China Human Rights Briefing December 1 – 15, 2007

December 15, 2007 Comments Off

China Human Rights Briefing (Dec 1-15, 2007)

Reporting human rights development from the grassroots

Editor’s Note

A recurring pattern in the first half of December was persecution of activists, petitioners, workers, and farmers for speaking out demanding justice. Tactics included torture, beatings and other mistreatment while in police custody; sending individuals to Re-education through Labor (RTL) camp; and various forms of harassment and intimidation such as restriction of movement, house arrest, surveillance, and destruction of personal property.

Noteworthy were several mass protests and organized citizen actions. In Heilongjiang Province, 40,000 villagers demanded land rights. In Sichuan Province, 1,035 workers signed an open letter complaining about the illegal detention of a fellow worker. In both cases, authorities took swift retribution, rounding up, beating, and, in one case, detaining the organizers. In a public letter, 12,000 petitioners called for the release of Liu Jie, who is serving 18 months in a RTL camp, while in another public letter, 69 legal scholars called for the abolition of Re-education through Labor.

On a positive note, Shanghai authorities released activist Gong Haoming. This came two days after CHRD issued a statement protesting his mistreatment and demanding his release.

Editor: Wang Songlian

Table of contents

Detention, imprisonment and harassment of activists

Persecution of Petitioners

Citizens Actions

Labor Rights

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Detention, imprisonment and harassment of activists

1. Jailed Writer Li Hong’s Health Rapidly Deteriorating

On December 11, CHRD released a statement calling for the immediate release of jailed Zhejiang writer and poet, Li Hong (力虹), whose health has been rapidly deteriorating. Shortly after Li had started serving a 6-year prison term early this year, he was diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy that could lead to paralysis and even death. Despite his family’s repeated calls for his release for medical treatment, the authorities have denied his application for release. (CHRD)¹

2. Guangxi Dissident Writer Jing Chu Detained for “Inciting Subversion of State Power”

Internet writer, Jing Chu (荆楚, also known as Wang Dejia ( 王德佳)), of Quanzhou County, Guilin City, Guangxi Province, was criminally detained on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power” early in the morning of December 14. (CHRD)²

3. Beijing Writer He Depu Mistreated in Prison

According to a public letter by his wife dated December 2, He Depu (何德普), the Beijing writer convicted of “inciting subversion of state power,” has been mistreated in prison. He continues to suffer from serious health problems, such as high blood pressure and headaches and is not given proper medical care. He has open wounds in his mouth due to teeth having fallen out and they have not been treated. He also suffers from a lack of exercise because he has not been allowed out of his cell for more than two months. He suffers from poor quality food, and when the prison authorities sold food to prisoners, He was discriminated against and barred from purchasing. The prison authorities have also barred He from accessing the learning room, which he previously had access to and where he learnt English. Reportedly, He attempted to continue his study in his cell, but it was repeatedly interrupted by other inmates who were instructed by the prison authorities to insult and scold He for lengthy periods of time, forcing him to abandon his study. (CHRD)

4. Henan Officials Bar Husband of HIV/AIDS Activist from Attending UN Training

On December 13, Sun Jianfeng (孙建峰), husband of Li Xige (李喜阁) the HIV/AIDS activist from Henan Province currently under house arrest, was barred from attending a training session jointly organized by the All China Women’s Federation (ACWF) and the UN Women’s Development Fund. Li was invited to speak at this training session, but since she has been under house arrest by police from Ningling County, Henan Province, she sent Sun to speak on her behalf. Although Sun was accompanied to the venue in Beijing by staff from the ACWF International Cooperation Division, he was barred from entering by a fellow participant, Zhao Jie (赵洁), who was also the head of the children’s rights division of ACWF Henan. Staff from Letters and Visits Offices in Ningling County and Shangqiu City, Henan Province, were also outside of the venue and were about to forcibly kidnap Sun back to Henan. In the end, Sun’s session was cancelled, but he was not kidnapped and will seek communication with officials from the UN Women’s Development Fund together with his lawyer, Liu Wei (刘巍). (CHRD)³

5. Zhejiang Villagers Sue Public Security Bureau for Torture

On December 2, Citizen’s Rights and Livelihood Watch published a letter of appeal by Guo Yanzhen (郭晏溱), Guo Jiarong (郭珈荣) and Chen Xiaoxiang (陈小香), villagers of Dongxia Village, Songmen Town, Wenling City, Zhejiang Province. Reportedly, Wenling Public Security Bureau (PSB) earlier tortured Guo Yanzhen to extract a confession to rape. The three men’s letter calls on the Supreme People’s Court to accept the lawsuit filed concerning Guo’s torture and to ensure that Guo be fully compensated by Wenling PSB. (CRLW)⁴

6. Human Rights Defender Liu Jie Seeks Administrative Review

The veteran rural campaigner and human rights activist, Liu Jie (刘杰), is currently in a RTL camp where she has been sent for 18 months. On November 28, she applied for an administrative review of the decision to send her to the camp. In her application letter, Liu said the RTL Management Committee that made the decision made up the “evidence,” misinterpreted the law and violated Article 41 of the Chinese Constitution. Her letter calls for the immediate repeal of the decision and Liu’s immediate release without charge. (CHRD)⁵

7. Guangxi Consumer Rights Activist Huang Yixuan Arrested

On December 3, Huang Yixuan’s ((黄义轩) parents were notified by police from Nancheng City PSB, Jiangxi Province, that Huang was formally arrested on suspicion of “extortion and blackmail.” Huang, from Liuzhou, Guangxi Province, recently graduated from Jiangxi Finance and Economics College. Reportedly, Huang was arrested for defending the rights of mobile phone consumers. He has complained about and sought compensation from telecommunications providers who have cheated consumers. (CRLW)⁶

8. Court Upholds Chen Shuqing’s Original Sentence

Citizen’s Rights and Livelihood Watch learnt on December 8 that, in a closed trial on October 29, the Zhejiang Higher People’s Court rejected Chen Shuqing’s (陈树庆) appeal and maintained his original sentence of four years. Chen, dissident writer and leading member of the Chinese Democratic Party from Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, was convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” on August 16, 2007. (CRLW)⁷

9. Detained Boxun Reporter Sun Lin Soon to be Prosecuted

On December 4, Boxun reporter Sun Lin (孙林, also known as Jie Mu (孑木)), met with his lawyer Mo Shaoping (莫少平). Sun has been detained since May on suspicion of “storing explosive materials” and “gathering crowds to create trouble.” Mo learnt that the Nanjing Police have sent the Procuratorate the relevant documents for prosecuting Sun. Sun could be formally prosecuted within the next forty-five days if the Procuratorate decides to prosecute him. (CHRD)⁸

10. Surveillance lifted on June Fourth Advertiser Chen Yunfei

On December 4, police discontinued surveillance of the house of Chen Yunfei (陈云飞), a businessman from Dazhou in Sichuan Province. On June 4, Chen placed an advertisement in Chengdu Evening Post called “a tribute to the strong mothers of June Fourth victims.” He was promptly put under house surveillance by the Chengdu City PSB. (ICPC)⁹

11. Lawyers Meet Detained Writer and Activist Lu Gengsong

On December 6, lawyers Mo Shaoping (莫少平) and Ding Xikui (丁锡奎) met with Lu Gengsong, the Hangzhou writer and activist detained for “inciting subversion of state power.” According to the lawyers, Lu is allowed to read, but not write, while in detention. (CHRD)

12. Public Security Bureau Sent Yang Chunlin’s Case to the Procuratorate Again

On December 7, the Jiamusi City Procurator of Heilongjiang Province told Yang Chunping, brother of detained farmers’ rights representative, Yang Chunlin (杨春林), that the Jiamusi City PSB had completed further investigation of Yang’s case and handed it over to the Procuratorate for prosecution. Earlier in November, the Procuratorate sent the case back to the PSB for further investigation. The Procuratorate will decide within a month’s time whether there is adequate evidence to prosecute Yang, who was arrested on August 13 on suspicion of “subversion of state power.” (CHRD)¹¹

13. Guo Feixiong Tells Wife about Mistreatment at Detention Center

Guo Feixiong told his wife, Zhang Qing, that he had been tortured at the detention center. He was hung by his hands tied behind his back, which caused him pain and permanent injuries in one wrist and his shoulders. On December 11, Zhang Qing visited Yang Maodong (杨茂东,a.k.a. Guo Feixiong ( 郭飞雄) at Guangzhou No.3 Detention Center. This is the first time Zhang was allowed to visit her husband since his arrest. (CHRD)¹²

14. Lawyer Says Evidence is Insufficient to Convict Qi Songwei

On December 12, CHRD learnt from the wife of Qi Chonghuai (齐崇淮), detained Fazhi Morning Post reporter, that Qi is still being held without prosecution five months after his arrest. Meanwhile, Li Xiongbing, Qi’s defense lawyer, said he examined the evidence gathered by Tengzhou City PSB against Qi, and he thinks there is insufficient evidence to convict him of “extortion and blackmail,” the crime for which he was originally detained. (CRLW)¹³

15. Representatives Detained After 40,000 Heilongjiang Villagers Demand Land Rights

On December 8, 40,000 villagers in 72 villages in Fujin City, Heilongjiang Province, released a public notice declaring their rights to 100,000 hectares of land in their villages. Since 1994, the villagers claimed, officials at various levels in Fujin have appropriated 100,000 hectares of village land and paid artificially low prices in compensation. In one village, Dongnangang Village in Changan Township, 900 villagers have taken back 1,000 hectares of land previously appropriated. The villagers distributed the land equally among themselves. They also recalled the village chief, considered the culprit in the appropriation. According to the notice, other villagers will use similar methods to reclaim and redistribute their land. (CHRD)¹⁴

Four days later, on December 12, Fujin village representative, Yu Changwu (于长武) was detained by the National Security Unit of the Fujin City PSB. The police are now searching for another representative, Wang Guilin (王桂林), who disappeared. On the same day, Fujin City officials and police went into Dongnangang Village and summoned village representatives involved in the land issue to the police station. Another representative from Fujin City, Yang Chunlin, had been previously detained on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power,” due to his defense of the villagers’ land rights. (CHRD)¹⁵

Persecution of Petitioners

16. Wuhan Petitioners Call for Release of Petitioners Detained at Psychiatric Institutions

On December 5, Zou Guilan (邹桂兰), Yang Chunfang (杨春芳), Peng Yongkang (彭咏康), called for the release of three petitioners currently detained at psychiatric institutions. From Wuhan, Hubei Province, they themselves had been recently released from psychiatric institutions, They were visiting Citizen’s Rights and Livelihood Watch, a Hubei-based human rights organization, when they told of how the authorities detained them for petitioning. Yang was detained at Liujiaoting Psychiatric Hospital for one day, whereas Zou and Peng were detained for, respectively, 155 and 491 days at Wuhan City Psychiatric Hospital. They called for the release of Yang Chunxiu (杨春秀), Yang Chunfang’s sister who has been detained at Wuhan City Psychiatric Hospital for over a year, and Wang Chunzhen (王春贞) and Zou Houzhen(邹厚珍), fellow petitioners from Wuhan detained at Wuhan Hanyang Psychiatric Hospital. (CRLW)¹⁶

17. Heilongjiang Petitioner Injured After Being Handcuffed by Military Farm Bureau

On December 5, CHRD learnt that Shang Shiyou (尚世友), a Heilongjiang petitioner and farmers representative, was injured while being taken away from his home in Liaoning Province by Heilongjiang Nonken (Military Farm Bureau) officials. During the trip, Shang was handcuffed with his arms folded behind his back for forty eight hours. As a result, due to poor blood circulation, his arms were swollen and numb. Heilongjiang Nonken initially refused him treatment. According to Shang, delayed treatment meant that his arms are permanently injured and unlikely to recover. Shang was one of three Heilongjiang farmers representatives who went to Beijing in March this year to petition about corrupt local Nonken officials and who attempted suicide by drinking poison at the hall of the Office of Letters and Visits of the People’s Congress in Beijing. (CHRD)¹⁷

18. Heilongjiang Petitioner Du Fengqin Sent to Re-Education Through Labor

On December 5, CHRD received a letter from Heilongjiang petitioner, Du Fengqin (杜凤芹), who is currently held in Qiqihaer RTL camp. In this letter, Du wrote that, to preempt her from petitioning higher authorities during the 17^th Party Congress in October, she was taken from her home and detained by the local authorities prior to Congress. Days later, on October 16, the authorities then reportedly used trumped-up charges to send her to one year of RTL. (CHRD)¹⁸

19. Shanghai Petitioner Gong Haoming Released on Bail

Gong Haoming (龚浩明), a Shanghai petitioner and activist detained on November 8 on suspicion of “intentionally leaking state secrets,” was released on December 8. Gong was released on bail and now awaits trial. According to his wife, Gong was mistreated while in detention. Prior to his release on bail, on December 3, CHRD released a statement drawing attention to Gong being held incommunicado and at risk of torture. (CHRD)¹⁹

20. Beijing NGO Aizhixing Calls for Release of HIV/AIDS Petitioner Wang Xiaoqiao

On December 2, Beijing HIV/AIDS NGO Aizhixing released a statement calling on the Xincai County government in Henan Province to immediately release Wang Xiaoqiao (王小巧). Wang is an HIV/AIDS petitioner from Xincai County who was taken away by the police on November 27. Since then, her whereabouts have been unknown. (CROF)²⁰

21. Liaoning Petitioners Detained due to Falun Gong Documents “Found” in their Computers

On December 2, Liaoning petitioners, Liu Chunbao (刘纯宝) and Guan Chunrong (关春蓉), were detained as they went to re-claim Liu’s computer held at the Yangqiao Police Station, Beijing. The police said Liu’s computer contained materials related to the Falun Gong, and they refused to allow Guan to eat or use the toilet until she signed a form admitting that that was true. Guan was released that evening, but Liu’s whereabouts remain been unknown. On October 17, during the 17^th Party Congress, the Beijing police confiscated Liu’s computer from his residence while he was using it to prepare information for other petitioners. Guan believes that the police made up the charges to persecute them for petitioning in Beijing. (CRLW)²¹

22. Court Maintains Decision to Send Petitioner Zhang Shufeng to Re-education through Labor

On December 6, Beijing Xuanwu Court rejected petitioner Zhang Shufeng’s (张淑凤) appeal against the authorities’ decision to send her to RTL camp for a year. Zhang said she would continue to appeal. Zhang is a petitioner from Shunyi, Beijing who was sent to RTL camp on October 29 for persistent petitioning. Both Zhang and her husband are disabled, and their application for welfare has been blocked by the police, making it difficult for them to survive. In addition, the police have also installed a video camera outside her house to closely monitor her movements. (CHRD)²²

Citizens Actions

23. 12,000 Petitioners Call for Liu Jie’s Release and Abolition of Re-education Through Labor

In a public letter dated December 12, 12,000 petitioners called for the release of Liu Jie, petitioner and human rights activist from Beian City, Heilongjiang Province, who was sent to RTL for 18 months in November for organizing a public letter calling for political and legal reforms. In this public letter, the petitioners argue that sending Liu to RTL violates the Chinese Constitution and the ICCPR which guarantee freedom of expression. The letter also calls for the abolition of the RTL system, which has been used to deprive individuals, particularly petitioners like Liu, personal freedom without legal procedures. (CHRD)²³

24. Legal Scholars Call for the Abolition of Re-education Through Labor in Public Letter

In a public letter addressed to the State Council, dated November 29, 2007, sixty-nine Chinese legal scholars called for the abolition of RTL. The scholars cited four reasons for the abolition. First, RTL directly violates the right to personal freedom as guaranteed in the Chinese constitution; second, it clashes with a number of laws such as the Legislative Law and the Administrative Punishment Law; third, it violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which China has signed (but not yet ratified); and fourth, RTL violates the principle that the punishment must be proportionate to the crime and it grants police the power to jail people. The scholars called for an investigation into the system to examine its compatibility with the Constitution with an eventual view to its abolition. (CHRD)²⁴

Labor Rights

25. 1035 Sichuan Workers Published Appeal Letter; their Representative Severely Beaten

On December 3, 1,035 workers from 505 factories in Meishan City, Sichuan Province, released a public appeal letter exposing the earlier illegal detention of seven workers representatives by police at Chengxi Police Station and Meishan City PSB Dongpo District Sub-division. The letter calls on the officials responsible for the illegal detention to apologize and compensate the detainees. Six days later, on December 9, Xu Guangfu (徐光福), one of the seven representatives mentioned in the letter, was severely beaten by three unidentified men. (CRLW)²⁵

26. 2000 Shenzhen Workers on Strike

On December 10, 2000 workers of the Shenzhen Yuansheng Light Industry Limited Company went on strike. The workers are protesting about the company’s adding many harsh conditions when the workers renew their contracts, which they believe to be a violation of the labor laws. On December 13, when 200 workers went to petition at the Labor Department, they were blocked by police. Although the Labor Department is now mediating the conflict, the workers vowed to continue their strike until the problems are resolved. (CRLW)²⁶

27. Guangdong Taishan Company Beats Worker

On December 14, an 18-year-old worker was violently kicked by the head of the human resources department in the factory where she worked, leading to injuries in her lower body. The incident occurred while dozens of workers representatives at the Hong Kong Weiyin Group Taizhan Electronic Parts Company in Dongguan, Guangdong Province were negotiating with the company’s human resources department about wages, insurance and compensation after the company ceased to operate. (CRLW)²⁷

28. Guangdong Labor Rights Defender Jing Jingbo Threatened by Triad Members

On December 15, CHRD learnt that triad members went into the office of labor rights defender, Jing Jingbo (井镜波), in Dongguan, Guangdong Province and smashed the windows and office furniture. The evening before, the triad members extorted RMB 8,000 from Jing and warned him to stop his activities in defense of labor rights. (CRLW)²⁸

29. Guangxi Police Use Water Cannon and Teargas to Disperse 3000 Protesting Villagers

In Hepu County, Guangxi Province, Baisha Weiheng Sugar Limited Company allegedly rigged the weighing scale to cheat the farmers who supply the company with sugar cane, precipitating a conflict. On December 3,3000 sugar cane farmers clashed with about 400 policemen. The police used teargas and water cannon to suppress the protest, leading to many arrests and four injuries. (64tianwang)²⁹

Chinese Human Rights Briefing (CHRB) is an update report on human rights developments originating from grassroots Chinese human rights defenders, individuals and groups. Chinese Human Rights Defenders is responsible for all information published in CHRB. CHRB does not report news first appeared in the media, but refers to media sources in the endnotes for readers interested in more information.

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Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) is a non-political, non-government network of grassroots and international activists promoting human rights protection and empowering grassroots activism in China. CHRD’s objective is to build NGO capacities, monitor rights development, and assist victims of abuse. CHRD advocates non-violent and rule of law approaches. CHRD conducts investigation and research, provides information, organizes training, supports a program of small grants, and offers legal assistance.