Source:

Political Prisoner Database (PPD) [ID 3814]

The CECC's searchable Political Prisoner Database (PPD) provides public access to information about political prisoners in China.

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

The government continued to use house arrest as a nonjudicial punishment and control measure against dissidents and others it deemed politically sensitive ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22770]

"Authorities arrested persons on charges of revealing state secrets, subversion, and common crimes to suppress political dissent and social advocacy. Citizens also were detained and prosecuted under broad and ambiguous state secrets laws for, among other actions, disclosing information on criminal trials, meetings, and government activity. Information could retroactively be classified a state secret by the government.
During the year human rights activists and defenders, Falun Gong practitioners, domestic and foreign journalists, unregistered religious figures, and former political prisoners and their family members were among those targeted for arbitrary detention or arrest.
The government continued to use house arrest as a nonjudicial punishment and control measure against dissidents, former political prisoners, family members of political prisoners, petitioners, underground religious figures, and others it deemed politically sensitive. House arrest encompassed varying degrees of stringency but sometimes included complete isolation in one's own home or another location under lock and guard. In some cases house arrest involved constant monitoring, but the target of house arrest was occasionally permitted to leave the home to work or run errands. When outside the home, the subject of house arrest was usually, but not always, under surveillance. In some instances security officials assumed invasive positions within the family home, rather than monitoring from the outside."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Authorities continued to confine citizens for reasons related to politics and religion ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22838]

"Government officials continued to deny holding any political prisoners, asserting that authorities detained persons not for their political or religious views, but because they violated the law; however, the authorities continued to confine citizens for reasons related to politics and religion. Tens of thousands of political prisoners remained incarcerated, some in prisons and others in reeducation-through-labor camps or administrative detention. The government did not grant international humanitarian organizations access to political prisoners.
Foreign NGOs estimated that several hundred persons remained in prison for the repealed crime of "counterrevolution," and thousands of others were serving sentences under the state security law, which authorities stated covers crimes similar to counterrevolution. Persons who continued to be detained for counterrevolutionary offenses included labor activist Hu Shigen and Inner Mongolian activist Hada. Foreign governments urged the government to review the cases of those charged before 1997 with counterrevolution and to release those who had been jailed for nonviolent offenses under provisions of the criminal law, which were eliminated when the law was revised. To date, no systematic review has occurred. The government maintained that counterrevolutionary prisoners were eligible for parole and early release on an equal basis with other prisoners but provided no evidence to support this assertion. According to Amnesty International, dozens of people were believed to remain in prison in connection with their involvement in the 1989 Tiananmen prodemocracy movement. Others estimated that at least 10 and as many as 200 Tiananmen activists were still in prison. The exact number was unknown because official statistics have never been made public."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Political prisoners obtained parole and sentence reduction much less frequently than ordinary prisoners ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22839]

"Many political prisoners remained in prison or under other forms of detention at year's end, including rights activist Hu Jia; journalist Shi Tao; Internet writers Yang Zili and Xu Wei; labor activists Yao Fuxin, Mu Mingjun, Hu Shigen, Huang Xiangwei, Kong Youping, Ning Xianhua, Li Jianfeng, Li Xintao, Lin Shun'an, Yue Tianxiang, Zhang Shanguang, Gao Hongming, Zha Jianguo, Li Wangyang, and She Wanbao; China Democracy Party cofounder Qin Yongmin; family planning whistleblower Chen Guangcheng; Su Zhimin; Christian activist Zhang Rongliang; Uighurs Tohti Tunyaz and Dilkex Tilivaldi; and Tibetans Jigme Gyatso, Tenzin Deleg, and Gendun Choekyi Nyima. Political prisoners obtained parole and sentence reduction much less frequently than ordinary prisoners."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Former political prisoners and their families frequently were subjected to harassment ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22840]

"Criminal punishments included "deprivation of political rights" for a fixed period after release from prison, during which the individual is denied the already-limited rights of free speech and association granted to other citizens. Former prisoners sometimes found their status in society, ability to find employment, freedom to travel, and access to residence permits and social services severely restricted. Former political prisoners and their families frequently were subjected to police surveillance, telephone wiretaps, searches, and other forms of harassment, and some encountered difficulty in obtaining or keeping employment and housing."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Police continued to detain current and former Falun Gong practitioners and used possession of Falun Gong material as a pretext for arresting political activists ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23316]

"Police continued to detain current and former Falun Gong practitioners and used possession of Falun Gong material as a pretext for arresting political activists. In March Chi Jianwei, a member of the CDP, was sentenced to three years in prison for using a cult to undermine implementation of the law, reportedly after authorities found Falun Gong material at his house. Early in the year, authorities sentenced Cui Xin, an elderly resident of Harbin, to seven years' imprisonment for her involvement with Falun Gong. Police confiscated Falun Gong materials from Cui's home following her arrest in December 2006. The government continued its use of high-pressure tactics and mandatory anti-Falun Gong study sessions to force practitioners to renounce Falun Gong. Even practitioners who had not protested or made other public demonstrations of belief reportedly were forced to attend anti-Falun Gong classes or were sent directly to reeducation-through-labor camps. These tactics reportedly resulted in large numbers of practitioners signing pledges to renounce the movement."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Authorities continue to confine citizens for reasons related to politics and religion ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19081]

"Government officials continued to deny holding any political prisoners, asserting that authorities detained persons not for their political or religious views, but because they violated the law; however, the authorities continued to confine citizens for reasons related to politics and religion. Tens of thousands of political prisoners remained incarcerated, some in prisons and others in reeducation-through-labor camps or administrative detention. The government did not grant international humanitarian organizations access to political prisoners.

Western NGOs estimated that approximately 500 persons remained in prison for the repealed crime of "counterrevolution," and thousands of others were serving sentences under the state security law, which authorities stated covers crimes similar to counterrevolution. Persons who continued to be detained for counterrevolutionary offenses included labor activist Hu Shigen; Inner Mongolian activist Hada; and dissidents Yu Dongyue, Zhang Jingsheng, and Sun Xiongying. Foreign governments urged the government to review the cases of those charged before 1997 with counterrevolution and to release those who had been jailed for nonviolent offenses under provisions of the Criminal Law, which were eliminated when the law was revised. To date, no such review has occurred. The government maintained that counterrevolutionary prisoners were eligible for parole and early release on an equal basis with other prisoners but provided no evidence to support this assertion.

Amnesty International has identified by name more than 80 persons who remained imprisoned or on medical parole for their participation in the 1989 Tiananmen demonstrations; other NGOs estimated that as many as 200 persons remained in prison for political activities connected to the demonstrations.

Many political prisoners remained in prison or under other forms of detention during the year, including journalists Zhao Yan, Shi Tao, and Jiang Weiping; Internet writers Yang Zili and Xu Wei; labor activist Yao Fuxin; China Democracy Party cofounder Qin Yongmin; political dissident Yang Jianli; family planning whistleblower Chen Guangcheng; Su Zhimin and other underground Catholic bishops; house Christian activists Zhang Rongliang, Cai Zhuohua, and Liu Fenggang; Uighurs Tohti Tunyaz and Dilkex Tilivaldi; Tibetans Jigme Gyatso, Tenzin Deleg, and Gendun Choekyi Nyima; and Inner Mongolian cultural activist Hada. Political prisoners obtained parole and sentence reduction much less frequently than ordinary prisoners.

Criminal punishments included "deprivation of political rights" for a fixed period after release from prison, during which the individual is denied the already limited rights of free speech and association granted to other citizens. Former prisoners sometimes found their status in society, ability to find employment, freedom to travel, and access to residence permits and social services severely restricted. Former political prisoners and their families frequently were subjected to police surveillance, telephone wiretaps, searches, and other forms of harassment, and some encountered difficulty in obtaining or keeping employment and housing (see section 1.f.). [...]

Some citizens were under heavy surveillance and routinely had their telephone calls monitored or telephone service disrupted. The authorities frequently warned dissidents and activists, underground religious figures, former political prisoners, and others whom the government considered to be troublemakers not to meet with foreigners. During the year police ordered many such citizens not to meet with foreign journalists or diplomats, especially before sensitive anniversaries, at the time of important government or party meetings, and during the visits of high-level foreign officials. Security personnel also harassed and detained the family members of political prisoners, including following them to meetings with foreign reporters and diplomats and urging them to remain silent about the cases of their relatives. In 2005 family members of prisoners were discouraged or prevented from meeting with the UN special rapporteur on torture."

Document(s): Open document

12.2006 - Source: Congressional-Executive Commission on China

Local authorities continue to interfere with citizens' rights to vote and stand for election in the 2006-2007 cycle of county and township local people's congress (LPC) elections ("China Human Rights and Rule of Law Update (December 2006)") [ID 19572]

"Local authorities continue to interfere with citizens' rights to vote and stand for election in the 2006-2007 cycle of county and township local people's congress (LPC) elections. Officials have harassed and taken into custody independent candidates and their supporters who threaten Communist Party control over the process and candidates.

* On July 26, authorities took into custody democracy activist Yao Lifa and five other independent LPC candidates after they met in Xiantao city, Hubei province, to discuss their election campaigns. Unidentified assailants beat Yao several times in 2005 while he was educating villagers on the election process. On November 7, 2006, the eve of the current cycle of LPC elections in Qianjiang, public security officials took Yao into custody as he was on his way to campaign for votes, according to a Radio Free Asia (RFA) report (in Chinese) on the same day. According to a November 13 RFA report (in Chinese), Yao believes that security officials summoned him for questioning in part to influence voters against him. Security officials have also harassed volunteers such as Lu Banglie who campaigned on Yao's behalf, according to November 6 RFA report (in Chinese).

* After Zuo Xiaohuan, a professor at Leshan Teachers' College in Sichuan province, announced on July 30 his decision to seek election to the Leshan city LPC, authorities at the college threatened to dismiss Zuo unless he withdrew his bid, according to a September 27 Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CRD) report (in Chinese).

* Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported (in Chinese) on September 13 that independent candidate Wen Yan (whose pen name is Sun Bu'er) withdrew from the Jianghan district LPC election in Wuhan city, Hubei, earlier that day, after unidentified assailants beat Wen and his mother on September 12. On the day before the beating, a Wuhan city public security official instructed Wen via telephone to withdraw from the election in order to avoid being beaten, according to a September 12 RFA report (in Chinese).

* On September 17, the eve of the LPC elections in the Wuchang district of Wuhan, public security officials took into custody independent candidate Yan Yuxiang, according to a September 20 RFA report (in Chinese). RFA also reported that during the same week, officials sought out for questioning independent candidate Xiao Shuixiang. After officials threatened Xiao, he withdrew his bid and did not cast a vote in the election.

* On September 25, public security officials took into custody Cai Aimin, an independent LPC candidate in Zhongyuan district, Zhengzhou city, Henan province, while he was distributing campaign leaflets, according to the September 27 CRD report.

* According to a November 7 Voice of America (VOA) report (in Chinese), unidentified assailants have beaten Lu Banglie, an LPC representative running for reelection in Zhijiang city, Hubei, twice during this election cycle. Lu endured beatings in 2003, while involved in recalling an allegedly corrupt leader in his village, and in October 2005 for his role in the Taishi village recall campaign. Lu told VOA that he is followed day and night and that officials have been sent to Zhijiang to instruct voters not to vote for Lu.

* According to a November 8 VOA report (in Chinese), Beijing lawyer Teng Biao said that more than 20 independent LPC candidates are running for election in Beijing, but that the Party still selects the vast majority of candidates. Teng has decided to boycott the elections due to Party control over the election process and government harassment of independent candidates.

Authorities have also engaged in corruption and fraud to interfere with LPC elections. On September 18, the head of the Huaqiao District Public Security Bureau (PSB) in Wuhan ordered three police officers to beat Wang Guoqiang, an officer in the bureau's communications department, after Wang reported to authorities an illegal mobile ballot box in the district LPC election, according to an October 13 RFA report (in Chinese). According to RFA, the PSB head who ordered the beating was also a district LPC candidate backed by local authorities. A 1995 amendment to Article 34 of the Electoral Law of the National People's Congress and Local People's Congress (Electoral Law) provides for the use of mobile ballot boxes to make voting more accessible to citizens with little or no mobility, according to a July 25 National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee General Office Information Bureau statement (in Chinese). The statement says that there have been many problems in China associated with the use of mobile ballot boxes, including instances of election personnel secretly filling out ballots. Other problems with mobile ballot boxes that have contributed to election fraud in China include overusage, arbitrary usage, and the lack of supervision over personnel managing the boxes, according to an October 1 report (in Chinese) on the China Elections and Governance Web site, a division of the Carter Center's China Elections Project. Official misuse of mobile ballot boxes is punishable under Article 52 of the Electoral Law, which provides for both administrative or criminal sanctions against those who use illegal means to disrupt election proceedings or interfere with election results, including through the "forgery of electoral documents, falsification of vote tallies or other illegal acts.""

Document(s): Open document

05.05.2006 - Source: World Organisation Against Torture

OMCT: Violations of Freedom of Association in the political field. ("An alternative report by OMCT reveals that Georgia’s policy to fight against crime leads to unacceptable abuse and torture") [#10068],  [ID 3829]

"Freedom of association is also violated in the political field : attempts to set up legal political parties are not tolerated. China Democratic Party (CDP) founding members Xu Wenli, Wang Youcai and Qin Yongmin, who tried to register their Party legally with the Civil Affairs departments are currently undergoing heavy prison sentences. Xu Wenli was sentenced to 13 years in prison and three years’ deprivation of political rights. Wang Youcai was convicted of violating Article 106 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 11 years in prison. His “crimes,” according to the prosecution, included drafting the CDP declaration; being the prime mover of the CDP; intending to hold a CDP meeting in the form of a tea party; and sending 18 CDP documents abroad by electronic mail. Qin Yongmin was sentenced after a two-and-a-half-hour trial on December 17, 1998, in the Wuhan People’s Intermediate Court. He was convicted of, among other things, “preparing to organise the CDP, editing [the newsletter] China Human Rights Watch, reporting on human rights to the United Nations and linking up with foreign hostile organisations.” He was given a 12-year prison term.

China's 16th Party Congress has drawn a number of petitions and open letters from Chinese dissidents are calling for political reform and greater openness. At the same time, Chinese authorities have begun arresting some vocal dissidents in order to maintain a “peaceful and stable” atmosphere for the Congress."

17.03.2006 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Political dissident Wang Wanxing held in police-run mental hospital for 13 years; victim of practice to use psychiatric detention to silence political activists ("China: No Medical Reason to Hold Dissident") [#46772],  [ID 17064]

Document(s): Open document

17.03.2006 - Source: Tageszeitung

According to psychiatrists, Dissident Wang Wanxing 13 years put in psychiatry without reasons ("China: Zu Unrecht in Psychiatrie") [#46773],  [ID 17157]

Document(s): Open document

24.02.2006 - Source: Standard

Police takes action against hunger-striking dissidents in Bejing, Shanghai and other cities ("Polizei geht landesweit gegen Dissidenten vor") [#44962],  [ID 17159]

Document(s): Open document

02.11.2005 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Dissident freed after 13 years in Chinese police-run mental asylum; he was forcibly held in Beijing asylum for criminally insane after staging a brief, one-man pro-democracy demonstration in Tiananmen Square; he was subjected to abuse in hospital ("China: Political Prisoner Exposes Brutality in Police-Run Mental Hospital") [#38501],  [ID 3815]

Document(s): Open document

11.10.2005 - Source: Congressional-Executive Commission on China

Political Detentions, Harassment, and Selectively Enforced National Security Laws ("Annual Report 2005") [#37506],  [ID 3816]

see report for further details

"Chinese officials continue to detain Chinese citizens who criticize them and their policies, and the Committee to Protect Journalists has dubbed China ‘‘the world’s leading jailer of journalists.’’ The Commission welcomes the release over the past year of several political prisoners, but regrets that during the same period Chinese security and judicial authorities detained or imprisoned dozens of individuals for exercising their right to peacefully express their political beliefs."

Document(s): Open document

04.2005 - Source: UK Home Office

Country Report April 2005 - People Who Oppose the Regime ("Country Report - April 2005") [#31975],  [ID 3817]

"6.167 As reported by the official news agency Xinhua on 17 January 2005, “Comrade Zhao Ziyang died of illness in a Beijing hospital Monday. He was 85.” [13t] As reported by CCN on the same date: “Zhao was considered one of the standard-bearers of political and economic reform in China. He opposed the use of force against the Tiananmen Square demonstrators and was removed from his post during the clampdown.” [10h] On the same date the BBC reported that, “The deaths of other liberal leaders in China have tapped latent public frustration at the country's slow pace of democratic reform. Protests flared when former Premier Zhou Enlai died in 1976, and pro-reform party leader Hu Yaobang's death in 1989 sparked the Tiananmen Square protests that ended Zhao's political era.” [9bv]

6.168 On the 23 January 2005, the Asian news site Muzi news reported that police in Beijing detained Zhao Xin (no relation) for attempting to organise a 5,000-strong protest march to mourn the passing of Zhao Ziyang. [15ae]

6.169 As reported by the BBC on 29 January 2004, “Hundreds of people have attended a tightly controlled funeral service in Beijing for purged Chinese Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang. Mourners filed past Zhao's body and paid their respects, before his cremation at the Babaoshan cemetery.” [9bx]

6.170 Zhao’s obituary, published by the official news agency Xinhua on 29 January 2005 stated:

“In the early years of China's reform and opening-up drive, he successively held important leading positions of the CPC Central Committee and the State, making contribution to the cause of the Party and the people. In the political turbulence which took place in the late spring and early summer of 1989, Comrade Zhao committed serious mistakes.” [13v]

6.171 As reported in Volume 5, Issue 3 (February 1, 2005) of China Brief – available via the Jamestown Foundation’s website:

“Friends of the Zhao family said an estimated 4,000 people – many from Henan, Zhao's home province, as well as Guangdong, one of his power bases – showed up at the Fu Qiang house to mourn the reformer the first three days after his death. This occurred despite instructions given by CCP authorities to many departments that cadres and party members should refrain from taking part in Zhao-related activities. Probably because of the unexpectedly large turnout, Beijing decided to restrict access to the Zhao home by entirely cordoning off Fu Qiang Lane with dozens of police and state security officers. Only mourners who could prove their association with Zhao – or whose names had been given to the police by family members – could go in.” [8hc]

6.172 On 30 December 2004, the Guardian newspaper reported that since President Hu and Premier Wen came to power Chinese nationalist groups have found it easier to operate. This reported also noted that many observers believe that the CCP is channelling public frustration at growing disparities in wealth into anti-Japanese xenophobia. [16ao]

6.173 According to a report by TIME Asia dated 22 November 2004,

“Fifteen years after the youthful activism of Tiananmen Square, a new breed of young Chinese agitators is finding its voice. Its mantra, though, is not democracy but the promotion of Chinese nationalism. Well-educated and united by the Internet, today's activists want China to flex its muscle against any foreign power they feel is holding back their resurgent nation. And their main target is Japan, which they feel has not adequately apologized for its egregious wartime past.” [15de]

6.174 As reported by CNN on 21 July 2004, Dr Jiang Yanyong was detained on the 1 June 2004 after he wrote a strongly worded letter to the NPC in February 2004 calling for a reappraisal of the pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square (4 June 1989). [10b]

6.175 As reported by the same source along with the Guardian newspaper on 21 July 2004 and by AI on 20 July 2004, Dr Jiang was detained for approximately seven weeks, during which time he was forced to undergo political re-education (forced study sessions). [10b] [16am] [6n]

6.176 On 21 July 2004, the Guardian newspaper reported:

“It was unclear last night whether he had signed a letter of contrition to secure his freedom. Dr Jiang’s family said he was in good health, but forbidden to talk to the media without the prior approval of his superiors at the No 301 military hospital in Beijing. Dr Jiang and his wife, Hua Zhongwei, were detained on June 1 while going to the US embassy, where they were applying for visas to visit their California-based daughter. They were among dozens of dissenters who were removed from public view or held under house arrest in the run-up to the politically sensitive 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown on June 4. Ms Hua and most of the others were released within two weeks, but Dr Jiang was held for what sympathisers called “brainwashing”, which would have required authorisation by Jiang Zemin, the head of the military [at the time].” [16am]"

Document(s): Open document

23.01.2005 - Source: BBC News

Former Tiananmen protester detained after he sought permission to stage a march mourning Mr Zhao, former Communist party leader who died last week after 15 years under house arrest ("Deadlock over Zhao funeral plans") [#28460],  [ID 3818]

Document(s): Open document

20.07.2004 - Source: Amnesty International

Beijing: prominent government critic released by authorities following almost seven weeks of arbitrary detention ("China: Prominent government critic released") [#24134],  [ID 3819]

Document(s): Open document

10.2003 - Source: UK Home Office

Country Assessment - October 2003 - Politcal Activists ("Country Report - October 2003") [#49232],  [ID 3820]

"6.163. Political dissent is tightly controlled. The authorities use a range of measures to silence public dissent, criticism and protest in China. These can include the imposition of prison terms, administrative detention and house arrest. Government officials deny that China holds political prisoners, asserting that persons are detained not for the political or religious view they hold but because they have taken some action that violates the Criminal Law. According to the US State Department [2g] there are still 1,300 people serving sentences under the now defunct Law Against Counter-revolutionary Activity: prior to revision, articles 90-104 of the Criminal Law provided for "counter-revolutionary crimes". The Revised Version does not refer to counter-revolution, but continues to proscribe 'acts that endanger national security'. For example, article 105 of the revised Criminal Law, provides for sentences of up to five years' imprisonment for 'whoever instigates the subversion of the political power of the state and overthrow the socialist system.' [2b][2d][7a] The cases of people still serving sentences for "counter-revolutionary offences" have not been reviewed. [6h]

6.164. Conditions for all inmates of penal institutions are generally harsh and frequently degrading. [2b] There are reports that some political prisoners have been unable to obtain adequate medical care, and reports of beatings by guards and fellow inmates, electric shocks and solitary confinement. [2d][2g]

6.165. Many of those arrested for participation in the pro-democracy movement in Beijing (but not in other locations) have been released. Security officials have stated that all cases from the period of the Tiananmen demonstrations have been concluded. [6o] However, Amnesty International (AI) maintains that 211 people remain imprisoned in connection with the 1989 protests. [2g][6h] The US State Department puts the figure at 2,000 in its March 2003 report. [2g] Those who have been released and continue to make political protest in China remain liable to further detention and harassment for subsequent "crimes", such as signing petitions or participating in events designed to commemorate those who died in and around Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989. [2a][6h]

6.166. On 4 June 1999, there were only two individual attempts to commemorate in Tiananmen Square itself. 130 activists were questioned and 42 detained by the police on the day itself. A number of individual arrests took place across the country, with details of the sentences imposed on those of people formally charged emerging from September to December 1999. Most sentences were between one and three years. [3am] Information about the arrests and government activities around the 10 years' commemoration of Tiananmen Square was published by the IRB in July 2000. [3am]

6.167. There are several examples in which the Chinese government apparently timed the release or detention of well-known dissidents to coincide with events of international significance to the country. [12f] The pro-democracy activist Wei Jingsheng was given medical parole and effective exile to USA in November 1997, following President Jiang's (1993 - 2003) state visit to Washington. Bao Ge (now in the US), who went on a hunger strike in 1993 to demand the release of another dissident, was himself detained five times briefly in the next year during high-level visits from US, Japanese and French representatives."

Document(s): Open document

09.07.2003 - Source: Human Rights Watch

HRW: Police in Henan province increasingly using arbitrary arrests and violence against HIV-positive protestors seeking access to treatment ("China: Police Violence Against HIV-Positive Protestors Escalates") [#14193],  [ID 3821]

"Police in Henan province are increasingly using arbitrary arrests and violence against HIV-positive protestors seeking access to treatment, Human Rights Watch said today.
[...]
Government health officials responded to earlier protests by HIV-positive villagers with promises of aid. But violence and arbitrary arrest have been the response in more recent incidents:
[...]
On June 22, hundreds of Henan police officers raided Xiongqiao. They arrested thirteen residents who had allegedly participated in a protest to call for the establishment of a hospital, and indiscriminately beat other residents, according to international media. One of those arrested was subsequently released."

Document(s): Open document

31.03.2003 - Source: US Department of State

USDOS: China reportedly uses psychiatric facilites to incarcerate political dissidents, trade unionists and Falun Gong adherents ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2002") [#11835],  [ID 3822]

"According to researchers, the country had 20 "ankang" institutions, high-security psychiatric hospitals for the criminally insane, directly administered by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS). Dissidents and other targeted individuals were housed with mentally ill patients in these institutions. The regulations for committing a person into an ankang psychiatric facility were not clear. Credible reports indicated that a number of political and trade union dissidents, "underground" religious believers, persons who petitioned the Government for redress of grievances, and hundreds of Falun Gong adherents were incarcerated in such facilities during the year. For example, political activist Wang Wanxing, originally held for trying to unfurl a banner on Tiananmen Square to commemorate the third anniversary of the June 4, 1989 massacre, was confined in a Beijing ankang facility. Huang Jinchun, a judge in Beihai, fired from his job and admitted to a psychiatric hospital in November 1999 for refusing to renounce his belief in Falun Gong, also remained in an ankang facility at year's end. He reportedly displayed no signs of mental illness but was given daily injections of narcotics. According to NGO reports, more than 30 persons were committed during the year to the Harbin Psychiatric Hospital against their will after petitioning authorities for redress of various personal grievances. In August The Royal College of Psychiatrists sponsored a motion to expel China from the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) for using psychiatric facilities to incarcerate political prisoners; a decision was pending at year's end."

Document(s): Open document
text with hyperlinks

31.03.2003 - Source: US Department of State

USDOS: Although the 1997 Criminal Law abolished "counterrevolutionary" offenses, 1,300 individuals remain in prison for the crime ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2002") [#11836],  [ID 3823]

"The 1997 Criminal Law replaced "counterrevolutionary" offenses, which, in the past, often had been used against political activists, with loosely defined provisions barring "crimes endangering state security." Persons detained for counterrevolutionary offenses included labor activist Hu Shigen, Liberal Democratic Party member Kang Yuchun, and June 4, 1989, dissidents Yu Zhijian, Zhang Jingsheng, and Sun Xiongying. Several foreign governments urged the Government to review the cases of those charged before 1997 with counterrevolution, since the crime was no longer on the books, and to release those who had been jailed for nonviolent offenses under the old statute. Officials indicated that a case-by-case review of appeals filed by individual prisoners was possible under the law, and there was one known case of a successful appeal. However, the Government also indicated that it would neither initiate a comprehensive review of cases nor grant a general amnesty, arguing that there was no law on retroactive decriminalization and that the law against endangering state security covered the same crime. Approximately 1,300 persons remained in prison for the crime."

Document(s): Open document

31.03.2003 - Source: US Department of State

USDOS: Criminal punishments can include "deprivation of political rights" for a fixed period after release from prison ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2002") [#11836],  [ID 3824]

"Criminal punishments could include "deprivation of political rights" for a fixed period after release from prison, during which the individual is denied the rights of free speech and association granted to other citizens. Former prisoners also sometimes found their status in society, ability to find employment, freedom to travel, and access to residence permits and social services severely restricted. Economic reforms and social changes have ameliorated these problems for nonpolitical prisoners in recent years. However, former political prisoners and their families frequently still were subjected to police surveillance, telephone wiretaps, searches, and other forms of harassment, and some encountered difficulty in obtaining or keeping employment and housing."

Document(s): Open document

02.03.2003 - Source: BBC News

US based Chinese dissident detained in south-west China for eight months released and sent to the United States ("China frees dissident") [#11182],  [ID 3825]

Document(s): Open document

28.02.2003 - Source: BBC News

A US-based Chinese democracy activist has lost his appeal against a life sentence imposed for espionage and terrorism ("China dissident loses appeal") [#11137],  [ID 3826]

Document(s): Open document

11.02.2003 - Source: Frankfurter Rundschau

Lebenslange Haft für Dissidenten ("Lebenslange Haft für Dissidenten") [#10936],  [ID 3827]

Document(s): Open document

10.02.2003 - Source: BBC News

Pro-democracy activist Wang Bingzhang sentenced to life in prison for spying and terrorism ("Chinese dissident jailed for life") [#10650],  [ID 3828]

Document(s): Open document

20.09.2002 - Source: BBC News

Prominent Aids activist freed after confessing to breaking the law and leaking state secrets ("China releases Aids activist") [#8661],  [ID 3831]

Document(s): Open document

13.08.2002 - Source: Guardian

Dissidents labelled "political maniacs" and locked up in mental hospitals by authorities for opposing the government ("China 'sending dissidents to mental hospitals'") [#8235],  [ID 3832]

Document(s): Open document

04.06.2002 - Source: Guardian

Detention of more than 20 people suspected of smuggling abroad secret documents about the 1989 Beijing massacre ("Beijing arrests 20 in Tiananmen inquiry") [#7371],  [ID 3833]

Document(s): Open document

22.03.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

AI: Government claims that "ethnic separatists" are linked with "terrorists" ("China: Extensive crackdown on Uighurs to counter "terrorism" must stop") [#6044],  [ID 3835]

"[...]
"The Chinese government has claimed that 'ethnic separatists' are linked with international 'terrorists' and has called for international support for its crackdown. However the subjective yardstick of 'terrorism' has been used to detain a broad range of people, some of whom may have done little more than practice their religion or defend their culture," Amnesty International said.
[...]"

Document(s): Open document

21.01.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

AI: Release of Tibetan prisoner of conscience ("China: Release of Tibetan prisoner of conscience welcome but authorities must do more") [#5376],  [ID 3836]

"[...]
Background
Ngawang Choephel is a musicologist specialising in traditional Tibetan performing arts. He grew up in Tibet's exile community in India, but travelled to Tibet in July 1995 to make a video documentary about Tibetan music and dance. He failed to return to India as scheduled and unofficial reports later suggested that he had been arrested and detained. The Chinese authorities only confirmed his detention one year later, when an official radio report announced that he had been sentenced and imprisoned for 18 years after being found guilty of committing "espionage" and "counter-revolutionary activities".
His trial was held in secret and the authorities failed to produce any evidence linking him to these "crimes" giving rise to serious concerns that he had been imprisoned solely for exercising his fundamental human right to freedom of expression.
After repeated petitions over several years, the Chinese authorities finally allowed Ngawang Choephel's mother, Sonam Dekyi, to visit her son in prison for the first time in August 2000. She said that he was just "skin and bone", his face was yellow and that he did not seem strong mentally. Sonam Dekyi has been one of the strongest advocates for his release, campaigning tirelessly around the world to keep her son's case in the public eye.
Following his incarceration, Amnesty International members in various countries, including Ghana, Finland, Chile and the USA, campaigned for Ngawang Choephel's release along with several other non-governmental organizations. This attracted the attention of high profile public figures, including the British singer-songwriter, Annie Lennox, and a number of politicians, particularly in the USA where Ngawang Choephel had studied under a Fulbright scholarship.
Ngawang Choephel had served most of his sentence in the Tibetan prisons of Nyari, Drapchi and Powo Tramo, but was moved to Deyang Prison in Sichuan Province shortly before his mother's visit. He is expected to return to India after undergoing medical tests and receiving any necessary treatment in the USA."

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14.12.2001 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

Member of the (banned) Chinese Democratic Party sentenced to 4 years in jail for the circulation of "subversive" information on the Internet ("A cyberdissident sentenced to four years in jail") [#5074],  [ID 3837]

Document(s): Open document

29.09.2001 - Source: Frankfurter Rundschau

21 weitere Hinrichtungen aus China gemeldet ("21 weitere Hinrichtungen aus China gemeldet") [#4404],  [ID 3839]

"Noch kein Urteil liegt im Fall der vier Gründer einer politischen Gruppe vor, denen am Freitag in Peking der Prozess gemacht wurde. Der "Neuen Jugendvereinigung" wird vorgeworfen, "die Staatsgewalt stürzen zu wollen". Beobachter rechnen mit Haftstrafen ab zehn Jahren."

21.05.2001 - Source: BBC News

4 Chinese intellectuals arrested for setting up a discussion group to look into China`s political reforms ("China charges four academics") [#1727],  [ID 3841]

Document(s): 00003.html
Open document