The Democratic Party of China is a political party that was founded in 1994 and is led by Martin Lee Chu Ming (DP 1 Dec. 2000). The party exists only in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) where it has 619 members, and as of 1 December 2000 had elected 12 Legislative Councillors and 83 District Councillors (ibid.).

Extensive information regarding the China Democracy Party (CDP), current to January 1999, is available in the Amnesty International report No Improvement in Human Rights: The Imprisonment of Dissidents in 1998, available in Regional Documentation Centres. The September 2000 Human Rights Watch report Nipped in the Bud: The Suppression of the China Democracy Party, available online, contains extensive information regarding the founding, ideology and suppression of the China Democracy. The URL for the report may be found in the reference list, below. According to the report:

For all practical purposes, CDP activities had been silenced by January 2000. In December 1999, foreign news organizations had received a lengthy declaration in which the CDP's program for the new millennium was set out. But from January onwards, to the extent that there were pamphlets or protests, they were mainly issued by CDP members living abroad. The resistance was effectively broken [HRW Sept. 2000].

Additional general information concerning the CDP may be found in Country Reports, Amnesty International's Annual Report and the Human Rights Watch World Report as well as the Contextual and Human Rights Packages.

In October 1998, two CDP members, Han Lifa and Cai Guihua were jailed for nine months each "for allegedly visiting prostitutes" (Hong Kong Standard 5 Jan. 1999). AFP reported that the two had held "a weekly human rights study group in a Shanghai park" and had been repeatedly warned by the police to stop prior to their disappearance in October 1998 (5 Jan. 1999). In August 1999 it was reported that the sentences of both Cai Guihua and Han Lifa had been extended after they went on hunger strikes protesting ill-treatment in detention (Hong Kong Standard 10 Aug. 1999; AFP 9 Aug. 1999). According to the ICHRDMC Cai Guihua was taken into custody again in May 2000 as he was attempting to visit the United States consulate in Shanghai and released later that evening (ICHRDMC 12 May 2000).

In late January 1999, three CDP members were detained in Shanghai (DPA 30 Jan. 1999). Although one member, Li Guotao, was released after being held for seven hours, two others, Fu Shenping and Dai Xuezhong reportedly remained in custody (ibid.).

In addition to information concerning Han Lifa (see above), the September 2000 Human Rights Watch report Nipped in the Bud: The Suppression of the China Democracy Party, contains information regarding the following CDP prisoners from Shanghai:

Dai Xuezhong, a Shanghai CDP member, was sentenced on alleged assault charges, widely believed to be bogus, stemming from either a shoving match between Dai and a fellow worker or a knife attack. Dai became politically active during the 1989 pro-democracy movement and was sentenced to three years in prison as a result. He was detained again during the 1994 visit of then U.S. Assistant Secretary for Human Rights John Shattuck. After his release, he took part in a democracy salon that met in a park in Shanghai, and he worked to help victims of the 1989 crackdown. He was also a member of the illegal Shanghai Human Rights Association.

Li Guotao, one of the five signatories of the CDP Shanghai Preparatory Committee founding document, was found guilty of "disturbing the social order" for appealing on behalf of Dai Xuewu who was arrested in March on charges of stealing mobile phones. Li has been detained many times including once in March 1994 for signing the "Blueprint for Democratization" when he was president of the unofficial Shanghai Human Rights Association. He served a two-year term for involvement in the 1989 pro-democracy movement.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Agence France Presse (AFP). 9 August 1999. "Dissident's Prison Term Extended for Going on Hunger Strike." (NEXIS)

_____. 5 January 1999. "Jailing of Dissidents for Prostiution Part of Normal Activity: China." (NEXIS)

Democratic Party (DP), Hong Kong. 1 December 2000. "DP Basic Information." http://www.dphk.org/e_site/ebac.html [Accessed 11 Dec. 2000]

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). 30 January 1999. "China Detains China Democratic Party Members in Shanghai." (NEXIS)

Hong Kong Standard. 10 August 1999. "Dissident's Sentence Extended." http://online.hkstandard.com/today [Accessed 10 Aug. 1999]

_____. 5 January 1999. "Ninth CDP Member Detained." http://www.hkstandard.com/online/news [Accessed 5 Jan. 1999]

Human Rights watch (HRW). September 2000. Nipped in the Bud: The Suppression of the China Democracy Party. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/china/china009.htm [Accessed 4 Dec. 2000]

Information Centre on Human Rights and Democracy Movement in China (ICHRDMC), Hong Kong. 12 May 2000. "Hong Kong Human Rights Group Reports on Dissident Harassment." (BBC Summary 15 May 2000/NEXIS)