China Human Rights Briefing  May 18-25, 2011

Highlights

• 10-Year Sentence for “Inciting Subversion” Issued to Lü Jiaping: CHRD has learned that 70-year-old dissident and military scholar Lü Jiaping (吕加平) was handed a severe 10-year sentence on May 13 after being convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” by the Beijing Intermediate People’s Court. Lü’s family was barred from attending the trial and also unable to hire counsel to defend him. The harsh sentence is believed to be related to Lü’s writings about former Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江泽民).
• CHRD Report on Internet Censorship Documents Escalating Struggle Between Government, Netizens: On May 20, CHRD released a report on the current state of internet restrictions in China and the methods being used by netizens to circumvent this encroachment on their rights. The report examines major online incidents from the past two years, discusses methods the government has used to tighten control over the internet, anti-censorship strategy among netizens, and give practical advice to netizens to circumvent censorship. For the full text of this report, in Chinese, please click here.

  Contents

• Arbitrary Detention
  • Updates on Detentions and Disappearances Related to “Jasmine Revolution” Crackdown
  • Dissident and Scholar Lü Jiaping Convicted of “Inciting Subversion,” Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison
  • Candidates in Jiangxi Election Released Following Days of Detention
  • Petitioners from Sichuan Remain Detained Months After Being Seized in Beijing
  • Wuhan Dissident Qin Yongmin Released After 10 Days in Detention
• Freedom of Assembly
  • Several Taken Into Custody as More Than 300 Evictees Demonstrate Against Government in Changsha
  • Beijing Police Take Away Workers Petitioning Against Forced Buyouts  
• Harassment of Activists
  • Prison Officials Cut Off Activist Tan Zuoren’s Mail
  • Handicapped Petitioners in Anhui Beaten by Town Party Official and Driver
• Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment and Punishment
  • Hangzhou Woman Forced to Have Intrauterine Device Inserted in Guizhou
• Citizens’ Actions
  • Lawyers Submit Materials to Supreme People’s Court for Review of Street Vendor’s Death Sentence

 ArbitraryDetentionUpdates onDetentions and Disappearances Related to “JasmineRevolution” CrackdownOn May 13, LiuXiaoyuan (刘晓原), lawyer for detainedBeijingactivist Wang Lihong (王荔蕻), applied for Wang’srelease on bail to await trial oncharges of “assembling a crowd to disrupt trafficorder.” On May 19, Liu wasinformed by the Chaoyang Public Security Bureau thathis request had beenrejected because Wang “does not suffer from seriousillnesses.” Liu met withMs. Wang on May 20, and reports that she “has a goodstate of mind” but shecontinues to suffer from a number of health problems,including heart diseaseas well as back and nerve problems. According to Wang,the charge referred totwo protests she helped organize to support threenetizens on trial in FujianProvince in March and April in 2010. On May17, Hangzhou City-baseddissident Zhu Yufu (朱虞夫)was able to meet with his lawyers Li Baiguang (李柏光) and Li Dunyong (李敦勇) for the first timesince he was taken into detention onMarch 5. Zhu, who has been formally arrested onsuspicion of “incitingsubversion of state power,” is currently being held inthe Shangcheng DistrictDetention Center in Hangzhou.(CHRD)[i]Dissident andScholar Lü Jiaping Convicted of“Inciting Subversion,” Sentenced to 10 Years inPrisonCHRD has learned that70-year-old LüJiaping (吕加平),a dissident and military scholar from Xiaoyang City,Hunan Province, has beenconvicted of “inciting subversion of state power” andsentenced to ten years inprison. The verdict was handed down on May 13, 2011,by the BeijingIntermediate People’s Court. The prison sentence isbelieved to come in retaliationfor recent works by Lü arguing that former ChinesePresident Jiang Zemin (江泽民) was a “traitor” andquestioninghis background and political credentials. Lü and hiswife were seized by policein Hunan in September 2010 and taken to Beijing. Hiswife has since beenreleased. Family members were never informed of thisdetention or of Lü’spending trial, and the family was unable to attend thetrial or hire a lawyerto represent Lü. It is believed that Lü is currentlyheld in Beijing DetentionCenter will be sent back to Hunan Province to servehis sentence. (CHRD)Candidates inJiangxi Election Released Following Daysof DetentionCHRD has learned thatXinyu City,Jiangxi Province-based independent candidates for thePeople’s Congress WeiZhongping (魏忠平)and Li Sihua (李思华),as well as their campaign volunteer Peng Xinlian (彭新莲), were released onMay 20 after more than a week indetention. The three were detained along with fellowcandidate Liu Ping (刘萍) to prevent them fromcampaigningfor election or speaking to voters before the May 15and 16 voting for People’sCongress representatives in Xinyu’s Yushui District.Liu Ping was released onMay 18 after four days of illegal detention, duringwhich she was held in aguesthouse and kept under 24-hour guard by eightpeople reportedly instructedby the police. The voting for Xinyu People’s Congressrepresentatives tookplace on May 15 and 16, and marks the beginning ofelections for local people’scongresses, which are held every five years and arescheduled to take place acrossChina in 2011 and 2012. (CHRD)[ii]Petitionersfrom Sichuan Remain Detained Months AfterBeing Seized in BeijingThree Sichuan-basedpetitioners--Jiang Guorong (姜国荣), Liu Cunqin (刘存钦), and Peng Yan (彭燕)--remain in detentionin a black jail more than two monthsafter they were seized in Beijing, CHRD has learned.The three were detained inthe capital in mid-March, during the annual meetingsof the National People’sCongress and the National Committee of the ChinesePeople’s PoliticalConsultative Conference. They are currently being heldin a black jail in PujiangCounty, outside of Chengdu City in Sichuan Province.The three have beenpetitioning about forced demolition of their homes,and further informationabout them is not currently available. (CHRD)[iii]WuhanDissident Qin Yongmin Released After 10 Days inDetentionOn May 23, Qin Yongmin(秦永敏), a dissident fromWuhan City,Hubei Province who had been in administrationdetention for 10 days, wasreleased. It is believed that, on May 13, nationalsecurity forces and otherpolice officers in Wuhan’s Qingshan District took Qin,one of the founders ofthe banned China Democracy Party (CDP), to theXingouqiao Police Station. Qinwas asked about, among other issues, media interviewshe had given and the 1000RMB financial assistance he had given to fellowdissident Li Wangyang. Releasedfrom prison on November 29, 2010, the long-timedissident has beenadministratively detained twice in less than sixmonths, and on severaloccasions been summoned or had his home searched bythe police. He’s alsoundergone close monitoring, and everyone who has cometo visit him has beensearched and taken into custody after departing hishome. (CHRD)[iv]Freedom ofAssemblySeveral TakenInto Custody as More Than 300 EvicteesDemonstrate Against Government in ChangshaOn May 16, more than300 citizens ofChangsha City, Hunan Province who were evicted fromtheir homes collectivelydemonstrated against the city government. Thoseevicted processed en masse forover a kilometer and around the Changsha Citygovernment building, shoutingslogans and calling for the eradication of officialcorruption. Six protestors,Wang Zhuofu, Wang Jiyong (王继勇), Zhou Jianyue (周建跃), Wang Yunqing (王云清), Wen Shaoping (文哨平), and Li Qiaoling (李巧玲), were taken intopolice custody. Some demonstrators wentto the provincial public security office to protestthese unlawful detentions,and all those taken into custody were released thesame day. The protesters hadbeen evicted without receiving any compensation andresettlement, and nodepartment will discuss their situation with them.(CHRD)[v]Beijing PoliceTake Away WorkersPetitioning Against Forced Buyouts  On May 23, police inBeijing tookaway nearly 200 individuals petitioning about buyoutsthey were forced toaccept by various financial institutions across thecountry. It is believedthat they were sent to Jiujingzhuang, a centralizedblack jail in Beijing. The 200petitioners are among more than 600 banking industryprofessionals from aroundthe country who recently went to the China BankingRegulatory Commission (CBRC)to voice their grievances. Over 400 were dispersedfrom around the CBRC on May23 and went that afternoon to petition at the mainoffices of their respectivehead companies. Due to corporate restructuring anddownsizing, forced buyoutshave led to more than 400 thousand financial sectorworkers losing their jobsin the past decade. CHRDalso learned that among thosetaken to Jiujingzhuang, petitioners Huang Xingzhi (黄行芝) and Pan Xiangrong (潘向荣), residents ofQianjiang City, Hubei Province, were thentaken away by Qingqiang government personnel and arebeing held in a black jailin the Lianhuachi area of Beijing. (CHRD)[vi]Harassmentof ActivistsPrisonOfficials Cut Off Activist Tan Zuoren’s MailOfficials at Sichuan’sYa’an Prisonare refusing to allow imprisoned activist Tan Zuoren (谭作人) to receive mail, hiswife Wang Qinghua (王庆华) reports. Accordingto Wang, whorecently visited Tan in prison, he is in reasonablehealth and is not beingmistreated, aside from this restriction on hiscommunications. Tan, aSichuan-based activist and environmentalist, wasconvicted of “inciting subversionof state power” after he organized an investigationinto the deaths of childrenduring the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and attempted toassist parents of thesechildren in their fight for justice. He is currentlyserving a five-year prisonterm. (CHRD)[vii]HandicappedPetitioners in Anhui Beaten by Town PartyOfficial and DriverOn the morning of May17, threedisabled petitioners from Changfeng County, AnhuiProvince, were hospitalizedafter being beaten by a local official and his driverfollowing an argument.The three--Ding Zhongfu (丁忠福), Wang Guofu (王国福), and He Zechuan (何泽传)--had traveled to theGangji Town government to follow upwith local officials regarding welfare payments theyhad been promised in a May7 meeting along with other disabled petitioners. Theygot into an argument withLi Fabing (李法兵),vice-secretary of the Town Party Committee, who onlyoffered to pay the threehalf of the amount they had originally been promised.Shortly after the threeleft the office, Li’s driver drove a car carrying Liinto their group, knockingdown Ding, at which point Li got out of the car andbegan striking Ding. Wangand He were beaten by the driver as they attempted tohelp their friend. Ding,Wang, and He were taken to a nearby hospital fortreatment; police who arrivedat the scene did not take any action against Li or hisdriver. (CHRD)[viii]Torture andOther Cruel, Inhuman, orDegrading Treatment and PunishmentHangzhou WomanForced to Have IntrauterineDevice Inserted in GuizhouCHRD has learned thatZhang Xuequn (张雪群), a woman fromHangzhou City, wasforced to have an intrauterine device (IUD) insertedin Banqiao Village, ZhijinCounty, Guizhou Province. Visiting her mother-in-lawat the time of theincident, Zhang was assaulted by local officialsbefore being forcibly draggedto Banqiao’s Family Planning Station for theprocedure, and her husband wassubjected to security detention for three days.According to Zhang, she hadbrought her 14-month-old baby to Banqiao, where herhusband’s hukou is located, duringthe May Dayholiday, and staff of the family planning station cameon May 3 to conduct asurvey and requested Zhang immediately submit to theprocedure. Before beingtaken away, she produced a marriage certificate andofficial birth certificate,and said that her poor physical condition andnon-local status made herunsuitable for the procedure. Following the forcedoperation, Zhang sufferedabdominal pain and lost a large amount of blood, andhospital examinationsshowed she was suffering from several serious healthproblems. The incident hasoutraged netizens and became known as the “GuizhouFamily Planning-Gate” afterthe facts were posted online. On May 22, Zhanginformed CHRD she is preparingto sue over the incident. (CHRD)[ix] Citizens’ActionsLawyers SubmitMaterials to Supreme People’s Court forReview of Street Vendor’s Death SentenceOn May 23, 2011,lawyers forShenyang street vendor Xia Junfeng (夏俊峰)--Chen Youxi (陈有西) and Zhong Guolin (钟国林)--submitted materialsto the First Criminal Court of theSupreme People’s Court (SPC) in preparation for theSPC’s review of Xia’s deathsentence. On May 9, 2011, the LiaoningProvinceHigh Court upheld the death sentence verdicthanded down to Xia, originallyconvicted of intentional homicide by the ShenyangIntermediate People’s Courtfor killing two City Administration and LawEnforcement officials (chengguan)as he was being violently beaten by them. Theverdicthas outraged many netizens. (CHRD)[x]Editors: David Smalls and Lin Sang Follow us on Twitter: @CHRDnetNewsupdates from CHRD[i] “Wang Lihong’sLawyer Applies for Her Release on Bail toAwait Trial, is Rejected” (王荔蕻的律师为其申请取保候审被拒),May 20, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_7307.html; “Zhu YufuAble to Meet with Lawyer, Sends BirthdayGreetings to Wife” (朱虞夫得律师会见，转话祝妻子生日快乐), May 18, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_681.html [ii] “Xinyu City,Jiangxi Province Independent Candidate WeiZhongping and Others Regain their Freedom” (江西新余市独立候选人魏忠平等人获自由), May 20,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_2543.html; “IndependentCandidate Liu Ping, of Jiangxi, Releasedafter 4 Days of Illegal Detention” (江西独立候选人刘萍被非法关押4天后获释),May 18, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/4.html  [iii] “PujiangCounty, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province is StillHolding Petitioners in Detention following the TwoMeetings” (四川成都蒲江仍然关押着一批两会上访的访民), May 21, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_6035.html  [iv] “WuhanDissident Qin Yongmin Released after 10 days ofAdministrative Detention” (武汉异议人士秦永敏被拘留十天后获释),May 23, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_3536.html  [v] “300Demonstrated Outside City Government in ChangshaCity, Many Taken Away” (长沙市300余名被拆迁户到市政府示威多人被抓), May 24,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/300.html  [vi] “FinancialWorkers Nationwide Forced to Accept Buyouts DefendTheir Rights in Beijing” (全国金融买断职员进京维权动态),May 23, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_4573.html; “HubeiPetitioners Huang Xingzhi and Pan XiangrongDetained in Black Jail” (湖 北访民黄行芝、潘向荣在京被关黑监狱), May 24,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_24.html  [vii] “CommunicationsLimited for Tan Zuoren in Prison” (谭作人在监狱通信受到限制无人交流),May 22, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_8475.html [viii] “HandicappedPeople in Changfeng County, Anhui ProvinceBeaten by Town Government Officials” (安徽长丰县发生镇政府殴打残疾人致伤事件), May 18,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_2573.html  [ix] “HangzhouWoman Forcibly Subjected to Birth Control Surgeryin Guizhou Province” (杭州女子在贵州被强行做节育手术), May 22,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_5478.html  [x] “LawyersFormally Begin Work on Death Penalty Review ofShenyang Vendor Xia Junfeng” (沈阳小贩夏俊峰死刑复核审理律师工作正式启动), May 23,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_9774.html