Human Rights in China

ACT NOW - Join the online Day of Protest

2008-07-17T05:08:00Z

On the 10 day countdown to the Beijing Olympics (30 July), Amnesty International will be co-ordinating a global, online day of protest against Internet censorship in China. We aim to 'occupy' as many online spaces as possible to demonstrate our solidarity with netizens in China and to call on major Internet companies to end their complicity in violating the freedom of expression and information of Chinese citizens.

How do I join?
To join the protest, simply register the details of your webpage or blog here. After registering, you will be provided with a line of code to paste into your blog or website.

What will happen on the day?
On the day of protest, 30 July, all registered websites will display a censorship simulation which will momentarily censor random words on their webpages. A banner across the top, or a more discreet ribbon, will explain why this page has become 'censored'. Visitors have the option of dismissing the ribbon or banner, or clicking on them to open a new window which takes them to Amnesty International's Uncensor website to take further action.

Protest badges
Websites administrators and bloggers also have an option of adding a countdown badge to their webpages.
The badge will also be available to MySpace users.
T he badges can be obtained here. Protest badges for Facebook users to come soon!

Where can I get more information?
For more information, to preview your page with the censorship simulation, or to join the Day of Protest, click here.

china AND human rights AND Olympics

Human rights in China: Pass it on

2008-07-25T02:26:00Z

ONE:

This is one of three videos about human rights in China which have been put together by, among others, famous French stage director Ariane Mnouchkine, her theatre company The Theatre du Soleil, Chinese dissidents, Tibetan refugees, and Reporters Without Borders.

TWO:

A blurb on Theatre du Soleil's website says to watch the films, think about them and if you support the cause to pass on the link.

" …"One single grain of sand can halt even the most powerful of machines, so think about what one thousand grains of sand may do." ..."

THREE:

Thanks to Fairfax's Beijing 08 Blogs for the link.

Poet takes China officials to court

2008-07-25T02:20:01Z

Al Jazeera English has filed this story on YouTube about Tibetan poet, author and blogger Woeser, who this week announced she's suing the Chinese Government because they won't give her a passport.

Woeser, whose books and poems are banned in China, says authorities told her they wouldn't give her a passport because she's a threat to national security.

She told Al Jazeera she is suing now, just days out from the Olympics, because:

" …"The Chinese Government has not kept it's promises, quite the contrary, in strict terms it has kidnapped the Olympic Games, because it is using the Olympics as a big platform to demonstrate its power." …"

China in the headlines – 25 July 2008

2008-07-25T02:10:00Z

A woman shouts before she is taken to be executed in Ghangzhou, China. © Reuters

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe:

The Press Association – China remains top executioner
Executions jumped by a third in Iran and quadrupled in Saudi Arabia last year, causing the total number of executions around the world to rise yet again in 2007, a human rights group reported, adding that China remained far in front as the world's top executioner …
Wall St Journal – Shanghai says it foiled Games terror plot
In the latest sign of Chinese government concern over security risks at next month's Olympics, officials announced they have broken up a terrorist cell they said had plotted possible attacks at events during the Games in Shanghai …
Time Blog Olympic blues and greys
Some thoughts from our colleague Lin Yang: Many of us joined the spontaneous carnival in the streets on a summer night seven years ago when Beijing was awarded the 2008 Olympics. But as the moment of glory finally arrives, the exultation is no longer shared by all …
AP – Off camera: Broadcasters fighting with Chinese
The Beijing Olympics may not look much different from previous games on TV. Behind the studio sets, however, world broadcasters have been squaring off for months with Chinese officials over censorship …
Global Voices Online – Another popular blog site shut down for the Olympics
Sohoxiaobao, not the prettiest but definitely one of the earlier blog service providers in China, has been out of operation for a week now …
Radio Free Asia – Homes raided in Xinjiang
Authorities in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang have launched a house-to-house search campaign in a Uyghur city known as a traditional center of opposition to Beijing’s rule …
The Australian – China stops giving business visas
China has virtually stopped issuing business visas until after both the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games …

china AND human rights AND Olympics

A birthday in jail for two Chinese dissidents

2008-07-25T00:49:00Z

Jailed journalist Shi Tao turns 40 today. © PEN

Two Chinese prisoners of conscience – Shi Tao and Hu Jia – will today celebrate their birthdays behind bars.

But for neither of them will it be a day of celebration surrounded by family and friends.

Shi Tao, who is serving 10 years in prison, turns 40 today. He has been in jail since 2005.

He's a Chinese journalist and was convicted of 'illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities'. What he did was email a US-based contact – who runs a Chinese pro-democracy website – part of the Chinese Government's instructions on how to report the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests.

Internet company Yahoo! gave his email account-holder information to Chinese authorities, which they then used to secure the conviction.

You can help campaign for Shi Tao's release by signing Amnesty International's postcard petition.

Inciting subversion

Hu Jia, who is serving a three-and-a-half year prison sentence, turns 35 today.

He is a renowned Chinese human rights activist who, in April this year, was convicted of 'inciting subversion of state power'.

We think his conviction is punishment for his public critiques of China's human rights violations. The charges against him cited comments he made in two interviews with foreign media and in about five articles he wrote for the Internet.

Hoping for change

Neither of these men, who have done nothing but stand up for freedom of speech and human rights, should ever have been jailed.

Since their detention both men have endured ill-treatment – we have been told Hu Jia was subjected to dozens of lengthy interrogation sessions and Shi Tao has reportedly being forced to work under harsh conditions in prison.

On top of that their families have been harassed – Shi Tao's wife has reportedly been pressure into divorcing him and Hu Jia's wife lives under constant round-the-clock police surveillance.

I sincerely hope come next July Shi Tao and Hu Jia are released from prison, and can celebrate their birthdays at home with their children and their families.

Until that happens, I will keep on hoping and campaigning for their release.

Dissident’s wife appeals to China’s Hu Jintao

2008-07-24T06:26:00Z

Yuan Weijung, the wife of Chen Guangcheng, is stopped by police as she leaves her home. © Private

The wife of a blind, jailed Chinese activist has appealed to China's President to put a stop to the official harassment of her family.

Chen Guangcheng, who this year was named by Time magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people, is serving four years and three months in jail. He was convicted of "damaging public property and gathering people to block traffic" in 2006.

He'd been helping villagers with a lawsuit against local authorities. They had been enforcing China's birth quotas and were making women in a local village have abortions and sterilisations.

From Reuters today, quoting a letter written by Chen Guangcheng's wife, Yuan Weijing:

" ... "Because of the Olympics' approach, people like me -- nothing but a rights defender's wife -- are being specially 'protected' by the government," she said, detailing the number of security guards who surround her house and make ordinary life impossible …

" …"I, like the people of this nation, am looking forward to the Olympics' arrival, and I hope for their success. At the same time, however, I am even more looking forward to the Olympics' end," …"

What do Beijingers reckon about the Olympics?

2008-07-24T05:43:00Z

How have the Olympics affected Beijingers? Jocelyn Ford, a Beijing-based journalist, has put together the insider's view in the form of a video series; this is the promo for it.

She interviews a human rights activist who is in hiding; the engineers of some of the Olympic trophy buildings; a Tibetan single mother who's no longer allowed to sell trinkets on Beijing streets; a farmer deprived of water in order to meet Bejing's pledge of a "green" Olympics.

Thanks to China Digital Times for the link.

China in the headlines – 24 July 2008

2008-07-24T02:18:00Z

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe:

New York Times – China sets zones for Olympics protests
Beijing will permit public protests inside three designated city parks during next month’s Olympic Games, but demonstrators must first obtain permits from local police and also abide by Chinese laws that usually make it nearly impossible to legally picket over politically charged issues, the authorities announced ...
Los Angeles Times – China on war footing ahead of Olympic Games
In China, the preparations for the Olympics look more like a military deployment than arrangements for a sporting event …
AP – A rare Tibetan critic sues China's government
The poet Woeser has long been a rarity — a Tibetan living in China who doesn't flinch from publicly criticizing the Chinese government. Now the activist is taking another unusual step …
Guardian – British activists face threat of jail at Olympics
British spectators and athletes have been warned that they face arrest and detention by the Chinese authorities if they stage demonstrations during next month's Beijing Olympics …
Reuters – China urges officials to heed press freedom vows
China urged local governments on Tuesday to abide by Olympics reporting rules that in theory allow foreign media unfettered access to the countryside, responding to complaints of harassment …
AFP – US lawmakers accuse China of reneging on Olympic promises
US lawmakers Wednesday accused China of reneging on a commitment to improve human rights when it won the right to host the Olympics, saying it had instead intensified a crackdown on dissent …
Boxun – Announcement regarding oversight of websites during Olympics
As all eyes focus on the imminent opening of the Beijing Olympics, all public security, web monitoring and related state organs are given special security and defense work. We synopsize here …
Boston Globe – China to beef up inspections at NKorean border
China will step up inspections along its border with North Korea during the Olympics to try to reduce the growing number of North Korean migrants, an official of South Korea's spy agency said …

china AND human rights AND Olympics

AOC, athlete freedom of speech, and the Olympics

2008-07-24T02:00:00Z

Image of Michelle Engelsman from her [official website](http://www.me.net.au)

ABC 730 Report: John Coates, President of the Australian Olympic Committee, discusses the Beijing Olympics, the torch relay, and clears up some confusion regarding freedom of speech for Australian Olympic athletes

On Wednesday night’s 730 Report on the ABC Kerry O’Brien spoke with John Coates, President of the Australian Olympic Committee. In this interview Coates cleared up the confusion surrounding freedom of expression of any athlete’s personal views through internet blogs during the Olympics Games. It’s good to hear Coates say that athletes are “entitled to express an opinion and we've said that they can do that on Tibet, on human rights and other such issues.” Furthermore, on the issue of freedom of speech in press conferences, Coates was very clear that any athletes “who come along to a press conference and want to say two their two bobs worth on Tibet, it's fine by me.”

What continues to remain shrouded in confusion is what the repercussions will be if athletes are to wear a t-shirt expressing a positive message for human rights, or even a badge. Coates stated that “what we do want [the athletes] to respect though is the Olympic charter restriction on not having physical demonstrations at the Olympic venues or in the Olympic Village and that comes down to wearing T-shirts that might be anti-Tibet or whatever.” Although physical or political demonstrations would be in breach of section 51.3 of the Olympic Charter, wearing a human rights badge would not. Human rights are not political, they are universal, and hence promoting them is not political, it is simply an embrace of the beauty of humanity and the universal human spirit. That surely would be in line with the uniting messages of the Olympic Charter.

Other interesting points during the interview were that Coates had expected to torch relay to be ambushed, and that he felt there will be a very high level of security and bureaucracy for the Beijing Olympic Games. Coates suggested that he expected the relay would attract human rights activists, whether specific or general, but that the Tibetan protests were so well organized that China was caught off guard. China has reacted firmly to the Tibetan protests, and added government layers of bureaucracy to the running of the Beijing Olympic Games. Two grossly different figures were presented for the number of security personnel who are to be present at the Games; O’Brien suggested 500,000, and Coates suggested 110,000, although acquiesced that O’Brien’s figure may be correct.

If so many security personal are to be present, and China itself has very strict rules against protesting about human rights or any other ‘sensitive’ issue, the only possibilities for athletes to express personal views without personal risk may well be through blogging and media interviews. Therefore, the statements by Coates that such freedoms of speech have the OK by the Australian Olympic Committee are very welcomed. Hopefully at some stage before the Olympic Games Coates will clear up lingering confusion about what support Australian athletes will receive if they are to wear a general positive human rights badge and feel the wrath of the security forces under Chinese law. After all, athletes should have the freedom to express their support of human rights without risking having their own stolen away.

Michelle Engelsman

china AND human rights AND Olympics

Days from release activist’s jail term is extended

2008-07-24T00:16:00Z

Ye Guozhu's jail sentence has been extended.

Worrying news has come in overnight that housing rights activist Ye Guozhu, who had been due to be released from prison this Saturday, is to be held until after 1 October.

Ye Guozhu's family says officials from Chaobai prison phoned them a couple of days ago and said not to come to the prison on Saturday. They also said that he had been taken away by the Beijing Xuanwu district police.

Later the Xuanwu district police said for the family's own good, and to keep them out of trouble during the Olympics, they would take care of Ye Guozhu, but would not release him until sometime after 1 October.

They refused to let them see Ye Guozhu, or even tell them where he is being held.

No compensation

So much for China's promises that hosting the Games would "benefit the further development of our human rights cause".

Ye Guozhu lost his two restaurants and home in 2003 when Chinese officials and property developers in Beijing's Xuanwu district reportedly colluded to force a large number of residents to move. He, like his neighbours, didn't receive any compensation.

There's been major development and construction in Beijing in the build up to next month's Games. The Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions estimates more than 1.5 million people have been displaced or evicted by Olympic development projects.

Stirring up trouble

Ye Guozhu has been in jail since 2004, when he was sentenced to four years, after being tried in secret and convicted of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble". Days before his arrest he had applied for permission to stage a public demonstration about the evictions.

Amnesty International has reports that he has been repeatedly tortured in jail. He has been suspended from a ceiling by his arms and beaten, hit with electro-shock batons, forced to sit upright on a hard chair for long periods and to wear handcuffs and fetters.

Empty promises

It looks like Ye Guozhu is being kept in prison to stop him from speaking out about the people, like himself, who were forcibly evicted to make room for the Olympics

Over the last few months Beijing authorities have detained and jailed a number of human rights activists they think might cause problems during the Games. Among them Hu Jia, Huang Qi and earlier this week Du Daobin.

Yes, so much for China’s promises; they’re looking plenty meaningless right about now.

Winners and losers in China’s Internet censorship

2008-07-23T04:23:00Z

As foreigners start to converge on China, bloggers are reporting previously forbidden websites are now suddenly accessible.

Blogger Kaiser Kuo at Ogilvy China Digital Watch writes:

" … For me, at least, the list includes a number of controversial Chinese-language sites ordinarily off limits: Apple Daily, Boxun, Radio Free Asia's simplified Chinese site even. Politically sensitive English sites like China Digital Times have been unblocked, and FeedBurner is once again working in China …

" … a friend hypothesizes that the ISPs may be selectively allowing unfettered access in expat-heavy compounds like the one he lives in and the one I do …"

He says unfettered access won't last.

" ... And let's not be too hasty in heaping praise on the powers that be; this is something they promised the IOC they'd do, and by no means does it mean that the far, far more important (and effective) form of information control will be let go …"

Journalists en-masse

There's a bit more about the blocking and unblocking of websites at the OpenNet Initiative, where they have been running tests:

" … The Chinese government has guaranteed press freedom and convenient and possibly unfettered Internet access—but only for the approximately 21,000 journalists gathering en masse to cover the Games.

" At the Main Press Center, various Venue Media Centers, and Olympics venues, the Internet may very well be fast and free , but whether Chinese citizens and critical voices will also be accorded the same openings has yet to be determined … "

Added to blacklist

Meanwhile, while all this is going on, the Internet Society of China (ISC) – which comes under the governance of China's Ministry of Information Industry – has put out a blacklist of six Internet portals and forums that had been "spreading low and vulgar content".

The ISC has set up a reporting center to receive netizens' reports on illegal and unhealthy internet information, says blogger Eric at Danwei.

" … websites that were criticized include the entertainment channel of 21.cn, Sichuan online, the picture forum of Shenzhen Hotline, the community channel of Qingdao News, and the forum on Changjiang net …"

What are China's Internet censors planning? Keep watching.

UPDATE That unfettered access doesn't appear to have lasted long. By the end of the day Kaiser Kuo was reporting that the list of unblocked sites were again blocked.

Beijing’s efforts to cut pollution

2008-07-23T04:00:00Z

AP has posted this clip on YouTube about China's last-minute push – including an alternate day car ban – to reduce pollution before the Games start on 8 August. Beijing has a notorious pollution problem.

The government's pollution cutting measures include new subway lines and an airport link in a bid to get people to use public transport. It has also ordered chemical plants, power stations and foundries to cut emissions.

Olympics will lift country’s image say Chinese

2008-07-23T02:29:00Z

Most Chinese people believe the Olympics will boost the country's image and will be a success, according to a new poll.

The almost universal optimism was shared by men and women alike, and people of all ages and income groups, writes AP. They say:

" … Ninety-three percent said they believe the Olympics will help China's image around the globe. A similar number voiced confidence that the games will go well: 96 percent said their hosting of the Aug. 8-24 competition will be successful …"

High expectations

The International Herald Tribune quotes Melissa Murphy, a China specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington:

" "I am a little surprised at how high the expectations are for the Olympics," said Murphy, noting that 96 percent of respondents said they believed China's role in the Games would prove successful. "It might have some officials in Beijing worried about the consequences if the Games are not …

" … Murphy said China's mobilization for the Games was something unimaginable in a Western country. "I cannot imagine London taxi drivers complying with instructions to wear uniforms and learn 100 words of Chinese for the 2012 Games," …"

The survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center in March and April this year – after the unrest in Tibet and during the torch relay protests, but before the Sichuan earthquake.

Let us know what you think of the findings.

China in the headlines – 23 July 2008

2008-07-23T01:20:00Z

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe:

New York Times – China unreality TV
China has gone to extraordinary lengths to spruce up its image before next month's Olympics: shuttering factories to reduce air pollution, mopping up algae in sailing waters, harassing critics and threatening journalists …
AFP – Sting and other top stars sing for Tibet
Sting, Dave Matthews and a host of other music stars have added their voices to the pro-Tibet movement on a potentially sensitive album for China ahead of the Beijing Olympics …
Shanghaiist Blog – Eight "don't-asks" and other things to keep in mind when chatting with foreigners and handicapped athletes
We've all seen our fair share of rules and regulations compiled for the upcoming Olympics, but Peaceful Rise translates a novel set of prescriptions for Chinese citizens' interaction with Westerners during the Games, found on a new series of posters in Beijing …
Yahoo! News – China says deadly bus blasts, Olympics not linked
China said Tuesday that no evidence of an Olympic terror link had been found in a pair of bus explosions that killed two people in a southwestern city …
China Digital Times – Special coverage: 2008 Olympic Games
Over the past few years, CDT has been compiling news and updates about the elaborate preparations underway as Beijing gets ready to host the 2008 Olympic Games. These archives provide a useful …
The New Yorker – Angry Youth
On the morning of April 15th, a short video entitled “2008 China Stand Up!” appeared on Sina, a Chinese Web site. The video’s origin was a mystery: unlike the usual YouTube-style clips, it had no host, no narrator, and no signature except the initials "CTGZ"…
AFP – China urges US athletes to focus on friendship
China on Tuesday said US athletes should focus on building friendships at the Beijing Games, in a curt response to US President George Bush's call for them to be "ambassadors of liberty" …
Washington Post – Protests, ambush marketing hurt Olympic brand
Protests against China's policies at home and abroad, as well as marketing techniques used by companies that are not official Olympic sponsors, have made the Beijing games a risky proposition for some sponsors …

china AND human rights AND Olympics

Weekly report: How not to help the Chinese, part 9

2008-07-23T01:05:00Z

Sport isn't the only thing on the minds of multinationals in Beijing, writes Antony Loewenstein

Human rights issues? What human rights issues?

With only a few weeks until the start of the Beijing Games, this seems to be the message from corporate sponsors of the event. The New York Times explains:

“McDonald’s is running a ‘Cheer for China’ television ad. Nike ads feature China’s star hurdler, Liu Xiang, and other Chinese athletes besting foreign competitors. Earlier this year, Pepsi even painted its familiar blue cans red for a limited edition ‘Go Red for China’ promotion.

“The campaigns for Western companies are part of an advertising blitz the likes of which this ostensibly communist nation has never seen. Ads are papered over bus shelters, projected on giant outdoor television screens and plastered on billboards. Commercials even flicker at commuters as they zoom through subway tunnels.

“China, already the world’s second-largest advertising market, after the United States, is a dream for consumer product companies. ‘For most international brands here, China is the growth market for the next 10 years,’ said Jonathan Chajet, strategic director at Interbrand, which consults on brands.”

Despite pressure some months ago to persuade multinationals to boycott the “Genocide Games”, China’s nationalism is clearly too strong a factor to avoid (along with the potential of massive profits.) The International Olympic Committee is also behaving badly.

Arvind Ganesan, the Director of the Business and Human Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, told Harpers magazine last week that he was concerned about the role of multinationals in China and their deafening silence over abuses:

“…All of the companies claim to have some sort of ‘socially responsive’ policies and two of them, GE and Coke, are actually part of an initiative called the ‘Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights.’ They have made public commitments to be progressive companies when it comes to human rights, but they have been silent about the situation in China.”

And the reason why?

“Through NBC, GE has paid hundreds of million of dollars to broadcast the Olympics. Given how much it has invested as a sponsor, let’s see how critical they are going to be.”

It’s inevitable that some of the Western media covering the sporting events will also discuss human rights abuses. It’s important that dissidents are not forgotten in the rush to celebrate athleticism. Take the case of imprisoned Du Daobin, whose case has been highlighted by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ):

“Du, 43, a dissident writer and former editor of Human Rights Poetry, was sentenced in 2004 to three years’ jail for ‘inciting subversion of state power’ for publishing 26 articles in 2004 that were critical of the Government. The sentence was suspended to four years’ probation with two years’ deprivation of political rights.

“The IFJ has learnt that Du, a member of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre’s Writers in Prison Committee, was detained by police in Hubei on July 21 for allegedly publishing dozens of articles under a pseudonym during his probation.

“The charge of ‘inciting subversion of state power’ has frequently been levelled at writers and journalists who publish articles critical of any aspect of Chinese government policy.”

Beijing is afraid of both aggrieved citizens reaching the capital to protest and any sign of trouble from the outside. There are reportedly 110,000 security personnel and more than one million citizens to protect the Games against alleged terrorist threats.

Unfortunately, at least one athlete, an Israeli settler, will be representing the worst aspect of human nature, namely the dispossession of Palestinian land, in her pursuit of a taekwondo medal.

Perhaps the most surreal story of the week was the news that some American participants are considering wearing high-tech masks to protect them from pollution. It may cause problems, however. “When you're walking around with a mask on, you're basically saying, 'You guys stink,' " says Scott Schnitzspahn, performance director of the U.S. triathlon team.

Antony Loewenstein is a Sydney-based journalist, blogger and author of the forthcoming book, The Blogging Revolution