23 March 1999
RESOLUTION AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN CHINA URGED
As the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) meets to discuss human rights violations worldwide, human rights and media freedom groups worldwide report that human rights abuses, including violations against freedom of expression, have escalated in China. The UNCHR meets for six weeks annually in Geneva, starting on 22 March this year. Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the UNCHR "to call China to account for widespread abuses," and called on the international community to back a resolution condemning China's human rights practices. "Last year, the United States and the European Union argued that a 'nonconfrontational' approach would be more effective," said Joanna Weschler, HRW's UN representative. "But today China is carrying out one of the worst crackdowns since 1989. It's time to balance dialogue with strong public pressure." Reporters sans frontières (RSF) called on the European Union (EU) to sponsor a resolution condemning China.
Among recent cases violating free expression, Chinese author Wang Lixiong was detained for more than a month before being released without charge on 11 March, reports the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN. Wang was arrested in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region on 4 February for "revealing state secrets." The WiPC says Wang's arrest may have been an attempt to prevent publication of a book on the Xinjiang Province, "which is home to several Muslim minorities, and is a centre for separatist unrest." Wang is the author of the banned novel "Yellow Peril", published overseas shortly after the 1989 crackdown, which predicted civil war and the collapse of the Communist Party in China.
On 12 March, "Fangfa" ("Way"), a Beijing-based monthly magazine known for its frank discussion of political and economic reform, was ordered to suspend operations immediately by the State Press and Publishing Bureau, which oversees the press on behalf of the Communist Party, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The magazine, which has a circulation of 20,000, was originally licensed in 1988 as a natural science publication, but "apparently drew the ire of authorities because its content had become too diversified." CPJ says, "The closure of "Fangfa" is the latest in a series of moves to curb the independent press in China. Several liberal magazines and book publishers have either been closed or had their staffs purged in recent months."
According to RSF, two Guangdong magazines, "New Weekly" and "Shenzen Pictorial Journal", were banned for mentioning the 4 June 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square. "New Weekly" was suspended for four weeks after publishing an issue last December on the crackdown, in particular for mentioning that "32 Beijing hospitals had provided 9,158 medical treatments for the students." This fact was not mentioned in official reports. "Shenzen Pictorial Journal" was banned indefinitely as of late January. In December 1998, the magazine "Cultural Times" was also banned by the authorities for its excessively liberal editorial policy. RSF says 12 journalists remain in jail in China.
A Global Petition Campaign for the Tenth Anniversary of June 4th Tiananmen is circulating on the Internet which will be delivered to President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China, with copies to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Mary Robinson. Signatures will be collected via e-mail at
petition@june4.org or via the Website at
http://www.june4.org until 12 June 1999, when dissident writer Wang Dan, who was released last year from prison in China, will deliver the petition. The petition includes calls for the Chinese Government to "release all prisoners of conscience including those still in prison for their 1989 pro-democracy activities and review the cases of all political prisoners."
IFEX members signing on to the campaign so far are HRW, International PEN, PEN Canada, PEN American Center, and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE). To endorse the campaign or for more information, contact Cheuk C. Kwan, Director, International Campaign, Global Petition Campaign for the 10th Anniversary of June 4th Tiananmen, c/o Toronto Association for Democracy in China, 255 Duncan Mill Road #707, Toronto, Ontario H3B 3H9, Canada, tel:+1 416 804 1527, fax: +1 416 231 7532, e-mail:
toronto@june4.org, Web site:
http://www.june4.org.
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