Chinese Human Rights Briefing July 27-August 2, 2012
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July 27-August 2, 2012
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Contents
- Arbitrary Detention
- Chongqing Official Severely Sentenced for “Inciting Subversion” During Reign of Bo Xilai
- Beijing Court Throws Out Fraud Charge Against Ni Yulan, Cuts Sentence by Two Months
- Freedom of Information and Access to Information
- TAR Government Seeks to Bolster Media Censorship, Protect “State Secrets,” Further Limit Internet Use
- NGO Condemns Blockage of Main Hepatitis B Rights Website Prior to World Hepatitis Day
- Forced Eviction and Demolition/Land Expropriation
- Sichuan Officials Conduct Forced Demolition Amid Fervent Opposition to Urban Plan
- Law & Policy Watch
- Chinese Scholar: Civil Society Actors, Institutions Are “Threats”
- Special Notice
- CHRD Makes Comments to UN After Chinese Government Replies on Detainee Cases
Arbitrary Detention
Chongqing Official Severely Sentenced for “Inciting Subversion” During Reign of Bo Xilai
A formerly up-and-coming official in Chongqing during the reign of Bo Xilai (薄熙来), the municipality’s Communist Party Secretary toppled earlier this year, is serving a 12-year prison sentence for “inciting subversion of state power” and “accepting bribes,” according to a recently released verdict from a secret trial held in 2008. Rao Wenwei (饶文蔚) was a young secretary in a political and legal committee when he was detained in the summer of 2008. Rao had allegedly written dozens of articles that expressed critical views on topics ranging from the China’s economy to its human rights situation, including thoughts on Bo’s leadership, with writings posted online and also appearing in the press. The Chongqing First Intermediate People’s Court secretly tried and convicted Rao in November of 2008 and issued its severe sentence. At the same trial, Chen Xiaofeng (陈晓凤), an official who allegedly helped Rao post articles online was sentenced to two years in prison for “inciting subversion.”[i]
Beijing Court Throws Out Fraud Charge Against Ni Yulan, Cuts Sentence by Two Months
A Beijing appeals court has dismissed a “fraud” charge against housing rights activist Ni Yulan (倪玉兰) while upholding convictions against Ni and her husband Dong Jiqin (董继勤) for “creating a disturbance,” reducing Ni’s punishment by two months. The fraud charge against Ni had apparently been made based on 5,000 RMB (nearly US $800) that supporters had given her. At its hearing on July 27, the Beijing First Intermediate People’s Court determined that the funds were legitimate donations, thus rejecting the allegation by a local procuratorate that Ni had attempted to profit by misrepresenting herself as an attorney. Detained in April of 2011and tried in December, Ni still is set to serve out two-and-a-half years in prison, and Dong remains sentenced to two years, the same length of punishment he was issued at their sentencing hearing in April.[ii]
Freedom of Information and Access to Information
TAR Government Seeks to Bolster Media Censorship, Protect “State Secrets,” Further Limit Internet Use
Authorities in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) are looking to bar outside information from reaching Tibetans in the region, ratchet up security to prevent “state secrets” from being leaked, and tighten internet restrictions, according to a report by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy. In late June, the Communist Party of China (CPC) chief of the TAR effectively called for a ban on outside information from entering the region, a level of censorship that might block out foreign media outlets such as Voice of America and Radio Free Asia that some Tibetans rely on for reliable information. In a speech in Lhasa in July, the propaganda chief of the TAR’s CPC Committee warned that steps must be taken to counter “separatist forces,” including “foreign intelligence agencies,” that he said are intent on stealing confidential information. In addition, Lhasa authorities are escalating already tight controls on online activities, calling for stricter implementation of real-name registration in internet cafes. Similar to other mainland cities, visitors to these cafes are now asked to provide new IDs that contain more personal information, while minors under the age of 18 are barred from using these cafes.[iii]
NGO Condemns Blockage of Main Hepatitis B Rights Website Prior to World Hepatitis Day
Government censors in Beijing reportedly blocked the most popular website for people living with Hepatitis B in China just before the second World Hepatitis Day, which was observed on July 28, an official action condemned by the Beijing Yirenping Center in an open letter to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Founded in 2001, In the Hepatitis B Camp Network of China has become the main channel for Chinese citizens suffering from Hepatitis B to cope with widespread social pressure and stigma, according to Yirenping, an NGO dedicated to fighting discrimination. Yirenping has indicated that the site has supported hundreds of Hepatitis B carriers to sue state-owned companies, multinational companies, and local governments for employment discrimination, and to sue schools and universities for rejecting children with the virus.[iv]
Forced Eviction and Demolition/Land Expropriation
Sichuan Officials Conduct Forced Demolition Amid Fervent Opposition to Urban Plan
In an aggressive move to make room for an urban development project, officials in Sichuan Province sent out between 600 and 700 unidentified individuals in July to forcibly destroy a family’s home and seize the family’s property. On July 3 in Luzhou City, demolition personnel dressed in camouflage dragged out family members of Zeng Zhengqin (曾正琴) from their home, took away all the possessions from inside as well as livestock, and destroyed the residence and the family garden. A distraught Zeng collapsed at the scene and was hospitalized, and several of her relatives were beaten after seeking out an official to discuss the demolition. The actions against Zeng’s family are part of a large-scale “urban transformation” project in Gulin County that has been pushed on residents, more than 200 of whom have been detained, including some sent to prison, for refusing to accept inadequate compensation for giving up their home and land.[v]
Law & Policy Watch
Chinese Scholar: Civil Society Actors, Institutions Are “Threats”
A recent opinion piece in the overseas edition of the People’s Daily asserts that rights defense lawyers, underground religious groups, dissidents, online opinion leaders, and disadvantaged groups—the “five black categories,” as netizens have termed them—are “threats” that will be the “real challenges” to Chinese society over the next decade. The author, identified as Yuan Peng (袁鹏), a director at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, warns that such citizens and institutions will emerge to increasingly transform society, and are far more insidious to China than military conflicts that may originate abroad. These internal threats are being used by the United States to “slow or interfere with the rise of China.” Yuan calls for China to shift from a traditional idea of national security—one focused on building up military defense to repel international aggression—to more non-military approaches that concentrate closer to home to maintain China’s stability. Such views only sound further alarms for Chinese civil society activists, who have faced increased rights deprivations and harassment in recent years.[vi]
Special Notice
CHRD Makes Comments to UN After Chinese Government Replies on Detainee Cases
CHRD recently submitted comments to Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council following replies to the UN by the Chinese government on individuals detained during the Jasmine Crackdown in 2011, including the Beijing housing rights activist Ni Yulan (倪玉兰) and Hangzhou dissident Zhu Yufu (朱虞夫). This April, Ni was convicted of “creating a disturbance” and “fraud” and sentenced to two years and eight months in prison; see the story above for most recent case developments, and go here for the Chinese government’s two replies on Ni’s case and CHRD’s comments. Zhu, a veteran of the Democracy Wall movement of the 1970s, was convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” and sentenced to seven years in prison in February. The government reply about Zhu’s case and CHRD’s comments (see here) also include details on cases of other individuals taken into custody and harassed in connection with last year’s crackdown on civil society.[vii]
Editors: Victor Clemens and Wang Songlian
[i] “Rao Wenwei, Wushan County Political and Legal Committee Secretary in Chongqing, Imprisoned for ‘Subversion’” (重庆巫山县政法委书记饶文蔚被以“煽颠罪”重判入狱), July 30, 2012, WQW; “Rao Wenwei, Wushan County Political and Legal Committee Secretary, Persecuted by Bo Xilai” (被薄熙来亲批判刑的巫山县政法委书记饶文蔚1/视频), July 30, 2012, Boxun
[ii] “’Fraud’ Charge Against Ni Yulan Tossed Out, ‘Creating a Disturbance’ Punishment Upheld,” (倪玉兰“诈骗罪”撤销，夫妇二人仍因“寻衅滋事罪”获刑), July 28, 2012, WQW; “Verdict to be Announced April 10 for Detained Activist Ni Yulan, Husband Dong Jiqin” (被羁押一年的倪玉兰夫妇将于4月10日开庭宣判), April 7, 2012, WQW; “Dozens of Petitioners Detained for Trying to Attend Hearing of Ni Yulan and Dong Jiqin” (数十位访民欲旁听倪玉兰夫妇宣判遭关押), April 10, 2012; “Petitioners who Tried to Attend Ni Yulan’s Verdict Hearing Were Detained for Nearly Eight Hours” (倪玉兰开庭各地在京访民欲旁听被警方关押近8小时), April 10, 2012; “Witnesses Harassed Before Lawyer Ni Yulan’s Trial for Creating Disturbance” (倪玉兰律师被控寻衅滋事案开庭前证人被控制), December 28, 2011, WQW; “Ni Yulan, Husband Go To Trial, Many At Scene Taken and Held at Police Station” (倪玉兰夫妇庭审，现场多人被抓往派出所), December 28, 2011, WQW; “’Creating Disturbance’ Case Against Ni Yulan, Dong Jiqin Going to Trial on December 29, Daughter to Testify” (北京倪玉兰夫妇“寻衅滋事案”29日开庭，女儿将出庭作证), December 27, 2011, WQW; “On Eve of Trial, Case Against Ni Yulan, Husband Sent Back to Procuratorate” (开庭前 夕，北京维权律师倪玉兰夫妇案件退回检察院), November 23, 2011, WQW; “Trial to Open for Beijing Rights Defender Ni Yulan, Husband for ‘Creating a Disturbance’” (北京维权人士倪玉兰夫妇“寻衅滋事案”即将开庭), November 21, 2011, WQW; “Ni Yulan and Husband’s Case Sent Back to Public Security Branch Bureau for Further Investigation” (倪玉兰夫妇案件被退回公安分局补充侦查), August 28, 2011, WQW; “Ni Yulan and Husband’s Case Transferred to Procuratorate, ‘Fraud’ Charge Added,” (倪玉兰夫妇案移送检 察院，再增“诈骗”罪), July 21, 2011, WQW; “Arrests of Rights Defense Lawyer Ni Yulan and Husband Both Confirmed, Family Has Not Received Formal Notice” (倪玉兰夫妇双双被捕，亲属未收到法律文书), June 9, 2011, WQW; “News Flash: Arrest of Human Rights Lawyer Ni Yulan Approved” (快讯：维权律师倪玉兰被批准逮捕), May 17, 2011, WQW
[iii] “TAR Propaganda Chief Stresses Protecting Official Secrets in Tibet,” July 27, 2012, TCHRD
[iv] “Strong Condemnation to the Forceful Blockage of the Most Popular Hep B Patient Rights Defending Website in China Just Before World Hepatitis Day,” Beijing Yirenping Center, July 29, 2012
[v] “Gulin County, Sichuan Villager Zeng Zhengqin’s Residence Forcibly Destroyed by Government-led Personnel” (四川古蔺农民曾正琴住房遭遇政府带领数百人强拆), August 2, 2012, WQW
[vi] “Where Are China’s True Challenges?” (中国真正的挑战在哪里？), July 31, 2012, People’s Daily (Overseas Edition)
