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1. Wang Fengmei, female, resident of Lai Yang, Shandong Province. In 2003, Wang Fengmai complained to several Beijing Ministries and the State Council Petition Bureau about the frequent occurrence of arbitrary detention in Yantai City, Shandong. She began to investigate the Petitioner Education Center in Yanta, an illegal detention center. She discovered that for the last 10 years over 1,000 people had been illegally detained there, with abuse ranging from beatings to various methods of torture. She talked with China Central Television about the abuses. CCTV investigated the allegations of abuse themselves, but it was never reported.
Wang, along with Xing Jianxin, proceeded to investigate illegal detention centers in Laiyang and Zhaoyuan cities in Shandong Province, where there were reports of petitioner persecution. On several occasions Wang contacted national and international media.
In March 2005, Wang went to Yuquanshan (where top Chinese party officials convene) with two dozen petitioners and appealed for government attention to petitioner’s complaints. Wang was subsequently detained by the Laiyang Public Security Bureau on criminal charges of “disturbing traffic order”, but the court rejected the charge on lack evidence. Directly after her detainment she was forced by Shandong police into re-education through labor for 1 year and 9 months. Wang is currently detained in RTL Center #1 (the only RTL center for females) on Jiangshuiquan Road number 20, Lixiaqu District, Jinnan City, Shandong Province.
2. Xing Jianshen, male, age 34, born in Longkou, Shandong Province. In 2002, Xing openly demanded the Longkou government fairly compensate farmers for land confiscation after his land and others’ was taken by the Longkou government. Due to his mobilization and campaign work, Xing was elected village representative in July 2002. As village representative, he continued his petitioning at the national level in Beijing. In August 3, 2003 he was arrested in Beijing by Longkou City Police as well as the party chief of Longkou. He was then detained in the Yantai Petitioner Education Center, in Shandong Province for 94 days without any legal procedure or charges filed against him. After Xing’s release he began to report about illegal detention facilities. In 2004 he met with a China Central Television journalist and discussed the numerous abuses that occur at Yantai Petition Education Center.
From September 14, 2004 to October 2, 2004 local government officials, police and gangsters hired by the Longkou government blocked the door of Xing’s home in Longkou so that he could not leave or communicate with anyone. Xing was further prevented from leaving by guards placed outside his home with weapons. His brother was beaten up by local government police because of Xing’s activism. After his release Xing fled to Beijing where he continues to petition. He is afraid to return home for fear of further abuse by the local government.
3. Li Yuhai, male, age 40, resident of Maili Village, Huzong Township, Taihe County, Anhui Province. Li is a petitioner leader who provided information about petitioners to human rights organizations, such as the Empowerment and Rights Institute and Human Rights Watch. Li also discussed cases of human rights violations with foreign journalists at Kyoto News, and many Western news outlets. Li helped petitioners to find housing and facilitated the transmission of food, clothes, bedding and other goods and services to petitioners in Beijing’s petitioner village -where thousands of petitioners live while their cases are ongoing. Li also participated in many discussions with civil society groups in China such as the Open Constitution Initiative on how to improve the petition system and protect petitioner rights.
Li was kidnapped on July 2, 2005, by the State Security Bureau of Beijing and held for 16 days without formal charges. During his captivity he severely beaten up, deprived of sleep, provided with inadequate food, verbally abused, and forced to endure a freezing environment for an extended period of time without proper clothing. None of his captors revealed their identity other than that they worked for the State Security Bureau of Beijing. After his release he required major surgery and his captors threatened that if he told his story to anyone he would face further abuse and torture.
4. Zou Zhiqian, male. Zou Campaigned for farmer’s rights including anti-corruption and arbitrary taxation. Because of his activism Zou was elected Chief of Liaoyuan Village, Hengyang City, Hunan Province in 1999. Zou then mobilized farmers to refuse to pay arbitrary taxation levied by Qulan Township. As a result, Zou was illegally removed as Village Chief by township party leaders.
In February, 2002, a dispute broke out between two families in Liaoyuan, leaving one person dead. As a respected figure in the village, the victim’s family went to Zou for arbitration. Zou campaigned for fair compensation to township officials on behalf of the victim’s family. In retaliation for Zou’s earlier campaign against arbitrary township taxation, township authorities ignored his request for victim’s compensation and instead blamed him for “inciting social disorder”. The township police tried to arrest him, but several dozen villagers came to his aid. A clash broke out between the villagers and the township police. Two farmers were arrested and one was sentenced to one year in prison. Zou fled to Beijing to petition, but was arrested in December 2003. He was formally charged with “inciting public disorder” and spent a year and a half in prison.
5. Li Xiaocheng, male. In July 2004, Li began to widely distribute thousands of letters of protest which included complaints about the endemic abuse found in the petitioning system, the violations of petitioner’s human rights, and corruption in the communist party. He submitted a request for a 10,000 person protest to the Beijing Police. As a result, he was arrested on August 7, 2004 by the Beijing Police and taken back to his hometown in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and imprisoned. He currently remains in prison and is being held incommunicado.
6. Ye Guozhu, male. Ye owned two restaurants in Beijing. Both were razed in 2001, as was his home in the Yongdingmen district of the city in May 2003, to make way for construction to support the 2008 Olympics.
By 2003 Ye had become a prominent activist in Beijing. In August 2004 Ye applied for permission to organize a 10,000 person protest march against the wave of forced evictions that has driven large numbers of Beijing people from their homes in recent years. In late August Ye was arrested for “inciting social disorder”. In late November, when the Dongcheng City Court first heard Ye's case, 20 supporters were detained or placed under house arrest so they could not be present at the proceedings. Three weeks later the court re-adjourned and sentenced Ye to four years in jail. He is currently being held at Chadianzi Prison, Tianjin.
7. Lin Ruiming, male, age 47, born in Xiazhuang Village, Xujiagou Township, Anyang County, Hunan Province. Lin actively petitioned and reported in Beijing about the abuse of public property, corruption and illegal land transactions. For his activism Lin suffered persecution and retaliation by the Anyang government and Anyang County Police. Lin was arrested on April 10, 2003 and brought back from Beijing to Anyang. Lin was incarcerated at Anyang Administrative Detention Center on charges of “inciting social disruption”. During this time the court and the public prosecutor rejected the charges on lack of evidence. Lin was then sentenced to 1 year and 6 months by Anyang Reeducation Through Labor Committee for “disturbing the social order”.
During the time Lin was in RTL he was elected as Chief of Xiazhuang village. When Lin appealed for reduced charges the Anyang County Government moved his case to the Anyang City Court and sentenced Lin to three years imprisonment. Consequently, Lin not only lost his individual rights, but also lost his right to function as the chief of Xiazhuang village. Nearly 1,000 people petitioned to the County government for the release of Lin and reinstatement of his rightful position as village chief. Lin is currently being held at the Anyang County Prison.
8. Zhang Tingfu, male, age 58, born in Dangxi Village, Dangjiazhuang Township, Shizhong District, Jinan City, Shandong Province. Zhang spent numerous years campaigning for farmer’s welfare and rights, such as land confiscation, anti-corruption, and village/ township government accountability. Zhang was elected as chief of Dangxi village in March 2003. His continuous campaign angered village and township government and party officials. The village party secretary sent hired gangsters to attack Zhang. Zhang was stabbed once in his stomach.
Later, Zhang led the village farmers in a lawsuit against illegal township government land confiscation. While campaigning as chief, the township government repeatedly threatened Zhang with arrest and he received several death threats from individuals related to the township government.
During the Dangxi village election in May, 2005 the township government tampered with balloting, and prevented fair monitoring, thus precluding Zhang’s ability to effectively campaign. In August 2005, Township leaders filed a lawsuit against Zhang for his refusal to vacate his office and submit to the results of the “election”. Zhang faces possible criminal charges and illegal imprisonment.
9. Yang Zaixin, male, age 52. Yang is a lawyer from Hepu County, Guangxi Province. On September 9, 2005 Yang departed for Zhuangtou Village, Chencun Township, Shunde District, Foshan City, Guangdong Province on behalf of Empowerment and Rights Institute to represent a case which involved the confiscation of 800 mu of farmer’s land, affecting 1,500 people. 10 minutes after Yang used his cellphone to call farmer leaders on his way to Zhuangtou Village he was arrested by Guangdong Provincial Police and detained for 24 hours. The police then escorted Yang to the airport to fly back to Beijing. Instead Yang returned to Zhuangtou to resume his campaign for return of the farmer’s land. After his return, the Guangdong police began to search for him throughout the Foshan and Guangzhou areas. On September 13, Police tracked him to Zhuangtou and approximately one hundred police officers surrounded the house where he was staying. After several hundred farmers came to his aid Yang managed to escape. As of September 14, 2005 Yang remained in hiding.
10. Luo Yongzhong, male, age 37, born in Changchun City, Jilin Province. Luo worked as a storekeeper. Luo published over 150 articles critical of the government on the internet. On June 14, 20003 Luo was arrested by the Changchun Public Security Bureau. He was formally tried on March 22, 2004 at the Jilin Provincial high court and charged with “inciting activities endangering state security”. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment.
11. Zhao Changqing, male, age 36, resident of Shanyang County, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province. Zhao graduated with a B.A. from the history department of Shaanxi Normal University in 1992. Zhao worked as a freelance writer and high school teacher. Zhao wrote and published articles online openly calling for political reform addressed to the 16 th National Party Congress. Zhao was secretly arrested on Nov 7, 2002. He was formally arrested on December 27, 2002 by Xi’an Public Security Buruea of Shaanxi Province. Zhao was tried on August 4, 2003 by the Xi’an Middle Court of Shaanxi and charged with, “inciting activities endangering state security”. He was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. He is currently imprisoned at Weinan Prison, Shaanxi province. His house has deteriorated while in prison. Zhao also suffers from serious Tuberculosis, but has not been received proper medical treatment while in prison. His family has not been allowed to contact him.
12. Huang Qi, male, age 42, born in Neijiang City, Sichuan Province. Resident of Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. Huang is a college graduate. He runs www.6-4tianwang.com, a consultancy firm in chengdu city. Huang allowed overseas dissidents to publish articles in memory of the Tiananmen Square Incident of 1989 on his website. Huang was arrested on June 5, 2000 by the Chengdu Public Security Bureau of Sichuan province. He was formally tried by the Sichuan High Court on May 9, 2003. He was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment on charges of “inciting activities that endanger state security”. Huang was sent to Sichuan Prison #1 in Nanchong City. Huang suffered from torture during his imprisonment. He was released on June 4, 2005.
13. Wu Yilong, male, age 38, born in Tongcheng City, Anhui Province. Resident of Hanzhou City of Zhejiang Province. Wu received a B.A. from Anhui University and was a college professor. Wu was arrested in 1999 while pursuing his Masters Degree at Zhejinag University. He was placed under house arrest from April 28, 1999 until he was formally arrested on September 15, 1999 by the Hanzhou Public Security Bureau of Zhejiang Province. Together with Zhu Yufu, Mao Qingxiang, and Xu Guang, Wu created and ran a magazine called the Opposition Party (Zai Ye Dang), which was used to advocate for the China Democracy Party. Wu often published articles on the internet advocating for the CDP. He also emailed with overseas dissident groups. Wu was formally tried by the Zhejiang High Court on December 18, 1999. He was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment. He is currently held at Zhejiang Prison #1 in Hanzhou.
14. Yang Tongyan, male, age 44, born in Siyang County of Jiangsu Province. Yang is a resident of Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province. He received his B.A. from Beijing Normal University in 1982. Yang worked as a teacher, public servant and also as a freelance writer. He published articles critical of the government. Yang was taken away by the Nanjing Public Security Bureau of Jiangsu Province on the December 24, 2004 and formally arrested on December 25, 2004. He was accused of “inciting activities endangering state security”. Yang was detained at Bixia Detention Center of the Nanjing PSB. He was released on January 25, 2005 on a probationary basis for one year.
15. Gao Qinrong, male, age 50, resident of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. Gao receved an M.A. from Shanxi University in 1997. He worked as a journalist at the Xinghua news agency in Shanxi. Gao was editor of Shanxi Youth Newspaper. He wrote numerous articles exposing local government corruption. Gao was arrested on December 4, 1998 by the Yuncheng Public Security Buruea of Shanxi Province. He was formerly tried on May 4, 1999 by the Yanhu District Court of Yuncheng City Shanxi Province and charged with bribery, involvement in the prostitution business and fraud. Gao was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment at Jinzhong Prison in Qixian County, Shanxi Province. He suffers from illness but has been denied proper medical attention.
16. Kong Youping, male, age 50, born in Anshan City, Liaoning Province. A Freelance writer, he was arrested on Dec 13, 2003 in Shenyang city, capital of Liaoning province by the Shenyang Public Security Bureau for publishing articles online critical of the local government for its policy of dealing with laid off workers. Kong also attempted to unionize workers, many from the Anshan Steel Factory. He was not formally charged until 16 December 2004, over a year after his arrest. He was tried in the Shenyang Middle Court, and found guilty of “endangering state security” and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
17. Hu Shigen, male, age 51, formally a professor of Chinese Literature at Beijing Language and Culture Institute. He was arrested on 27 May 1992 by Beijing Public Security Bureau; accused of organizing a Chinese liberal Democracy Party and a workers union. He drafted guidelines for a Democratic Party and a constitution and also organized a memorial commemorating the 4 June 1989 incident in Tiananmen Square. Hu was formally tried on 14 June 1995, 3 years after being detained; charged with “organizing an anti revolutionary group and disturbing the social order”. Sentenced by the Beijing High Court for 20 years imprisonment he is currently in the Beijing # 2 prison in Chaoyang district. Hu has been tortured in prison and has suffered broken fingers, which were not treated properly and now are disfigured. Torture has also resulted in serious liver, heart stomach, and ear illnesses; as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
18. Ghang Lin, male, age 42, born in Bengbu City, Anhui province. A freelance writer, Ghang has a BS in physics from Tsinghua University in Beijing. He was arrested on 25 January 2004 after writing and distributing a total of 92 articles deemed “dissident” by the local government. Ghang was tried on 21 June 2005 by Gungbu Middle Court in Anhui province and found guilty of “disturbing the social order and endangering state security.” Ghang is currently imprisoned in Detention Center # 1 in Bengbu City.
19. Xu Wangping, male, age 44, a freelance writer was arrested for the third time on 30 April 2005 in Chongqing City, southwest China. He had published articles online that were critical of the government’s violent oppression of protestors, also calling for political reform and the protection of civil rights. He has been accused of “disturbing the social order and endangering state security”. Xu is currently detained in Chongqing Public Security Bureau, still waiting formal charges and trial. Xu was previously imprisoned for 8 years from 1990-1998 for organizing a political party China Action and also imprisoned from 1999-2002 for his role in the organization of the China Democracy Party.
20. Ouwang Yi, male, age 37, born in Suining City, Sichuan Province. He was arrested on 5 December 2002 by Chengdu Public Security Bureau of Sichuan province. Ouwang wrote open letters to the national government’s 16 th Party Congress in Beijing, calling for democracy and constitutionalism. He was held for more than 2 years and then formally charged on 16 March 2004 with “disturbing the social order and endangering state security”. He was sentenced for 2 years and subsequently released on 4 December 2004.
21. He Depu,male, age 49, former writer for the Beijing Social Science Academy, but was fired in March 2000 for speaking and writing critically about the Chinese government. Placed under house arrest on 5 November 2002, and formally arrested on 27 January 2003 by Beijing Public Security Bureau. He was accused of “disturbing the social order and endangering state security”. He was held incommunicado and formally charged on 20 December 2003 by the Beijing High Court. He was eventually tried on 6 November 2003 and sentenced to 8 years imprisonment. He is currently imprisoned in Beijing #2 prison in Choayang District. In prison, he has suffered from various diseases, including high blood pressure, liver disease, frequent headaches, and has lost a significant amount of his hearing. He is currently still in jail.
22. Qin Yonmin,male, age 52, born in Wuhan, Hubei province. Employed at Caidian Plastic factory in Wuhan city; also editor in Chief of China Human Rights Monitor and organizer of the Hubei branch of the China Democracy Party Qin was arrested by the Wuhan Public Security Bureau on 30 November 1998 and tried by the Wuhan Middle Court on 21 December 1998. He was charged with “disturbing the social order and endangering state security” and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Qin is currently being detained in Han Yang Prison in Wuhan. Since his imprisonment, his health has seriously deteriorated. Qin suffers from heart, stomach, and liver disease and has become partially blind. Not once during his imprisonment has Qin received any medical care or treatment for his illnesses.
23. Li Baiguang, male, age 37, BA in philosophy, Master in Political Science and Doctorate in Constitutional Law. Li is a legal scholar, writer, social activist and director of the Beijing Enlightenment Research Center. He has lead recall election campaigns in Tang Shan City and Qinhuang City in Hebei Province and in Fu’an City in Fujian Province. Li has assisted farmers engaged in recall elections in advocacy, media campaigning and technical and legal support. After exposing corruption by government officials in Fu’an, he was arrested on 14 December 2004 and detained at the Fu’an Public Security Bureau’s detention center. During detention, Li was forced to endure extremely cold temperatures and not given enough food or treatment when he became sick. His family was forced to pay a bribe over 100,000 Yuan ($12,077) to the prison for his release. He was never formally charged and was set free after 37 days.
24. Huang Jinqiu, male, age 31, born in Yancheng City, Shandong Province. Huang has a BA in Literature and from Beijing Luxun Literature College, a BA in Communication from Malaysian Central Arts College and a BA in Telecommunication from Lincoln University of Great Britain. Huang is a freelance writer and a journalist for Boxun, an overseas Chinese news website. He was arrested on 13 September 2003 by the Changzhou Public Security bureau of Jiangsu province. He was charged with “activities openly critical of the government” due to the articles he published on the internet and “endangering state security” because of his lead role in organizing the Patriotic China Democratic Party. Huang was sentenced on 27 September 2004 by Changzhou Middle court of Jiangsu province and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
25. Liu Xinbin, male, age 37, born in Suining City, Sichuan Province. Graduate of the China People’s University of Beijing. Liu is a freelance writer and activist who was arrested on 7 July 1999 by the Suining Public Security Bureau of Sichuan province. Liu wrote articles critical of the government in the publication China Human Rights Watch and organized a signature campaign calling political reform and for the release of political prisoners. Liu also participated in the organization of the Chinese Democracy Party. He was sentenced on 6 August 1999 by Suining Middle Court, convicted of “endangering state security” and sentenced to prison for the 4 th time, this time for 13 years. Liu was also imprisoned in 1989 for activities related to the 4 June incident, imprisoned from 1990-1992 for organizing students to discuss the 4 June incident and publishing articles critical of the government’s handling of the student movement in 1989; and imprisoned in 1996 for his advocacy work to release political prisoners.
26. Chen Yangdin, male, age 38, a resident of Beijing and editor of an underground magazine Iron Stream (Tie Lieu). He was arrested on 13 September 1990 for “organizing an anti revolution group and disturbing the social order”. Chen was tried 5 March 1991 by the Beijing Middle Court and sentenced 15 yrs imprisonment. He was released on 12 April 2005, but developed liver disease while in prison.
27. Liu Jingsheng, male, age 51, resident of Beijing and an editor of a magazine promoting democracy, Exploration. He was arrested by the Beijing Public Security Bureau on 28 May 1991 with Hu Shigen for organizing the China Liberal Democratic Party, organizing a proprietary committee for a workers union, and distributing pro-democracy leaflets. Liu was tried on 14 June 1992 by the Beijing High Court, charged with “disturbing the social order” and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. He was held in Beijing #1 prison in Daxing district. While in prison Liu developed high blood pressure and stomach disease; he was released on 22 November 2004.
28. Mao Qingxing, male, age 56, resident of Hangzhou, Zhejian province and editor of Opposition Party and Zi Jiang Chao, both pro democracy magazines with Zhu Yufu, Wu Lilong and Xu Gung. Mao was arrested on 25 June 1999 by the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau of Zhejian province. He was tried 18 December 1999 by the Zhejian High Court and sentenced to 8 years imprisonment for “endangering state security.” He is currently imprisoned in Zhejian # 1 prison in Hangzhou.
29. Xu Gung, male, age 37, resident of Fu Yang city in Zhejian province. Xu has a BA in biology from Hangzhou University, and was an engineer at Fu Yang Environmental Protection Agency of Zhejian province. He was also an editor of the pro democracy magazine, Opposition Party. He was arrested in May of 1999 by the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau of Zhejian province and tried on 18 December 1999 with Mao Qingxing,Zhu Yufu, Wu Lilong and Xu Gung by the Zhejian High Court. Xu was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for “endangering state security” and was held in Zhejian # 1 prison before being released on 19 September 2004.
30. Shi Tao, male, age 38, born in Yangchi City, Lingxia Autonomous Region, resident of Taiyang city, Shanxi province. Shi received a BA from East China Normal University in 1991 and worked as a freelance writer, journalist and poet. He was arrested on 24 November 2004 by the Public Security Bureau of Hunan province and held incommunicado for 7 months until his trail on 2 June 2005 by the Hunan Provincial High Court, accused of “distributing articles on internet that endangered state security”. Shi was convicted of “providing state secrets to foreigners”. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and is currently being held in the Hunan State Security center in Changsha, Hunan province.
31. Zhao Yan, male, age 43, born in Ha’erbin, Heilongjiang province. A resident of Beijing, Zhao graduated from the Chinese Literature University of Heilongjiang province in 1985 and became a journalist for China Reform Magazine. He wrote numerous articles exposing corruption in municipalities throughout China, fostered legal aid between farmers and lawyers and assisted in filing a lawsuit against the national state council, accusing them of failing to offer legal protection against victims of assault by the Supreme Court police. Zhao was also director of a legal service NGO called Justice Sword (Zheng Yi Jian) and later worked in the local research department for the New York Times. Zhao initiated several recall election campaigns in Qihunagdao and Tangshan Cities in Heibei province and Fu’an city in Fujian province as well as in several other cities. Under surveillance by Beijing State Security Bureau for several years, Zhao was often followed and harassed by police. He was arrested in August 2004 by the Public Security Bureau of Beijing in Shanghai. After his arrest, he was accused of “selling state secrets to foreigners” when he reported a high level government personal change. He has been held incommunicado over a year since his detention in August 2004, without being formally charged or having a trail date scheduled. He is being held in the State Security detention center in Beijing.
32. Wang Jinbo, male, age 33, resident of Linyi City in Shandong province, received a BS in applied chemistry from East China Geology University in 1995. Wang is a freelance writer and was arrested on 9 May 2001 by the Linyi Public Security Bureau of Shandong province. Wang had published several articles on the internet calling for the national government to reinvestigate the 4 June 1989 incident in Tiananmen Square. Wang also argued for recognition of the China Democracy Party, and wrote several other articles generally critical of the Chinese government. He was tried on 13 December 2001 by the Linyi Middle Court in Shandong province, charged with “disturbing the social order and endangering state security”. Wang was sentenced to 4 years in prison and was held in Shandong # 1 prison. While in prison, Wang was beaten several times and often locked in solitary confinement. Wang went on a hunger strike to protest the abuse, and has since been released.
33. Ma Yalian, female, age 42, resident of Shanghai and employed at a mechanical tool factory. She was arrested on 19 February 2004 by the Shanghai Public Security Bureau. As a petitioner, she published articles exposing abuse of power and corruption by local police, the violation of house and property rights, and the physical abuse of petitioners. She also assisted other petitioners affected by forced evictions. On 16 March 2004 it was decided by the Shanghai Labor Administrative Committee that Ma was guilty of “disturbing the social order” and sentenced to 18 months Reeducation through Labor. She was released on 18 August 2005.
34. Yue Tianxiang, male, age 49, resident of Tianshui City in Gansu province and editor of China Labor Watch, where he advocated for labor rights and exposed corruption in State Owned Enterprises. Yue joined the China Democracy Party and widely distributed China Labor Watch material. He was arrested on 11 January 1999 by the Tianshui Public Security Bureau of Gansu province and tried on 29 December 1999 by the Gansu High Court. He was convicted of “endangering state security” and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. He is currently being held in Gansu provincial # 2 prison.
35. Ma Xiaoming, male, age 54, worked as chief editor at the Shaanxi provincial TV center. He was demoted as chief editor after he supported the 1989 student movement by broadcasting it on TV; and was eventually fired in 1998 after he openly resigned from the Chinese Communist Party and participated in the China Democracy Party. Ma spent many years helping petitioners through internet advocacy and was arrested in May 2005 while on his way to conduct interviews with petitioners by the Xi’an Public Security Bureau. He was sentenced to one year of Reeducation through Labor in Zhouzhi RTL center in Xi’an, Shaanxi province.
36. Zheng Mingfang, female, resident of Tianjin. Zheng became a housing rights activist after her family’s house was destroyed to make way for development. Zheng lost hope while petitioning because no government agency would address her issue or the issues of those in similar situations. Together with Ye Guozhu, Zheng became involved in many activities where petitioners protested together in groups. She was sentenced to two years Reeducation Through Labor by the Tianjin RTL Committee.
37. Wu Bei, female. Professor at China Science and Technology University. After witnessing the Tiananmen Square Incident in 1989 Wu began collecting evidence and assisting Tiananmen Mothers and other victims. She has provided various social and psychological assistance. During her work Wu was constantly under verbal threat and harassment. To escape persecution Wu decided to emigrate to the United Kingdom in 2000. She returned in 2002 and began to participate in activities intended to improve education standards for disadvantaged groups and environmental protection. She is constantly watched and is placed under house arrest when significant political events take place in China.
38. Zhao Xin, male, age 37, born in Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province. Zhao has advocated for AIDS victims, and been involved in numerous activities to support petitioners such as writing articles and offering legal advice. Zhao also assists victims of the Tiananmen Incident by collecting testimonies and evidence and raising funds for the support of victim’s families. He has also been involved in the China Democratic Party.
Zhao was a student leader during the protests at Tiananmen in 1989 and was arrested for the first time on June 17, 1989 and imprisoned at Qincheng prison for 1 year. Zhao was arrested again on February 2, 1992 for organizing the 1000 th day memorial event for June 4 th. He was sent to Beijing Haidian Detention Center. While in detention, Zhao was beaten and tortured. As a result he suffers from permanent memory loss and chronic pain in his lower back. After attempting to organize a memorial event for Zhao Ziyang, the chief party secretary during the Tiananmen Square Incident, Zhao was arrested for a third time on January 21, 2005 and detained for two months. Zhao is currently out on probationary release awaiting possible trial.
In 1989 he was forced to drop out of his Masters education at People’s University in Beijing because of his political activities. He uses the internet to vigorously advocate civil rights and China’s political reform.
39. Xu Zhen, male, resident of Shanghai. Xu has been the chief organizer and advocate among petitioners in Shanghai. He has engaged in many years of petitioning, and been outspoken and critical of the shangahi government. Xu has received death threats from the Putuo Public Security Bureau of Shanghai. On January 29, 2005 he went to Beijing to participate in the memorial service of Zhao Ziyang and was forcefully repatriated back to Shanghai and accused of “inciting public disorder”. Xu currently remains in detention without a date for trial.
40. Hu Jia, male, age 32, resident of Beijing. Hu graduated from Beijing Economic and Trade University. He has participated in numerous activities to assist AIDS victims, particularly AIDS orphans. Hu took videos, wrote articles and raised funds on their behalf. He also provided much assistance to petitioners who suffered from property rights abuse and human rights abuse. Hu collected evidence of their abuse and advocated the use of the internet to publicize their cases. He actively called for correcting the wrongs of 1989 and for political reform. He was arrested and harassed numerous times because of his attempt to participate in memorial services for ex-leaders and victims of 1989. He is constantly placed under house arrest and is sometimes beaten by police.
41. Chen Qinglin, male, age 36. Chen graduated from the physics department of the Beijing Meteorology University. He has been involved in civil rights education, particularly for farmers. He has assisted farmers in the protection of their land rights. Chen was also involved in village recall elections in Inner Mongolia.
Chen was arrested in 1989 and 1992 and spent a total of two and a half years in prison. In 1989 he was arrested because of his involvement in the student movement. In 1992 he was arrested because he participated in the China Democratic Party. He is often put under house arrest whenever significant political events take place in China. He has been forced many times to move from his home and is constantly harassed by Beijing police and Inner Mongolian police.
Answers to the Questions on the Respect and Implementation of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders
1. The “human rights defenders” community
a. In general, there are 6 different categories of human rights defenders in China. The 1 st category can be called the 1989 group, which includes ex-student leaders, Tiananmen mothers, and victims of the Incident.
The 2 nd category is composed of democracy activists, which covers people who were active in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
The 3 rd category made up of the writers and those who are active on the internet. This group also includes two 2 subcategories. The first writes theoretical articles critical of the Chinese situation, the second act like journalists and expose corruption, misdeeds and abuses.
The 4 th category is consists of intellectuals and scholars who either belong to an academic institution or used to belong to an institution. They have expertise in an academic field and offer theoretical and analytical support for the freedom and democracy movement.
The 5 th category includes groups like Empowerment and Rights Institute and combines social activism with human rights advocacy and most closely resembles a classical human rights organization.
The 6 th category is comprised of lawyers. Lawyers in China mainly act individually or jointly in a group. They often work with journalists and scholars. They are directly involved in defending rights victims and the rights of human rights defenders.
In addition to the previous categories there are also labor and farmer unions though they remain quite weak and disorganized. In general the 6 main categories have begun to merge over the years. Although there continue to be differences and points of disagreement between the groups, overall they are tending towards greater solidarity. It is worth noting that the first 1 st and 2 nd categories overlap considerably, as do the 5 th and 6 th groups.
The exact number of organizations is impossible to give. In China it is extremely hard to register as an organization, which forces people to act in a discretionary manner. Many individuals operate by themselves in an adhoc manner. Sometimes individuals network together, but without freedom of association it very difficult to form true organizations. However, rough estimates can be obtained by looking at the number of members listed under organizations such as the Independent Pen Association China.
Range of activities include:
Impact and Effectiveness. Occasionally all 6 groups combine their efforts. Recently, this occurred in Shaanxi Province. After investor’s human rights and property rights were violated a large mobilization involving all the categories came together and resulted in the successful release of the lead lawyer Zhu Jiuhu.
To a lesser extent the land dispute in Guangdong, in which farmer’s land was confiscated and numerous human rights abuses occurred, also involved individuals and organizations from most of the six categories mentioned above.
However, the effect of human rights defenders work remains very limited due to the governments active suppression. Even in the two cases above, in which huge mobilizations occurred, very few government concessions were made, leaving many farmers and investors still in jail.
Writers and activist pressuring for freedom of expression has achieved limited success and resulted in severe governmental repercussions. However, overseas dissidents have played a lead role in building a platform for Chinese to contribute to on the internet. The audience is growing ever bigger. Yet, because of China’s internet censorship, this remains an option available mostly to the elite.
Anti-discrimination campaigns have been relatively successful. The campaigns have gained much public support and have been relatively free to operate primarily because the government does not view these activities as a threat. In some case the government has even contributed nominal financial support to these groups, including the AIDS group Aizhi. However, miners and petitioners in particular have made very little progress in recent years despite vigorous campaigns by human rights defenders advocating on their behalf.
Despite numerous attempts at elections and recall elections, voting rights have been severely restricted and those asserting their rights have faced harsh punishments. At the time of this writing, over 20 farmers in Panyu, Guangdong Province have been arrested and abused because they supported a recall election in Taishi village, despite the constitutionality of their actions. Numerous elected village chiefs have been persecuted, detained, or significantly impaired while in office.
The area of political reform remains stagnant. Due to overwhelming government persecution, the activists who used to work in this area have shifted their focus to other categories of rights protection including land housing rights and the rights of vulnerable groups.
b. Obviously, China is in great need of improved human rights training, greater transparency and greater protection for human rights defenders. Most importantly, to improve the situation in China, we need international pressure from the EU, other western governments and international diplomatic pressure on China to improve legal reform and increase the freedom of media and civil society. In particular, international pressure can be effective at achieving the release of more political prisoners and rights defenders from formal prisons, Reeducation through Labor camps and other extra-legal detention centers.
2. Assessment of the current situation of the Declaration’s implementation in the country
a. Firmly established success in implementing the Declaration: The mechanism of submitting criticism and proposals regarding public affairs to governmental bodies is rather well established. The channels also exist for citizens to bring their complaints to the government at the local and national levels. However, the problem remains over the public’s access to these channels and the government’s lack of action and inability to provide remedies for the complaints that are brought before them.
proceedings, and trials has made progress in recent years. Although, for the most part, the hearings and trials in question deal with relatively insignificant issues, such as the raising of train fares. Trials are becoming more transparent, but anything that involves politics or government officials remains off limits to the public.
To address these problems there are several broad solutions:
Petition laws were passed severely restricting freedom of association, NGOs faced a systematic crackdown, activists, scholars and lawyers have been prevented from working together due to government intimidation and threats of arrest, previous party formations have faced long-term imprisonments, and religious groups such as Christian sects and Falungong groups faced systematic persecution by the full force of the State. Fundamentally speaking, the Chinese Communist Party continues to view any union formation as a threat to their power and uses any means necessary to suppress such efforts.
In addition, the press has faced tremendous barriers and harassment in their attempts to report freely. Implicit regulations by the Ministry of Propaganda states that any article critical of the government must receive approval from the agency itself. Journalists remain unable to report freely and face new restrictions. For example, journalists have recently had limitations placed on their range of coverage and the localities from which they may report. This closes the previous loophole journalists exploited by reporting more openly on events in other locations than on the events in their home jurisdiction. This has resulted in making it nearly impossible to publish any articles critical of the government. The famous newspaper Southern Weekend, which used to be relatively critical, has now been reduced to another mouthpiece of the party.
The practice of internet policing has also increased in recent years. More police have been hired, their technical expertise has increased and emails are being screened more effectively. Overall, the firewall surrounding China has become more efficient. Discussion forums encouraging people’s open dialogue are often closed, sensitive messages are immediately deleted after being sent and college students are no longer free to post comments deemed sensitive on school billboards.
Declaration in China include:
Other major obstacles include the rampant use of arbitrary detention against human rights defenders, the general lack of governmental and judicial transparency and the heightened monitoring of telephone and electronic communication devices.
implementation of the Declaration for the better. However, on the whole, the right to attend public hearings, proceedings, and trials has made progress in recent years. Although, for the most part, the hearings and trials in question deal with relatively insignificant issues, such as the raising of train fares.
a., b. The national and local governments have done practically nothing to help implement the Declaration.
c. Only recently have overseas Chinese dissidents and human rights groups started to join hands with human rights defenders in China. They are beginning to produce reports and disseminate information regarding the Declaration. During Louise Arbour’s visit at the beginning of September 2005, the above mentioned groups jointly provided petition letters calling for improvement of the situation of human rights defenders and called for the release of some of the renowned political prisoners and rights defenders. This may be a starting point for future action on implementing the Declaration.
d. Recently, a U.N. Program Officer for China visited and gave several speeches to government leaders and also met with a Beijing based NGO to provide information on U.N. mechanisms. The U.N. Officer’s direct interaction with human rights defenders has surely helped to raise awareness of the Declaration and provides valuable support to human rights defenders.
Louise Arbour’s visit to China also improved awareness and advanced the dialogue surrounding the Declaration.
7. Evolution of the situation The situation regarding human rights defenders is worsening. The U.N. and the international community should prioritize the situation of human rights defenders. In 2005, writers, lawyers, farmers’ rights activists and housing rights activists have been sentenced to even more severe terms of imprisonment than in the past. Numerous NGOs were shut down by government decree. The Chinese government is undertaking a comprehensive crackdown on people’s civil liberties. The government is retreating on its promise of human rights. The negligence and ignorance of the international community and the U.N. prevent the situation in China from improving. In particular, various U.N. offices failed to negotiate with the Chinese government on improving any human rights standards. The U.N. has overly focused on the economic development of China at the expense of improving the human rights situation. UNCHR should more rigorously pressure China to fulfill its human rights obligations and to ensure implementation of the Declaration.
