Submission to UN on Wang Yi and Jiang Rong – February, 2019

March 11, 2019 Comments Off

Submission to:

Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief

Special Rapporteur on minority issues

Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders

Communiqué on Behalf of Wang Yi and Jiang Rong, Citizens of the People’s Republic of China, Alleging Arbitrary Detention and Violations of Rights to Free Expression, Assembly, Association, and Religion

I. IDENTITY

A) Wang Yi

1. Family name: Wang (王)

2. First name: Yi (怡)

3. Sex: Male

4. Birth date or age (at the time of detention):June 1, 1973

5. Nationality/Nationalities: People’s Republic of China

6. Identity document (if any):

7. Profession and/or activity (if believed to be relevant to the arrest/detention):

Wang Yi, a prominent evangelical pastor in China, has been an outspoken defender of religious freedom in China for Protestants and also Tibetan Buddhists and Muslims in Xinjiang. Wang Yi and his wife, Jiang Rong (below), founded the Early Rain Covenant Church (秋雨圣约教会) in 2005, and have faced police harassment and intimidation since the church is “independent” (i.e., not registered with the government as an “official religious institution”). Months before Wang and Jiang were detained, police harassed them after the church held a memorial service in May 2018 to mark the 10-year anniversary of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan.

A trained lawyer, Wang Yi also was formerly a blogger, film critic, and Chengdu University professor, and was listed in 2004 as one of the “50 Most Influential Public Intellectuals of China” by Southern People Weekly. Wang also attained notice outside China for his religious activities. For example, he met with US President George W. Bush at the White House in 2006 to discuss religious freedom, and he attended the Conference for Global Christians in Law in Washington DC to receive the “Prize for the Contribution to Promoting Religious Freedom” in 2008.

8. Address of usual residence: Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China

B) Jiang Rong

1. Family name: Jiang (蒋)

2. First name: Rong (蓉)

3. Sex: Female

4. Birth date or age (at the time of detention): December 26, 1973

5. Nationality/Nationalities: People’s Republic of China

6. Identity document (if any):

7. Profession and/or activity (if believed to be relevant to the arrest/detention):

Jiang Rong founded the Early Rain Covenant Church in 2005, along with her husband, Wang Yi, who served as the church pastor. From the time the independent church was founded, Jiang and Wang faced police harassment and intimidation. (See above for more information.)

8. Address of usual residence: Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China

II. Arrest

A) Wang Yi

1. Date of arrest: December 9, 2018

2. Place of arrest (as detailed as possible): Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China (his home)

3. Forces who carried out the arrest or are believed to have carried it out: Chengdu City Public Security Bureau National Security Officers

4. Did they show a warrant or other decision by a public authority? Yes – officers showed a warrant to Wang Yi’s relative, had her sign it, then took the document away without leaving a copy for the family

5. Authority who issued the warrant or decision: Chengdu City Public Security Bureau

6. Reasons for the arrest imputed by the authorities: “inciting subversion of state power”

7. Legal basis for the arrest including relevant legislation applied (if known):Article 105 (2) of China’s Criminal Law (“inciting subversion of state power”) stipulates a fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years, criminal detention, public surveillance or deprivation of political rights to those who incite others by spreading rumors or slanders or any other means to subvert the State power or overthrow the socialist system.

B) Jiang Rong

1. Date of arrest: December 9, 2018

2. Place of arrest (as detailed as possible): Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China (her home)

3. Forces who carried out the arrest or are believed to have carried it out: Chengdu City Public Security Bureau National Security Officers

4. Did they show a warrant or other decision by a public authority? Yes

5 Authority who issued the warrant or decision: Chengdu City Public Security Bureau

6. Reasons for the arrest imputed by the authorities: “Inciting subversion of state power”

III. Detention

A) Wang Yi

1. Date of detention: December 9, 2018

2. Duration of detention (if not known, probable duration): Wang Yi has been continuously detained since December 9, 2018.

3. Forces holding the detainee under custody: Chengdu City Public Security Bureau

4. Places of detention (indicate any transfer and present place of detention): Unknown detention center

5. Authorities that ordered the detention: Chengdu City Public Security Bureau

6. Reasons for the arrest imputed by the authorities: “Inciting subversion of state power”

B) Jiang Rong

1. Date of detention: December 9, 2018 (placed under “residential surveillance in a designated location”)

2. Duration of detention (if not known, probable duration): Jiang Rong has been continuously detained since December 9, 2018.

3. Forces holding the detainee under custody: Chengdu City Public Security Bureau

4. Places of detention (indicate any transfer and present place of detention): Unknown police-designated location

5. Authorities that ordered the detention: Chengdu City Public Security Bureau

6. Reasons for the detention imputed by the authorities: “Inciting subversion of state power”

7. Legal basis for the detention including relevant legislation applied (if known):Article 105 (2) of China’s Criminal Law (“inciting subversion of state power”) stipulates a fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years, criminal detention, public surveillance or deprivation of political rights to those who incite others by spreading rumors or slanders or any other means to subvert the State power or overthrow the socialist system.

IV. Describe the circumstances of the arrests

National security officers from the Chengdu Public Security Bureau in Sichuan Province detained Wang Yi and Jiang Rong during a coordinated raid on the Early Rain Covenant Church and its members’ homes on Sunday, December 9, 2018. Authorities had reportedly surrounded the church premises, which occupied floors 19 and 21 in a rented space inside Jiangxin Mansions, an office building in Chengdu, and also sent officers to the homes of several church members, including Wang Yi, the pastor of the church. The aim of the raid was to shut down the independent church.

On December 10, police vans were parked outside Jiangxin Mansions, and officers reportedly confiscated materials from where the church rented space, which also included a kindergarten and seminary. Police initially detained or disappeared more than 100 church members. By the afternoon of December 10, some detained church members had already been released or placed under house arrest. Police forced many detainees to sign a document promising that they would stop attending the church before letting them go. On December 10, Chinese authorities issued a State directive prohibiting Chinese media from publishing coverage of the raid on the church and detentions of its members.

At the time of this communication, a total of 13 individuals tied to the church are still believed to be detained, including Wang Yi and Jiang Rong. A dozen individuals had served out administrative detentions (of 14 or 15 days), and 11 had been released on bail after a period of criminal detention. Besides the charges against Wang and Jiang (“inciting subversion of state power”), other detainees faced criminal suspicion for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” “illegal business activity,” or “illegal publishing.”

V. Indicate reasons why you consider the arrests and/or detentions to be arbitrary

We strongly believe the detentions of Wang Yi and Jiang Rong are government retaliation against their acts protected by universal rights to peaceful free expression, assembly, and association, particularly against Wang’s opposition to tightened restrictions on religious freedom and the Early Rain Covenant Church’s longstanding assertion of its independence. The circumstances of the detentions constitute violations of Wang and Jiang’s rights to peacefully exercise free speech, including the expression of religious belief, as well as free assembly, and association, including those guaranteed under Category II of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (i.e., when the deprivation of liberty results from the exercise of the rights under Articles 12, 18, 19, 21, 22, and 26), and freedoms guaranteed by Articles 18, 19, and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Authorities have leveraged provisions in China’s Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) to deprive Wang and Jiang of their rights, particularly in blocking their access to legal counsel and not disclosing their locations during their entire incommunicado detentions. They are the only two individuals from the church raid to be charged with a crime in the category of “endangering state security” (“inciting subversion of state power”), and under Chinese law, authorities may deprive legal counsel to a suspect charged with such an offense (CPL Article 83). In Wang’s case, no official detention notice has been provided to Wang’s family since he was taken into custody, a violation of China’s Criminal Procedure Law (CPL, Article 83), which stipulates that a public security bureau must produce an official notice when placing an individual under detention. Officers briefly showed the notice to Wang’s relative and forced her to sign it, but then took the document away.

In Jiang Rong’s case, police placed her under “residential surveillance in a designated location,” a form of detention whereby a detainee can be held in secret for up to six months, as codified under China’s Criminal Procedure Law (Article 75 under the 2018 CPL, previously Article 73). RSDL is tantamount to enforced disappearance according to international standards, and 10 UN Special Procedures called on the Chinese government to repeal the provision in August 2018 (OL CHN 15/2018).

The above circumstances demonstrate violations of Wang and Jiang’s rights guaranteed under Category III of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 9) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 9).

The crackdown on the Early Rain Covenant Church comes amid an ongoing Chinese government campaign targeting independent churches during the rule of President Xi Jinping, who has attempted to exert tighter controls over Chinese society since coming to power in 2013. In particular, the suppression against the Early Rain Covenant Church and the detentions of Wang and Jiang follows the implementation since February 2018 of China’s amended Religious Affairs Regulations, which mandated greater State control of religious practices. Independent churches publicly protested against the regulations through an open letter: over 100 pastors of independent churches in China released an open statement on September 1, 2018 opposing the amended Regulations, which then garnered nearly 200 signatures across China. The statement outlines church leaders’ aspiration to remain independent, specifically to not officially register with the government and join State-controlled official churches, as required by the regulations. In the government’s assault on religious freedom under the regulations, officials have required intrusive video surveillance equipment be installed in churches and church-goer information be handed over, banned Bible sales online, demolished churches or removed their steeples and crosses, and suppressed a growing number of Christian communities across the country.

On December 10, 2018, the Chengdu Religious Affairs Bureau issued a notice stating that the activities of the Early Rain Covenant Church were violating the amended Religious Affairs Regulations, according to a copy of the notice that church members posted on social media. According to the regulations, only churches, mosques, and temples registered with the government and under State control are considered legal. All other such institutions are illegal, though in the past the government had largely tolerated these places of worship as long as authorities considered them “apolitical.”

Concerned about State persecution under increasingly suppressive conditions for religious expression, Wang Yi prepared a statement in September 2018 asserting that if he were ever detained, he would not confess to crimes for legitimately expressing his religious beliefs and free speech. The statement was reportedly drafted on September 21, 2018, revised on October 4, 2018, and posted online on December 11, 2018, or 48 hours after Wang Yi was detained.

Unconfirmed reports from December 2018 indicated that as many as 50 church members had been taken to Xinjin County Legal Education Center in Chengdu. “Legal education” centers are a form of extralegal detention and have been used in the past to hold Falun Gong practitioners, petitioners, and human rights defenders under the guise of providing “education” on Chinese laws.

VI. Indicate internal steps, including domestic remedies, taken especially with the legal and administrative authorities, particularly for the purpose of establishing the detention and, as appropriate, their results or the reasons why such steps or remedies were ineffective or why they were not taken.

On January 8, 2019, Chengdu police took lawyer Zhang Peihong (张培鸿) to Wangjiaguai Police Station soon after he met with Wang Yi’s family, who at the visit signed an agreement with Zhang for him to legally represent Wang. Lawyer Zhang was released on January 9.

Wang Yi’s lawyer went to Chengdu Public Security Bureau to enquire about Wang Yi’s status, location, and if he can meet him, but authorities refused to provide any information. On February 15, the lawyer again met with officers from Chengdu City Public Security Bureau to request a meeting with Wang Yi, but the request was denied.

Jiang Rong’s lawyer has filed a request to meet with Jiang and a request for her to be released on bail pending investigation, but received no response from authorities.

Date: February 20, 2019