China Human Rights Briefing September 14 – October 20,2006
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September 14 – October 20, 2006
(CRD, Hong Kong, October 22, 2006)
Table of Contents:
Olympics clean-ups target mass actions, civil rights under increasing assault
1. Beijing residents clash with police over housing jeopardized by Olympics construction
2. Beijing police intercept and forcibly return petitioners
3. Farmer drawing attention to grievances on Tiananmen Square detained, whereabouts unknown
Attacks on human rights defenders and independent writers, violating due process rights
4. Detained human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng denied legal consultation rights, family harassed, charged with political crime
5. Court sets no date for appeal hearing of imprisoned human rights defender Chen Guangcheng, harassment of family continues
6. Shanghai court rejected charge against activist Mao Hangfeng
7. Guangdong activist Yang Maodong (Guo Feixiong) arrested, charged with illegal publishing
8. One hundred days under residential surveillance: activist Hu Jia threatened with arrest
9. Activist Zhao Xin released from detention incommunicado into residential surveillance
10. Activist Guo Qizhen sentenced to four years in prison for “inciting sedition against the state”
11. Activist Chen Shuqing formally arrested on charge of inciting sedition
12. Independent writer Li Hong charged with “inciting subversion of the state”
Suppression of religious freedom continues
13. Two house church leaders arrested in Shenzhen; Catholic church leader charged
Promised voting rights under threat, local PC elections wrought with fraud
14. As elections of People’s Congress delegates continue, authorities obstructs voting rights, intimidating independent candidates
15. Reporting election fraud, police officer beaten by police chief
Health rights obstructed due to failure to implement civil rights
16. Petitioning Shanghai government, HIV/AIDS/hemophilia activists beaten by police
17. An AIDS NGO in Xinjiang ordered to shut down
Releases of prisoners of conscience
18. Two 1989 prisoners released earlier for “good behavior”
Olympics clean-ups target mass actions, civil rights under increasing assault
1. Beijing residents clash with police over housing jeopardized by Olympics construction
More than two hundred residents in the Nanli District of Science Park, Beijing, clashed with police during a protest against renewed construction of a power plant serving the 2008 Olympic Games. Residents accused the government of failing to keep its promise that the surrounding residential houses would first be stabilized and protected before the construction would restart. Police briefly detained three protestors until the same evening. An elderly woman was pushed down and injured.
The construction site is only several meters away from the nearest residential houses. Residents complained that the construction caused the nearby residential buildings to sack and tilt, threatening collapse. Residents first complained in August 2006 and their story was disclosed in the media. A dozen families had to evacuate from damaged buildings. Since then, the city government ordered the construction to halt until the buildings were stabilized. However, before the stabilization was completed, to the residents’ surprise, construction resumed last week.
As the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics approach, violations of children’s rights to schooling and workers’ rights, including denial of migrant workers’ right to fair labor compensation and use of child labor, will draw increasing scrutiny. Beijing residents and workers, above all, will voice their grievances, holding the government accountable to deliver what it is promising tax payers on billboards all over the city: “Welcoming the Olympics, Improving People’s Lives.”
2. Beijing police intercept and forcibly return petitioners
Prior to and during the 16th Communist Party Congress, which took place in Beijing from October 8-11, hundreds of people tried to enter the city to petition central government offices to review and redress their grievances against local authorities. Police detained many of the petitioners or intercepted them and forced them to return home.
After the arrest of Chen Liangyu, the former Shanghai Communist Party secretary, on corruption charges, hundreds of Shanghai residents with complaints about property confiscation and forced evictions saw an opportunity to seek redress. They mobilized and went to Beijing to appeal to the central government on their cases. When they arrived there, however, some of them were detained and others were forced to turn back to Shanghai by Beijing police, who had been deployed in major gateways of the city – airports, train stations, and bus stops. Some petitioners were detained in small hotels, which the police used as temporary detention facilities until the Party Congress ended.
These interception and forcible return measures to block petitioners from entering the city have been used in the past during politically sensitive occasions, such as national leadership gatherings. They are now apparently used as part of a larger clean-up operation in preparation for the 2008 summer Olympics. According to a reliable source, the country’s top security official, Luo Gan, has made clear in recent months that security and social stability are the primary objectives for the next two years and will be achieved at all costs.
3. Farmer drawing attention to grievances on Tiananmen Square detained, whereabouts unknown
On September 26, a group of 32 farmers from Chibi City, Hubei Province, went to Beijing to petition the Central government and demand an investigation into corruption involved in resettlement funds. After their request to meet officials was rejected by authorities, the farmers knelt down on Tiananmen Square to draw attention to their case. Police immediately rounded them up and sent them back to Chibi. Most of them were later released, but their leader Zhou Zhirong, has remained detained and denied all outside contact since October 1st.
Local authorities are still searching for others who were believed to be involved in the action. Some of them are hiding outside Chibi.
Chibi farmers were forcibly evicted from their land for a dam project. They believe that they did not receive all the resettlement funds and that corrupt officials embezzled them. For nearly three decades, farmers from this area have gone to Beijing many times to petition the government to investigate their case. They went to different government offices, but were repeatedly denied a hearing. Some of the farmers were detained, sent back from Beijing, and punished.
Attacks on human rights defenders and independent writers, violating due process rights
4. Detained human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng denied legal consultation rights, family harassed, charged with political crime
The Beijing-based human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was formally charged for “inciting subversion of state power” on September 29, which his lawyer found out on October 12. Mr. Gao was detained by police while at his sister’s home in Shandong on August 15. He was then jailed incommunicado before being formally charged. The Chinese criminal law allows only 37 days of detention before formal arrest with charge against the detainee.
Police have been harassing the family. During his detention, police searched his home in Beijing, confiscated his personal belongings. His wife Geng He and two children remain under residential surveillance. Their 13-year-old daughter, Ge Ge, is watched and followed by police all day even when she is at school. His wife was interrogated, intimidated, and the family was denied adequate food. Police also bar them from communicating with the outside. Other relatives, including brothers and cousins, were briefly detained and interrogated when they tried to visit Mr. Gao’s family and sign authorization papers to hire a lawyer for him.
Mr. Gao’s due process rights have been violated. They deprived of his right to access to a lawyer. The lawyer appointed by the family, Mo Shaoping, of Beijing Mo Shaoping Law Firm, has been denied visits to Mr. Gao because authorities refused to accept Mr. Mo’s request to represent Gao.
According to Chinese Criminal Code, “Inciting subversion of state power” is a crime punishable by up to a 15-year imprisonment. This case is yet another indication of a clear pattern where Chinese prosecutors routinely use “inciting to subvert state power,” “leaking state secrets,” and “disturbing social order” to imprison human rights defenders, lawyers, independent writers and journalists. For more information about Gao Zhisheng, see： https://www.nchrd.org/Article_Show.asp?ArticleID=894
5. Court sets no date for appeal hearing of imprisoned human rights defender Chen Guangcheng, harassment of family continues
Since lawyers for imprisoned activist Chen Guangcheng filed an appeal on behalf of Chen Guangcheng, submitted 137 names of witnesses and some testimonies as well as other evidence to the appeals court in Linyi on September 11, they have not received confirmation or any further notification about the appeal trial from the court. The testimonies include statements by released villagers, who alleged torture and forced testimony against Chen Guangcheng during detention.
On August 20, Chen Guangcheng was sentenced to four years and three months imprisonment for “inciting property destruction” and “obstructing traffic” by a close-door trial. For more about this case, see https://www.nchrd.org/Article_Show.asp?ArticleID=1361. Mr. Chen is believed to be detained at Yinan County Detention Centre. He was allowed one visit from his lawyers since his conviction, but his family has not been allowed to visit him at all.
Intimidation and harassment of Mr. Chen’s family continues. His wife Yuan Weijing remains under residential surveillance, while she struggles to take care of her 1-year old baby and mother-in-law, who is bedridden due to a bone fracture from a fall, while trying to attend the family’s crops. Ms. Yuan herself is denied access to medical treatment for pain caused by brutal handling by security guards. On October 5th, Ms. Yuan tried to visit her parents during the mid-Autumn festival, a traditional family-reunion day, but she was stopped by guards and questioned for 10 hours in the local police station. Police threatened her with criminal charges similar to those against her husband. (For more on Ms. Yuan Weijing’s ordeal, in her own words, see: https://www.nchrd.org/Article_Show.asp?ArticleID=2409.
6. Shanghai court rejected charge against activist Mao Hangfeng
The Yangpu District Procuratorate sent the case against Shanghai activist Mao Hengfeng on suspicion of destroying property back to the Yangpu District PSB on the grounds of insufficient evidence. The PSB had submitted the case to the procurator in September and requested that Ms. Mao be charged for breaking a lamp and some other items in the guest house where she was previously detained. Ms. Mao told the procuratorate that the lamp was already broken, so the procuratorate asked the police to check this detail.
Mao Hengfeng has been detained since May 2006 in an isolated cell, apparently in order to prevent her from “inciting” other detainees to defend their own rights. Ms. Mao’s family is still barred from visiting her. Police refuse to provide the family with any information about her conditions.
Her family worries that Ms. Mao may not be able to endure the harsh conditions at the detention facility, where she sleeps on the concrete floor. She has various medical conditions from torture suffered during previous detentions and forced labour at a “Re-education Through Labour” camp.
Her family has called for donations to help pay for transportation and accommodation for a defense lawyer to represent her and help obtain permission for a family visit. For more information on this case, see: https://www.nchrd.org/Article_Show.asp?ArticleID=888.
7. Guangdong activist Yang Maodong (Guo Feixiong) arrested, charged with illegal publishing
Guangzhou-based activist Yang Maodong, a.k.a. Guo Feixiong, known for his role in the Taishi village demonstrations, was taken away from his home by police in the early morning of September 14. Official newspapers disclosed that he was arrested for illegally publishing books. Following the arrest, police searched his house, and confiscated three computers, his wife’s dairy and a fiction manuscript. His wife, Zhang Qing, was also taken to the local police station for questioning. On September 30, Police formally arrested Yang Maodong for “running an illegal publication business.”
According to his defense lawyer Mo Shaoping, Yang Maodong has been mistreated at the Shawan Police detention centre in Panyu City, Guangdong Province. Police deprived him of sleep during round-the-clock interrogations. He was questioned about the Beijing human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng. Yang Maodong went on a hunger straight for 15 days after he was detained. Police refused the lawyer’s request to bail him out.
8. One hundred days under residential surveillance: activist Hu Jia threatened with arrest
Beijing HIV/AIDS and environment activist Hu Jia remains under residential surveillance. For one hundred days now, his freedom of movement has been obstructed and personal communication/contacts closely monitored or impeded. His home is blocked from visitors and prevented from leaving his apartment unless he gets permission from state security police from the Tongzhou County unit (Tongzhou is a suburb of Beijing). When he is allowed to go outside, he is forced to go by police car or walk with a circle of policemen surrounding him.
On September 26, he was taken into the local PSB for questioning for the second time in a month, which lasted for a whole day. Police questioned him about his role in the Gao Zhisheng and Chen Guangcheng cases. They threatened him with the warning that it would be his turn next (after the arrests of other high profiled activists such as Gao Zhisheng and Guo Feixiong). Hu Jia’s wife, Zeng Jingyan, was also followed and watched closely before she left the country to attend a training program in late September. She has recorded their ordeal and offered tips for how to cope with harassment to other victims’ families on her blog.
Mr. Hu Jia has emerged as a civil-political rights activist, who is currently harassed for his online campaign for detained lawyer Gao Zhisheng and imprisoned activist Chen Guangcheng. For more information about Hu Jia, please visit:
https://www.nchrd.org/Article_Show.asp?ArticleID=692.
9. Activist Zhao Xin released from detention incommunicado into residential surveillance
Zhao Xin (see https://www.nchrd.org/Article_Show.asp?ArticleID=908 for profile), who was detained incommunicado after he was forced to leave Beijing for Yunnan Province. After more than a month, he was allowed to go to his father’s house in Yunnan on September 28. But he remains under residential surveillance and is denied access to the Internet and any other form of communication with the outside world.
On August 20, the day that Chen Guangcheng went on trial, Zhao Xin was forced to leave Beijing for Yunnan during a sweeping police operation to prevent and obstruct activists all over the country from attending the trial and publicizing information of Chen Guangcheng. In Yunnan, however, he was held incommunicado, with only one brief phone call to his father.
10. Activist Guo Qizhen sentenced to four years in prison for “inciting sedition against the state”
The Changzhou City People’s Intermediate Court announced the verdict against Guo Qizhen on October 17, 2006. Mr. Guo was also sentenced to deprivation of political rights for 3 years. Upon hearing the verdict, Mr. Guo protested the decision as unfair and told those in the courtroom he would appeal. Mr. Guo’s wife, Zhao Changqin, and their child were present. When the verdict was read, police physically held down Ms. Zhao and the child. Mr. Guo’s lawyer, Li Jianqiang, said the verdict violated Chinese law. He said the court did not take into consideration the lawyer’s defense arguments, and the court’s decision was influenced by the government’s political decision to punish its critic.
Guo Qizhen was arrested in June 2006 for posting articles critical of the government on the internet. He was tried by the same court on September 12. For more information (in Chinese) on this case, please visit our website at: https://www.nchrd.org/Article_Class.asp?ClassID=65
11. Activist Chen Shuqing formally arrested on charge of inciting sedition
On the afternoon of October 17, Zhang Donghong, the wife of Mr. Chen Shuqing, received a written notification from police of her husband’s formal arrest on the same day on charges of “inciting sedition against the state.”
The written notification of arrest reads as follows:
Hangzhou City Public Security Bureau Arrest Notification
(Hangzhou PSB [2006] No. 76)
With the authorization of the Hangzhou City People’s Procuratorate, this bureau carried out the arrest on October 17, 2006, at 1500 hours, of Chen Shuqing, now detained at Hangzhou Detention Center, on suspicion of committing the crime of “inciting sedition against the state.”
Dated: October 17, 2006
Seal: Hangzhou City PSB
12. Independent writer Li Hong charged with “inciting subversion of the state”
The Zhejiang-based freelance writer Li Hong (a.k.a. Zhang Jianhong) was formally arrested and charged with“inciting subversion of the state.” Li Hong’s wife， Dong Min， received an official notification on October 12. Mr. Li was detained on September 6, 2006. Ms. Dong has hired a lawyer for her husband and hopes to bail him out so he can await trial at home.
Li Hong was the editor of the website Aegean Sea, a website of poetry and essays, which was closed down by the government. He participated in the 1989 pro-democracy movement, for which he was send to Re-education-through-labor camp for two years for “counter-revolutionary incitement.” He is the author, in recent years, of many articles critical of the government.
Beijing intellectual Ding Dong detained for questioning, personal belongings confiscated
Mr. Ding Dong was allowed to go home after 12 hours’ interrogation. His request that police return his books and personal computer was rejected. Police claimed that his case remained under investigation. Mr. Ding, editor and historian of contemporary Chinese thought, and author of many books on politics, anthologies of liberal political thinkers, and oral histories, was taken from his home as a “criminal suspect” by police around 6am.
One possible reason for Mr. Ding’s questioning may have to do with a collection of essays by He Jiadong, a well-known liberal theoretician, who passed away last week. Mr. He’s death followed closely the death of another open critic of the government, a retired reformer, Mr. Lin Mu. Liberal intellectuals and activists all over the country are mourning their losses. Several have been warned by police not to try to stage any public mourning.
This incident may be tied to a nationwide crackdown on publication of politically sensitive books and on academic freedom. Reportedly, the News and Publication Bureau of Zhejiang Province has recently banned the publication of 911 books and closed down the Hangzhou Sanlian Bookstore and its retail department for disseminating politically “problematic” publications.
Suppression of religious freedom continues
13. Two house church leaders arrested in Shenzhen; Catholic church leader charged
On September 20, two house church leaders from Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, father Shao Zhumin and Father Jiang Shuonian, were reportedly detained at the Shenzhen border checkpoint. They were returning from a visit to Europe via Hong Kong. Their books and belonging were confiscated and their whereabouts remain unknown.
Both men have been arrested or detained several times before. The last time was in 1999 when they were arrested and convicted of “illegal publication” of worship songs. They were sentenced to six years imprisonment and fined 32,000 US dollars.
Another church leader, Father Jia Zhiguo, of Zhengding District in Hebei Province, was released in September 2006 after a 10-month detention without trial. Jia Zhiguo was taken away by local police on November 8, 2005, who said he would be sent to an “education class” (Xuexi ban) after he refused to cut off his relationship with the Vatican. Jia has reportedly been detained eight times since January 2004. He was also reportedly imprisoned for 20 years after being nominated by the Vatican as bishop in 1980.
On September 11, in the Zhouzhi District of Shanxi Province, Bishop Wu Qinjing was arrested and charged with “violating religious regulations.” Authorities said the Vatican-nominated Bishop was not recognized by the Chinese government and that it was illegal for him to carry out religious work in that position.
Promised voting rights under threat, local PC elections wrought with fraud
14. As elections of People’s Congress delegates continue, authorities obstructs voting rights, intimidating independent candidates
During the county-district-township simultaneous elections for delegates to local People’s Congresses, which have been underway in China for several months now, Communist Party and government authorities have targeted independent candidates seeking election in many parts of the country. Some candidates have been beaten, detained for questioning, threatened, or pressured by their employees to withdraw. Incidents of harassment and intimidation of independent candidates are on the rise. From March to September, several previously elected rural representatives to local People’s Congresses were harassed or prevented from running for re-election. For more information, see https://www.nchrd.org/Article_Show.asp?ArticleID=2293
15. Reporting election fraud, police officer beaten by police chief
Mr. Wang Guoqiang, a police officer posted in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, was assaulted by the chief of the Huaqiao PSB branch office, who is also an officially designated candidate in the election of delegates to the local People’s Congress. The beating took place after Mr. Wang reported fraudulent or illegal acts by some local officials to cheat in the voting process on election day in Wuhan, September 22.
Mr. Wang, male, 50, an independent candidate himself, reported to the head of the PSB Huaqiao branch office, Xia Yixue, about the illegal act of moving ballot boxes around station booths. Xia Yixue and three other policemen pushed him into a small room, pushed him against the wall, kicked him, and hit him with their fists. He was bruised and had injuries on his head, arms, and pain in his kidneys. He was hospitalized for three days. He then went to the media with his story. He has also reported the incident to relevant government offices and plans to seek legal redress.
Harassment of independent candidates in Wuhan, and in other areas, has raised serious concerns. Last month, CRD issued a press release, calling for protection of citizens’ rights to participate in government through genuine democratic elections: https://www.nchrd.org/Article_Show.asp?ArticleID=2293.
For more information in Chinese on problems encountered by independent candidates, see https://www.nchrd.org/Article_Class.asp?ClassID=55
Health rights obstructed due to failure to implement civil rights
16. Petitioning Shanghai government, HIV/AIDS/hemophilia activists beaten by police
About 30 HIV/AIDS/hemophilia activists were harassed and beaten by police in riot-control gear. Some of them were injured. The activists (including patients and families) demonstrated in front of the city government building, demanding a meeting with officials to discuss compensation and investigation into incidents of infection through blood transfusion in state hospitals. The state hospitals used defective blood products from state or private suppliers.
Government officials refused to meet the demonstrators. Instead, about 100 police in riot gear surrounded them and tried to disperse them. Police beat up the protesters and dragged them off the scene when they refused to move. No one was arrested.
One supplier of the blood products was the Shanghai Biomedical Product Institute, which provided the faulty products more then 10 years ago. Most of the demonstrators were people who were infected in state hospitals located in other provinces. In Shanghai, some patients received some compensation. This encouraged the demonstrators because their hospitals used the same product supplied by the same pharmaceutical company. Some of these people have received some assistance from Red Cross China.
17. An AIDS NGO in Xinjiang ordered to shut down
Government authorities in Xinjiang Autonomous Region ordered the AIDS NGO Snow Lotus (xue lian hua) to close down. Police searched the home of its director Chang Kun and confiscated his personal belongings including a computer. Police had been investigating Mr. Chang Kun for the past few months. Chang Kun is a college student doing voluntary AIDS prevention and education work. The group was awarded the MTV international Award this year. It was banned because it was not registered. Many AIDS groups including MSM groups are not able to register because of tough government registration restrictions. (http://www.aizhi.net/index.asp?action=article_Show&ArticleID=744)
Releases of prisoners of conscience
18. Two 1989 prisoners released earlier for “good behavior”
Beijing residents Dong Shengkun and Zhang Maosheng were released on September 5 and September 13 respectively, after spending 17 years in prison for participating in the 1989 student protests, which was suppressed in a bloody crackdown by government troops. Hundreds of people were killed and many more injured. Many went to jail.
Dong Shengkun was a worker at a printing factory. He was charged with “arson” and sentenced to death with a two-year delay of execution. Zhang Maosheng was a worker at an engine factory. He was was detained on June 21, 1989, for burning a tank and was sentenced for “violent rioting” (bao luan) and “arson.” Mr. Zhang, now 38, was 21 years old at the time, while Mr. Dong, now 46, was 29 years old. Both had their sentences reduced for “good behavior.”
Zhang was forced to engage in hard labor in prison and said he was tortured during the earlier years of his imprisonment. In April 2006, he was sent to a different prison, where he received “political education” before release. At the new prison, he protested a ban on prisoners watching TV. He was punished for “refusing to be reformed” and moved to a separate detention facility until his release. Dong was also allegedly tortured and forced to engage in hard labor in prison.
Both Dong and Zhang were quoted saying that ten other 1989 prisoners remain in the Beijing No. 2 Prison. These include Zhu Gengsheng and Li Yujun, both of whom are due for release eight years from now; Li Zhixin, due for release in 4 years; and Gao Hungwei, due for release next year. All of these prisoners are Beijing residents who were arrested and sentenced because of their participation in the 1989 pro-democracy movement.
Editor: Zhong Yan