China Human Rights Briefing 25 February 2010
Headlines
- Beijing Police Meet With Artists Following 2/22 Protest, Discuss Forced Evictions
- Shenzhen Detention Center Repeatedly Denies Visits for Xue Mingkai, Imprisoned for “Subversion”
- Kunming Dissident Questioned over Support for Charter 08, Liu Xiaobo
ForcedEviction and Demolition
Beijing Police Meet With ArtistsFollowing 2/22 Protest, Discuss Forced Evictions
On the afternoon of February 24, Beijing police held ameeting in a Chaoyang District hotel to debrief two artists who tookpart in aprotest on February 22 after they were attacked the previous night intheirstudios and residences by armed thugs. Wu Yuren (吴玉仁) and Liu Yi (刘懿) spokewith officials, who claimed 19 people had already been taken intocustody fortheir roles in the forced eviction. The police stated that, while theyrecognized the artists had been victims of violence, their protest wasnonetheless unauthorized and violated the relevant law; they warned theartistsnot to take any "drastic actions" in the future. Local officials havepromised increased security around the artists' district and continuedeffortsto resolve the dispute over the demolition of the artists' buildings.(CHRD)[i]
Tortureand Other Cruel, Unusual, or Inhuman Treatment
Shenzhen Detention Center Repeatedly Denies Visits forXue Mingkai, Imprisoned for “Subversion”
The mother of twenty year-old Shandong workerXue Mingkai (薛明凯)has attempted to visit her son in Shenzhen's Number Two DetentionCenter onthree occasions since his conviction for "subversion of state power"on February 10, but has been denied each time, CHRD learned on February25. Oneperson who has been able to visit Xue is his lawyer, who met with Xueon theafternoon of February 24 and reports that he intends to appeal hisconviction.Xue, who has been detained since May 9, 2009, was convicted of"subversion" after allegedly planning to organize a political partycalled the “China Democratic Workers’ Party” with online friends in thesummerof 2006 and then contacting and joining an overseas democracyorganization inearly 2009. (CHRD)[ii]
Freedomof Expression
Kunming Dissident Questioned overSupport for Charter 08, Liu Xiaobo
CHRD has learned that National Security officersand police in Kunming, Yunnan have questioned local dissident and Charter 08 signatory Shao Yingxi (邵英曦) twicein recent days, and have searched his computer, copying some of itscontents. Accordingto Shao and others, police questioned Shang on February 23 and 25; onbothoccasions, they asked him about his involvement with Charter08 and online actions to support Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波).Police warned Shao, who has written online about democratic principlesand thelaw, to discontinue his involvement with these causes. (CHRD)[iii]
Editors:David Smalls and Lin Sang
*** CHRD’s Human Rights Yearbook 2009 is now available. For a free copy, please contact us with yourmailing address at crdnetwork@gmail.com. ***
ThrownOut: Human Rights Abuses in China’s Breakneck Real Estate Development
[i] "Beijing Police Debrief Residents of Demolished BeijingArtsDistrict" (北京警方就正阳艺术区强拆事件邀当事人听取汇报),February 25, 2010, http://www.crd-net.org/Article/Class53/201002/20100225122642_20073.html
[ii] "Shenzhen police Repeatedly Refuse Family Visits for XueMingkai" (深圳警方多次拒绝家属会见薛明凯),February 25, 2010, http://www.crd-net.org/Article/Class18/Xuemingkai/201002/20100225133242_20076.html
[iii] "Yunnan Dissident Shao Yingxi Summoned Because of'Charter08'" (云南异议人士邵英曦因《零八宪章》被传唤),February 25, 2010, http://www.crd-net.org/Article/lingbaxianzhang/201002/20100225134615_20078.html
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