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China Human Rights and Rule of Law Update
Beijing Requires Photo Registration at All Internet Cafes by December
Beijing officials have issued a "new regulation" requiring all Internet cafes in the city to forward photographs of customers to a city law enforcement department to be kept on file for monitoring purposes, according to an October 16, 2008, Xinhua article. According to the article, by mid-December all Internet cafes will be required to install and use a machine consisting of a digital camera and ID scanner. First-time customers wishing to access computers at a cafe will be required to stand before the machine, known as the "Beijing City Internet Cafe Internet Access Registration Device," which will photograph the customer, scan his or her ID, and forward the information to the Beijing Cultural Law Enforcement Agency. The Xinhua article said that 1,500 Internet cafes in Beijing already have begun using the system, which was first introduced in 2005. Previously, customers had to show only an ID to gain entry.
A spokesperson for the agency said the new measures are intended to prevent multiple persons from using the same ID, a ploy sometimes used by young people who do not meet the minimum age requirement to enter Internet cafes, according to an October 17 Wall Street Journal article. Chinese officials blame the cafes for contributing to school absences and juvenile crime, according to a February 12 Associated Press article (reprinted in ABC News).
The new system will make it easier for Chinese officials to monitor the activities of Internet cafe customers. Under the Regulations on the Administration of Internet Access Service Business Establishments issued in 2002, Internet cafes already must examine and register a customers' identification card, keep such records for at least 60 days, and provide the information to cultural and public security agencies for examination if requested to do so. Under the new system, both the customer's photo and identification information are forwarded directly to a "monitoring platform" hosted by the Beijing Cultural Law Enforcement Agency at the time of registration. News reports did not indicate the length of time such records would be maintained.
The new measures could have a chilling effect on free expression because they make it easier for officials to identify persons who access the Web at Internet cafes. Officials continue to punish citizens for peacefully criticizing the Chinese government and Communist Party on the Internet, including, for example, Yang Chunlin, Hu Jia, and Lu Gengsong. Officials rely on information provided by Internet access providers to prosecute such cases. For example, Chinese officials submitted customer identification and e-mail account information provided by Yahoo! as evidence against the journalist Shi Tao, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2005 for illegally supplying state secrets. A People's Daily online poll found that 72 percent of the respondents were against the new measure, saying it infringed on their rights, according to an October 17 Times of London article. Chinese citizens quoted in an October 17 Xinhua article and the Wall Street Journal article called the new measures unnecessary and said they would stop going to Internet cafes, although some supported the measures as a way to prevent students from visiting the cafes to play online games.
The text of the regulation was not available at the time of this writing.
For more information on China's imprisonment of online critics and censorship of the Internet in general, see "Internet Censorship" in Section II - Freedom of Expression, in the CECC's 2008 Annual Report.
| Source: -See Summary (2008-11-18 ) |
Posted on: 2008-11-25 |
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| Link directly to this item with: http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=114061 |
State Council Issues New Foreign Journalist Regulations
The State Council on October 17, 2008, issued the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on News Covering Activities of the Permanent Offices of Foreign News Agencies and Foreign Journalists, which became effective immediately. The new regulations make permanent the less restrictive conditions introduced by the Regulations on Reporting Activities in China by Foreign Journalists During the Beijing Olympic Games and the Preparatory Period (Olympic Regulations), which took effect on January 1, 2007, and expired on October 17, 2008, the day the new regulations became effective. Prior to the Olympics Regulations, rules from 1990 required foreign journalists to obtain the approval of a local foreign affairs office before reporting outside of Beijing, a process that sometimes took days. Like the Olympic Regulations, the new regulations allow journalists to travel to much of China for reporting without prior approval and, to interview individuals or organizations, require only the consent of the interviewee.
At an October 17 press conference Liu Jianchao, Director-General of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), said foreign journalists would still be required to obtain government permission before traveling to the Tibetan Autonomous Region and other areas closed to foreigners, as provided for in other regulations. Liu said the restricted areas are "very few" and he was not authorized to provide the names of the areas.
Key Provisions of New Regulation
- 1990 Regulations Abolished (Article 23).
- Only Need Consent of Interviewee (Article 17). The 1990 regulations required foreign reporters to obtain permission from a local foreign affairs office to report in that area and required foreign reporters in China for six months or less to arrange their reporting activities through a Chinese host organization. The new regulations contain neither of these requirements. Article 17 requires only the consent of the unit (danwei) or individual to be interviewed. It also requires foreign journalists to carry and show their foreign journalist card or visa while reporting.
- Legal Obligations of Foreign Journalists (Article 4). In addition to following China's laws and regulations, foreign journalists must "observe journalistic ethics, objectively and fairly carry out news gathering and reporting, and not engage in activities incompatible with their status as a journalist or the nature of their organization." The 1990 regulations required journalists to "observe journalistic ethics," "not distort facts, fabricate rumors or carry out news coverage by foul means," and not to "endanger China's national security, unity or community and public interests."
- Punishment for Violations (Articles 20, 21). MFA may issue a warning to, stop or suspend the activities of, or revoke the journalist card or visa of journalists who violate the regulation's provisions. Public security officials may order foreigners who do not possess a valid foreign journalist card or visa issued by the Chinese government to stop reporting and may "handle" the situation "according to the relevant laws."
- Enforcement of Foreign Journalists' Rights. The new regulations do not include any provisions specifying how foreign reporters can ensure their right to interview consenting individuals and organizations free from government interference. See an earlier analysis for possible legal remedies for foreign journalists.
Foreign journalists in China welcomed the new regulations but expressed concern that local interviewees could be subject to greater harassment as a result. "The easing of controls for foreign journalists should not be achieved at the expense of putting more pressure on local sources," the Foreign Correspondents Club of China said in an October 17 press release. While the Olympic Regulations were in effect, authorities reportedly intimidated Chinese colleagues of foreign journalists and local interviewees. In January 2008, Beijing police prevented foreign reporters from interviewing Zeng Jinyan, rights activist and wife of imprisoned human rights activist Hu Jia. A Beijing court sentenced Hu to three and a half years in April in part for making "subversive" comments to foreign reporters. In the lead-up to the Olympics, Shanghai public security officials reportedly barred activists, petitioners, and other "controlled" people from speaking to foreign reporters.
At the October 17 press conference, Director-General Liu denied that any persons interviewed by foreign journalists had been threatened. "The Chinese Constitution guarantees the freedom of speech of Chinese citizens," he said. "In China, no one is subjected to so-called interference and intervention for engaging in regular speech." Liu added that no matter whether someone is a business person, scholar, expert, or government official, they would be free to decide whether to grant an interview to a foreign journalist.
Liu also said that officials would not abuse their power to limit the activities of foreign journalists during emergencies. This past year, Chinese officials have interpreted provisions allowing officials to impose restrictions on foreign journalists during public emergencies broadly. Following protests in Tibetan areas that began in March 2008, officials imposed a travel ban on foreign journalists that extended far beyond reported protest sites. After the May earthquake in Sichuan province, officials prevented foreign journalists from reporting as officials forcibly broke up a protest by grieving parents.
For more information on the Olympic Regulations, see previous Commission analysis comparing the Olympic Regulations with the 1990 rules and assessing implementation of the Olympic Regulations a year after it took effect.
The new regulations do not apply to Chinese journalists, who remain subject to a wide range of government and Party regulations, policies, directives, and pressures that encourage self-censorship and hinder their ability to report freely. For more information on these restrictions, see Section II--Freedom of Expression, in the Congressional-Executive Commission on China's 2008 Annual Report.
| Source: -See Summary (2008-11-18 ) |
Posted on: 2008-11-25 |
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| Link directly to this item with: http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=114056 |
Authorities Increase Repression in Xinjiang in Lead-up to and During Olympics
Officials in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) called again in August for the use of harsh security measures to crack down against the government-designated "three forces" of terrorism, separatism, and extremism, according to reports from Chinese media. On August 13, Wang Lequan, XUAR Communist Party Chair, described the battle against the "three forces" as a "life or death struggle" and pledged to "strike hard" against their activities, according to an August 14 report from the Xinjiang Daily. XUAR Party Committee Standing Committee member Zhu Hailun reiterated the pledge to "strike hard" at an August 18 meeting, according to an August 19 report from the Xinjiang Daily. The announcements followed the release of limited information on terrorist and criminal activity in the region (see, e.g., Xinhua reports from August 4, 6, 10, and 12) and came amid a series of measures that increased repression in the region, including:- Wide-scale Detentions. Authorities have carried out wide-scale detentions as part of security campaigns in cities throughout the XUAR, according to a September 4 report from the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP). Reported measures include "security sweeps" resulting in mass detentions in the Kashgar area and Kucha county, including blanket detentions in Kucha of young people who have been abroad; the detention of non-resident Uyghurs in Korla city; the forced return of Uyghur children studying religion in another province and their detention in the XUAR for engaging in "illegal religious activities;" and the detention of family members or associates of people suspected to be involved in terrorist activity.
- Restrictions on Uyghurs' Domestic and International Travel. Authorities reportedly continued to hold Uyghurs' passports over the summer, building off of a campaign in 2007 to confiscate Muslims' passports and prevent them from making overseas pilgrimages. Authorities also have coupled restrictions on overseas travel with reported measures to limit Uyghurs' travel within China. For more information on restrictions reported in recent months, see the UHRP report, a July 31 Agence France-Presse report (via Open Source Center, subscription required) and an August 8 report from the Telegraph. For more information on 2007 measures to confiscate passports, see the section on Religious Freedom for China's Muslims in the 2007 Congressional-Executive Commission on China Annual Report (via the Government Printing Office Web site).
- Controls Over Religion. XUAR officials have enforced a series of measures that ratchet up control over religious practice in the region. Authorities in Y¨¦ngisheher county in Kashgar district issued accountability measures on August 5 to hold local officials responsible for high-level surveillance of religious activity in the region, according to an August 14 report from Radio Free Asia (RFA). Authorities in Peyziwat county, Kashgar district, called for "enhancing management" of groups including religious figures as part of broader government and Party measures of "prevention" and "attack," according to an August 8 report on the Kashgar district government Web site. The previous month, authorities in Mongghulk¨¹re county, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, called for strengthening management of religious affairs; inspecting all mosques and venues for religious activity; curbing "illegal" recitations of scripture and non-government-approved pilgrimages; and "penetrating" groups of religious believers to understand their ways of thinking, according to July 16 reports (1, 2 (cached page)) on the Xinjiang Peace Net Web site. Authorities in Lop county, Hoten district, have been forcing women to remove head coverings in a stated effort to promote "women for the new era" according to the World Uyghur Congress, as cited in an August 27 report from RFA.
- Controls Over Free Expression. Authorities in the XUAR ordered some Uyghur Web sites to shut down their bulletin board services (BBS) during the Olympics, according to an August 14 RFA report. In a review of Uyghur Web sites carried out on August 18 and 19, Congressional-Executive Commission on China staff found that BBSs on the Web sites Diyarim, Orkhun, and Alkuyi had been suspended. The BBS Web page on Diyarim contained the message, "[L]et's protect stability with full strength and create a peaceful environment for the Olympic Games[!] Please visit other Diyarim pages[.]" The message on the BBS Web page on Orkhun stated, "Based on the requirements of the work units concerned, the Orkhun Uyghur history Web site has been closed until August 25 because of the Olympic Games."
- Inspections of Households in Ghulja. According to July 17 and July 23 reports from RFA, authorities in the predominantly ethnic minority city of Ghulja searched homes in the area in a campaign described by a Chinese official as aimed at rooting out "illegal activities" and finding residents living without proper documentation.
- Controls Over Uyghurs Outside the XUAR. Authorities in cities outside of the XUAR also increased controls over Uyghur residents and some other ethnic minority communities leading up to and during the Olympic Games, according to an August 13 report from the New York Times, an August 5 report from South China Morning Post (subscription required), and July 30 and July 27 reports from RFA. According to an August 18 report from Bloomberg, authorities pressed Uyghurs to leave Beijing.
The measures implemented in the run-up to and during the Olympics build off of earlier campaigns to tighten repression in the region, including measures to tighten control as the Olympic torch passed through the region in June.
For more information on conditions in the XUAR, see Section II--Ethnic Minority Rights, subsection on Rights Abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in the 2007 CECC Annual Report.
| Source: -See Summary (2008-08-26 ) |
Posted on: 2008-11-25 |
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| Link directly to this item with: http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=110882 |
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