Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China ...

<strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China (2009)April 26, 2010officials took some visible steps to appear open to public input, such as seekingcommentary on draft legislation, they largely ignored or reacted harshly to any criticismsor proposals deemed unacceptable to the Communist Party.The right to freedom of association was a focal point throughout the year as thegovernment moved to stifle relatively independent organizations. Though forced toregister as commercial firms due to restrictive regulations, groups like Gongmeng (whichfocuses on the rule of law and constitutional reform), Aizhixing (which focuses onHIV/AIDS issues), and Yirenping (which focuses on public health) had been able to workopenly on issues of justice and human rights in recent years. However, officials began torestrict their ability to operate in 2009, forcing Gongmeng to close and harassingAizhixing, Yirenping, and other similar organizations. New regulations introduced at theend of the year to limit access to foreign funding for NGOs underscored thegovernment’s continuing efforts to target these and other rights-focused organizations.The government’s hostility towards dissent and free expression throughout the year wasepitomized by its far-reaching response to Charter 08, a manifesto issued at the end of2008 outlining a vision of a free, democratic China. Over the course of 2009, thegovernment censored discussion of the document online and harassed, threatened, andquestioned individuals associated with it, including all 303 of the original signatories.While the continued spread of Charter 08—which had been signed by over 10,000supporters by the end of 2009—demonstrated the ability of some Chinese netizens tooutmaneuver the authorities and evade oppressive online censorship, the 11-year prisonsentence handed down to prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo ( ), one of Charter 08’sorganizers, left no doubt that the government continued to regard nonviolent expressionas a serious crime. Liu’s sentence was one of the harshest for “inciting subversion of statepower” (a charge frequently used to criminalize political speech) of this decade.波 晓 刘China’s “rule of law” reforms took a step backwards in 2009. As the governmentcontinued to block citizens’ attempts to use the law to address their grievances, CHRDdocumented citizens’ growing disillusionment with the law and a legal system that isbecoming increasingly marginalized by both the government and the people. Thissentiment played a role in the increase in “mass incidents” and protests observed in 2009.At the same time, however, the law remained a powerful tool in the Chinesegovernment’s fight to silence human rights defenders.Looking back on 2009 as a whole, there were few bright spots for human rights defenders.However, the internet remained a platform for vibrant discussions about social andpolitical issues as well as a powerful organizing tool. While the government’scrackdowns on petitioning, demonstrations, and organized dissent, which have increasedsince the buildup to the Beijing Olympics, may have driven human rights’ defendersactions largely online, human rights defenders have found ways to successfullydisseminate information on human rights via the internet despite the government’ssophisticated cyber-censorship and surveillance. In the past year, online campaigns havemobilized significant support for political and legal reforms and inspired crowds to gatherfor protests against abuses or in solidarity outside of the trials of activists. What hope2