China Human Rights Briefing August 23-28, 2011

Highlights 

• Updates on Detentions and Disappearances Related to the “Jasmine Revolution” Crackdown: The procuratorate has sent back the “creating a disturbance” case against Beijing lawyer Ni Yulan (倪玉兰), who was also charged with fraud, and her husband Dong Jiqin (董继勤). Their daughter further reports that her parents are in fragile states in detention.

• Sichuan Activist From “Chained Gate” Case Released: On August 27, Huang Xiaomin (黄晓敏), a Sichuan-based organizer for the China Pan-Blue Alliance, was released from prison on August 27. Now home in Chengdu City, Huang is in good spirits but has various physical ailments after getting poor medical treatment in prison.

Contents Arbitrary Detention

• Updates on Detentions and Disappearances Related to the “Jasmine Revolution” Crackdown

 Ni Yulan, Dong Jiqin Case Sent Backfor Investigation, Couple Suffering in Prison

• Anhui Police Issue Administrative Detention to Online Journalist
• Sichuan Activist Released From Prison, In Good Spirits But Poor Health
• Xi’an Villagers Demand Release of Petitioners
• Hubei Authorities Detaining Teacher in Black Jail for Nearly Four Months
• Jiangsu Petitioner Seized & Reportedly Tortured, Still Out of Contact
• Fujian Rights Defender Detained for Seeking Justice for Crewmen’s Families
• Anhui Police Detain Family Members Opposing Work at Residential Land
• Guangdong Petitioner Freed After 6-Month Black Jail Detention

HarassmentofActivists

• Fuzhou Authorities Seize Wang Lihong Supporters
• Anhui Student Netizen Released After Questioning, Risks School Expulsion
• Beijing Authorities Take Away Shandong Dissident’s Mother

ForcedEviction and Demolition/Land Expropriation

• Three Gorges Dam Refugees Uncompensated After Years of Petitioning

Freedomof Expressionand of Access to Information

• Chengdu Authorities Block Blog With Articles on Demolition Case

LocalNPC Election Watch

• Guangzhou Authorities Strip NPC Candidate of Electoral Qualifications
• Guangzhou University Obstructs Student’s Candidacy

ArbitraryDetentionUpdates onDetentions and Disappearances Related to the“Jasmine Revolution” CrackdownNi Yulan,Dong Jiqin Case Sent Backfor Investigation, Couple Suffering in PrisonCHRD has learned that,on August 2,the Xicheng Procuratorate sent back to the police forfurther investigation the“creating a disturbance” case against Beijing lawyer Ni Yulan (倪玉兰), who was also chargedwith fraud,and her husband Dong Jiqin (董继勤). The two have beenheld in the Xicheng Detention Centersince April, and their daughter, DongBeibei (董贝贝), said that Ni is inlow spirits and Dong Jiqin is not doingwell physically. Ni’s lawyer had requested she bereleased on medical paroledue to her health—Ni cannot walk and has medicalproblems due to past torturesuffered in detention—but authorities have notresponded. Dong Beibei alsoindicated she has not received several letters herfather has written and thatshe is being closely monitored by the Beijing police.(CHRD)[i]Anhui Police IssueAdministrativeDetention to Online JournalistOn August 21, policefrom XinzhanDistrict, Hefei City, Anhui Province, took intocustody a journalist who goesby the name Bingyu (宾语), and issued him a10-day administrative detention forallegedly “fabricating facts to disrupt public order.”Earlier this month,Bingyu had posted articles on his blog that focused onviolent forced evictionand demolition in Hefei City reportedly conductedunder the direction of localofficials. The day he was taken into custody, Bingyuwas called in forquestioning to the Xinzhan branch of the Hefei PublicSecurity Bureau (PSB).After he told the police that he would not speak tothem unless they produce awritten summons, officers filled out a summons thatevening. Bingyu was thentaken away and went out of contact. On August 22, hisfamily received a callfrom police indicating he had been detained. When theyarrived at the policestation, they were told that nobody, includinglawyers, was allowed to visitBingyu. (CHRD)[ii]Sichuan ActivistReleased FromPrison, In Good Spirits But Poor HealthOn August 27, Huang Xiaomin (黄晓敏), a Sichuan-basedorganizer for theChina Democracy Party originally from Xinjiang, wasreleased from Leshan Prisonand returned to his home in Chengdu City. Althoughhe’s reportedly ingood spirits, Huang is dealing with various physicalailments, including muscleatrophy in his left leg, and has said he did notreceive good medical treatmentin prison. He was released a few days before the endof his original sentencewas due to expire. Huang was criminally detained inFebruary of 2009 in the“chained gate” case, so called because 10 activistschained themselves togetherin peaceful protest over what they believed to beunfair rulings by the ChengduCity Intermediate People’s Court. Huang was sentencedthat September totwo-and-a-half years in prison for “assembling a crowdto disrupt socialorder,” though it is believed that he, like a numberof other defendants in thecase, were convicted because they documented andreported on human rightsviolations, particularly to foreign media. (CHRD)[iii]Xi’anVillagers Demand Release of PetitionersOn August 23, morethan 200villagers from Zhangbagou Subdistrict in Xi’an City,Shaanxi Province, went tothe provincial government building to demand therelease of two fellowresidents who remain detained after being taken intocustody on July 22. On that day in July,Zhangbagou villagers petitioned at the ShaanxiProvincial government buildingover compensation for requisitioned land and homedemolitions. Officials fromGaoxin District and the Zhangbagou Subdistrict as wellas many police officerscame to disperse the crowd. Six villagers were takendirectly to the ZhangbagouPolice Station on suspicion of “disrupting socialorder.” Four of them werereleased by early August, but ZhangShao’e (张少鄂),who has diabetes and heart disease, is still beingheld at the Xi’an AnkangHospital, and Liang Shuixia (梁水霞)is being detained the Xi’an No. 2 Detention Center.(CHRD)[iv]HubeiAuthorities Detaining Teacher in Black Jail forNearly Four MonthsAuthorities have heldYao Xueyuan (姚学元),a 70-year-old teachers’representative from Yicheng City,Hubei Province,for nearly four months in a “black jail.” Yao, who haspresented grievances onbehalf of fellowteachers at “minbanschools” (schools notoperated by the state), is being held at the formertax office in Nanyun Township in Yicheng City.Two others, petitioners Xiong Zhongyou (熊忠友) andJing Minguo (景民国),are believed to be detained with Yao. (CRLW)[v]JiangsuPetitioner Seized & Reportedly Tortured, StillOut of Contact CHRD has learned that,on August 19,authorities seized Ji Dawu (吉大伍),a petitioner from Jiangning District, Nanjing City,Jiangsu Province, and havetortured him, according to his wife, MaShijuan (马士娟). On the day he wastaken away, Ji was able to contact Maand said he was seizedby a number of individuals claimed to be policemenfrom Donghai County and was being held and monitored ina localguesthouse.His cell phone cut offwhile he was talking, and Ji has since been out ofcontact. Ma made severalinquiries and learned that her husband had reportedlybeen deprived of sleepfor five nights and forced to write a guarantee sayinghe would stoppetitioning. The couple has petitioned over the 2002demolition of their home,which took place without advanced notice orcompensation having been arranged.(CHRD)[vi]Fujian RightsDefender Detained forSeeking Justice for Crewmen’s FamiliesOn August 26,authorities formallyarrested Li Xiangmou (李祥谋), a ship captain fromQuanzhou City, Fujian Province, onsuspicion of “organizing others to secretly cross thenational border” in acase tied to a 2008 maritime accident off the coast ofIndonesia. On August 24,authorities reportedly demanded families whose lovedones died in the incidentsign a settlement. But the agreement failed to spellout the Yuanyang FisheryGroup Company’s responsibility for mistakes that ledto the mishap, so thefamilies have been preparing to petition. Li, thecaptain when the incidenttook place, has repeatedly approached various agenciesto seek a justsettlement and accountability for the families. Due tohis efforts, Li had beendetained for over a year before being released on bailin April of 2010, andthen was subjected to residential surveillance for sixmonths. Suspecting himof organizing the family members to petition, policehad placed him under24-hour surveillance in a hotel since July 21 beforearresting him on August26. Li is now being detained at the Shishi CityDetention Center in QuanzhouCity. (CHRD)[vii]Anhui PoliceDetain Family MembersOpposing Work at Residential LandCHRD has learned that,on August 24,police from the Baohe branch of the Hefei City PSBcriminally detained threefamily members in Binhuxin District, Hefei City, AnhuiProvince, for“sabotaging production or businessoperations.” That day, Hu Xianzheng (胡先正), HuShaocai (胡召才), and HuShaochun (胡召春) attempted to blockconstruction work by a real estatecompany near where their demolished home once stood.Police who came to thescene saw the disruption and took the men to thepolice station. The three arebeing held at the Hefei PSB No. 2 Detention Center.Family members hadpreviously petitioned the local government after theirhome was destroyed in2008—contending the demolition and relocation wereillegal and the compensationinadequate—and since then the government has left theland unoccupied. (CHRD)[viii]HarassmentofActivistsGuangdongPetitioner Freed After6-Month Black Jail DetentionOn August 27, Yang Yamei (杨亚美), a petitioner fromWujiangDistrict, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, wasreleased from a black jailafter being illegally detained for nearly six months.Authorities have notreturned her hukou book and identificationcard, however, and directorsof the local Letters and Visits Office and justicebureau have threatened her,warning her not to leave her home, and for her andhusband to stop petitioning. Yangwas initially detained in earlyMarch, when she and her husband, HeMingzheng (何明政), were trying topresent a grievance to the State Bureau forLetters and Visits in Beijing over a land requisitionissue from 2006 involvingcorruption by local officials. After being interceptedand taken back toGuangdong, Wang was held in a room which belongs tothe Wujiang Districtgovernment until her release. Authorities alsodetained her husband for nearlytwo months, but he was let go after suffering a heartattack. (CHRD)[ix]FuzhouAuthorities Seize Wang Lihong SupportersOn August 23,authorities in FuzhouCity, Fujian Province took away several individualsfrom a group of nearly 20who had gathered in support of Beijing activist Wang Lihong (王荔蕻) in front of theFuzhou Intermediate People’s Court and alsoin the city’s May 1st Square. Chengmen Town officialsblocked the supporters atthe square and then took some away, including Lin Lanying (林兰英), LinXiangguan (林祥官),and Lin Yigen (林依银),while the fates of others could not be confirmed.Earlier this month, Wang wastried on a charge of “creating a disturbance” thatstemmed from her role inleading protests outside the Fuzhou court’s sentencinghearing of the “FujianThree” netizens in April 2010. Others supporters onhand include Lin Xiuying (林秀英),the mother of Yan Xiaoling (严晓玲),who was raped and killed in 2009 by thugs allegedly linkedto the Fujian police, and Wu Huaying (吴华英),one of the Fujian netizens imprisoned for defamationafter publicizing Yan’scase online. (CHRD)[x]Anhui StudentNetizen Released After Questioning, RisksSchool ExpulsionCHRD has learned that the university student andnetizen Zheng Tao (郑涛, aka @LuoFee [罗非]),from Hefei City, Anhui Province, has returned home andis safe after beingquestioned by police earlier this week, according toan activist who has beenin touch with him. Accordingto Zheng, Hefei City PublicSecurity Bureau(PSB) officers took him away on August 21 in relation to a netizen friend ofhis who is now in prison. (Zhenghimself had suspected police questioned him because ofhis April 19 visit withthe Beijing netizen-writer Hu Di [胡荻],who is being held at a psychiatric institution inHefei.) The activist believes that Zheng is still undersome police pressure. A student at theAnhui Institute of International Business, Zheng hasnearly been expelled afterbeing questioned numerous times by officers sinceMarch for promoting ways toevade China’s “Great Firewall” and participating inevents involving theBeijing artist Ai Weiwei (艾未未).(CHRD)[xi] ForcedEviction and Demolition/Land ExpropriationBeijingAuthorities Take Away Shandong Dissident’s MotherOnAugust 24, authorities in Beijing took away Wang Shuqing (王书清), a petitionerand the mother of Xue Mingkai (薛明凯), Qufu City, apro-democracy dissidentfrom Qufu City, Shandong Province. Wang and herhusband, Xue Fushun (薛夫顺), had beenpetitioning at the Letters and Visits Department ofthe Beijing Municipal PublicSecurity Ministry when Wang was beaten and draggedoff, and her fate andwhereabouts remain unknown. They have activelypetitioned over the detention ofXue Mingkai, who was formally arrested for “incitingsubversion of state power”in February, and is being held at the Jining CityDetention Center. The parentswere also beaten in late June after trying to petitionthe Supreme People’sProcuratorate about their son’s criminal detention aswell as beatings Wangendured during a stint in Re-education through Labor.(CRLW)[xii]Three GorgesDam Refugees Uncompensated After Years ofPetitioningCHRD learned on August 24 that despite years ofpetitioning, more than 20 familiesfrom Wanzhou District, Chongqing Municipality, havegone uncompensated aftertheir homes were demolished in 2005 as part of theThree Gorges Damconstruction project, according to one of theindividuals affected. In 2002,the local government demanded the Wanzhou residentsleave their homes, and cutoff their water and electricity, though regulationsindicated that relocationsshould have started only in 2006. The families havenot received compensationsince their homes were demolished, and are now eitherrenting apartments orliving temporarily with relatives. They have repeatedly petitioned various agencies,including the State Bureau forLetters and Visits in Beijing and the Three GorgesProject Construction Committee, butauthorities have not assumed responsibility whileinstead monitoring, threatening and detaining themin black jails. (CHRD)[xiii]Freedom of Expressionand of Access to InformationChengduAuthorities Block Blog With Articles on DemolitionCaseCHRD has learned thatauthoritieshave blocked a blog maintained by WangHui (王慧), of ShuangliuDistrict, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, who wasposting articles about thecriminal case against her husband, HuangWenwei(黄文伟), whichstems from the 2010 demolition of their home. On August 18, Wang sawa message when she tried to log on toher NetEase (网易) blogindicatingthat it contains content which breaches the relevant internetregulations, and isbanned. It is suspected the local government haspressuredthecompany to censor Wang’sviews, reacting toincreased media attention to the case and fearing the backlash ofpublic opinion.  OnMarch 30, HuangWenwei was criminally detained for “endangeringpublic safety” after he triedto prevent government personnel from clearingremains of his family’s home bydriving a car into them.In late June, a court found the home’s destructionwas illegal,but the government has denied criminalresponsibility while pursuing the caseagainst Huang. (CHRD)[xiv] Local NPCElection WatchGuangzhouAuthorities Strip NPC Candidate of ElectoralQualificationsOn August 24, when the list ofpreliminarycandidates for the People’sCongress election in Panyu District, Guangzhou City,wasannounced, independentcandidate LiangShuxin (梁树新) did not find his nameon it,even though he met all the requirements to run in theelection. This followsauthorities’ harassment of his recommendersin an effort to have them abandon their support ofLiang. On August 23, the LijiangSubdistrict Election Office demanded thatLiang’s recommenders re-sign a joint election formin-person, and also giveinformation about their place of employment. Some whorevealed where they workwere told by superiors to rescind their recommendationof Liang. Two of Liang’srecommenders even quit their jobs outside of Lijiangto safeguard his candidacyafter a government notice was issued stating thatindividuals are ineligible totake part in an election if they work outside theirelectoral district. Despite theharassment, Liang still had 18 recommenders, thusexceeding the officialrequirement of 10. On August 25, Liangreleased an openletter about the harassment and electoral abuses thathave taken place. (CHRD)[xv]GuangzhouUniversity ObstructsStudent’s Candidacy On August 24, studentYe Ruili (叶瑞立), who had gatheredmore than 1,000recommendations for his candidacy for the People’sCongress election for BaiyunDistrict, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, had hiscandidacy obstructed byhis university. When Ye went to register for candidacyon that day, theGuangzhou University of Foreign Studies announced itwould not accept hisregistration as they want “a non-partisan female eliteintellectual” to getelected, thus seemingly disqualifying Ye. But when Yeinsisted to beregistered, the school then demanded that at least 10of Ye’s recommenders cometo the registration area by 10 p.m. to confirm theirsupport, or else all thesignatures gathered for his candidacy would beinvalidated. Ye and his friendssent online messages about the obstacles they hadfaced, and after somerecommenders came to register, the school abruptlyrequired the recommenders goto their respective institutes to register instead,preventing them fromconfirming their support by the stated deadline. Thestatus of Ye’s candidacy wasnot clear as of the time of writing. (CHRD)[xvi] Editorsof this issue: VictorClemens and Songlian Wang Follow us on Twitter: @CHRDnet Join us onFacebook: CHRDnet (NEW!)Newsupdates from CHRD [i] “Ni Yulan andHusband’s Case Sent Back to Public Security BranchBureaufor Further Investigation,” (倪玉兰夫妇案件被退回公安分局补充侦查), August 28,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_753.html; “Ni Yulanand 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,http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-post_8706.html; “Arrests ofRights Defense Lawyer Ni Yulan and Husband BothConfirmed, 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, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post_09.html; “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, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_4735.html [ii]  “HefeiMillAnesthetic Incident Investigation,” (合肥磨店麻醉针事件之调查), August 28,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_3061.html; “JournalistBingyu Detained Disseminating Reports on ‘ForcedDemolitions,’” (记者宾语发博文报道“强拆”事件被拘留), August 25,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_7435.html [iii] “Huang Xiaomin Out of PrisonBut Health Poor, Maintains Strong Beliefs,” (黄晓敏出狱身体欠佳，坚称信念不改), August 27,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_5980.html; “Alert:Rights Defender Huang XiaominReleased From Prison,” (快讯：维权人士黄晓敏出狱), August 26,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_2462.html; “Defendantsin ‘chained gate’ case are convicted and theirverdictsannounced, lawyers and families decry illegality,”(“链子门”案件有罪宣判 律师家属均指非法), September28,2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/09/201009281221.shtml  [iv] “Zhangbagou VillagePetitioners in Xi’an Demand Release of DetainedVillagers,” (西安丈八沟村民上访要求释放被拘村民), August 23,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_8952.html [v] “CommunityTeacher-Representative Not Released After SeveralMonths inYicheng, Hubei ‘Black Jail’,” (湖北省宜城市“黑监狱”关押民办教师代表数月不放), August 25,2011, http://www.msguancha.com/Article/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=14572  [vi] “Husband ofJiangsu Petitioner Ma Shijuan Kidnapped,Tortured,” (江苏访民马士娟的丈夫被绑架遭受酷刑), August 24,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_27.html?spref=tw  [vii] “Rights Defender Li XiangmouDetained Again for ‘Organizing Others toIllegally Crossing VietnameseBorder’,” (维权人士李祥谋被以“组织他人偷越国边境”再次逮捕), August 27,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_2012.html [viii] “HefeiBinhuxin District Use Criminal Detentions to GoForward WithDemolitions,” (合肥滨湖新区滥用刑事拘留推进拆迁), August 25,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_2084.html  [ix]“Guangdong Petitioner Yang Yamei Released AfterHalf-Year Detention in Black Jail,” (广东访民杨亚美被关黑监狱半年后获释), August 28, 2011,