China Human Rights Briefing 23  February 2010

Headlines

• Government Memo Asks Universities to Block Student Participation in Oxfam Trainings
• Beijing Lawyer Li Zhuang, Imprisoned for Fabricating Evidence, Has License Revoked
• More Petitioners Detained Ahead of NPC, CPPCC Meetings 

Freedomof Association

GovernmentMemo Asks Universities to Block Student Participation in Oxfam Trainings

On February 11, Beijing'sCentral Universityfor Nationalities' Student Career Services Network website carried anannouncement purportedly from the Ministry of Education urging schoolofficialsto prevent students from taking part in training programs organized byOxfam'sHong Kong-based Chinaoffice. According to the memo, Oxfam has collaborated with Chineserights-defense organizations since 2005 to hold training programs forstudentvolunteers in mainland China;it has planned a set of trainings around the country for March 3-6,2010, andis using the internet to actively seek volunteers. The memo accusesOxfam oftrying to "infiltrate" China, and calls its leadera"backbone of the opposition faction." The memo was deleted from theuniversity’s website two days after it was posted. (CHRD)[i]

LegalRights

Beijing Lawyer Li Zhuang, Imprisonedfor Fabricating Evidence, Has License Revoked

Beijing lawyer Li Zhuang (李庄), whowas sentenced to one year and six months in prison for "fabricatingevidence and obstructing testimony" after a series of widely-followedtrials in recent weeks, had his lawyers' license revoked by the BeijingBureauof Justice on February 20. Li will not be able to regain his license inthefuture. According to Article 49(2) of the Lawyers Law, lawyers losetheirlicenses to practice law after they have been convicted of a crime. Libecomesthe second Beijinglawyer to lose his license after being convicted of violating Article306 ofthe Chinese Criminal Law. Another lawyer, Ms Xue (薛),was stripped of her license in 2008 after she was convicted of the samecrime andsentenced to 1.5 years for defending a client charged with rape. (JinghuaDaily)[ii]

Harassmentof Petitioners:

More PetitionersDetained Ahead of NPC, CPPCC Meetings

Continuing our reporting on petitioners harassedand detained ahead of the annual meetings of the National People’sCongress andthe National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political ConsultativeConference in Beijing:

• On the evening of February 22, Xiangxi, Hunan petitioner Long Xiuxiang (龙秀祥) was kidnapped shortly after registering at a guesthouse in the capital by two uniformed police officers and three unidentified men, believed to be interceptors from Xiangxi. Long was taken to a black jail at a building in Daxing District marked as a "reception center" for petitioners from Xiangxi. (CHRD)[iii]
• Shanghai petitioner Chen Jianfang (陈建芳) has been missing since February 13, CHRD has learned. Calls made to her phone return no sound: neither a busy signal nor a notification that the phone has been turned off. Chen has been petitioning since 2004, when her field and housing were seized without compensation, and has suffered repeated detentions, beatings and threats for petitioning. Days prior to her disappearance, Chen told fellow petitioners that if she disappears, she is most likely to have been detained by the Shanghai government. (CHRD)[iv]

[i] "CCP Ministry of Education Orders University Student NottoJoin Oxfam Hong Kong" (中共教育部勒令大学生不得参与香港乐施会), February 23, 2010, http://www.crd-net.org/Article/Class53/201002/20100223114522_20041.html

[ii] Jinghua Daily, Li Zhuang’s Lawyer’s LicenseCancelled by theBureau of Justice (李庄律师执照被司法局吊销),February 23, 2010; Jinghua Daily, Eight Lawyers were Strippedof Lawyers’Licenses in the Past Five Years (5年8律师被吊销执业资格), February 23,2010.

[iii] "Hunan Petitioner Long Xiuxiang Kidnapped in Beijing (湖南进京访民龙秀祥昨晚遭绑架),February 23, 2010, http://www.crd-net.org/Article/Class53/201002/20100223180013_20042.html

[iv] "Shanghai Petitioner Chen Jianfang Missing for 10 Days" (上海访民陈建芳失踪10天), February 23,2010, http://www.crd-net.org/Article/Class53/201002/20100223185743_20046.html