China Human Rights Briefing December 14-21, 2010

Highlights

•  Unidentified Group Attacks Lawyer Zhang Kai on Beijing Road: Beijing human rights lawyer Zhang Kai (张凯) was driving on Beijing's Third Ring Road the night of December 14 when he was run off the road by three cars filled with unidentified men. The men surrounded Zhang’s car and attempted to drag him from the vehicle, but he was able to drive to safety.
• Little Information Available after Inner Mongolian Activist Hada’s Release: While a picture was circulated online purporting to show Inner Mongolian scholar and dissident Hada reunited with his wife and son after completing his 15-year prison sentence, little concrete information regarding his, or his family’s, whereabouts has been available in recent days.  CHRD has so far been unable to contact Hada, his wife Xinna, or his son Uiles, and cannot independently confirm any news related to his release from prison.
• Charter 08 Collects 12,000th Signature as Second Anniversary Passes: On December 9, the two-year anniversary of the release of Charter 08, organizers announced they had compiled the names of the 24th group of signatories to the charter. The 427 signatories of the group brought the total number of signatories to 12,160.

To download this week’s CHRB as a.pdf file, please click here.

Contents

• Updates on Nobel-Related Harassment of Activists
  • Harassment of Activists
  • Lawyer Zhang Kai Attacked while Driving in Beijing
  • Cell Phone Service Interrupted for Beijing-based Activists
• Freedom of Religion
  • House Church Organizer Fan Yafeng Detained Nine Days, Released to Soft Detention
• Arbitrary Detention
  • Shanghai Petitioner, Seized at Expo, Loses RTL Appeal
  • Guangxi Forced Evictee Sent Back to RTL 40 Days after Release
  • Police in Wuhan Pressure Family of Detained Activist Li Tie to Drop Lawyer
  • Questions Surround Release of Inner Mongolian Activist Hada
  • Police in Wuhan Bar Lawyer Access to Detained Activist Li Tie
  • Democracy and Labor Activist Ning Xianhua Released after Seven Years in Prison
  • Hubei Petitioner, Seized in Beijing on Human Rights Day, Remains in Detention
• Freedom of Assembly
  • Fujian Activists Threatened and Followed after Submitting Protest Application
• Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
  • Hunan Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison on Basis of Confession Extracted by Torture
• Citizens’ Actions
  • Charter 08 Celebrates Two-Year Anniversary, Reaches 12,160 Signatures
  • Send a Birthday Card to 2010 Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo

Updateson Nobel-Related Harassment of ActivistsPolicehave begun easing the pressure on some activistsfollowing the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony, makingthose cases in which activists have not been releasedincreasingly worrying. CHRD is currently collectingreports of individuals who have regained their freedomof movement, as well as those facing continuedrestrictions.

• On the afternoon of December 18, Beijing human rights activist Wang Lihong (王荔蕻) returned home following 18 days of "forced travel." However, police told Wang that, now that she was home, she was not permitted to leave her home except in the company of police. Officers are standing guard outside of her apartment building 24 hours a day.[i]
• On December 20, human rights lawyer Zhang Jiankang (张鉴康) returned to Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province following 12 days of "forced travel."[ii]
• Beijing democracy and human rights activist Li Hai (李海) was allowed to return home on the evening of December 15 after 46 days of soft detention. After he was seized on October 30, Li was held in an underground room in Beijing's Chaoyang District for 16 days before being transferred to a guesthouse near Zuojiazhuang, also in Chaoyang District.[iii]
• As of December 17, CHRD has no updates regarding the case of Shen Minqiang (沈民强), who was criminally detained on October 8 for speaking out about Liu Xiaobo's Nobel Prize, accepting media interviews, and giving out his calling card outside of Liu's home. Since human rights lawyer Teng Biao (滕彪) reported Shen's detention on November 9, activists affiliated with CHRD have been unsuccessful in obtaining more detailed information despite numerous attempts.[iv]
• Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province-based activist Yang Hai (杨海) was finally allowed to return home from “forced travel” on December 17.
• On December 13 and 14, 11 Guizhou human rights defenders and members of the Guizhou Human Rights Forum—including Huang Yanming (黄燕明), Li Renke (李任科), Wang Zang (王藏), Shen Youlian (申有连), Du Heping (杜和平), Mo Jiangang (莫建刚), Zhang Zhongfa (张重发), Lu Yongxiang (卢永祥), Xu Guoqing (徐国庆), Chen Xi (陈西), and Zeng Ning (曾宁)—returned home from "forced travel" or soft detention.  However, as of December 14, two—Liao Shuangyuan (廖双元), and Wu Yuqin (吴玉琴)—were still missing.[v]

Harassmentof ActivistsLawyerZhang Kai Attacked while Driving in BeijingAround 11pm on December 14, Beijing human rights lawyer ZhangKai (张凯) wasdriving near Jimenqiao on Beijing's Third Ring Roadwhen his car was suddenly forced to the side by threeunidentified, license plate-less vehicles. A group ofmore than ten men emerged from the vehicles and begansmashing Zhang's car windows and trying to pull himout of the car. Zhang accelerated through the groupand managed to drive to safety, stopping at a policestation near Chang'an Avenue to report the incident. Zhang believes that the attackers were targeting him,though there was another lawyer with him in the car.He does not know the motivation for the attack, butsaid that all of the cases he has handled recentlyhave been fairly sensitive. (CHRD)[vi]CellPhone Service Interrupted for Beijing-basedActivistsOn theafternoon of December 20, a number of Beijing-basedactivists discovered that their cell phone serviceshad again been restricted: while they could placeoutgoing calls, they were unable to receive incomingcalls. Activists Ai Weiwei (艾未未), MoZhixu (莫之许), Xu Zhiyong (许志永), Jia Jia (贾葭), and LiuDi (刘荻) allreported the disruption in service. Many of theseindividuals had their calls similarly restrictedduring the days surrounding the Nobel Peace Prizeaward ceremony on December 10. Some had servicerestored later that evening, while others could not becontacted as of the evening of December 20. (CHRD)[vii]Freedomof ReligionHouseChurch Organizer Fan Yafeng Detained Nine Days,Released to Soft DetentionBeijinghuman rights activist and Christian house churchorganizer Fan Yafeng (范亚峰) was detained by police inBeijing between December 9 and December 18 after beingsummoned for questioning. Fan was then placed under“soft detention” at his home. A group of activists andlawyers attempted to visit him on the evening of the18th, but were blocked by police officers, who tookfour of them in for questioning as a result. His wife,Wu Lingling (吴玲玲), was also summoned for questioning onDecember 12, and is currently under “soft detention”as well. The church with which Fan is affiliated,Shengshan Research Institute, was searched by policeon the 12th, and officers confiscated computers, cellphones, video cameras, bankbooks, bank cards, andnearly 20,000 RMB in cash, among other items.Reportedly, police interrogating Wu focused on amagazine published by the Shengshan ResearchInstitute. (CHRD)[viii]ArbitraryDetentionShanghaiPetitioner, Seized at Expo, Loses RTL AppealCHRDlearned on December 17 that Shanghai petitioner SunJun (孙军), who wassent to Re-education through Labor on May 29, 2010 for"disrupting social order,” has lost his administrativelitigation lawsuit challenging the decision. Sun wasseized by police in Shanghai on May 1 after scatteringpetitioning documents outside of the China pavilion atthe Shanghai World Expo, and sent to one year of RTLlater that month by the Shanghai RTL Committee. He iscurrently detained at the Dafeng RTL Camp in JiangsuProvince. Sun's family reports that Sun has been cutoff from contacting the outside world since beingdetained in the RTL camp. (CHRD)[ix]GuangxiForced Evictee Sent Back to RTL 40 Days afterReleaseOnDecember 19, CHRD learned of the case of petitionerWei Yani (韦亚妮), a 38-year old woman from Tiane County,Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, who was sent toRe-education through Labor (RTL) on July 24 of thisyear for the second time since 2008. Wei was releasedfrom her previous detention in RTL on June 13, 2010.On both occasions, Wei was sent to two years of RTLfor petitioning in Beijing; the first RTL decisionstated that Wei had "disrupted social order," whilethe second time she was detained for "disruptingsocial and public order." Wei and other villagers fromher hometown have been petitioning after theirfarmland was flooded by the reservoir created by theLongtan hydroelectric dam and they were not providedwith adequate compensation. She is currently detainedin the Guangxi Women's RTL Camp. (CHRD)[x]Policein Wuhan Pressure Family of Detained Activist LiTie to Drop LawyerCHRDlearned on December 20 that National Security officersin Wuhan City, Hubei Province have contacted thefamily of detained democracy activist Li Tie (李铁) anddemanded that the family change lawyers in Li’s case.The family retained Beijing lawyer Jin Guanghong (金 光鸿) torepresent Li, currently detained on suspicion of"subversion of state power." Officials are nowpressuring the family to drop Jin for a lawyer chosenby the police. Wuhan police have so far barred Jinfrom meeting with Li on the grounds that Li's case"involves state secrets." (CHRD)[xi]QuestionsSurround Release of Inner Mongolian Activist HadaDecember10 was the final day of Inner Mongolian scholar anddissident Hada's 15-year prison sentence; however,whether he was actually released, his and his family'scurrent whereabouts, and restrictions they may befacing on their movements, has been impossible to comeby in recent days. Hada's wife Xinna was taken intopolice custody on December 3, while her and Hada's sonUiles has been missing since speaking to the mediaabout his mother's situation on December 5. OnDecember 10, a photograph showing Hada, Xinna, andUiles sitting together was circulated on the internet,and a Boxun report stated that Hada's relatives hadreceived a text message allegedly written by him,stating that all was well. However, CHRD has beenunable to contact Hada, Xinna, or Uiles, and cannotindependently confirm any news related to his releasefrom prison. (CHRD)[xii]Policein Wuhan Bar Lawyer Access to Detained Activist LiTieCHRDlearned on December 14 that police in Wuhan City,Hubei Provice have barred lawyer Jin Guanghong (金光鸿) accessto activist Li Tie (李铁), who is currently detained onsuspicion of "subversion of state power." Policereportedly told Li's lawyer that the case "involvesstate secrets." CHRD has also learned that, accordingto Li's family, police have told them that the"subversion" charges are based on Li's allegedmembership in an organization based in England.However, the police did not reveal any other detailsregarding this organization. Officials in Wuhanapproved Li's arrest in November following hiscriminal detention on September 15. In recent years,Li has written extensively about democracy andconstitutional government in online articles, and hasorganized activities to honor the memory of Lin Zhao (林昭) annuallysince 2008. (CHRD)[xiii]Democracyand Labor Activist Ning Xianhua Released afterSeven Years in PrisonOnDecember 15, labor activist and China Democracy Partyorganizer Ning Xianhua (宁先华) was released from JinzhouPrison, Liaoning Province after serving seven years inprison. He is currently at home with family inShenyang City, Liaoning. Ning was taken into detentionin 2003 for his role as an organizer for a labor unionand the banned China Democracy Party in Liaoning. Hewas originally sentenced to 12 years in prison, buthad his term shortened to seven years on appeal.Ning’s co-defendant in the case, Kong Youping (孔佑平), isserving a 10-year sentence in a prison in Liaoning.(CHRD)[xiv]HubeiPetitioner, Seized in Beijing on Human Rights Day,Remains in DetentionOnDecember 10, Wu Lijuan (伍立娟), a petitioner from QianjiangCity, Hubei Province, was seized near Beijing's SouthTrain Station and taken to Jiujingzhuang, a centralblack jail. She was then transferred to the BeijingLiaison Office of the Qianjiang City government, whichhas kept her under detention at their offices. Wu,former employee of the Hubei provincial branch of theIndustrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), hasbeen petitioning for the last few years after she wasinvolved in labor disputes regarding pay with theICBC. She has also actively participated in protestsorganized by workers of other financial institutions.(CHRD)[xv]Freedomof AssemblyFujianActivists Threatened and Followed after SubmittingProtest ApplicationA group of17 Fujian-based activists have been placed under tightsurveillance and restriction of movement, and somethreatened with Re-education through Labor, after thegroup submitted an application to hold a demonstrationin Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, timed tocoincide with the Asian Para Games between December 12and 20. According to one of the activists, theysubmitted their application to demonstrate againstFujian officials' crackdown on activists andpetitioners to the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau onDecember 7. The group never received an officialresponse, but instead have been harassed by Fujianpolice and followed when leaving their homes. (CHRD)[xvi]Tortureand Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatmentor Punishment HunanMan Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison on Basis ofConfession Extracted by TortureOnDecember 20, CHRD learned of the case of HunanProvince resident He Wenwei (何文伟), who iscurrently serving a 10-year sentence for robbery inHunan's Yongzhou Prison. He stated in a letter that hewas convicted and sentenced to prison on the basis ofa confession extracted by torture: he was seized offthe street on February 21, 2008 by plainclothes policeofficers while out getting his vehicle repaired with afriend. He was taken to Shigu police station inHengyang City, where, over the course of the next 76hours, he was repeatedly slapped, kicked and beaten,handcuffed in various painful positions, burned with acigarette lighter, and not permitted to eat, drink, orsleep. Following this torture he was forced to sign aconfession, at which point he was transferred to theHengyang Number One Detention Center. He was deniedaccess to a lawyer for three months before he wastried and convicted later that year by the HenyangCity Intermediate People's Court, and his sentence wasupheld by the Henan Province High People's Court in2009 following an appeal. CHRD also learned onDecember 20 that officials at Yongzhou Prison calledHe's family to inform them that He is "seriously ill;"however, further details regarding his condition arenot currently available. (CHRD)[xvii]Citizens’ActionsCharter08 Celebrates Two-YearAnniversary, Reaches 12,160 SignaturesOnDecember 9, the two-year anniversary of the release ofCharter 08, organizers announced they hadcompiled the names of the 24th group of signatories tothe charter. The 427 signatories of the group broughtthe total number of signatories to 12,160.Send aBirthday Card to 2010 Nobel Laureate Liu XiaoboDecember28 is imprisoned Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo’s (刘晓波)birthday. To send him a birthday, card, please use thefollowing address:To:Liu XiaoboJinzhouPrison86Nanshanli, Taihe District, Jinzhou, Liaoning, ChinaPostalCode: 121013 刘晓波先生 收辽宁锦州监狱辽宁省锦州市太和区南山里86号邮政编码：121013 Editors:David Smalls and Lin Sang Follow us on Twitter:  @CHRDnetNewsupdates from CHRD

[i]"Prominent Human Rights Activist Wang Lihong ReturnsHome after 18 Days of 'Forced Travel'" (著名维权人士 王荔蕻被旅游18天后回到家中),December 18, 2010, http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012181520.shtml

[ii]"Human Rights Lawyer Zhang Jiankang Returns to Xi'anFollowing 'Forced Travel'" (维权律师张鉴康“被旅游”后回 到西安),December 20, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012201519.shtml

[iii]"Beijing Democracy Activist Li Hai Under IllegalSoft Detention for 46 Days" (北京民主维权人士李海 被非法软禁46天),December 16, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012161527.shtml

[iv]"Citizen Shen Minqiang Still Detained forDistributing Information Regarding Liu Xioabo'sNobel Prize" (公民沈民强宣传刘 晓波获奖被拘留至今无音讯),December 17, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012172344.shtml

[v]"Ten Guizhou Human Rights Defenders Return Home,Three Still Forced to Travel" (贵州10位分人权捍卫者回到家中，三人仍在被旅 游),December 14, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012140144.shtml;"Guizhou Human Rights Activist Chen Xi Returns Home;Internet and Telephone Cut" (贵州维权人士陈西已经回家 网络和电话被切断),December 14, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012141225.shtml

[vi]"Human Rights Lawyer Zhang Kai Pursued by More than10 Unidentified Men in the Middle of the Night" (维权律师张凯半夜遭遇十多名不明身份人士追杀),December 15, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012150128.shtml

[vii]"Many Beijing Activists' Cell Phones Cut Off" (北京多位维权人士的手机又被单项停机), December 20, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012201837.shtml

[viii]"Five Days after Summons, Fan Yafeng Yet to ReturnHome; Church Searched, Wife also Summoned" (范亚峰被传唤走后五天未回，教会被抄、妻子也遭传唤),December 14, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012141554.shtmland "Four Human Rights Activists Taken Away byPolice for Attempting to Visit Fan Yafeng" (探望范亚峰的4名维权人士被警方带走), December 18, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012182330.shtml

[ix]"Judgment in RTL Case of ShanghaiPetitioner-turned-activist Sun Jun" (上海上访维权人士孙军劳教案判决(图)), December 18,2010, http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012181442.shtml

[x]"Guangxi Petitioner Sent to RTL Twice, only 40 DaysApart" (广西访民两度被劳教 间 隔仅40天(图)),December 20, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012201938.shtml

[xi]"Wuhan National Security Officers Seek to AppointLawyer in 'Li Tie Case'" (“李铁案”武汉国保欲指定律师),December 20, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012201726.shtml

[xii]"Inner Mongolia Scholar Hada Completes Sentence;Lack of Concrete Information Leads to Great Interestfrom All Corners" (内蒙学者哈达刑满 后无确切消息引各界广泛关注(图)),December 14, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012142144.shtml

[xiii]"Lawyer Prevented from Meeting with Li Tie Due to'State Secrets'" (李铁案被以“涉密”阻止律师会见),December 14, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012141239.shtml

[xiv]"Liaoning Labor Movement Leader Ning XianhuaReleased from Prison Today" (辽宁工运领袖宁先华今天出狱), December 15, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012151459.shtml

[xv]Hubei Petitioner Wu Lijuan Placed under SoftDetention by Beijing Liaison Office from HumanRights Day until Today" (人权日，湖北访民 伍立娟被驻京办软禁至今(图)),December 16, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012160909.shtml

[xvi]"Fujian Activists Threatened, Placed underSurveillance and Movements Restricted for Applyingto Protest" (福建维权人士因申 请游行受到威胁、监控), December15, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012151306.shtml

[xvii]"Hunan Torture Victim He Wenwei Sends Emergency Callfor Help from Prison" (湖南刑讯逼供案何文伟从监狱发出 紧急呼救(图)),December 20, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012200001.shtml;see also "Hunan Torture Victim He Wenwei's FamilyReceives Notice He is Critically Ill" (湖南刑讯逼供案 何文伟家属收到病 危通知),December 21, 2010, http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/12/201012211838.shtml