remained under residential surveillance.

Those criticising the Government's policies also came under attack. For example, Mr. Chen Daojun, a cyber-activist and freelance writer based in Sichuan province, was sentenced to three years of both imprisonment and deprivation of political rights on November 21, 2008 after being convicted of "inciting subversion of State power". This was ostensibly for posting articles on the Internet supporting the March 2008 Tibetan protesters, although Mr. Chen had in fact been apprehended on May 9, 2008 for protesting against the activities of a petrochemical plant.

Harsh crackdown in run-up to 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and on Charter 08 activists

Towards the end of 2008, the Chinese authorities continued their crackdown on human rights activities, despite hopes that restrictive measures taken before and during the Olympics under the guise of security would be relaxed. In the run-up to the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), activists preparing to celebrate this event were threatened and intimidated by the authorities. For example, on November 10 and 11, 2008, Messrs. Chen Xi, Shen Youlian and Liao Xuangyuan, leaders of a group that had scheduled a seminar for December 10, 2008 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the UDHR, were summoned for extensive questioning, ordered to cancel all activities on the basis that these would be "illegal" and threatened with imprisonment. Furthermore, all three, together with Messrs. Huang Yanming and Du Heping, were subsequently abducted by the police on December 4, 2008, before being subsequently released.

Furthermore, on the eve of the 60th anniversary, human rights and democracy activists launched "Charter 08" on the Internet, collecting signatories calling for political reforms that promote human rights and democracy. More than 7,500 people from all across China had signed the Charter by January 2009. However, the authorities responded with a campaign of severe intimidation and harassment against "Charter 08" signatories and leading drafters. By January 8, 2009, at least 101 signatories had been questioned, summoned and intimidated by the police in 19 municipalities and provinces. Additionally, leading drafters of the Charter were arrested and detained by the police. For example, Messrs. Liu Xiaobo and Zhang Zuhua were detained on December 8, 2008. Police also searched their homes and confiscated documents and personal possessions. Mr. Zhang was released, but was again taken from his home on December 26, 2008 and interrogated for three hours, during which he was threatened with "severe consequences" for his family and friends if he continued to engage in activities, including media interviews, promoting the Charter. Mr. Liu continued to be subjected to residential surveillance at an undisclosed location in Beijing as of the end of 2008. In addition to the harassment and intimidation of signatories and drafters, websites and blogs displaying the "Charter 08" were blocked or suppressed by the Government.

Urgent Interventions issued by The Observatory in 2008²⁰

1 The failure to improve the human rights situation despite pledges to the contrary resulted not only in criticisms of the Chinese Government but also of the International Olympic Committee for its failure to ensure that China honoured those pledges.

2 The European Parliament condemned the repression by Chinese security forces and called for an independent inquiry by the UN into the demonstrations and repression in Tibet. See European Parliament Press Release, April 10, 2008. UN Special Procedures mandate holders were also deeply concerned by "reports of security forces firing on protesters and alleged killings". See UN Press Release, April, 10, 2008.

3 See Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) Press Release, May 23, 2008.

4 See CHRD Press Release, September 29, 2008.

5 In 2001, the Supreme Court ordered the payment of damages to a plaintiff for violation of its constitutional right to education (see Qi Yuling Decision). This appeared as the first step towards the justiciability of the Constitution. In January 2009 however, the Supreme People's Court officially cancelled its 2001 ruling, merely arguing that "it is no longer applied".

6 RTL is an administrative detention measure according to which, without any proper legal procedures or court proceedings, the Public Security Bureau can send individuals to detention facilities for a maximum of four years.

7 The UN Committee Against Torture expressed its concern about allegations of systematic and widespread torture and ill-treatment of suspects in police detention in its report on China. See Concluding Observations of the Committee Against Torture on China, UN Document CAT/C/CHN/ CO/4, November 21, 2008.

8 See Human Rights in China (HRIC) Press Release, August 24, 2008.

9 See Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Release, March 20, 2008.

10 See HRIC, China Human Rights Forum 2008 (4), January 2009.

11 See HRIC Press Release, August 24, 2008.

12 See CHRD and RSF Press Release, December 15, 2008.

13 See CHRD Press Release, August 16, 2008.

14 See HRIC Press Release, June 19, 2008.

15 See HRIC.

16 Idem.

17 See HRIC Press Release, October 31, 2008.

18 Idem.

19 See above.

20 See the Compilation of cases in the CD-Rom attached to this report.