Posts Tagged ‘China’
February 26, 2014
On the heels of my post yesterday on Cao Shunli‘s health (https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/serious-concern-for-health-of-detained-human-rights-defender-cao-shunli/), exiled, blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng laments that China is cracking down harder than ever on human rights defenders, but says (somewhat unrealistically I should add) that the leadership should brace for a Ukraine-style uprising. “It is possible for the Chinese to have a similar revolution to the one in Ukraine. It could happen any time,” Chen told Nina Larson of AFP on 25 February in Geneva. “There are many, so very man arrests“, mentioning just as an example the arrest late last month of the parents of human rights activist Xue Mingkai, who had spent four years in prison for joining a banned party. While in custody, the father, Xue Fushun, plunged to his death from a window several stories up, in what police said was a suicide.
Frontline Defenders informed us a bit earlier that on 29 January 2014, the verdicts were released in the trials of human rights defenders, Mr Yuan Dong and Ms Hou Xin, both of whom are affiliated with the New Citizens’ Movement and had been facing charges of “gathering a crowd to disrupt public order”. Yuan Dong was sentenced to 18 months in prison, whilst Hou Xin was found guilty but did not receive a sentence. Yuan Dong and Hou Xin were originally detained, along with Zhang Baocheng and Ma Xinli, on charges of “illegal assembly” on 31 March 2013 [http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/22993] after banners with slogans such as “require officials to publicly disclose public assets” were allegedly unfurled during a rally in Xidan Cultural Plaza in Beijing’s Xicheng district. Hou Xin had only been photographically documenting the rally.
Besides the recent sentencing to four years imprisonment of one of the founders of the New Citizens’ Movement, Mr Xu Zhiyong, many more human rights defenders affiliated with the movement remain in detention (https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/xu-zhiyongs-closing-statement-to-the-court-a-remarkable-document/)
On the other hand, on 25 February 2014 it was confirmed that Ilham Tohti (feared disappeared) has now been formally arrested on charges of “splitting the country” and is being held in a detention centre in Xinjiang province. (https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/has-uyghur-professor-ilham-tohti-disappeared-in-china/
For the full interview with Chen: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jLVlcgDJvTALGKEGE8kNJd3E43cA?docId=baf85933-271a-42b9-8e34-8210a195cbee
By the way China’s extraordinary sensitivity to ‘interference’ of any level into what it considers its domestic affairs is well-known. I touched upon this ‘hot’ topic’ in my own 2011 article “The international human rights movement: not perfect, but a lot better than many governments think” in the book ‘NGOs in China and Europe’ (exceptionally also published in Chinese!): Yuwen Li (ed), Ashgate, 2011, pp 287-304 (ISBN: 978-1-4094-1959-4).
Posted in books, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation | Leave a Comment »
Tags: arbitrary arrest, Ashgate, Chen Guangcheng, China, freedom of expression, Front Line (NGO), Hou Xin, Human Rights Defenders, Ilham Tohti, illegal detention, interference in internal affairs, NGOs in China and Europe, repression, Thoolen, Ukraine, Uyghur, Xu Zhiyong, Xue Mingkai, Yuan Dong, Yuwen Li
February 25, 2014
(human rights defenders in the photo were not allowed to see Cao – Sound of Hope)
Critically ill human rights defender Cao Shunli, who was prevented from attending a United Nations human rights review of China last fall, was taken to intensive care on 16 February 2014 after being denied medical treatment for months while in detention. “Cao Shunli is unconscious and on a ventilator,” her lawyer Wang Yu explained to Radio Free Asia. “She can’t talk and her condition is extremely serious… We think her life is in danger, but the hospital won’t give us any details; they just mumble something when we ask them,” he continued. A nurse blocked the entrance to the intensive care unit and told rights defender Wang Ling that Cao was “deeply unconscious” and would not recognize him, according to Human Rights in China (HRIC). Though Cao was initially taken to Beijing’s Qinghe Emergency Center, she was then transferred to an Army hospital, though her family requested that she be taken to an acute care hospital. Police at the hospital prevented activists from entering the hospital, and about 20 of them were taken to police substations for questioning, Wang Ling told HRIC.
[Cao and fellow rights defender Chen Jianfang were detained on 13 September, 2013 at Beijing’s International airport as they were leaving to fly to Geneva to take part in activities associated with the United Nations Human Rights Council UPR review of China’s human rights record. On the eve of the review, 21 October, she was formally arrested and charged with “creating a disturbance,” and has been detained since then. See earlier posts:
https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/un-alarmed-by-reprisals-against-chinese-activists/ and https://thoolen.wordpress.com/tag/cao-shunli/
Also: http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/CaoShunli
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders | 2 Comments »
Tags: Cao, Cao Shunli, Chen Jianfang, China, human rights defender Cao Shunli, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights in China (HRIC), ill treatment, medical, reprisals, retaliation, UN, United Nations, UPR, Wang Ling, Wang Yu, woman human rights defender
February 12, 2014
The family of Uyghur professor Ilham Tohti has had no news of his whereabouts since he was arrested at his home in Beijing on January 15, 2014. Tohti is a leading academic and one of the most prominent commentators on basic rights issues affecting the Uyghur people. The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority—in a country that is 91.6% Han Chinese—that live primarily in the Xinjiang region of China and have been repressed by the government. The Chinese authorities raided Tohti’s home on January 15, arresting him and confiscating his computer. The public security bureau in the capital of Xinjiang released a statement accusing Tohti of inciting separatism, but refused to inform his family where he is being held.
On 21 March 2013 Tohti had been put already under house arrest: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/tag/ilham-tohti/
via:
http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/24684
China: HRF Condemns the Arrest and Disappearance of Uyghur Professor Ilham Tohti | News | The Human Rights Foundation.
Posted in Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation | 1 Comment »
Tags: arrest, China, Forced disappearance, freedom of expression, Front Line (NGO), Human rights defender, Human Rights Foundation, Ilham Tohti, illegal detention, minorities, minority rights, Uyghur
January 24, 2014
This is the full text of Xu Zhiyong’s closing statement to the Court on January 22, 2014, at the end of his trial in China. According to his lawyer, he had only been able to read “about 10 minutes of it before the presiding judge stopped him, saying it was irrelevant to the case.” For historical reason the full text of his long statement (translated by a group of volunteers) “For Freedom, Justice and Love” follows below: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 3 Comments »
Tags: anti corruption, Beijing, China, Civil society, constitutional democracy, dissidents, freedom of expression, illegal detention, independence of the judiciary, statement, Xu Zhiyong
January 16, 2014
Index on Censorship is basing a series of articles on its larger report by Mike Harris, Time to Step Up: The EU and freedom of expression.
On 14 January 2014 came the one the ‘southern neighbourhood’ arguing that the credibility of the EU’s swing in focus from economic development towards human rights (after the outbreak of the Arab spring) is low.
The EU’s communication “A partnership for democracy and shared prosperity with the southern Mediterranean“ (published on 8 May 2011) addresses the EU’s commitment to financially support transition to democracy and civil society and heralds the creation of the Civil Society Facility for the neighbourhood (covering both the southern and eastern neighbourhoods), while the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) deployed a number of operations in the region to protect and promote freedom of expression, often without the consent of the host country. Still, the article argues, european countries are often still seen as former allies of repressive regimes.
http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2014/01/eu-freedom-expression-southern-neighbourhood/
The one of 15 January, entitled ‘The EU and free expression: Human rights dialogues’, looks at the situation that the EU runs 30 human rights dialogues across the globe, with the key dialogues taking place in China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia and Belarus. It also has a dialogues with the African Union. The article is more detailed on China
The article concludes: “With criticism of the effectiveness and openness of the dialogues, the EU should look again at how the dialogues fit into the overall strategy of the Union and its member states in the promotion of human rights with third countries and assess whether the dialogues can be improved.“
The EU and free expression: Human rights dialogues – Index on Censorship | Index on Censorship.
Posted in EU, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Index on Censorship | 1 Comment »
Tags: Arab spring, Asia, Catherine Ashton, censorship, Central Asia, China, Civil society, Democracy, diplomacy, diplomatic action, Egypt, EIDHR, EU, free expression, freedom of expression, funding, human rights, human rights dialogue, Index on Censorship, Mediterranean, Mike Harris, north africa, Tunisia
December 15, 2013
On 15 December the Latin American Herald reported that the founder of a Chinese civil rights group known as the New Citizens’ Movement has been formally charged with disturbing public order and could face trial this month. The charges against Xu Zhiyong, whose group promotes upholding the Chinese constitution and reigning in the power of Communist Party leaders, were filed at the recommendation of the Beijing police, according to the China Human Rights Defenders organization.Dissidents who attempt to mount protests in China are frequently charged with disrupting public order. Xu’s attorney, Zhang Qingfang, said it was suspicious how quickly the prosecutor’s office filed the charges after receiving the police’s recommendation, adding that authorities may want the trial held over the Christmas holidays so there is less international media attention. Beijing police said Xu, who was arrested in August, “used tactics to organize and carry out a series of criminal activities, including distributing prohibited pamphlets in public places and organizing disturbances outside government installations.” The charges against Xu come shortly after another activist from that same movement, high-profile businessman Wang Gongquan, pleaded guilty to “disrupting public order” a few months after his arrest. The former close associate of Xu’s said he would cut ties with the founder of the New Citizens’ Movement, the South China Morning Post reported earlier this month, citing two sources familiar with the case.
via Latin American Herald Tribune – Chinese Prosecutors Charge Activist with Disturbing Public Order.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: anti corruption, Beijing, Beijing police, China, China Human Rights Defenders, Chinese constitution, Communist Party, Communist Party of China, freedom of expression, freedom to demonstrate, human rights, Human rights defender, Latin American Herald Tribune, New Citizens’ Movement, Public-order crime, South China Morning Post, Wang Gongquan, Xu Zhiyong
December 4, 2013
The Monitor of the ISHR reports that in the Third Committee there was a serious setback in establishing an high-level ‘anti-reprisals focal point’ in the UN. In an unprecedented move, a group of States, led by Gabon and joined by others such as China and Russia, was successful in securing the passage of a resolution in the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly to defer the appointment of such a senior UN official despite Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | 1 Comment »
Tags: anti-reprisals focal point, China, European Union, Gabon, Human right, Human Rights Council, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, International Service for Human Rights, ISHR, Norway, OHCHR, reprisals, retaliation, Russia, Third Committee, Third Committee of the GA, UN, UN General Assembly, United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council
December 3, 2013
On 2 December 2013 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights delivered a “mixed report” on human rights progress around the world, with slow and steady advances in some areas alongside causes for alarm in others. “As we look around the world at the end of 2013, we see examples of situations where that readiness of the international community to act in time is already being sorely tested,” Navi Pillay said during a press conference in Geneva. In addition to Syria, where the scale and viciousness of the abuses being perpetuated by elements on both sides almost defies belief, the situation in the Central African Republic is deteriorating rapidly, and the alarm bells are ringing loud and clear. “Elsewhere, there is much turbulence,” Ms. Pillay said, highlighting the “serious politically-driven instability” in Bangladesh which is claiming a lot of lives in the run up to the election, the “heavy-handed attempts” by successive administrations in Egypt to quell people’s right to peaceful protests. Meanwhile, reprisals against civil society organizations, individual human rights defenders and journalists working on rights issues are “extremely worrying” in a number of countries, she said. The High Commissioner also drew attention to the situation of migrants, who continue to be treated as second-class citizens in many countries, as well as the continuing political exploitation of xenophobia and racism in Europe and other industrialized areas. “Amidst all this, there is nevertheless progress, sometimes taking place slowly and steadily out of the limelight, sometimes the subject of major policy shifts – including a number of reforms announced over the past two weeks by the Government of China,” Ms. Pillay stated. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and she noted that overall, the UN human rights system is a great deal stronger than it was two decades ago. “The UN human rights institutions, however well they function, are not enough by themselves,” she added.“The rest of the United Nations – individual Member States, powerful bodies such as the Security Council and the General Assembly, and all the UN’s myriad agencies, funds and programme – need to pull their weight in the common cause of improving human rights for everyone everywhere, in accordance with the UN Charter.”
via United Nations News Centre – Taking stock, UN official delivers ‘mixed report’ on human rights progress worldwide.
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Bangladesh, Central African Republic, China, Egypt, Human right, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, human rights progress, international human rights day, Navi Pillay, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Pillay, reprisals, retaliation, Syria, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN, United Nations
November 29, 2013
Just as an example of how human rights defenders and the work to support them can appear in a Lifestyle Magazine:
Across Canada human rights supporters have recently been celebrating the releases of a number of prisoners of conscience—people jailed solely for the peaceful expression of their beliefs.
In China, poet and journalist Shi Tao was released after more than eight years in prison. Supporters of the human rights organization Amnesty International (amnesty.ca) had long campaigned for his freedom by writing letters to the Chinese authorities and signing petitions calling for his release. Shi Tao was imprisoned in 2004 for sending an email using his Yahoo account. His email summarized a communiqué from the Chinese Central Propaganda Department telling journalists how they should handle the 15th anniversary of the crackdown on the 1989 pro-democracy movement. The Chinese authorities accused him of “illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities”. Shi Tao expressed his thanks to supporters: “The support and encouragement of friends from around the world have helped my mother and me through the difficult and lonely times.” Other prisoners of conscience recently released in China this year included human rights defender Ni Yulan, and Falun Gong practitioners Wang Xiuqing and her daughter Qin Hailong, released after 18 months in a “re-education through labour” camp.
In Iran, the sudden release of prisoner of conscience Nasrin Sotoudeh in September further showed how the passion and persistence of individual people around the world taking action by putting pen to paper can help human rights. Sotoudeh is widely respected for her work as a lawyer. She has represented children facing the death penalty, prisoners of conscience and human rights defenders, and has worked closely with Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. But in August 2010 Sotoudeh was locked up in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison though she had committed no crime. During her imprisonment, Nasrin was stopped from having regular visits with her husband, Reza Khandan, and two young children. Amnesty International declared her a prisoner of conscience and quickly launched a global appeal demanding her release. Supporters tirelessly wrote letters to the Iranian authorities requesting them to free the human rights lawyer. Their efforts helped win a great victory. Sotoudeh sent a thank you for the support she had received from people around the world. “I have been aware of all your efforts on my behalf and I want to thank you!”
Human rights supporters celebrate recent prisoner releases : The Canadian Lifestyle Magazine.
Posted in AI, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Amnesty International, Canada, Canadian Lifestyle Magazine, China, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, Iran, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Ni Yulan, prisoner of conscience, Shi Tao, Shirin Ebadi, woman human rights defender, Yahoo
November 28, 2013
A UN General Assembly committee has agreed a landmark first resolution on women human rights defenders, but compromise forced some weakening of the text. A Norwegian-led coalition, which prepared the resolution, had to delete language that condemned “all forms of violence against women” to get the text passed by consensus late Wednesday 27 November. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Africa, AP, China, cultural relativism, GA, Geir Sjoberg, Holy See, Human rights defender, Human Rights Defenders, International Service for Human Rights, Ireland, Norway, Russia, sexual rights, UN Resolution, United Nations General Assembly, Vatican, Violence against women, women human rights defenders, Women's rights
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 