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Above the law
"Above
the Law":
China's
Human Rights Record
Respectfully Submitted to the 56th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
By the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movements of China
2000.4
INTRODUCTION
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (Alliance) is based in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), a part of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Alliance comprises over two hundred organizations from all sectors of Hong Kong society. Member groups include labour unions, religious groups, student federations, women's collectives, political organizations, and the offices of Legislative Councillors. It is the largest open and public grassroots pro-democracy organization in Chinese territory. We raise our voice to the international community regarding the state of human rights in China on the eve of the 11th anniversary of June 4th.
Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese government has been violating human rights to a degree unprecedented in modern history. Since the government signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1997 and the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights in 1998 the situation has dramatically worsened. This report focuses on recent violations.
(2) Cases of Human Rights Violations
(2.1) Death Penalty and Group Execution
According to Article 3 in the Declaration and Article 9 in the Covenant, "Everybody has the right to life, liberty and security of person."
OCTOBER 1999: In this month alone, 238 prisoners were publicly executed in Guangdong province.
SEPTEMBER 1999: 26 prisoners were shot to death in Chongqing province. As two provinces out of thirty-two, Guangdong and Chongqing constitute but a small fraction of China's population; extrapolate the number of executions and the result is staggering.
(2.2) Torture
Article 5 of the Declaration and Article 7 of the Covenant state: "No one shall be subjected to torture."
There have long been various forms of torture inflicted on prisoners in China's prisons. Documented forms of torture include, but are certainly not limited to: binding; whipping; hanging; beating; rape; and electric shock treatment. These forms of torture have gone uninterrupted even after the Government signed the International Covenant Against Torture. If the withholding of needed medical treatment is likewise considered a type of torture, China is guilty on this front as well. Little attention is given to political prisoners who have fallen ill. The prominent cases of Xu Wenli, Yang Tongyang, Lu Yongxiang, Chen Xi and Huang Yanming demonstrated that this is the rule rather than the exception.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has recently conducted a suppression campaign against followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement. This campaign constitutes nothing less than a reign of terror upon fundamental notions of human dignity and decency. In recent months, China has brutally demonstrated the inhumanity of its present legal structures and institutions.
17 FEBRUARY 2000: Chen Zishou, a 60 year-old Falun Gong follower from Shandong, was arrested while he was visiting Beijing and incarcerated in the Falun Gong Transmission and Transportng Guidance Centre." On February 21st, Chen was tortured to death while in custody, presumably because he could not pay the $1,000 RMB fine demanded by his captors. His body had been so badly injured that blood was flowing from his ears. Chen's case is representative. Since the PRC movement to suppress Falung Gong began in July of 1999, there have been at least 11 documented cases of Falun Gong members either being tortured, starved, or physically abused to death: some died during hunger strikes, most were killed by the police.
11 FEBRUARY 2000: During the Chinese New Year holiday, Lau Shuiguo, a Falun Gong adherent from Shandong, went on a hunger strike to protest his sentence to a re-education camp. The police forced Lau to eat by shoving a crude, plastic tube down his throat. He soon died from infection and internal bleeding.
10 JANUARY 2000: Lau Zhilan, a Falun Gong practiser, was arrested while visiting Beijing. On January 14th, she was taken to the Beijing Jou Koudian Police Station where she was forced to clean" the facilities. At noon on that day, Lau was found dead from gas poisoning in the police station kitchen. Gao Xianwen, another member of Falun Gong met a similar fate. He was arrested with other members on December 31st, 1999. After constant beating and physical abuse at the hands of the authorities, Gao went on a hunger strike. On the 15th, he asked to be allowed to see a doctor. The police refused. By the 17th Gao was unconscious. His heart reportedly stopped beating while he was on the way to the hospital, and he died soon thereafter.
4 JANUARY 2000: A police officer from the Beijing Yanjing Jail phoned Ho Shendon, Xu Wenli's wife, to tell her that she was forbidden from sending any medicine to her husband for his Hepatitis B condition. (In July, 1999, a prison doctor diagnosed Xu with the Hepatitis B virus.) Despite the fact that the hospital has no medicine to alleviate this ailment, Xu's wife was officially forbidden from providing the medication.
25 NOVEMBER 1999: Wan Di, a Chinese citizen who was visiting the USA, was sentenced to jail for 15 years by the Beijing People's Intermediate Court for the crime of disclosing national secrets."
7 AUGUST 1997: In Zhanlong Town, Puning City, Guangdong Province, seven policemen, while escorting four suspected criminals, killed them, dumped the bodies at the roadside, and destroyed all evidence. Similarly, in Xinzhou County, Hubei Province, from April 1997 to 1998, law enforcement officers tortured 3 citizens to death. When the crime came to light, the punishment was to pay a certain amount of money as compensation; no criminal charges were brought against them. This is indicative of the national trend. In 1998 alone, there were over 9,000 reported instances of police brutality, abuse, and corruption. Over 15,000 police officers were involved in these incidents; ultimately, less than half of the officers were reprimanded and fewer than 20% of them lost their jobs.
(2.3) Arrest of Political Prisoners / Prisoners of Conscience
According to Article 9 of the Declaration and Article 9 of the Covenant, "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile." Even Article 36 of the PRC Constitution provides that Citizens' freedom of the person shall not be violable."
5 JANUARY 2000: Yang Tu, one of the student leaders who participated in the 1989 pro-democracy movement, was sentenced to four years imprisonment by the Guang Zhou Tin He Court for the crime of tax evasion in the amount of 10,000 RMB.
26 DECEMBER 1999: Lu Wenhuo, an organizer of a US-based association of overseas Chinese students, was arrested while visiting his relatives in China. The authorities forced him to empty out his US$25,500 bank account balance before releasing him.
DECEMBER 1999: Fifty Falun Gong members in the Fan Shanju District of Beijing were locked up in the Zhou Kouden Insane Asylum. As of now, they have yet to be released.
AUGUST 1999: Pang Chen, who supported Wang Dang's June 4th commemoration signature-collecting campaign, was sentenced to three years of re-education through labor" for subversion and causing social disorder."
NOVEMBER 1998: The National Security Council of Beijing froze DM $11,620 in donations from German students. The students had contributed to a relief fund organized to help support the families of victims of the June 4th massacre.
1998: More than seventy political activists, including Xu Wenli, were arrested in China, many of them sentenced to more than ten years imprisonment.
1998: The Chinese Scientific Institute of Life Expectancy held a blood-collecting campaign, taking blood samples from over ten thousand senior citizens. Some international observers, including a group of Danish specialists, suggested that the method of blood-collection was dangerous and potentially harmful to the participants. Tong Jin, a researcher at the institute, was dismissed after revealing the incident.
One of the methods employed by the CCP to prosecute political dissidents is to send them to so-called insane asylums. Wang Mei Gen, a Shanghai-based dissident, disappeared after being locked up in an asylum by the Shanghai Police. Similarly, on June 4th, 1992, Wang Wanshen, who was prosecuted for being politically radical and stubborn," was locked into the Beijing An Kang Insane Asylum by the Beijing Police after displaying a banner calling for justice over the June 4th incident. After seven years, Wang was released in August of 1999. He was shortly thereafter arrested again and now still detain inside asylum.
At present, at least two hundred and fifty persons who participated in the 1989 pro-democracy movement are still in prison.
(2.4) Depriving Citizens of Their Right to Return to Their Own Country
According to Article 13 of the Declaration and Article 12 (4) of the Covenant, everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country."
Seven members of the executive council of the Alliance have had their Hone Return Permits forfeited; ten members have been refused renewed permits upon their expiration. Some Hong Kong citizens with the same names as these members have been detained and interrogated for hours at the border checkpoint when entering China.
23 NOVEMBER 99: Yi Yuyan, a pro-democracy activist who visited the US, was sentenced to death by the Chines Government in absentia for being a counter-revolutionary. He was refused entry into mainland China upon his return and was sent back to the border checkpoint in Hong Kong.
16 NOVEMBER 99: Four Hong Kong Falun Gong practicers were arrested by the Police in Tiannamen Square. Their home return permits" were forfeited after a one night detention.
3 JULY 99: Li Wahming, a member of the Hong Kong Democratic Party, was refused entry into mainland China and had his permits forfeited. Other members such as Huang Changqi and Chen Goulian had similar experiences when attempting to travel into mainland China.
JUNE 99: Tu Jinshen, a member of Democratic Party, Ho Shoulan, a member of the Frontier and Ng Aiyee, a member of the Legislative Council, were all refused permission to fly to Beijing.
JANUARY 95: The Chinese Government revealed the existence of Black List cataloging the names of individuals, most of them Chinese citizens, who are to be refused entry in mainland China. Some citizens, like Han Dongfang, cannot understand why they have been refused entry. The reason? He has been the member of a pro-democracy trade union since 1993.
(2.5) Attacking the Freedom of Association and of Organizing Political Parties
According to Article 19 of the Declaration and Article 19 of the Covenant, "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the right to deliver their opinion to people of other countries." In addition, according to Article 20 of the Declaration and Article 21 and Article 22 of the Covenant, " Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association". Article 35, all citizens have freedom of speech, publication, assembly, association, procession and demonstration."
16 FEBRUARY 2000: Xu Wenli's assistant, Lu Xijun, was sentenced to six years imprisonment by the Dai Lian People's Intermediate Court for attempting to overthrow the Government" by organizing the China Democratic Party.
3 FEBRUARY 2000: Dai Xuechong, a member of the Shanghai branch of the China Democratic Party was sentenced to three years imprisonment by the Shanghai Pu Tuo Court for "intertionally causing injuries to others".
3 JANUARY 2000: Dong Sedong and Liao Shehai, two members of the China Democratic Party, were sentenced to ten and six years respectively by the Wunan Cehn Sha People's Intermediate Court for advocating overthrowing the Government.
8 AUGUST 1999: Chen Jianguo, the founder of the Chinese National Freedom Party, was arrested and prosecuted by the Council of Prosecution in the lower district of Jinan, Shandong, for trying to overthrow the Government.
NOVEMBER 99: Ng Yidong, Mo Xianzhiang, Ju Yufu and Xu Guan, all leaders of the China Democratic Party, were each handed prison terms between five to eleven years by the Han Zhou People's Intermediate Court for trying to overthrow the Government." Chen Xiangu, a construction worker in Xichuan, joined a trade union and lead a strike in Kuwait, which was legal according to the law in Kuwait. But upon returns to China he was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment for disturbing the social order.
NOVEMBER 99: An Jun, the representative of a citizens' group set up to monitor graft and corruption among government officials, was charged with the offense of attempting to overthrow the Government.
AUGUST 99: Se Wanbao, Cha Jianguo, Gao Hongming, and Liu Yanbeng, members of the China Democratic Party, received sentences ranging from nine to thirteen years of imprisonment.
AUGUST 99: Yu Xinjiao, chairman of the China Nation Rising Party, was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment.
MAY 99: Fourteen members of the China Democratic Party were prosecuted; over twenty members are still under detention.
DECEMBER 98: The National People's Congress (NPC) renewed the Societies Registration and Control Ordinance," which stipulates that any non-governmental organization must adhere to four fundamental principles in order to be considered lawful: the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party;" "dictatorship of the proletariat;" "the socialist road;" and "Marxist-Lenist-Mao Zedong ideology".
24 AUGUST 98: Ho Jiaohui, a member of a trade union in Hunan, was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment for illegally providing information to oversea groups.
AUGUST 1998: The Beijing office of the China Development Alliance, which was registered in Hong Kong, was ordered by the Beijing Civil Administration Department to dissolve. Their office was raided and searched by the police.
(2.6) Depriving the Freedom of Expression by Demonstration and Assembly
According to Article 19 of the Declaration and Article 19 of the Covenant, "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the right to deliver their opinion to people of other countries." In addition, according to Article 20 of the Declaration and Article 21 and Article 22 of the Covenant, " Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association". Article 35, all citizens have freedom of speech, publication, assembly, association, procession and demonstration."
From July, 1999 to February, 2000, at least five thousand Falun Gong members were punished by means of re-education through labor." Three hundred were given prison terms (some for as long as eighteen years); several hundred perfectly sane people were sent to mental instituions, and tens of thousands of people lost their jobs.
14 FEBRUARY 2000: Dun Yongyun and Lian Yeling, two leaders of Falun Gong groups, were sentenced to eight and six years imprisonment by the She Jiajuan Cheng An Court for destroying law enforcement by illegal religious activity.
11 FEBRUARY 2000: Gu Jiuju, an office manager of the Dai Lian Falun Gong headquarters, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment by the Xi Guan County Court of Dai Lian for threatening national security.
FEBRUARY 2000: Jian Xiaohui, who was arrested for holding a widely-publicized Falun Gong press conference in Beijing, was punished with twelve years imprisonment.
28 JANUARY 2000: Two Fanlun Gong followers, Li Shaobin and Li Shaomei, proprietors of Di Tan Library Music Shop," were sentenced to six and seven years imprisonment for illegal business-making.
14 JANUARY 2000: Chen Jinlong, a representative of the Jie Jian Branch of the Falun Gong, was sentenced to two years imprisonment by Jie Jian Court for the offense of carrying out illegal medical treatment as he taught the life-beneficial healthy kung fu.
6 JANUARY 2000: Yu Zhangxin, a seventy-four-year-old professor at the Institute of PLA Commanders, was sentenced to seventeen years of imprisonment for supporting the Falun Gong. He is the highest ranking officer among the prosecuted Falun Gong members. Yu was tried in a closed hearing by the Air Force Military Court in Beijing. He was imprisoned for conducting "illegal religious activities to destroy law enforcement" and "illegal business-making". Yu will be ninety-one years old when he is released.
30 NOVEMBER 99: In this one month alone, at least two thousand Falun Gong members were punished by means of labor education and were detained in a total of three hundred re-education camps.
NOVEMBER 1999: Eight Falun Gong members in Hei Longjiang were found practicing kung fu in their own homes, and were then sent to prison without trial for a period of one to three years.
NOVEMBER 1999: Wuhan County announced that an organization promoting deep-breathing exercise called "Cibei Gong" is an evil organization. Its founder, Xiao Xuan, was arrested. The NPC has passed a vague statute suppressing all evil organizations. Any organization which does not cooperate with the government, such as the Family Unity Exercise Group," which has five thousand member, is regarded as an evil religion.
15 OCTOBER 1999: Five hundred peasants in Henan province peacefully protested against the county government for the heavy tax burden. Fourteen of them were arrested and held without cause.
Since September, 1999, millions of peasants in Hunan province have participated in riots and protests in response to the police having frozen their investment in the Farm Cooperation Foundation." There have been a total of fifty riots against county governments in Hen Yang, Yi Yang, and Xiao Yang, involving 5,000 people.
(2.7) Depriving the Freedom of Religion / Persecution of Religious People
According to Article 36, all citizens have the freedom of religion.
10 FEBRUARY 2000: Yan Xudao, the Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Diocese in Fuzhou--who was appointed by the Vatican--disappeared after his arrest by Fuzhou police.
JANUARY 2000: Six leaders of the "Gospel Unity" ministry, including Chang Yunliang and Shen Yiping, were punished by means of labor education for conducting illegal religious activities aimed at destroying and damaging law enforcement.
DECEMBER 99: The biggest organization of "Chong Gong" in Xian Xi was closed for investigation by the CCP. Two thousand members were detained.
8 SEPTEMBER 99: Thirty-one members of the Chinese Family Religious Ministry, including the leader Chang Yunliang, were sentenced to prison by criminal courts in Fan Chen County of Henan.
SEPTEMBER 99: Four underground Roman Catholic priests were arrested by the Chinese government. Their whereabouts are unknown.
JANUARY 24 1999: While forty-five Christians of Beiyang Zhuang, Guangdian Xiang, Fangcheng County, Henan Province, were praying with their pastor Chu Chang'en, fifteen policemen rushed in and arrested them for conducting illegal religious activities.
DECEMBER 23 1998: In Shangqiu, Henan Province, forty Christians were holding a family gathering to celebrate Christmas in Song Congyin's home in the Yanggang Village, Gaoxin Xiang, when a team of police suddenly rushed in and arrested the Christians for unlawful assembly.
(2.8) Restricting the Freedom of Publication / Freedom of Speech
According to Article 19 of the Declaration and Article 19 of the Covenant, "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the right to deliver their opinion to people of other countries." In addition, according to Article 35, all citizens have freedom of speech, publication, assembly, association, procession and demonstration.
The Chinese Government has erected an electronic fire prevention wall similar to the one used in Singapore that can identify and block out any information or image CCP censors wish to disallow. Also, recent restrictions require all internet users to request a permit from the Public Security Bureau.
The CCP controls all access to the internet, filters e-mails, and monitors web-site content. The mass media has long been regarded as the CCP's mouthpiece, since all unofficial publications are banned. Indeed, all information in newspapers, magazines, radios, and television broadcast is screened.
Foreign newspapers and magazines are strictly censored or blocked. To increase control over the media, the CCP has put the printing trade under the direct supervision of the Public Security Bureau. Anyone who wants to enter the printing industry must not only apply first to the department of commerce and industry for a trade license, but also must apply to the Public Security Bureau for a special Trade Permit.
8 NOVEMBER 1999: Chang Ge, a Hei Longjiang Jiji Hayi University student, was prosecuted for promoting disruption through the use of the internet" since he used e-mail to transfer news of Falun Gong to relatives overseas.
NOVEMBER 1999: The Beijing Foreign Correspondents Club sent an open letter to the Chinese Diplomatic Office protesting threats from the Chinese government when broadcasting news related to Falun Gong.
NOVEMBER 1999: Lu Xiqing, a representative of the Chinese Human Rights Information Centre in Hong Kong, asked the police for help, saying that the centre had been receiving threatening phone calls from mainland China day and night. These calls increased from two-hundred times per day to over one-thousand times per day.
(2.9) Stifling Political Rights / Suppression of Voting Rights
According to Article 21 of the Declaration and Article 25 of the Covenant, "Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. The Government shall be elected periodically by secret vote. The suffrage shall be universal and equal and everyone shall have the right of equal access to public service in his country." In addition, according to Article 34 of the PRC Constitution, all citizens aged 18 or over have the right to elect and to be elected irrespective of their race, nation, sex, occupation, family, parentage, religion, education attainment, equity and length of residence.
As is now known the world over, since its establishment in 1949, the Chinese Government has ruled the country as a one-party dictatorship.
September 1999: Four candidates were arrested and prosecuted by the Shandong provincial government for gathering people to impact national politics," saying that they did not follow the leadership of the CCP.
DECEMBER 1998: Yu Tielong, a member of the China Democratic Party, won with the election for village chief of Wangshanding Village, Meicheng Town, Zhejiang Province. However, the person in charge of the Meicheng Election Guidance Group announced that the election was null and void, and recalled voters who did not support Yu to vote again, leading to Yu's loss.
NOVEMBER 98: The CCP-controlled Election Committee in Guangdong Daixing County, often mentioned by CCP propagandists as an example of PRC democracy at work, announced that there was to be only one vote from each family. This reduced the vote from 800 to 300 people.
APRIL 1998: Three dissidents in Beijing, He Depu, Gao Hungming and Wang Zhixin announced that they were running for the District People's Congress in Beijing County. On the 24th of September, the Beijing police interviewed" He Depu and Gao Hungming to persuade them to drop out of the election. The police also breached the election law by destroying the election leaflets Gao Hungming distributed to the electorate.
JANUARY 1998: Factory No. 813 of the Nuclear Industry Company in Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province set restrictions on candidates for the NPC, requiring that they be cadres of the rank of deputy factory managers or above and members of the Communist Party in order to particpate in the election. This deprived most of the three thousand workers of the factory of their right to run for office.
(2.10) Violation of the Right to a Fair Trial
According to Article 33 of the PRC Constitution, all citizens are equal before the law.
NOVEMBER 99: Beijing prohibited all law firms from accepting cases from members of Falun Gong or related organizations. Dang Qingfong, wife of China Democratic Party member Wu Yilong, asked to represent her husband in court. But the police detained her for the duration of the trial.
AUGUST 99: The CCP threatened the lawyer representing a member of the China Democratic Party, Liu Yanbun. He could not find another defense attorney and has since been sentenced to a re-education through labor" camp.
JULY 1999: Ma Wenlin, a lawyer in Xian Xi, Yan An, courageously volunteered to assist a group of 5,000 peasants in Xi Zhou County, Xian Xi. He filed a petition requesting both a tax break for the peasants as well as the punishment of an official who was accused of physically abusing citizens in his jurisdiction. Upon his arrival in Beijing the lawyer was arrested, sent back to Xian Xi, and sentenced to five years imprisonment for disturbing the social order."
(3) Specific Demands to the Chinese Government
Given the above cases in which human rights were trampled, the Chinese Government should immediately redress them and should also:
（3.1） Form an independent investigation team to investigate the events leading to the June 4th massacre, to collate the names of the deceased in the 1989 pro-democracy movement, to compensate the families of the deceased, and to bring to justice of those responsible for the incident; （3.2） Release all prisoners of conscience; （3.3） Ratify as soon as possible the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and should submit a report annually to the United Nations; （3.4） Safeguard and ensure people's rights and liberties enshrined in the constitution, including the civic rights and political rights in speech, publication, assembly, and association, including the right to form political parties.
( Note: The present Chinese Constitution clearly specifies that the basic rights of the people shall be protected. There are a total of 24 articles, from Article 33 to Article 56 in Chapter 2 in the 1982 Constitution stipulating people's basic rights and obligations:
Article 33: All citizens are equal before the law.
Article 34: All citizens aged 18 or over have the right to elect and to be elected irrespective of their race, nation, sex, occupation, family, parentage, religion, education attainment, equity and length of residence.
Article 35: All citizens have freedom of speech, publication, assembly, association, procession and demonstration.
Article 36: All citizens have the freedom of religion.
Article 37: Citizens' freedom of the person shall not be violated. The Chinese people have in name all the rights commonly recognized by the international community. However in real life, the government stifles these basic rights of the people by legal or administrative means.
(4) Conclusion and Appeal
Undeniably, the Chinese government has exercised its authority independently of foreign domination over the past half-century. No longer does China face invasion from foreign countries, nor is the country economically dependent on more advanced countries. But the Chinese people do not have substential civil rights on their own country's affairs than they do in those of a foreign country! Although China has signed the two international covenants of human rights, the government does not abide by them. They are paper guarantees without any force. Whenever the Chinese government is accused of violating human rights, it always argues that the differential of national orders nor races western countries interference China's national affairs." But we know that human rights cannot be. Human rights are the same for both West and East. Whether you are poor or rich, you should be accorded the same basic rights. The Chinese people should not accept lower standards of human rights. The population in China accounts for one fifth of the whole world's population. Having signed the two international covenants, the Chinese government still arbitrarily violates, tramples on, and flouts the natural rights of these individuals. The Chinese government is therefore responsible for the oppression of one fifth of the world. They not only affront the dignity and authority of the two international covenants but also undermine the global human rights movement. We ask the international community to support and encourage the 1.2 billion Chinese people to exercise their internationally recognized human rights.
We ask the governments and non-governmental organizations of all countries to denounce the Chinese Government for the deteriorating human rights situation which demonstrates the contempt it holds for the two international covenants it has just signed.
We appeal to governments of all countries not to let their economic interests overwhelm their consciences and to disregard human rights violations in China, failing to monitor the implementation of the two international covenants.