China Human Rights Briefing December 22-27, 2010

December 28, 2010       Comments Off on China Human Rights Briefing December 22-27, 2010

China Human Rights Briefing Weekly

December 22-27, 2010

To download this week’s CHRB as a .pdf file, please click here.

Highlights

  • Happy Birthday Liu Xiaobo: December 28 is the 55th birthday of Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波), activist, intellectual and 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. This is the third consecutive birthday Liu will spend in detention, and his first in Liaoning Province’s Jinzhou Prison. Liu will not be able to celebrate the occasion with his wife, Liu Xia (刘霞), who remains under illegal house arrest at the couple’s home in Beijing, nor will he see any of his other relatives, as prison officials have cut him off from family visits since December 16, 2010. CHRD wishes Liu a happy birthday, and once again calls for his immediate and unconditional release.
  • Authorities in Beijing Turn to Psychiatric Institution to Detain Prominent Activist: CHRD learned this week that Beijing dissident and activist Li Jinping (李金平), who has been missing for more than one month, is being detained in a Chaoyang District psychiatric institution. Li’s brother, who discovered his whereabouts, has so far been unable to obtain any further information about his detention. Psychiatric institutions have long been used by officials to quietly detain activists, dissidents, and petitioners, as police are able to order individuals hospitalized indefinitely without an evaluation by mental health professionals.

Contents

Happy Birthday to Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo

Arbitrary Detention

Beijing Activist Li Jinping Detained in Psychiatric Institution, Says Brother

RTL Camp in Liaoning Province Holds Woman in Detention despite Order for Release

Updates on Nobel-Related Harassment of Activists

Ding Zilin and Husband Jiang Peikun Return to Beijing, Begin to Reconnect with Friends and Family

Freedom of Religion

Police in Chengdu City Disrupt Christmas Eve Services, Detain House Church Leader

Freedom of Expression

Authorities Order Bei Feng’s Microblogs Shut Down

Harassment of Activists

Lawyer Teng Biao and Activist Zhang Yongpan Seized by Police to Prevent Visit to Fan Yafeng’s Home

Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Detained Guangxi Village Chief Subjected to Long Hours of Labor, Cut off From Family

Police in Guangxi Lead Attack on Villager Who Petitioned about Illegal Land Seizure

Happy Birthday to Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo

December 28 is the 55th birthday of Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波), activist, intellectual and 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Held in remote Jinzhou Prison in Liaoning Province, where the temperature has plunged well below zero, Liu has been denied access to his family since December 16, 2010. This is Liu’s first birthday in Jinzhou: on December 28, 2009, Liu was held in Beijing Number One Detention Center, while on December 28, 2008, he was under “residential surveillance” at an undisclosed location on the outskirts of Beijing. CHRD would like to take this opportunity to wish Liu Xiaobo a happy birthday, and to once again call for his immediate and unconditional release.

Liu’s wife, Liu Xia (刘霞), continues to be confined to her home in Beijing, where she has been held under house arrest since October 8, 2010. Since October 18, she has been cut off from the outside world, as police have blocked her phone and internet connections. There is absolutely no legal basis for any of the measures taken against her by Beijing officials. CHRD is concerned that Liu Xia may continue to face illegal house arrest for an extended period of time, and we reiterate our call for an immediate end to her persecution.

Our website contains a collection of material related to Liu Xiaobo’s Nobel Peace Prize; for more information, please see:

Arbitrary Detention

Beijing Activist Li Jinping Detained in Psychiatric Institution, Says Brother

CHRD learned on December 25 that Beijing dissident and activist Li Jinping (李金平) has been detained in the Chaoyang District Mental Health Center on the orders of the Chaoyang District National Security police. Based on the best available information, CHRD believes Li has already been detained in the institution for more than one month. Li’s younger brother attempted to visit him on December 24 after learning of his whereabouts, but was rebuffed by the head nurse. Li’s brother later learned that National Security police had instructed staff at the mental health center not to reveal any information about Li’s detention to anyone. As a result, details of Li’s detention and present condition are not currently known. Li, a former police officer whose home was forcibly demolished in 2008, has been detained on numerous occasions over the years as a result of his advocacy on behalf of former CCP General Secretary Zhao Ziyang (赵 紫阳) as well as fellow petitioners. (CHRD)[i]

RTL Camp in Liaoning Province Holds Woman in Detention despite Order for Release

CHRD learned on December 27 that Qu Huasong (曲华松), a petitioner from Dalian City, Liaoning Province, remains detained in Shenyang City’s Masanjia Women’s Re-education through Labor (RTL) Camp despite an order from officials in Dalian that she be allowed to serve her RTL term outside of the camp. Qu was sent to two years of RTL in March of 2010 by Dalian officials as punishment for her persistent petitioning. Qu had traveled to Beijing to petition for redress of a complaint related to the forced demolition of her home on numerous occasions. Her lawyer was able to secure permission from Dalian officials for Qu to be released from the RTL Camp on December 9 on the grounds that her child suffers from depression and needs her care. However, as of the time of writing, officials at the Masanjia Camp have refused to release Qu. (CHRD)[ii]

Updates on Nobel-Related Harassment of Activists

Ding Zilin and Husband Jiang Peikun Return to Beijing, Begin to Reconnect with Friends and Family

On December 21, Ding Zilin (丁 子霖), founder of the Tiananmen Mothers, and her husband Jiang Peikun (蒋 培坤) returned to their home in Beijing, and on December 22 they were allowed to begin contacting friends and family for the first time since they were placed under “soft detention” on October 8. Ding and Jiang had been illegally held incommunicado in a rural location outside of Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, where they had been staying when the Nobel Prize was announced. Ding and Jiang have written an article about their experiences during the past few months, which is available here (in Chinese).

Freedom of Religion

Police in Chengdu City Disrupt Christmas Eve Services, Detain House Church Leader

On the evening of December 24, police in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province interrupted a Christmas Eve service held by Chengdu’s Blessing of the Autumn Rain (qiuyu zhi fu) house church, taking away church leader Wang Yi (王怡). The officers did not produce any legal documentation which might have authorized their actions. Church members gathered later that evening on Chengdu’s Chunxi Road to sing hymns, but were driven away by police. Police also seized more than a dozen church members at the scene, and took them in for questioning before releasing them. As of the time of writing, it is unclear whether Wang has been released. (CHRD)[iii]

Freedom of Expression

Authorities Order Bei Feng’s Microblogs Shut Down

On December 21, CCP internet censors ordered internet portals Sina, Netease, and Tencent to close down microblogs written by blogger and internet activist Bei Feng (北风). The order called for Bei Feng’s accounts to be shut because he had discussed the microblog opened by Fang Binxing (方滨兴), known as the “father of the ‘Great Firewall.'” Fang opened a Sina microblog last week, but the account was hastily closed after it was inundated by mostly negative comments from Chinese netizens. While Sina did not notify Bei Feng of its actions, he was contacted by someone at Tencent, who explained the situation. A well-known internet commentator, Bei Feng has been harassed by the police on many occasions and had his microblogs closed previously in retaliation for his online human rights activism. (CHRD)[iv]

Harassment of Activists

Lawyer Teng Biao and Activist Zhang Yongpan Seized by Police to Prevent Visit to Fan Yafeng’s Home

On the evening of December 23, Beijing human rights lawyer Teng Biao (滕彪) and activist Zhang Yongpan (张永攀) were accosted by police outside of activist Fan Yafeng’s (范亚峰) home. They were roughly handled and taken to the Shuangyushu police station, where police threatened them and held them for more than two hours before releasing them around midnight. Close to a dozen human rights lawyers and activists arrived at the station in person, and others called the station to demand the release of Teng and Zhang. (CHRD)[v]

Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Detained Guangxi Village Chief Subjected to Long Hours of Labor, Cut off From Family

On December 21, lawyer Zheng Jianwei (郑 建伟) traveled to Beihai City Number Two Detention Center in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to visit with detained Baihutou village director Xu Kun (许坤), who has been detained without a trial since May 2010 for leading his fellow villagers in standing up to developers and local officials carrying out forced evictions and demolitions. According to Zheng, Xu is being forced to work fourteen hours a day. Xu stated that the work, which involves threading small pearls onto fine thread, caused his eyes to ache and has led to other health problems. Xu is not allowed to read books or newspapers in the center, and has been barred from communicating with his family while detained. Xu, who has been charged with “operating an illegal business,” was denied release on bail to await trial in November. Altogether, eight villagers have been detained for their opposition to the land grab in Baihutou, including three who have been sentenced to prison for “obstructing official business. (CHRD)[vi]

Police in Guangxi Lead Attack on Villager Who Petitioned about Illegal Land Seizure

According to a report received recently by CHRD, a family in Laofang Village, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was attacked by a group of individuals led by a local police chief on December 4. The head of the Liunan District (Liuzhou City) Public Security Bureau led approximately thirty others into the home of villager Li Fanghua (李芳华), where they beat Li and his relatives. Li’s 63 year-old father Li Mingguang (李明光) suffered a broken femur and fractured vertebra in the attack. Li and another relative were taken away by police; their whereabouts remain unknown as of the time of writing. Residents of Laofang Village and surrounding villages have been protesting the seizure of a total of twenty thousand mu (approximately 3300 acres) of land by local officials, who the villagers claim acted illegally. The attack is believed to be in retribution for a petitioning journey to Beijing undertaken by Li Fanghua and four other villagers regarding the land seizure on November 24. (CHRD)[vii]

Editors: David Smalls and Lin Sang

Follow us on Twitter: @CHRDnet

News updates from CHRD

[i] “Special Alert: Beijing Dissident Li Jinping Detained in Psychiatric Institution” (特别关注：北京异议人士李金平被关入精神病院(图)), December 25, 2010, http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012251239.shtml

[ii] “Masanjia Women’s RTL Camp, in Shenyang, Refuses to Release Detainee to Serve Sentence outside of Camp” (沈阳马三家女子劳 教所拒不释放所外执行者(图)), December 27, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012272028.shtml

[iii] “Christmas Eve Not Peaceful; Wang Yi, Elder of Chengdu’s Blessing of the Autumn Rain Church, Seized” (平安夜不平安 成都秋雨之福教会 长老王怡被抓), December 25, 2010, http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012250005.shtml

[iv] “French Human Rights Prize Winner Bei Feng’s Microblog Closed by CCP Authorities” (法国人权奖获得者北风的微博被中共当局封杀), December 23, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012231635.shtml

[v] “Human Rights Lawyer Teng Biao Beaten, Taken Away for Visiting Fan Yafeng’s Family” (维权律师滕彪看望范亚峰家人被殴打并被抓), December 24, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012240116.shtml

[vi] “Beihai Rights-Defending Village Head Xu Kun Abused in Detention Center” (北海维 权村主任许坤在看守所中遭到虐待), December 22, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012220122.shtml

[vii] “Liuzhou Public Security Bureau Director Leads Group to Beat Rights-Defending Villager” (柳州一公安局长率众殴打维权村民(图)), December 25, 2010, http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012251021.shtml

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