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

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<strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China (2009)April 26, 2010ruled that these enquiries “incited the creation of troubles and endangered nationalsecurity.” 73• Huang Wei ( ), a Zhejiang Province folk singer who has traveled around thecountry in recent years singing about human rights as well as the Massacre, wassent to 18 months of RTL for planning a commemorative performance onTiananmen Square; 74伟黄While some activists were punished for writing on topics deemed “sensitive” by thecentral government, others were punished for exposing rights abuses, corruption, or othermisconduct by local officials. Below are a few examples in which human rights defenderswere detained for airing the alleged misdeeds of local officials and threatening theircareers:• In July, Sun Xiaodi ( ), a Gansu Provinceenvironmental activist and recipient of the 2006international Nuclear-Free Future Award, and hisdaughter, Sun Haiyan ( , also known as SunDunbai [ ]), were sent to 24 months and 18months of RTL, respectively, for “illegallyproviding state secrets overseas.” The two werepunished for alerting human rights organizationsand the central government that a localgovernment in Gansu Province, which bordersSichuan Province, had exaggerated the impact ofthe May 2008 Sichuan earthquake to receive more孙小弟relief funding. They also reported on radioactivepollution in the area. 75• Three Fujian human孙海孙燕敦rights白defenders, FanYanqiong ( ), Wu Huaying ( ), and Fan YanqiongYou Jingyou ( were taken into custody between June 26 and July 5 afterthey posted articles and video online accusing local officials of misconduct inhandling the suspicious death of Yan Xiaoling ( a young woman fromMinqing County, Fujian Province. The case, which touched on corruption, tiesbetween local officials and organized crime, and the abuse and death of a youngwoman, was widely discussed by Chinese netizens. The three were tried for“making false accusations” on November 11 and eventually convicted of“slander” in April 2010. 76严游英华吴琼燕范), 玲晓20), 佑精Human rights defenders maintained a strong foothold online in 2009 despite variousgovernment attempts to silence them. Their online activism also played a critical role inmobilizing for positive change in real space. While their persistence and their ability tocontinuously adapt to a changing online environment in the past year is a cause foroptimism for the future, recent actions by the government leave little hope that officialsmay soon soften their stance towards digital activism.
<strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China (2009)April 26, 2010C. The rights to participate in the government and in the conduct of public affairs“1. Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to haveeffective access, on a nondiscriminatory basis, to participation in the governmentof his or her country and in the conduct of public affairs.2. This includes, inter alia, the right, individually and in association with others,to submit to governmental bodies and agencies and organizations concerned withpublic affairs criticism and proposals for improving their functioning and to drawattention to any aspect of their work that may hinder or impede the promotion,protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”- Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, Article 8Despite promising to “expand citizens’ participation in political affairs in an orderly wayat all levels and in all sectors” 77 and “guarantee the people’s right of democraticsupervision” 78 in its National Human Rights Action Plan 2009-2010 (hereafter referred toas “the Action Plan”) published in April, the Chinese government remained intolerant ofpolitical organizing outside of its control. In 2009, it cracked down harshly on individualswho attempted to organize political parties or made calls for political reform. Humanrights defenders had no effective means to participate in the government and in theconduct of public affairs in 2009.Political participation was limited to monitoring, voting, and running for office in villagecommittee elections. Apart from that, the primary methods through which ordinarycitizens could participate in government affairs in 2009 were the submission of openletters or legislative proposals to the government. The government continued to solicitopinions on draft legislation, and received thousands of comments on some drafts, but itwas unclear to what extent these comments were taken into consideration during thelegislative process. The government proved unwelcoming to any unsolicited proposals,and in some cases responded to calls for reform, such as Charter 08, with wellcoordinatedand wide-reaching retaliation. Likewise, if human rights defenders voicedtheir opinions on how local officials conducted village elections—by protesting about theoutcome, or publicizing voting irregularities, for example—they risked punishment.1. Open letters and legislative proposalsMost open letters were addressed to the government and its leaders at the central level,such as members of the National People’s Congress (NPC), but some were directed toofficials at the provincial or local level. 79 The letter drafters, as well as their topics anddemands, were diverse. For example:• A number of lawyers and activists released a public letter on December 17 toofficial media outlets, demanding abolition of Article 306 of the Criminal Law 80and criticizing the press for what they believed to be biased or incorrect reportingregarding the case of Li Zhuang ( a Beijing lawyer who was tried for 李21庄 ),
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