HRIC in Action: December 2009 – March 2010 (I)

1. Supporting Rights Defenders
2. Advancing the Growth of Civil Society in China
3. Promoting Rule of Law in China
4. Engaging Other Stakeholders in Respecting and Promoting Human Rights in China

I. Supporting Rights Defenders

HRIC supports individuals inside China by bringing international attention to human rights issues and individual cases of abuse.

Against the official Chinese story of success and progress, HRIC works to increase international understanding of the actual human rights challenges and opportunities.

Screening of Portraits of Loss and the Quest for Justice at the European Parliament | Brussels (December 1, 2009)
With the support of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), HRIC screened the 20-minute documentary that focuses on the stories of eight victims of the June 4, 1989 government crackdown for approximately 50 members of the European Parliament. The film was produced by HRIC from interviews conducted and shot by the Tiananmen Mothers. HRIC previously screened the film at the Asia Society in New York and Cinema CAC-Voltaire in Geneva.

Interview with Vaclav Havel | Prague (January 19, 2010)
HRIC Executive Director Sharon Hom spoke with Vaclav Havel about Liu Xiaobo. Havel, former Czech president and the principal exponent of Charter 77 which inspired Charter 08, spoke about the difficult process of democratic reform in communist systems, and expressed his support for and solidarity with Liu Xiaobo.

1. Media and communications

   In the four-month period of December 2009 – March 2010, HRIC set up nine press interviews for rights defenders and their families with media outlets including the New York Times, BBC, ZDF-TV (Germany), El Economista (Mexico), and TVE (Spain).

   1. Press releases, statements, case updates

      With 23 press releases, statements, and case updates during the four-month period of December 2009 – March 2010, HRIC kept the public informed about the following issues and the situation and cases of the following activists, scholars, and writers:
       

      Crackdown or imprisonment of rights defenders, petitioners, and government critics

      • Feng Zhenghu. Economist and rights educator who was refused re-entry into China from Japan from June 2009 to February 2010.
        Feng Zhenghu Urges International Community to Support Right of Return to One’s Own Country
      • Gao Zhisheng. Rights defense lawyer who was given a suspended sentence of three years’ imprisonment in December 2006 for “inciting subversion of state power.” He was kidnapped by police in February 2009 and disappeared until April 2010.
        Statement by Geng He, Wife of Gao Zhisheng  
        Top EU Official Asks China to Account for Missing Chinese Lawyer Gao Zhisheng  
        Wife of Disappeared Lawyer Says to Chinese Government: Give Back My Husband
      • Guizhou human rights activists. Organizers of the annual Guizhou Human Rights Symposium who were harassed and illegally held before the event in December 2009.
        Rights Activists Illegally Held, Harassed Before Human Rights Day
      • Huang Qi. Co-founder of human rights and anti-human-trafficking websites; Sichuan earthquake activist. Sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for “illegal possession of state secrets” in November 2009.
        Authorities Obstruct Huang Qi’s Appeal Attempts
      • Mao Hengfeng. Shanghai petitioner and rights activist who was ordered to serve one-and-a-half years of Reeducation-Through-Labor (RTL) for “disturbing social order” outside a Beijing court that announced verdict and sentence for Liu Xiaobo on December 25, 2010.
        Shanghai Petitioner to Serve 18 Months of Reeducation-Through-Labor after Shouting Slogans
      • Shen Peilan. Petitioner against forced evictions who was detained in a black jail during the March 2010 Two Congresses (National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference).
        Shanghai Petitioner Recounts Detention in Black Jail and Leveling of Family Farm
      • Tan Zuoren. Environmentalist, writer, Sichuan earthquake activist, who was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for “inciting subversion of state power” in February 2010.
        Sichuan Activist Sentenced to Five Years for “Inciting Subversion of State Power”
      • Zhang Boshu. Political philosopher and constitutional scholar who was asked to leave his post at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in December 2009 for writings critical of the government.
        Vocal Government Critic Dismissed from China’s Top Think Tank

      Freedom of Expression / Censorship

      • Liu Xiaobo. Writer and independent intellectual who was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment and  two years’ deprivation of political rights for “inciting subversion of state power” in December 2009.
        Court Affirms 11-Year Sentence for Liu Xiaobo against International Appeal for His Release  
        Liu Xiaobo Appeal Charges Court with Abuse of Public Power  
        Václav Havel, in HRIC Interview, Sends Message of Solidarity to Liu Xiaobo and Family  
        International Community Speaks Out on Liu Xiaobo Verdict
        Liu Xiaobo’s Guilty Verdict and 11-Year Sentence Send Message of Zero Tolerance for Universal Human Rights
        What Constitutes Liu Xiaobo’s “Incitement to Subvert State Power”?
        “The Dirtiest of Political Trials”
        Ding Zilin Urges Charter 08 Signers to “Join” Liu Xiaobo’s Trial
      • Google. Internet search engine corporation that redirected all Chinese traffic to Google.com.hk in March 2010 after attacks on its infrastructure and disagreements over censorship.
        Google Attacked from China: Wake-up Call to International Business
      • Liao Yiwu. Writer who was denied permission by Chinese authorities to travel to a literary festival in Cologne in early March 2010.
        Barred from Traveling, Writer Liao Yiwu Speaks to German Readers in Open Letter  
        In Letter, Writer Liao Yiwu Seeks Help from Angela Merkel

      Official Accountability for June Fourth

      • Tiananmen Mothers. Statement: “We Must Let ‘June Fourth’ Become a Topic of Public Discussion on the Internet” (released at the request of the Tiananmen Mothers).
        In Statement, Tiananmen Mothers Urge Government to Open Up the Internet
   2. Press Interviews

      In the four-month period of December 2009 – March 2010, HRIC did 29 press interviews on the following topics and cases with the following media outlets:

      Topics and cases
      Black jails
      Circumvention technologies
      Dalai Lama’s visit to the U.S.
      Dissidents
      Feng Zhenghu
      Gao Zhisheng
      Google
      Liu Xiaobo
      Secretary of State Clinton’s speech on freedom of expression
      State Secrets Law

      Media Outlets

      Wire Services	Print	Broadcast	Online
      Associated Press (AP) Reuters Agence France-Presse (AFP)	U.S. New York Times Wall Street Journal LA Times InformationWeek European Bild (Germany) El Pais (Spain) Helsingin Sanomat (Finland) Le Temps (Switzerland) Libération (France) Rzeczpospolita (Poland)	U.S. CapitolNEWS Connection Radio Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Voice of America-Radio Voice of America-TV European Bayerischer Rundfunk (German public radio) World Radio Switzerland (WRS)	CBS News Online
   3. Facilitating press interviews with rights defenders and families
2. Empowering Chinese Voices through Translation

   In the four-month period of December 2009 – March 2010, HRIC translated the following documents (in addition to the translation featured in the 2010, no. 1 issue of the China Rights Forum listed in Section II):

   Chinese to English

   • Excerpts of six essays by Liu Xiaobo
     What Constitutes Liu Xiaobo’s “Incitement to Subvert State Power”?
   • Liu Xiaobo’s Criminal Verdict by Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court
     International Community Speaks Out on Liu Xiaobo Verdict
   • Liu Xiaobo’s Appeal Defense Statement
     Liu Xiaobo Appeal Charges Court with Abuse of Public Power
   • Liao Yiwu’s letter, “To My German Readers” (released at the request of Liao Yiwu)
     Barred from Traveling, Writer Liao Yiwu Speaks to German Readers in Open Letter
   • Liao Yiwu’s letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel requesting her intervention in the government ban on Liao’s travel to Germany (released at the request of Liao Yiwu)
     In Letter, Writer Liao Yiwu Seeks Help from Angela Merkel
   • Statement by Tiananmen Mothers: “We Must Let ‘June Fourth’ Become a Topic of Public Discussion on the Internet” (released at the request of the Tiananmen Mothers)
     In Statement, Tiananmen Mothers Urge Government to Open Up the Internet
   • Shen Peilan’s account of her abduction and detention in a black jail (released at the request of Shen Peilan)
     Shanghai Petitioner Recounts Detention in Black Jail and Leveling of Family Farm
   • Zhang Boshu statement about his dismissal from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences because of his calls for constitutional reform (released at the request of Zhang Boshu)
     Vocal Government Critic Dismissed from China’s Top Think Tank
   • Decision on Mao Hengfeng by the Shanghai Municipal Committee for the Management of Reeducation-Through-Labor Decision (released at the request of Mao Hengfeng)
     Shanghai Petitioner to Serve 18 Months of Reeducation-Through-Labor after Shouting Slogans
   • Statement by Geng He confirming that she has not been in contact with her husband, Gao Zhisheng, since February 2009, despite Chinese government’s claim that Gao has been in regular contact with his family (released at the request of Geng He)
     Statement by Geng He, Wife of Gao Zhisheng

   English to Chinese

   • Google’s January 2010 statement, “A New Approach to China”
     谷歌遭来自中国的攻击：为国际商界敲响警钟
   • Google’s March 2010 statement on redirecting Google.cn to Google.com.hk
     谷歌的决定挑战中国的审查制度
3. Outreach and Collaboration

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