Human Rights in China 中国人权

In December 2010, when he was released after completing a 15-year prison sentence on conviction of espionage (间谍罪) and separatism (分裂国家罪), Mongolian dissident Hada (哈达) was taken directly to secret detention and has been under custody since. His wife, Xinna (新娜), told Human Rights in China (HRIC) that Hada, 56, has been showing obvious psychiatric symptoms but is denied medical treatment. She and their son Uiles (威勒斯) were previously sentenced for "illegal business operation" (非法经营罪) and "illegal drug possession” (非法持有毒品), respectively, charges they contend were trumped up. Xinna said that she has been forbidden to work, and the family is facing extreme difficulties and is in “a living hell.”

Following the October 11 announcement of the 2012 Nobel Literature Prize for Mo Yan (莫言), two other Chinese authors received international recognition for their work: Liao Yiwu (廖亦武) was awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, and Yu Jie (余杰) was awarded the 2012 Civil Courage Prize by the U.S.-based Train Foundation.

HRIC has learned that at least four rights defenders in Shanghai were criminally detained in late September: Mao Hengfeng (毛恒凤), Cui Fufang (崔福芳), Wang Kouma (王扣玛), and Tong Guojing (童国菁). Three of them have been charged with “gathering a crowd to disturb public order” or “disturbing social order.”

18th Party Congress Watch (12)

Gao Wenqian, HRIC Senior Policy Advisor

After more than six months of deliberation and bargaining, top officials in the Communist Party of China have finally reached a decision on how to deal with the Bo Xilai problem: charge him with abuse of power and taking enormous bribes in connection with the Wang Lijun incident and the Gu Kailai murder case; punish him with “double expulsion” (from both the Party and his official positions); and hand over his case to judicial authorities to deal with. At this time, it appears that the great power-struggle drama on Beijing’s political stage has finally come to an end, clearing the way for the 18th Party Congress to convene. It is safe to say that if there are no significant changes, Bo will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

18th Party Congress Watch (11)

Gao Wenqian, HRIC Senior Policy Advisor

In this new segment of the HRIC’s “18th Party Congress Watch” commentary series, Gao Wenqian provides his view on the meaning of Wang Lijun’s 15-year sentence and its implication for how the Party will deal with Bo Xilai’s case.

Kong Qiuhua (孔秋华), wife of Yang Yunbiao (杨云彪), a land rights defender from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, told HRIC that her husband was released on April 23, 2012, five months ahead of the scheduled release date (September 23, 2012). Yan was sentenced to three years in prison on conviction of "sabotaging production and business."

On the eve of the UN review of China’s first report on its implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Human Rights in China (HRIC) emphasized to an independent expert UN committee that much of the information related to family planning, public health, women, and trade unions, requested by the committee, but that China has not provided, is classified by Chinese authorities as “secrets,” or “internal” (neibu), which cannot be disseminated without prior approval.

On the September 4, Chen Pingfu (陈平福), a former math and science teacher, was tried in a court in Lanzhou, Gansu Province for “inciting subversion of state power.” The court did not issue a verdict.

Tang Jingling (唐荆陵), a Guangdong lawyer retained by the family of the late labor activist Li Wangyang (李旺阳), was detained for six days, from September 5 to September 10 in Shaoyang, Hunan Province, and in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province. Li’s death on June 6 this year in a hospital room in Shaoyang was declared a suicide by the authorities, but this determination has been questioned by Li’s family and friends.

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Featured Videos

HRIC Commentary: What is Next for Bo Xilai?
HRIC Commentary: Gu Kailai's Indictment
Chen Guangcheng’s Escape Highlights the Bankruptcy of Beijing’s Stability Maintenance Model - HRIC Commentary
HRIC Commentary: Hu Jintao Intends No Fresh Start in Bringing Down Bo Xilai
HRIC Commentary: Bo Xilai’s Ouster: Implications for the Country

Liu Xiaobo
on the institutional protection of human rights

“The day when dignity of the people is conceptually and legally established is the day that the human rights of our countrymen will gain institutional protections.”

From “Can It Be that the Chinese People Deserve Only ‘Party-Led Democracy’?” (2006) translated in China Rights Forum 2010, no. 1, “Freedom of Expression on Trial in China”