China Human Rights Briefing May 11-17, 2009
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Reporting human rights development from the grassroots
May 11-17, 2009
HIGHLIGHTS
- In a startling case of police brutality and disregard for the law, police in Jiangjin District, Chongqing, beat and detained Beijing lawyers Zhang Kai (张凯) and Li Chunfu (李春富) on March 13. Zhang and Li are representing the family of Jiang Xiqing (江锡清), an elderly Falun Gong petitioner who died under suspicious circumstances while at an RTL Camp.
- As officials continue to increase the pressure on activists in advance of June 4, Beijing writer Jiang Qisheng (江棋生) was summoned on May 15 for the second time within two months and his home was searched as police attempted to prevent him from publishing an account of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre and its aftermath. On May 8, former 1989 student leader Zhou Yongjun (周勇军), detained since last September, was formally arrested on suspicion of “fraud”. Police all over the country have been calling or visiting locally “sensitive” activists and dissidents to warn them against writing articles, accepting interviews, and organizing meetings to observe the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen massacre. Some activists and dissidents have been put under residential surveillance.
- Petitioners, long accustomed to struggling to have their voices heard, continue to find new and innovative ways to air their grievances. CHRD documented two cases this week of petitioners taking their cases to the streets, with one group organizing on top of a Beijing building and another gathering in Tiananmen Square. Both were swiftly disrupted and ended with petitioners being detained by police.
Please click here to download the full CHRB date range in PDF format
Contents
Beijing Dissident Jiang Qisheng Taken away for Interrogation, Second Time within Two Months. 2
1989 Student Leader Zhou Yongjun Formally Arrested on Suspicion of “Fraud”. 3
Freedom of Expression and the Press. 3
Shanghai Petitioner Summoned, Home Searched for Mailing Publication to Officials. 3
Torture and Other Cruel and Inhuman Treatment. 3
Police Beat and Detain Lawyers Representing Family of Man Who Died in RTL Camp. 3
Labor Activist Xiao Qingshan Briefly Detained by Shenzhen Police for Protest at Border. 3
Internet Reporter Ren Shangyan Released from RTL; Taken away by Two ‘Brothers’ 4
Petitioners Unfurl Banners, Scatter Leaflets from Beijing Building; Taken Away by Police. 4
Shandong Petitioner Seized in Beijing, Detained in Black Jail 4
Four Hunan Petitioners Seized on Tiananmen Square, Forcibly Returned. 5
Townspeople, Chemical Plant Management Clash over Pollution Following ‘Explosion’ 5
Hangzhou Lawyer Accuses Police of Shielding Criminal in Street Racing Case. 5
Protesting Taxi Drivers Intercepted en Route to Nanchang; 3 Detained. 5
One Year after Government Information Regulations Implemented, Widespread Problems. 6
Countdown to June 4
Beijing Dissident Jiang Qisheng Taken away for Interrogation, Second Time within Two Months
On the afternoon of May 15, officers from the National Security Unit under the Haidian District Public Security Bureau in Beijing summoned and searched the home of Dr. Jiang Qisheng (江棋生), a former 1989 prisoner, dissident writer, and vice-chairman of Independent Chinese PEN. According to Jiang’s wife, Zhang Hong (章虹), police displayed a summons notice and a search warrant, and confiscated his computer, books, and most recent manuscripts. At 7:45 pm, Jiang was taken away from his home, and questioned for six hours. It is believed that the raid was intended to obstruct Dr. Jiang’s efforts to publish an account of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre and its aftermath, which was also the reason police indicated when Jiang was last summoned on March 31. (CHRD)[i]
1989 Student Leader Zhou Yongjun Formally Arrested on Suspicion of “Fraud”
On May 8, former 1989 pro-democracy movement student leader Zhou Yongjun (周勇军) was formally arrested on suspicion of “fraud” after the Suining City Procuratorate approved the charge. Zhou, who was seized by Shenzhen police while crossing into China from Hong Kong to visit family on September 30, 2008, is currently being held in Suining City Detention Center. (CRLW)[ii]
Freedom of Expression and the Press
Shanghai Petitioner Summoned, Home Searched for Mailing Publication to Officials
Around 10 in the evening on May 11, more than 10 Changning District police officers suddenly burst into the home of Shanghai petitioner Li Huifang (李惠芳), searching her home and confiscating a computer as well as petitioning materials. After searching her home, police took Li and fellow petitioner Chen Qiyong (陈启勇) to the Changning Xinjing PSB station for a summons on suspicion of “disrupting public order”. They were released at 3 in the morning on May 12. It is believed that Li was summoned for mailing a copy of Feng Zhenghu’s (冯正虎) “Supervisory Bulletin (督察简报)” to Shanghai officials. (CHRD)[iii]
Torture and Other Cruel and Inhuman Treatment
Police Beat and Detain Lawyers Representing Family of Man Who Died in RTL Camp
On May 13, Beijing lawyers Zhang Kai (张凯) and Li Chunfu (李春富) were in Chongqing meeting with the family of Jiang Xiqing (江锡清). Around 4 in the afternoon, a group of more than 20 officers, including officials from the National Security Unit under the Jiangjin PSB, arrived at the home, demanding that Zhang and Li produce their identification cards. When the lawyers, who were carrying their lawyers’ licenses and passports, were unable to produce their personal ID cards (shenfenzheng), the officers suddenly surrounded them, throwing the pair to the ground, beating and kicking them before leading them away in handcuffs. Jiang’s son, Jiang Hongbin (江虹宾), was also taken away by the officers. Zhang and Li were taken to a nearby police station, where Zhang was locked in an iron cage with his hands cuffed behind his back, hanging onto the bars of the cage. Li was cuffed to a concrete slab in another room. The pair was further beaten and interrogated. The police threatened Zhang and Li against handling the case and released the pair shortly after midnight.
Jiang Xiqing (江锡清) was a 66-year old Falun Gong practitioner who died suddenly while detained in Chongqing’s Xishanping Re-education Through Labor (RTL) camp on January 28. His children are bringing a lawsuit against the RTL authorities as they suspect that officials are not telling them the truth about their father’s death. (CHRD)[iv]
Persecution of Activists
Labor Activist Xiao Qingshan Briefly Detained by Shenzhen Police for Protest at Border
On the afternoon of May 14, labor activist and Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch volunteer Xiao Qingshan (肖青山) was briefly detained by officers from the National Security Unit of the Shenzhen PSB while protesting at Shenzhen’s Luohu Border Crossing. Xiao, who was demonstrating to commemorate the events of June 4, 1989, and to protest the pressure being put on the workers of Dongguan and himself by Dongguan authorities, reported that officers roughly handled him, injuring his fingers. Xiao was forced to sign a pledge stating he would not return to Shenzhen to protest before being released. (CRLW)[v]
Internet Reporter Ren Shangyan Released from RTL; Taken away by Two ‘Brothers’
On May 15, one day before her term was set to expire, Heilongjiang internet reporter Ren Shangyan (任尚燕), former assistant director of China Justice Advocacy Web (中华申正网) was released from the Heilongjiang Women’s Re-education Through Labor (RTL) Camp after one year of RTL. Fellow Heilongjiang activists who gathered outside of the camp to greet her upon her release were surprised to find two men who claimed to be Ren’s brothers. Conversation between the “brothers” and the activists, in which the “brothers” did not seem to support Ren’s human rights work, led some to question whether the men were in fact related to Ren.
Ren was originally detained on May 16, 2008, by police from Shuangyashan PSB in Heilongjiang while investigating accusations of nepotism made by a disabled resident of Shuangyashan against Wang Yijun (王义军), Vice-Chief of the Anti-Corruption Bureau under the Procuratorate of Lingdong District, Shuangyashan City. She was sent to a year of RTL for “internet fraud” by the Shuangyashan RTL Committee, though her family never received any official notice of the decision. (CHRD)[vi]
Persecution of Petitioners
Petitioners Unfurl Banners, Scatter Leaflets from Beijing Building; Taken Away by Police
Around 9:30 in the morning on May 11, a group of 12 petitioners from Shanxi province and other areas, including Xue Jianhui (雪建辉) and Ren Jiancai (任建材) climbed to the top of a tall building near the National Letters and Visits Office in downtown Beijing and unrolled 6 banners on which the phrase “overthrow avaricious officials” were written, while at the same time scattering close to a thousand leaflets explaining their situation. A crowd of 200 petitioners below, led by Shanxi petitioner Li Li (李丽) began chanting slogans in support of the petitioners on top of the building. By 2 in the afternoon, more than 100 police officers, including special officers and riot police, arrived and cordoned off the area, shoving the petitioners on the street into a nearby tour bus. The 12 petitioners on top of the building were bound and taken by police to Xuanwu District PSB station. Ten of the 12 petitioners were then taken to Daxing Prison on May 12, while the other two, Hebei petitioner Zhen Weijing (甄伟静) and a 14-year old girl, were released. (CHRD)[vii]
Shandong Petitioner Seized in Beijing, Detained in Black Jail
Qingdao City, Shandong Province petitioner Lin Xiuli (林秀丽) was picked up by Beijing police while petitioning in downtown Beijing on the afternoon of May 10 and turned over to an official from the Beijing Liaison Office of the Qingdao Municipal government who forcibly returned her to Qingdao. Lin was then detained in a black jail at Number 7 Huaiyang Street in Qingdao. Reportedly, Lin has been petitioning because of a court ruling she believes to be unfair. This is the 15th time Lin has been detained in a black jail. (CHRD)[viii]
Four Hunan Petitioners Seized on Tiananmen Square, Forcibly Returned
On the afternoon of May 11, a group of four petitioners from Hunan Province were seized by Beijing police after they attempted to publicize their grievances on Tiananmen Square. The four, who carried signs with the character 冤 (yuan, injustice) written on them, were taken to the Beijing Liaison Office of the Hunan Provincial Government before being forcibly returned to Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province on May 12. It is not yet clear what happened to the petitioners upon their arrival in Zhuzhou. The group was petitioning about an unjust forced land appropriation. (CHRD)[ix]
Citizens’ Actions
Townspeople, Chemical Plant Management Clash over Pollution Following ‘Explosion’
Townspeople living near a power plant in Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province once again clashed with the plant over pollution concerns. On May 9, neighbors of the Hebang Chemical Company plant, in Mao’an Town, Dinhai District, Zhoushan, heard a loud noise described as an “explosion”, followed by a plume of black smoke and a strong unpleasant odor. When more than 100 residents gathered at the plant to demand an explanation, they were rebuffed and accused of blockading the road leading into the compound. One resident was detained by police. According to a worker at the plant, there was no explosion, and the noise and smoke were caused by machinery reacting to a power outage. The same worker went on to claim that the plant did not produce any pollution. A similar event took place one year ago as a large-scale conflict erupted between residents and the plant over pollution. (CRLW)[x]
Hangzhou Lawyer Accuses Police of Shielding Criminal in Street Racing Case
May 11 was the day set aside by the director of the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau for receiving petitions, and Hangzhou lawyer Long Yongsheng (龙永生) took the opportunity to present Hangzhou PSB vice-director Zhang Qiang (张强) with a formal complaint stating that the traffic police of the Hangzhou PSB illegally handled the “Wen Er Xi Lu racing incident”. The incident, which took place on May 7, involved a driver who struck and killed a Zhejiang University graduate, allegedly while racing at speeds over 100 km/h. The police detained and charged the driver with “suspicion of creating a traffic disturbance”, which Long alleges should in fact be “suspicion of endangering public safety”. Police further claimed that the driver, a university student from a wealthy family, was only traveling at a speed of 70 km/h, which has prompted the term “70” to become a popular internet meme as netizens debate the case. (CHRD)[xi]
Protesting Taxi Drivers Intercepted en Route to Nanchang; 3 Detained
After the Poyang County, Jiangxi Province government failed to live up to its promise to resolve the complaints of taxi drivers by their self-set date of May 10, a group of more than 50 taxi drivers in 28 taxis set off for the provincial capital of Nanchang on the evening of May 11 to petition. Roughly 40 kilometers short of Nanchang, however, the taxis were all intercepted by police. The drivers were detained and had their licenses confiscated. Negotiations between the county government and the drivers on May 12 came to nothing, and at the same time officials forced nine drivers to sign pledges stating they would not petition again about the issue. Three drivers, including Peng Qishan (彭启山) were taken to a local police station; their current situation is unknown. That evening the drivers were all “escorted” home by police. The drivers are petitioning because local officials are requiring them to discard their old vehicles and purchase new ones at inflated prices, a year earlier than originally decreed. (CHRD)[xii]
Law and Policy Watch
One Year after Government Information Regulations Implemented, Widespread Problems
One year after the regulations governing access to information about the government were implemented, a May 14 Legal Daily story reports on the progress of the systems put in place by local governments to comply with the guidelines. According to the story, the four types of information most requested in the first year were: information regarding citizens, corporations, or other groups’ personal interests; information that needed to be disseminated and understood widely; information about the processes in place for government organs’ establishing and managing the affairs of one’s profession; and information about law and national regulations. However, the article found that 52% of the country had yet to put in place a system for implementing the regulations, and even among those areas that had some sort of system, the accuracy and objectivity of data provided about requests for information and information provided has been called into question. (Legal Daily)[xiii]
Editors: Wang Songlian and David Smalls
[i] “Beijing Dissident Jiang Qisheng Taken away for Interrogation, Second Time within Two Months,” May 18, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class9/Class10/200905/20090518230218_15467.html
[ii] “Zhou Yongjun Formally Arrested for ‘Fraud’ (周勇军案获证以涉嫌”诈骗罪”逮捕)”, May 15, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/liusi/200905/20090515165958_15420.html
[iii] “Home of Shanghai Petitioner Searched, Police Steal Petitioners’ Materials (上海访民被抄家,警方骗窃访民材料)”, May 12, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090512222206_15376.html
[iv] “Police Beat and Detain Lawyers Representing Family of Man Who Died in RTL Camp”, May 14, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class9/Class10/200905/20090514043236_15391.html, “Li Chunfu: Record of A Lawyer’s Beating and Torture in Jiangjin (李春富:律师在江津被殴被拷纪实)”, May 14, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090514112925_15393.html, “Record of Lawyer Zhang Kai’s Beating and Torture- A Human Rights Lawyer’s Dangerous Situation (张凯律师被殴被拷纪实-维权律师的危险处境)”, May 14, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class2/200905/20090514125934_15399.html
[v] “Xiao Qingshan Beaten and Detained for Protesting at Luohu, Shenzhen (肖青山深圳罗湖口岸抗议遭殴打带走)”, May 15, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090515002719_15405.html
[vi] “Rights Defender Ren Shangyan Met by ‘Brothers’ after Completing RTL Term “(维权人士任尚燕劳教期满被她”兄弟”接走)”, May 15, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090515155504_15421.html
[vii] “Twelve Petitioners Scatter Leaflets from Building Near National Letters and Visits Office; All Bound and Taken Away (12名访民在国家信访局附近楼上撒传单 全部被五花大绑抓走)”, May 12, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090512004106_15357.html and “Beijing Zhushikou Roof Protestors Detained (北京珠市口房顶抗议的人员被拘押)”, May 14, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090514210934_15403.html
[viii] “Shandong Petitioner Detained in Black Jail for 15th Time (山东访民第十五次被关黑监狱)”, May 12, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090512174120_15372.html
[ix] “Four Hunan Petitioners Seized for Raising ‘Yuan’ Signs- All Forcibly Returned (湖南四访民广场举冤字被抓续–全部被送回家)”, May 13, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090513232038_15385.html
[x] “Zhejiang Hebang Chemical Plant Pollution Problem Again Sparks Conflict (浙江和邦化学有限公司污染问题再次引发冲突)”, May 11, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090511230921_15352.html
[xi] “Hangzhou Lawyer Long Yongsheng Accuses Traffic Police of Dereliction of Duty, Covering Up for Criminal (杭州龙永生律师控告交警渎职和包庇肇事者)”, May 12, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class71/200905/20090512003208_15356.html
[xii] “Poyang County, Jiangxi Province Taxi Drivers’ Collective Drive to Provincial Capital to Protest (江西省鄱阳县的士司机集体开车进省城抗议)”, May 13, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class71/200905/20090513133436_15383.html
[xiii] “One Year Since Implementation of ‘Handing Over Work’ Regulations, Access to Government Information Quietly Changes ‘Citizens’ Genes’ (实施一年”交作业” 政府信息公开条例悄然改变”国民基因)”, May 14, 2009, http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/0801/2009-05/14/content_1091012.htm
[1] “Beijing Dissident Jiang Qisheng Taken away for Interrogation, Second Time within Two Months,” May 18, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class9/Class10/200905/20090518230218_15467.html
[1] “Zhou Yongjun Formally Arrested for ‘Fraud’ (周勇军案获证以涉嫌”诈骗罪”逮捕)”, May 15, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/liusi/200905/20090515165958_15420.html
[1] “Home of Shanghai Petitioner Searched, Police Steal Petitioners’ Materials (上海访民被抄家,警方骗窃访民材料)”, May 12, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090512222206_15376.html
[1] “Police Beat and Detain Lawyers Representing Family of Man Who Died in RTL Camp”, May 14, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class9/Class10/200905/20090514043236_15391.html, “Li Chunfu: Record of A Lawyer’s Beating and Torture in Jiangjin (李春富:律师在江津被殴被拷纪实)”, May 14, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090514112925_15393.html, “Record of Lawyer Zhang Kai’s Beating and Torture- A Human Rights Lawyer’s Dangerous Situation (张凯律师被殴被拷纪实-维权律师的危险处境)”, May 14, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class2/200905/20090514125934_15399.html
[1] “Xiao Qingshan Beaten and Detained for Protesting at Luohu, Shenzhen (肖青山深圳罗湖口岸抗议遭殴打带走)”, May 15, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090515002719_15405.html
[1] “Rights Defender Ren Shangyan Met by ‘Brothers’ after Completing RTL Term “(维权人士任尚燕劳教期满被她”兄弟”接走)”, May 15, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090515155504_15421.html
[1] “Twelve Petitioners Scatter Leaflets from Building Near National Letters and Visits Office; All Bound and Taken Away (12名访民在国家信访局附近楼上撒传单 全部被五花大绑抓走)”, May 12, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090512004106_15357.html and “Beijing Zhushikou Roof Protestors Detained (北京珠市口房顶抗议的人员被拘押)”, May 14, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090514210934_15403.html
[1] “Shandong Petitioner Detained in Black Jail for 15th Time (山东访民第十五次被关黑监狱)”, May 12, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090512174120_15372.html
[1] “Four Hunan Petitioners Seized for Raising ‘Yuan’ Signs- All Forcibly Returned (湖南四访民广场举冤字被抓续–全部被送回家)”, May 13, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090513232038_15385.html
[1] “Zhejiang Hebang Chemical Plant Pollution Problem Again Sparks Conflict (浙江和邦化学有限公司污染问题再次引发冲突)”, May 11, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090511230921_15352.html
[1] “Hangzhou Lawyer Long Yongsheng Accuses Traffic Police of Dereliction of Duty, Covering Up for Criminal (杭州龙永生律师控告交警渎职和包庇肇事者)”, May 12, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class71/200905/20090512003208_15356.html
[1] “Poyang County, Jiangxi Province Taxi Drivers’ Collective Drive to Provincial Capital to Protest (江西省鄱阳县的士司机集体开车进省城抗议)”, May 13, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class71/200905/20090513133436_15383.html
[1] “One Year Since Implementation of ‘Handing Over Work’ Regulations, Access to Government Information Quietly Changes ‘Citizens’ Genes’ (实施一年”交作业” 政府信息公开条例悄然改变”国民基因)”, May 14, 2009, http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/0801/2009-05/14/content_1091012.htm