China Human Rights Briefing July 27-August 2, 2011

Highlights

• Updates on Detentions and Disappearances Related to the “Jasmine Revolution” Crackdown: The case against Beijing activist Wang Lihong (王荔蕻) is expected to go to trial soon, on the charge of “creating a disturbance,” while potential witnesses for her trial have been intimidated and warned not to testify. In addition, the lawyer Tang Jingling (唐荆陵) was released on August 1 after being held under illegal residential surveillance for over five months.

• Beijing Activist Sent to RTL, Husband Already Serving RTL Term: Wang Yuqin (王玉琴), a Beijing rights defender, was ordered in early July to spend six months in Re-education through Labor (RTL). This follows a 14-day administrative detention, after which she went out of contact. Wang’s punishments are likely related to her advocacy on behalf of her activist husband, Yang Qiuyu (杨秋雨), who was sent to RTL for two years in April.

ContentsArbitraryDetention

• Updates on Detentions and Disappearances Related to the “Jasmine Revolution” Crackdown
• Beijing Activist Sent to RTL for Advocating for Detained Husband
• Xinjiang-Based Activist’s “Inciting Subversion” Case Sent Back Again for Investigation

Harassmentof Activists

• Security Officer Physically Assaults Rights Defender Liu Feiyue
• Democracy Rights Activist Luo Yongquan Beaten by Unidentified Individuals

ArbitraryDetentionUpdates on Detentions andDisappearances Related to the “Jasmine Revolution”Crackdown Activist Wang Lihong CaseHeadingto Trial on “Creating Disturbance” Charge, PotentialWitnesses Threatened OnAugust 1, lawyers for Wang Lihong (王荔蕻), the detained Beijingactivist,received the indictment documentation for her upcomingtrial and also met withher in detention. Proceedings are expected to beginsoon in the No. 2 ChaoyangDistrict People’s Court. The indictment states thecharge against Wang is“creating a disturbance,” though it had previouslybeen reported as “gatheringa crowd to disrupt traffic order,” and stems from her involvement in peaceful protestsoutside the sentencing hearingfor three netizens (the “Fujian Three”) in FuzhouCity, Fujian Province inApril 2010. Article 293 in China’s Criminal Lawstipulates that, once adefendant is convicted of “creating a disturbance,” acourt can hand down asentence up to five years, while a “disrupting trafficorder” conviction mayentail a lighter sentence.* Lawyers LiuXiaoyuan (刘晓原), who just last weekpassed the annuallawyers inspection after an extended delay, and Han Yicun (韩一村) met with Wangat the Chaoyang Detention Center, where she has beenheld since March. Wang indicatedto them that her state of mind is fine but that she’ssuffering from lingeringhealth problems and has trouble sleeping. Policealso have reportedly threatened several individualspreparing to testify insupport of Wang, including Jiangxi activist ChenMaosen (陈茂森), who told CHRD thathe traveled toBeijing to support Wang but returned to Jiangxibecause of police pressure.Police have also warned Wu Gan (吴淦, aka “Butcher”[屠夫]) and the filmmaker He Yang (何杨) not to testify.He’s documentary, “Herzog Days,” about the “FujianThree” and advocacy efforts wagedon their behalf, includes footage and an interviewwith Wang Lihong. Beijingpolice also have warned other activists not to testifyand to cease actions insupport of Wang. (CHRD)[i] Lawyer TangJingling Released After Five Months of IllegalDetention CHRDhas learned that, on August 2, TangJingling (唐荆陵), a Guangzhou-basedrights defenselawyer who has been under illegal residentialsurveillance for over fivemonths, was released and sent back to his hometown inHubei Province. His wife,Wang Yanfang (汪燕芳), informedlawyer Liang Xiaojun (梁小军) about her husband’srelease, and addedthat authorities are not allowing Tang to return toGuangzhou and, as aconsequence, she has not seen him. She also said thatthe tight surveillancearound their Guangzhou home had been lifted on thesame day as Tang’s release.CHRD is unable to contact Tang and his wife directly,and could not confirmwhether Tang is actually free in his hometown, norlearn about his treatmentduring detention and the state of his health. Tangwas taken into custody on February 22 on suspicion of“inciting subversion ofstate power” (煽动颠覆国家政权罪), allegedly forpossessingpro-democracy posters. On March 2, he was taken backto his home by policeofficers who searched the premises, and days later hiswife learned that Tanghad been placed under residential surveillance in anunknown location. Tang’sfamily, friends, and lawyer were not able to contacthim or learn anyinformation about him even after finding out that hewas detained at the DashiPolice Training Center (大石民警培训中心) in Guangzhou’sPanyu District. Since Tang has a home in Guangzhou,holding him underresidential surveillance in this outside locationbreached Article 57 of China’sCriminal Procedure Law, which requires that a suspectunder residentialsurveillance must be held either at home or at adesignated dwelling if theyhave no permanent residence. (CHRD)[ii]BeijingActivist Sent to RTL forAdvocating for Detained HusbandWang Yuqin (王玉琴), a Beijing rightsdefender andvolunteer with Citizens’ Rights and Livelihood Watch(CRLW) who went missing amonth ago after serving 14 days of administrative detention, was ordered in earlyJuly to spend six monthsin Re-education through Labor (RTL), according toinformation received on July27 by CRLW. Wang’s back-to-back detentions appear tobe linked to advocacyefforts on behalf of her activist husband, YangQiuyu (杨秋雨), who is now serving atwo-year term atthe Beijing Xin’an RTL facility. After Wang learnedthat her husband was sentto RTL on April 13, she repeatedly sought explanationsfor his detention, fileda lawsuit against the Beijing Municipal RTL Committee,and also applied forpermission to hold a demonstration. On June 16, Wangwas taken into custodyafter she had gone to the Public Order Management Unitof the Beijing PublicSecurity Bureau to apply to hold a symposium on theRTL system, and given a 14-dayadministrative detention just prior to her RTL term. Wang’shusband, Yang Qiuyu, was taken into custody on March 6as part of the “JasmineRevolution” crackdown, allegedly for takingphotographs, and then criminallydetained the next day on suspicion of “creating adisturbance.” On April 13, hewas ordered to serve two years of RTL. (CRLW)[iii]Xinjiang-BasedActivist’s “Inciting Subversion” Case Sent BackAgain for Investigation OnAugust 1, the case against Hu Jun (胡军), a physicallydisabled activist andpetitioner from Xinjiang under residentialsurveillance on suspicion of“inciting subversion of state power,” was sent backfor further investigationby the Changji Hui Autonomous PrefectureProcuratorate. The procuratoratenotified the Beijing Mo Shaoping Law Firm (北京莫少平律师事务所), whichrepresents Hu, that it has sent the case back—for thesecond time—to theChangji Prefecture Public Security Bureau (PSB) due toinsufficient evidence. Under Chinese law, thecase must be either accepted forprosecution after this second-time supplementaryinvestigation or be dismissed.Hu was put under residential surveillance on May 9 bythe Changji PrefecturePSB, and his case was transferred to the procuratoratetwo days later. Whenlawyer Shang Baojun (尚宝军) of the Mo Shaoping LawFirm went to Changji in early June,he learned that Hu’s case had been sent back forinvestigation for the firsttime. Inthe mid-1990s, while serving a two-year prisonsentence for “fraud,” Hu wassent to Xiaba Lake Prison Mine and injured in anaccident that left himpermanently disabled. To avoid responsibility, ChangjiPrison imprisoned Hubeyond his sentence to wait for him to get better.Hu escaped fromprison several times and petitioned the government forcompensation, only to beintercepted, beaten, and sent back to prison. Hu wasfinally released inDecember of 2008 after his case was exposed online,and he has since joined agroup advocating for human rights. (HRCC)[iv]Harassmentof Activists SecurityOfficer Physically AssaultsRights Defender Liu Feiyue On the afternoon ofJuly 31, Liu Feiyue (刘飞跃), a human rightsadvocate based in Suizhou City, Hubei Province, andfounder of Civil Rights andLivelihood Watch (CRLW), was stopped while bicyclingand beaten by a securityguard, Zou Chuangang (邹传钢), who is charged withmonitoring him.Zou was riding a motorcycle when he stopped Liu alonga road. Zou asked Liu ifhe was “up to no good again” and then struck him. Asthey scuffled, Zou took arock and hit Liu several times on his chest and waist.Liu called for help, andsome passers-by eventually came over and stopped theattack. Once back home, Liufound scars and bruises on his chest and hands fromthe assault. Two nationalsecurity police from the Zengdu District branch of theSuizhou Public SecurityBureau (PSB) then came to his home to “visit,”reportedly after Zou had calledthem. Liu later went with his wife to the SuizhouEconomic Development Zonebranch of the PSB—where personnel made out a reportbut did not file the incidentfor investigation after they learned Liu’sidentify—and went to a hospital tohave his injuries checked out. Liu, who had beenquestioned by Zouthe previous day, believed the beating was linked toZou’s suspicion that Liuwas planning to meet with others to commemorate thevictims of the railwayaccident that occurred on July 23 in Wenzhou City,Zhejiang Province. Accordingto Liu, Zou had also beat him on another occasion—inDecember of 2010, when Liuhad tried to visit the Wuhan dissident QinYongmin(秦永敏)at the Xingouqiao Police Station after Qin had beentaken into custody. (CRLW)[v]DemocracyRights Activist Luo YongquanBeaten by Unidentified IndividualsOnJuly 24, longtime democracy activist LuoYongquan (罗勇泉) was beaten by threeunidentifiedindividuals at the Jinxiongying Hotel,his currentworkplace, in Nanxiong City, Guangdong Province. Apoet, Charter 08 signatory, andmember of the banned China DemocracyParty, Luo was released this May after two years inRe-education through Labor(RTL) for allegedly publishing poems critical of theParty and the government.On the day of the attack, the three assailants went tothe hotel, where Luoworks as a caretaker of the pool, and asked for him atthe reception desk. Luowas then summoned to the desk by the receptionist,whereupon the men, afterconfirming Luo’s identity, proceeded to beat him. Hiscolleagues came to hisaid and pulled him away, and Luo was not badlyinjured; he suffered a swolleneye and his glasses were broken. He sent a messageabout the attack to activistLiu Shasha (刘沙沙) and then called thepolice. Whenofficers arrived at the scene, they only took downLuo’s name and address andmade no further inquiries before sending Luo on hisway. (CRLW)[vi] Editorsof this issue: Victor Clemens and Renee Xia  Follow us on Twitter: @CHRDnet Joinus on Facebook: CHRDnet (NEW!)News updatesfrom CHRD[i] “SpecialAttention: Wang Lihong Criminal Charge Changed Backto ‘Creating aDisturbance,’” (特别关注：王荔蕻案涉嫌罪名再变回“寻衅滋事”), August 1,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_1848.html; “Case AgainstWang Lihong Going to Court, Many Willing toTestify,” (王荔蕻案将移送法院，多人愿为其出庭作证),July 17, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-post_17.html; [*Article293in Criminal Law:《刑法》第二百九十三条寻衅滋事罪，该法条有下列寻衅滋事行为之一，破坏社会秩序的，处五年以下有期徒刑、拘役或者管制：（一）随意殴打他人，情节恶劣的；（二）追逐、拦截、辱骂他人，情节恶劣的；（三）强拿硬要或者任意损毁、占用公私财物，情节严重的；（四）在公共场所起哄闹事，造成公共场所秩序严重混乱的。]  “SeveralWilling To Testify in Wang Lihong CaseThreatened,” (王荔蕻案中多位愿出庭作证者被警告), July 26, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-post_1824.html; “CaseAgainst Wang Lihong Going to Court, Many Willing toTestify,” (王荔蕻案将移送法院，多人愿为其出庭作证),July 17,2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-post_17.html [ii] “GuangzhouRights Defense Lawyer TangJingling Sent Back to Hubei Hometown,” (广州维权律师唐荆陵被送回湖北老家), August 2, 2011, http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_9127.html “IndividualsAffected by the Crackdown Following Call for‘Jasmine Revolution,’” August 2,2011 (updated), http://chrdnet.org/2011/06/17/jasmine_crackdown/  [iii] “Beijing RightsDefender, CRLW Volunteer Wang Yuqin Sent to RTL,” (北京维权人士、民生观察志愿者王玉琴被劳教), July 27,2011, http://www.msguancha.com/Article/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=14487; “BeijingRights Defense Activist Wang Yuqin Given 14 Days’Administrative Detention,” (北京维权人士王玉琴被行政拘留十四天), June 16, 2011,http://www.msguancha.com/Article/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=14344         [iv] “HuJun ‘Subversion of State Power’ Case GoesBack Second Time to Public Security,” (胡军涉嫌“煽颠政权”案第二次被退回公安), August 1,2011,  http://rightscampaign.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post.html  [v] “Suizhou, HubeiRights Defender Once Again Fiercely Beaten byMonitoring Personnel,” (湖北随州监控人员再次行凶殴打维权人士), August 1, 2011, http://www.msguancha.com/Article/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=14501        [vi] “Guangdong Dissident Luo Yongquan BeatbyUnidentified Individuals,” (广东异议人士罗勇泉被不明身份者殴打), July 27,2011, http://www.msguancha.com/Article/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=14485