Last year was a tough one for Chinese dissidents. With the Communist Party keen for stability as the leadership transition unfolds, 2012 could well be worse.
Strike hard and take prisoners. That’s the Chinese government’s message on how it will respond to perceived dissent in this Dragon year of 2012.
Just ask the writers Chen Xi, Chen Wei, and Li Tie. Chen Wei received a nine year prison term on December 23 on charges of “inciting subversion of state power” for on-line government criticism. Three days later, a Guiyang court handed down a 10-year sentence on the same charge to Chen Xi, for similar on-line criticism of China’s one-party rule. Then, on January 18 of this year, a Wuhan court sentenced Li Tie to a 10 year prison term for “subversion of state power” for writings that included reference to the official taboo topic of the June 1989 Tiananmen massacre.
Other victims of the Chinese government’s spate of politically motivated court rulings include the disappeared human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng. On December 16, a Beijing court abruptly withdrew Gao’s grant of probation and ordered him to serve the entirety of a three-year sentence for “inciting subversion of state power,” handed down on December 22, 2006. The court justified its decision on the basis that Gao had “seriously violated probation rules” despite the fact that he had been the victim of an apparent enforced disappearance – and thus in police custody – since April 2010. The Chinese government also targeted the disabled housing rights activist Ni Yulan and her husband Dong Jiqing. The couple faced trial on December 29 on spurious charges of “creating a disturbance” and “fraud” and currently awaits sentencing. And on January 18, police charged veteran human rights activist Zhu Yufu with “inciting subversion of state power” for writings including a poem that police interpreted as a call for popular unrest against one-party rule.
These cases represent more than the Chinese government’s well-documented contempt for freedom of expression explicitly guaranteed in Article 35 of the Constitution. They are also clear efforts to breed fear and sow silence among China’s beleaguered community of human rights defenders and civil society activists. The aim: to ensure that the 12-month senior Communist Party leadership transition this year proceeds without public challenges to the Party’s 61-year monopoly on power. China’s President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao are preparing to step aside for a new generation of leaders, widely touted to be Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, in a secretive political succession that won’t be complete until in March 2013.
The Chinese government has reason to be nervous about its political legitimacy. It has delivered some impressive economic growth and boosted living standards at the price of an authoritarian one-party state which denies most citizens’ basic rights and freedoms and victimizes those who protest such abuses. It imposes sharp curbs on freedom of expression, association, and religion; openly rejects judicial independence and press freedom; and arbitrarily restricts and suppresses human rights defenders and organizations, often through extra-judicial measures. Despite that repression, Chinese citizens are increasingly aware of their rights and more vocal when they’re denied. By the government’s own numbers, more than 100,000 “mass incidents” or protests are estimated to occur annually in China, and the Chinese government now budgets more funds for “social stability maintenance” to contain outbreaks of popular discontent than for national defense.
But while repression is nothing new in China, the government’s intolerance toward perceived dissent has grown since the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Its victims include imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo, serving an 11-year prison sentence for “inciting subversion” over his role in drafting Charter ’08, an online petition advocating peaceful political change in China. His wife, Liu Xia, who hasn’t been charged with any crime, is believed to be under house arrest to prevent her from campaigning on her husband’s behalf. In February 2011, she said in a brief online exchange that she and her family were like “hostages” and that she felt “miserable.”
Such repression is likely to only worsen in 2012 due to lingering official unease about the “Arab spring” and the vulnerabilities it exposed in previously rock-solid authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and North Africa. In response, beginning in February 2011, Chinese security agencies rounded up dozens of the country’s most outspoken critics, including the internationally renowned artist Ai Weiwei, and “disappeared” them for weeks outside of any legal protection and judicial procedure. Upon their release, several of those individuals reported being subjected to forced sleep deprivation, interrogations, and threats while in custody.
Photo Credit: Flickr / Mooney47
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Beway
Another day, another fault-finding criticism on China from CIA owned Western media.
The West will wish that CCP will just implode leaving China without a central government. Then they will intrude in to destroy and split China like what they did a century ago.
Whatever mistake or weakness CCP has, it’s one great party that has achieved great success result in developing China. The West has the greatest fear that China is not only catching up with them in all fields but even to the extent of overtaking them.
To those running Diplomat, my advice is “Don’t try, your game is over”
ari
For whatever the CCP is, it represents the Chinese people and the Chinese nation for now. For any Chinese to buy the CIA propaganda B-S that CCP is the bad guy and need to be distinguished from the Chinese people, they are being exceedingly foolish if not downright stupid and gullible and naive. Outside of the country, attacking CCP means attacking the Chinese people and nation. And if they can’t understand that, they are a bigger fool than thought. The only people laughing at these fools would be the manipulative Westerners, especially the right-wings one. The CCP as of now represents the Chinese people.
ari
For whatever it is, the CCP, as the ruling party, governing China, represents the Chinese nation and the Chinese people. More so, outside the country. Thus for any Chinese to attack the CCP from the outside, is to attack the Chinese people and the Chinese nation and denigrating it in effect. Therefore, for any such person to say that the CCP is not representative of the Chinese people and nation, is buying into the manipulative Western B-S propaganda and being therefore foolish, guillible and naive.
Imagine talking bad about your family to outside people. For smart people, whatever the faults of the family, it lies within the family. You do not air your dirty laundry in public. To do so means bringing dishonour and disrespect to your family of which you are one. To inisist i s otherwise, means the person is a bigger fool than thought.
The real patriots defending the Chinese honour are Liang1a, Fu Man-chu, John Chan, Yang Zi (to an extent only), the undersigned, and many other less regular but no less capable anonymous commentators. Please keep up the good work. The demonization of China must not be allowed to succeed no matter all the B-S propaganda fro ill-wishers and bigots.
Papa John
LOL, well said Ari man! With that kind of “shame” and “dishonor”, The CCP and for some brainwashed Chinese like you have been covering up the bad, the BS,for what is going on in China (oh, the air quality in Beijjing is so good according to CCP website this and that)…like you guys did with the SARS a few years back. So lying and denial are way of life in China.
ari
PapaJohn, man, you make a heck of a lot of assumptions. Makes me question your level of intelligence.
In anycase, kindly do not confuse maintaining the image of the Chinese and defending the hardline actions of some of the leaders in the Standing Committee are different issues. Similarly, kindly do not lump the CCP as one monolithic whole. It is made up of people. Some good, some not as good.
Too many anti-China or anti-Chinese commentators use the abbreviation “CCP” as an excuse to tar and slur the entire Chinese people on account of the fact that the CCP as the government, like the Obama Administration which represents the American people in foreign affairs, represents the Chinese people. In a manner of speaking the CCP government or ruling party is synonomous with Chinese people to the outside world. The underhand slurs therefore, used in manner is unacceptable. And that need to be pointed out.
Moreover, the suggestion not to be extreme in castigating the CCP is not the same as saying the one-party rule system is acceptable and the same issue. On the contrary, a one-party rule lacks accountability to the people. The current system is also prone to manipulation by any influential faction at any time, and permit them to be in power ad infiniti. if you are a Chinese citizen, you would prefer the system to be transparent and not have the selection of political positions determined by these power brokers. An open election is better and reduces that risk of shadowy power broker calling the shots and degenrating into a Mafia-like organization.
Even Mr Putin is aware now that power comes from the people. He now understands too that the “social contract” between the ruler and the ruled must be muttually acceptable as to its terms and conditions. As a developing country, this “social contract” is a generation thing and need to be reviewed and amended accordingly to the generation changes. In this therefore, Beijing need to consider seriously political reforms to allow open elections as in Taiwan. Rather than calling any attempt to prevent a moving on to this stage a “fool’s errand”, I would say, be not like King Canute. You can’t stop the tide. It’s what people want. This institution need to be developed vigorously concomittantly with economic and social reforms.
John Chan, you are welcome. Keep up the good work.
“Godknows” …. Exactly how old are you? Your unrestrained and indisciplined statements says a lot.
And “PapaJohn”, you are surely using too big a brush to tar every Chinese by saying “lying and denial” is a way of life with the Chinese? You are very brave behind that anonymous pseudonym. Rest assure you won’t avoid hospital with that kind of racial insult otherwise.
Makes me wonder why racial taunts and insults and personal remarks from some extremist commentators are allowed in the Diplomat but not other commentators with even moderate and decent comments?
John Chan
@ari,
I am honoured that I am not classified as a weak minded and would hand China to the imperialist Westpac on a silver plate.
As a Chinese, I am not against criticisms against China, given the pressure, danger and problems it faces, as long as they are not done in vicious or schadenfreude kind of ways as were by many posters particularly from our Asian friends.
In my view, everyone should take care of his image, but image is second in priority to getting things done right. If we have got things done right long enough, the image reflecting such deeds will take care itself. But if images were planted or propagated deliberately and falsely by others with ulterior motives, then it will fall to victim unfairly; it is not right to let those insidious perpetrators succeed.
Godknows
I’d read quite a few articles with many comments, but what disappointed me really is, half of comments are unbelievably irrational and ignorance, and boasting all kinds of extremism.
So Mr.ari, I DO recommend u just leaving it be, most of them have their brain washed by extremism, and that’s why they’ll surpass by us in the near future – stupid, irrational, and ignorance.
Note: I’m here practicing my English. :-)
John Chan
@Godknows,
Starting with bad mouthing others baselessly definitely is not a good start to practice English in the public, it reflects poor the contributor’s character.
ari
Oops! Ignore my comments “Godknows”. I re-read your comments and I understand your meaning. Your well wishes is appreciated.
ari
Errata :
” .. maintaining the image of the Chinese and defending the hardline actions of some of the leaders in the Standing Committee are different issues” ..
should read as
“In anycase, kindly do not confuse maintaining the image of the Chinese and defending the hardline actions of some of the leaders in the Standing Committee are same issues”.
papa john
@ari man, as a matter of fact, I should question your level of reading skills that could say much about your intelligence as well. LOL, your fellow wumao praised you but you didn’t comprehend, thus blasting him. LOL.
Leonard R.
I’m not sure political reform will create a permanent peace between the PRC and the U.S.
I think people who believe that are making a leap of faith.
Chinese people certainly deserve better government. So do Americans.
But what will it look like if the CCP melts away? Will it be like Taiwan, free & rich?
Or will it be like North Korea, heavily armed and starving?
I agree with Reason. Short of a new period of warring states, it won’t happen.
But if it does happen, things could go from extremely bad to even worse.
Whocares
It seems that on every article, there’s got to be someone arguing that China is simply not fit for democracy because of its culture, economic development, or population size. Well, I think that Churchill’s saying that “democracy is the worst form of government aside from all others” definitely holds true here.
How anyone can argue for one-party authoritarianism and keep 1.3 billion people subjugated under censorship and political repression is beyond me.
Henry003
It make a catchy phrase but I am not sure if Churchill live today He would say the same thing. Judging by the stagnating economy and the ensuing political gridlock. more likely he will rolled in his grave.
Now why would China convert to democracy when they try it 1921 and failed misrably?. The result is warlord ism,splintering of the country and the ensuing invasion and brutal atrocity by the Japanese.
Chinese being ever so pragmatist, more than likely would follow the Deng Xiao Ping Extortion. It doesn’t really matter whether the cat is black or white as long as it catches mice.
The result speak for itself, One just have to look at the old photo of Beijing road with million of Bicycle and Now see the same road clogging with Merc and Beamer
Henry003
I never understand why the western neolib keep calling for for democracy and freedom of speech when the Chinese themselves couldn’t care less about them except small number of dissident.
The Beijing spring died on the pavement of Wangfujing because lack of interest to the disappointment of western journalist who expect blood spilling on the street.
I mean this dissident are not exactly harmless. they ask for regime change and question the legitimacy of the present regime to govern.In any country that is called sedition and liable to long jail punishment.
Western propagandist like to champion these people because they want regime change and spread chaos therefore halted China progress in their track and maintain their cushy dominance in sphere of economy and military.
Most Chinese are only interested in improving their life and have better life for their children.
I know of no higher human right then the right of freedom from hunger and deprivation. And that is trouble with India when democracy become the goal itself instead of mean and tool to improve the livelihood of people.
The can shout all they want but they go to bed hungry and their children suffer one of the worst malnutrition in the world
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/world/asia/13malnutrition.html?_r=1
They always demonize China human right record yet million of Dalit suffer inhuman treatment in their own country
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0602_030602_untouchables.html
Or the lack of toilet in 45% of Indian population that mean 600 million
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/6642343/In-modern-India-600-million-lack-lavatories.html
So people in glass house should not throw stone
Godknows
Unfortunately, I don’t think any of your evident or explanation is useful to those extremists who have abnormal mentality.
They even won’t believe anything they see by themselves in China, and managed to fabricate “Tibet news” like CNN, or so-called “Jasmine Revolution” to amuse their audience. So, that’s nothing about truth, actually it’s about metal disease.
Keep patient, keep sympathetic, and try to amuse them whenever possible, it’ll do good for a peaceful world.
Sravan
I sometimes wonder how bad must it be for those poor Tibetans that they risk crossing the Himalayas, walking for days together on that snow with just a blanket and added to the fact the risk being end up shot!! I mean we all on this forum talk graciously about historical claims, democratic rights, air forces, stealth, geo-political strategies but a small agricultral labourer doesn’t know anything about this he probably is not even intrested to see Beijing or to the fact Lhasa let alone NYC. But why is that guy born in some small village in Tibet, ready to leave the place he was born, his loved ones and sometimes maybe his entire universe, and ready to tread the Himalayas, risk being shot just to reach some randomn Indian/Nepalese city. I mean how bad is it…
Suntano
Actually, it is not as bad as you insinuate. And you know it. When it comes to China, Indians like to collude with the Western media to play up incidents in Tibet. It’s been quite obvious the West pays back the favour by downplaying Indian suppression in Kashmir. B4 you Indians start passing comments on Tibet, pls look at your own record in Kashmir.
harry
A political system of Meritocracy based on Confucian philosophy in combination with checks and balance of institutions is the way forward for China. those who advocate blind worship of western democracy havent got the slightest glue about the social structure of China. western democracy has never worked on continental size country with 1 billion pluse population it never has and it never will.
Girish
Deed of CCP is only developing an underground social bomb and CCP’s own state controlled statistics says it clearly that things are only getting ugly for CCP by every passing day.
Not “will” but “When” is the social bomb going explode is the question now.
Reason
Y’know, as much as I hate the CCP – I truly believe they can keep the lid on all this village uprising thing. It hardly has the traction of communism in the 1930s
Everything in China is political – the CCP controls every iota of politics and with democracy not offering that great a solution for the average Chan in China, there is no where for a mass movement to start or go.
The CCP easily survived the Great leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution – it will survive these shocks from within concerning the economy and the phony figures it has been churning out for the last few years.
The only thing that will bring down the CPP is a run-in with outside forces that goes wrong. Then the public of China will turn against it. That’s why the CPP allocates more money for internal order than it does for defense, cus it knows the priority is to subjugate the masses not win wars with foreign countries.
The big questions are while the CCP tightens the ship at home, will the external environment remain peaceful and if conflict between states increases, how will the PLA fair if it goes kinetic?
Needless to say, the CCP and the PLA will blame the US regardless and human rights will get steamed rolled whatever happens. This is the reality – The CCP is resilient and as things get tougher it will get meaner.
Girish
I can agree with what had happened in the past and how CCP was able to handle the things. But there is no way if someone suggest and CCP can continue its tactic of suppression forever. Ultimately CCP will have to change. There is no second way.
Girish
It is important to understand that in an authoritarian rule, the authority has to defend itself from its own people as well as external forces.
Any loose control internally will lead external forces to take advantage. Look at middle east for that matters. The dictators where overthrown by its own people with the help of external forces.
In democracy, internal forces are only against a party and not the government establishments. They change the rulers with votes. Thus government establishment’s main threat is only external.
CCP is equally worried from its own people as it is worried from external forces.
John Chan
@Girish,
Indeed any government should worry from its own people if the government treats its people badly, but only India can get away its appalling treatment of its people, because India’s poor are locked in a caste system with ignorance and religion superstition. India’s caste system defies rule of humanity and morality, thus the high caste in India can rule India without worrying feeding its poor but spending billions on enriching the wealthy western weapon merchants first.
DownRedChina
The more CCP depress its people, the greater its people want democracy. China is prime to explode at anytime. CCP is afraid of losing control and they are willing to do whatever it takes to hang on to power. They are willing to use tanks again to crush peaceful protesters. Detaining/house arrest 6 year old school girl is an example of how vulnerable they feel.
John Chan
@DownBullyUSA,
CCP is a unique blessing to the modern day China as far as political party goes. Only people that are jealous, resentful and fear the achievements CCP has made and it is capability to turn China into the peace and prosperity model for the world will rant against CCP in ill faith and with fabricated stories.