China Human Rights Briefing March 1-8, 2011

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China Human Rights Briefing Weekly

March 1-8, 2011

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

Highlights

Detentions Continue as Police Remain on High Alert over Protest Calls: With anonymous online postings calling for a third round of “Jasmine Revolution” protests this past weekend, police continued to detain and disappear activists and dissidents around the country. CHRD has now confirmed that at least 10 individuals have been criminally detained in relation to the recent crackdown.
“Two Meetings” Begin, Marked Once Again by Detention of Petitioners: With the beginning of the “Two Meetings” of the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing this past weekend, police were busy rounding up petitioners in the capital. CHRD has received reports of hundreds of petitioners being detained in black jails or forcibly returned to their hometowns in recent days.

Contents

Arbitrary Detention

Updates on Detentions and Disappearances Related to “Jasmine Revolution” Protests
Updates on Detentions Related to the “Two Meetings” of the NPC and the CPPCC

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

Imprisoned Hunan Activist Xie Fulin’s Health Deteriorating, Says Wife
Jilin Petitioner Hospitalized Following Beating in Beijing

Harassment of Activists

Police Search Home of Anhui Activist as “Jasmine Revolution” Crackdown Continues
Wife of Detained Activist Chen Wei Interrogated by Police

Arbitrary Detention

Updates on Detentions and Disappearances Related to “Jasmine Revolution” Protests

With the third round of “Jasmine Revolution” protests called for March 6, police around the country continued to harass and detain activists and dissidents over the weekend. CHRD has verified the following cases:

In Beijing:

The family of rights activist Wei Qiang (魏强) was notified on March 2 by the Beijing Public Security Bureau that Wei has been criminally detained. He is being held in the Haidian District Detention Center on suspicion of taking part in an “illegal demonstration.” Wang, originally from Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province, moved to Beijing in 2010. On February 20, he used his Twitter account (@Watchmen725) to report from the scene in front of the Wangfujing McDonald’s, one of the locations identified in the call for “Jasmine Revolution” protests. Wang is believed to be the first individual whose attendance at the scene of the gathering has led to criminal detention. (CHRD)^[i]
CHRD has learned that Guangxi petitioner Quan Lianzhao (全连昭) was seized by interceptors in Beijing on February 26 and forcibly returned to Nanning City, Guangxi Province, where she was criminally detained for “subversion of state power.” Quan, who is 60 years old, is currently being held in the Nanning City Number One Detention Center. It is believed that Quan’s detention is related to her taking part in a “Revolutionary Singing Gathering” in a Beijing park on February 3, where petitioners gathered to sing revolutionary songs and present accounts of their grievances. Quan also gathered with a number of petitioners on February 20 to present their grievances at Beijing’s Chaoyang Park; while the gathering drew the attention of police because it was the same date as the proposed “Jasmine Revolution” protests, friends said that Quan does not use the internet and would have not known of the demonstrations called for that date. Quan has been petitioning for four years in response to the forced expropriation of land in her village. (CHRD)[ii]

In Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province:

On the morning of March 5, democracy activist Zhu Yufu (朱虞夫) was taken away by police, who also searched his home and confiscated two computers and other items. Zhu was later criminally detained on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power.”
Also on March 5, democracy activist Wei Shuishan (魏水山) was criminally detained. However, more detailed information about Wei’s detention is not currently available.
Additionally, at least eleven dissidents, including Wang Rongqing (王荣清), Chen Shuqing (陈树庆), and Qi Huimin (戚惠民) reported that they have been placed under soft detention in recent days and barred from leaving their homes. (CHRD)[iii]

In Guangdong Province:

CHRD has learned that Guangzhou-based author and activist Ye Du (野渡, real name Wu Wei [吴伟]) was placed under residential surveillance (jianshi juzhu) in Panyu County, Guangdong Province for “inciting subversion of state power” on March 1. On March 2, police escorted Ye Du back to his home in Guangzhou, where they confiscated a computer, CD-ROMs, USB drives, books, documents, and other items, then took him away again. Officers did not issue a full list of confiscated goods. Ye Du was originally taken away from his home on by police on February 22. “Residential surveillance” is a form of pre-trial detention. According to Article 57 of China’s Criminal Procedural Law (CPL), a suspect subjected to residential surveillance must be held either in her/his home or a designated dwelling if s/he has no permanent residence. Detaining Ye Du, who has a home in Guangzhou, in an undisclosed location therefore breaches this legal provision. (CHRD)[iv]

In Guizhou Province:

CHRD learned on March 6 that dissident Mo Jiangang (莫建刚) has been criminally detained. More detailed information is not currently available. Mo had been missing for many days. (CHRD)[v]
On March 2, CHRD learned that dissident Wang Chengming (枉成明) was taken by police from his residence in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, and detained in the Jiangyang Detention House in Sichuan Province’s Luzhou City, Wang’s hometown. When Wang’s wife attempted to deliver money and clothing to Wang, she was barred from seeing him by guards. No legal documentation which might authorize Wang’s detention has been issued to his wife, and the precise date of his detention, as well as the official reason for his detention, are currently not known. (CHRD)[vi]

In Hebei Province:

Fujian-based activists Wu Huaying (吴华英) and Zhuo Yougui (卓友桂) were seized by police in Xianghe County, Hebei while en route to Beijing on March 5 to visit with friends. They were both given 10 days of administrative detention for “using a fake ID” and are currently being detained in the Xianghe Detention House. (CHRD)[vii]

In Hubei Province:

On the afternoon of March 4, Hubei-based human rights defender Yao Lifa (姚立法) was seized by a group of teachers at the school where he is employed and taken away. His current whereabouts are unknown. As a result of his human rights and pro-democracy work, Yao has been similarly disappeared on a number of occasions; this is the third such episode already this year. (CHRD)[viii]

Altogether, CHRD has documented the cases of ten individuals who have been criminally detained in relation to the online call for “Jasmine Revolution.” They are Liang Haiyi (梁海怡), Chen Wei (陈卫), Hua Chunhui (华春辉), Ding Mao (丁茅), Ran Yunfei (冉云飞), Zheng Chuangtian (郑创添), Wei Qiang (魏强), Quan Lianzhao (全连昭), Zhu Yufu (朱虞夫) and Wei Shuishan (魏水山).

Updates on Detentions Related to the “Two Meetings” of the NPC and the CPPCC

CHRD continues to receive reports of petitioners being rounded up en masse in Beijing during the “Two Meetings” of the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which opened this past weekend. On the evening of March 5, approximately 300 petitioners from Shanghai were forcibly returned from Beijing. When they arrived in Shanghai the following morning, they were detained in a number of “relief stations” around the city. (CHRD)[ix]

CHRD learned on March 8 that a car driven by interceptors from Changsha City, Hunan Province, was involved in an accident on a Hubei Province highway while returning from Beijing with a group of petitioners being forcibly returned. A total of 13 petitioners were in the vehicle when it crashed, and eight were rushed to Chibi City People’s Hospital. Their current conditions are unknown. (CHRD)[x]

CHRD also learned on March 8 that Heilongjiang-based human rights defender Liu Jie (刘杰) and her husband Fu Jingjiang (付井江) were seized in Beijing on March 5 and forcibly returned to a guesthouse in Xunke Farm (part of a military agricultural brigade, in Heilongjiang Province), where they are currently being held under soft detention. (CHRD)[xi]

Petitioner Liu Xianzhi (刘先枝), from Henan Province, was seized on the street in Beijing and forcibly returned to her hometown by interceptors on the morning of March 3. (CHRD)[xii]

A group of fourteen female petitioners from Guangxi Province were seized by staff at the National Letters and Visits Office on March 3. They were later turned over to interceptors from the Beijing Liaison Office of the Guangxi provincial government; their current whereabouts are unknown. (CHRD)[xiii]

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

Imprisoned Hunan Activist Xie Fulin’s Health Deteriorating, Says Wife

On March 4, Jin Yan (金焰), wife of imprisoned human rights activist Xie Fulin (谢福林), visited her husband at Changsha City Prison in Hunan Province. According to Jin, Xie’s health has continued to decline while he has been detained: he has not been able to obtain effective treatment for his heart disease or high blood pressure, and has frequently experienced sharp chest pains. Jin reported that Xie looks green and his body is swollen. She added that staff at the Changsha prison have requested guidance from higher officials, and that they also indicated to her that the decision to grant Xie release on medical parole would have to come from these officials. (CHRD)[xiv]

Jilin Petitioner Hospitalized Following Beating in Beijing

On March 6, petitioner Gao Liping (高丽苹) was attacked and beaten by a group of interceptors in Beijing. She sustained a fractured coccyx and is currently receiving treatment at Beijing’s You’anmen Hospital. According to Gao, she was seized and forced into a car outside of the Beijing Railway Station along with her husband and the couple’s one year-old child. The family had just arrived in the capital to petition regarding an unjust court decision. The family was driven around the city for hours before being taken to an out-of-the way part of Fengtai District, where Gao was dragged from the car and beaten. (CHRD)[xv]

Harassment of Activists

Police Search Home of Anhui Activist as “Jasmine Revolution” Crackdown Continues

Around noon on March 4, a group of more than 10 National Security officers carried out a search of the Ma’anshan City, Anhui Province home of activist Wang Yixiang (王翼翔, also known as Gu He [姑鹤]), confiscating three computers. Wang has been under strict surveillance by local police since February 25. Police have searched the homes of at least 14 activists since February 19 in connection with the preemptive crackdown on “Jasmine Revolution” protests, some multiple times. (CHRD)[xvi]

Wife of Detained Activist Chen Wei Interrogated by Police

On the morning of March 4, National Security officers in Suining City, Sichuan Province, summoned Wang Xiaoyan (王晓燕), wife of activist Chen Wei (陈卫), for questioning. Wang was interrogated for approximately an hour and a half about documents and contact information police found while searching her computers, which police confiscated after searching the couple’s home last week. Officers returned one netbook and a USB drive to Wang following the questioning. Chen Wei was criminally detained for “inciting subversion of state power” on February 21. (CHRD)[xvii]

Editors: David Smalls and Lin Sang

Follow us on Twitter: @CHRDnet

News updates from CHRD

[i] “Rights Activist Wei Qiang Criminally Detained” (维权人士魏强被刑事拘留), March 2, 2011, http://newcenturynews.com/Article/china/201103/20110302203735.html

[ii] “Guangxi Petitioner Criminally Detained for ‘Subversion of State Power'” (广西访民被以“颠覆国家政权罪”刑拘), March 2, 2011, http://newcenturynews.com/Article/china/201103/20110302203957.html

[iii] “Many Placed under Soft Detention in Hangzhou; Zhu Yufu, Wei Shuishan Criminally Detained” (杭州多人被软禁，朱虞夫、魏水山被刑拘), March 6, 2011, http://boxun.com/news/gb/china/2011/03/201103062156.shtml

[iv] “Ye Du Placed under Residential Surveillance for ‘Inciting Subversion of State Power,’ Home Searched” (野渡以“煽动颠覆国家政权”被监视居住并抄家), March 3, 2011, http://www.newcenturynews.com/Article/china/201103/20110303144943.html

[v] “News Flash: Guizhou Dissident Mo Jiangang Criminally Detained” (快讯：贵州异议人士莫建刚被刑事拘留), March 6, 2011, http://groups.google.com/group/weiquanwang_CHRD/browse_thread/thread/3b3e1bbbde186f78

[vi] “Wang Chengming Detained in Detention House, Li Renke Under Soft Detention, Begins Hunger Strike” (枉成明被关拘留所，李任科在软禁中绝食), March 2, 2011, http://www.newcenturynews.com/Article/china/201103/20110302130420.html

[vii] “Fujian Activist Wu Huaying, Zhuo Yougui Detained” (福建维权人士吴华英、卓友桂被治安拘留), March 7, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-post_3813.html

[viii] “News Flash: Elections Expert Yao Lifa Again Seized, Missing” (快讯：选举专家姚立法再次被绑架后失踪), March 4, 2011, http://www.newcenturynews.com/Article/china/201103/20110304223616.html

[ix] “Around 300 Innocent Shanghai Petitioners Forcibly Returned and Detained” (300余无辜上海访民被遣返关押), March 6, 2011, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2011/03/201103062158.shtml

[x] “Interceptors’ Car Involved in Major Traffic Accident, Many Petitioners Hospitalized for Emergency Treatment” (截访车发生重大交通事故，多位访民入医院抢救), March 8, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-post_08.html

[xi] “Rights Activist Liu Jie Seized, Return to Soft Detention in Xunke Farm Guesthouse” (维权人士刘杰被抓回软禁于逊克农场招待所中), March 8, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-post_2207.html

[xii] “Henan Petitioner Liu Xianzhi Kidnapped in Beijing” (河南访民刘先枝在京遭绑架), March 3, 2011, http://www.newcenturynews.com/Article/china/201103/20110303223046.html

[xiii] “Fourteen Guangxi Petitioners Seized at National Letters and Visits Office” (广西14名访民在国家信访局被抓捕), March 3, 2011, http://www.newcenturynews.com/Article/china/201103/20110303232556.html

[xiv] “Hunan Rights Activist Xie Fulin’s Health Worsens, Urgently Needs Release on Medical Parole” (湖南维权人士谢福林病情加重急需保外就医), March 5, 2011, http://boxun.com/news/gb/china/2011/03/201103052121.shtml

[xv] “Jilin Petitioner Gao Liping Hospitalized after Beating by Interceptor” (吉林访民高丽苹被截访者打伤住院), March 6, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-post_4995.html

[xvi] “Home of Anhui Rights Activist Gu He Searched” (安徽维权人士姑鹤被抄家), March 4, 2011, http://www.newcenturynews.com/Article/china/201103/20110304223719.html

[xvii] “Chen Wei’s Wife Once Again Summoned for Questioning by Suining National Security Officers” (陈卫太太再次被遂宁国保传唤), March 4, 2011, http://www.newcenturynews.com/Article/china/201103/20110304223828.html