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China Human Rights and Rule of Law Update
Authorities Cancel Plans to Subject Uyghur Woman to Forced Abortion (Updated)
Authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) released from the hospital a Uyghur woman who is six months pregnant with her third child, after cancelling plans to subject her to a forced abortion for violating the region's population planning regulations, according to reports from Radio Free Asia (RFA). Unable to pay a 45,000 yuan (US$6,591) fine for exceeding the number of births permitted under the region's population planning system, Arzigul (Arzug¨¹l) Tursun, a villager from Ghulja county, initially fled home to avoid being forced to have an abortion in place of paying the fine, RFA reported on November 13. After pressuring Arzigul Tursun's family to locate her, authorities also coerced Arzigul Tursun's husband into signing papers to approve the abortion, RFA reported. After authorities took Arzigul Tursun to the hospital, hospital staff postponed the abortion from November 13 to November 17, according to RFA. Kept under guard, Arzigul Tursun fled the hospital on November 16 but was found the next day and taken to another hospital, RFA reported on November 17. Authorities later released her from the hospital without carrying out the abortion, according to a November 18 report from RFA. An official cited in the article said Arzigul was not healthy enough to undergo the abortion.
An official cited in the November 13 RFA report said Arzigul Tursun "should undergo an abortion" because she violated population planning requirements. Article 15 of the XUAR Regulation on Population and Family Planning permits urban ethnic minority couples to give birth to two children and rural couples to give birth to three. Where one member of the couple is an urban resident, urban birth limits apply. According to RFA, although Arzigul Tursun is a rural resident, her husband has urban residency status. Article 41 of the regulation requires those in violation of Article 15 to pay a fine equivalent to a multiple of a locality's average per capita income as a "social compensation fee." The regulation does not stipulate that pregnancies must be terminated if the fee cannot be paid, nor do separate procedures on paying the fees stipulate this. Item 6 of the procedures permits people facing economic hardship to apply to stagger payments of the fee. Article 39 of the national Population and Family Planning Law and Article 52 of the Xinjiang regulation provide sanctions for government officials who infringe on citizens' rights or abuse their power in carrying out population planning requirements.
As noted in the Congressional-Executive Commission on China 2008 Annual Report (via the Government Printing Office Web site), China's system of population planning, along with abuses like forced abortion engendered by the system, violate international human rights protections China is bound to uphold. For more information on China's population planning system, see section III--Population Planning in the 2008 CECC Annual Report. For information on conditions in Xinjiang, see Section-IV--Xinjiang. Advocacy on Arzigul Tursun's behalf by Members of the U.S. Congress has included, for example, a November 17 press release by Representative Joe Pitts and a November 13 press release by Representative Chris Smith.
| Source: -See Summary (2008-11-17 / English) |
Posted on: 2008-11-25 |
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Authorities Target Religious Leaders During, After Olympic Games
Chinese authorities have continued to target religious leaders for harassment, detention, and other abuses, in the midst and aftermath of the Olympic Games. China's preparations for the sporting event ushered in a period of heightened government scrutiny and control over communities including religious groups. Recently reported cases include: - Pastor Zhang Mingxuan. Public security officers in Zhengzhou, Henan province, detained house church leader Zhang Mingxuan on August 6, according to August 6 and August 29 press releases from the China Aid Association (CAA). Authorities released him on August 29, but barred him from returning to Beijing until after the Paralympics Games, which ended on September 17. Zhang arrived back in Beijing on September 21, CAA reported in an October 1 press release. After the religious affairs bureau intervened following harassment of Zhang by public security officials, Zhang was able to resume house church services the following Sunday, CAA reported. On October 16, however, public security officers beat two of Zhang's sons, one of whom was severely injured, and detained Zhang, Zhang's wife, and his sister-in-law with the apparent aim of blocking their attendance at a ceremony for the Chinese House Church Alliance, according to October 16, October 22, and November 6 press releases from CAA. After holding them in Nanyang, Henan province, authorities released them on October 27, the November 6 press release reported. As noted in the Congressional-Executive Commission on China Political Prisoner Database, earlier in July authorities had forcibly moved Zhang from Beijing. Zhang said police told him they wanted him out of the city during the Olympics to prevent him from speaking to foreigners. In June, Beijing public security officers detained Zhang for two days for attempting to meet with a European Union representative and placed him under house arrest following his meeting with two Members of the U.S. Congress.
- Imam Adil Qarim. Authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region detained Adil Qarim, an imam at a mosque in Kucha county, Aqsu district, during a "security sweep" of Kucha in the aftermath of a reported series of bomb attacks in the county on August 10, according to a September 4 report from the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP). An individual accused of involvement in the August 10 incident had attended the mosque. Adil Qarim denied having any links to the attack, the UHRP reported.
- Bishop Jia Zhiguo. Authorities detained Jia Zhiguo, the unregistered bishop of Zhengding diocese, Hebei province, on August 24, 2008, according to an August 25 press release from the Cardinal Kung Foundation (CFK). Authorities released him into residential surveillance on September 18, 2008, CFK reported in a September 19 press release. According to a September 19 AsiaNews report, some sources said authorities detained Jia to block his contact with media and representatives of organizations for the disabled during the Paralympic Games. As noted in the CECC Political Prisoner Database, Jia had earlier been imprisoned for approximately 20 years and since 2004 has been detained multiple times. Authorities had last detained Jia in August 2007 because he removed a sign authorities placed on his church, identifying it as affiliated with the state-controlled Catholic Patriotic Association. Authorities released him from detention on December 14, 2007, but placed him under confinement in his home.
For more information on religion in China and information on political prisoners, see the Political Prisoner Database and Section II, Freedom of Religion, in the CECC 2008 Annual Report.
| Source: -See Summary (2008-09-09 ) |
Posted on: 2008-11-25 |
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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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