Open Letter to Chinese Leaders from the International Federation for Human Rights and the World Organization Against Torture

(Clearwisdom.net)

Freedom of association in China

Open letter to [China's] Head of State, and [China's] Secretary General of the Chinese Communist Party

Paris, Geneva, 20th December 2002
By fax: [phone]

Excellencies,

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), in the framework of their joint programme the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, would like to express their concern with regard to the restrictions to freedom of association in China.

Freedom of association is enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China signed in 1998. It is also protected by the Chinese Constitution (art. 35). However, restrictive legislation has been enacted in 1998 : Order N^o 250 Regulations on the Registration and Management of Social Groups; Order N^o 251 Provisional Regulations on the Registration and Management of People-Organised Non-Enterprise Units; and Order N^o 252 Provisional Regulations on the Registration and Management of Institutional Units. These laws expand the "registration and management" scheme previously applicable only to "social groups" to all non-profit initiatives undertaken by Chinese citizens.

The 1998 legislation raises the requirements for the establishment of a social group ; allows for a preemptive ban on the registration of an organization or unit, based on "evidence" of how it might act, and threatens those engaging in unapproved activities with unspecified criminal penalties and criminal detention; triples the length of time required for the processing of a registration application from a social group, from 30 days to 90 days, and adds a third stage to the approval process; bars individuals who have ever being deprived of their political rights from acting as the representative or "responsible persons" of an organization ; prohibits national groups from establishing any kind of regional-level branch office, thus severely restricting the coordinating capacity of any social group and prohibits non-enterprise units from setting up any branch offices; allows for extensive government interference in the financial affairs of groups; increases the controls to be imposed on social groups by the government "sponsors" to which they are required to be attached.

This legislative framework restricts excessively freedom of association. In practice, people calling for human rights improvements, ranging from members of the China Democratic Party to Falun Gong practitioners, are systematically silenced. Efforts to organise independently, whether around issues of politics, religion, labour or human rights are ruthlessly repressed.

Official attitude towards independent human rights activism remains hostile; there is still no possibility of establishing rights monitoring groups inside the country. Individuals have continued to be arrested and sentenced to prison for seeking to expose rights abuses, help victims, or exercise their own rights to freedom of expression and association. Attempts to organise independent human rights groups have usually ended with activists being sent to prison.

[...]

Freedom of association is not respected either in the religious field. Since July 1999, the Chinese government has forbidden the movement of Falun Gong practitioners and has launched a repression against them. They are victims of an increasing use of torture in order to force them to renounce being part of the movement and reeducation through labour is largely used in the brutal campaign against them.

According to the figures provided on 26 September 2002, by the Falun Gong through the Falun Dafa Information Centre, 485 practitioners have allegedly died since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. According to the same source, 100,000 people would have been arbitrarily detained, 20,000 would have been sent to labour camps without trial (for terms up to 3 years), 500 would have been sentenced to extended jail terms (some up to 18 years) 1,000 healthy practitioners are being held in mental institutions.

[...]

China's 16th Party Congress has drawn a number of petitions and open letters from Chinese dissidents are calling for political reform and greater openness. At the same time, Chinese authorities have begun arresting some vocal dissidents in order to maintain a "peaceful and stable" atmosphere for the Congress.

The recent arrests of human rights and political activists are extremely worrying and damage the hopes raised by the election of the new Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, on November 14. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders therefore calls Chinese authorities to take the present submission into account in order to favour more openness with regard to freedom of opinion, expression and association in China.

We thank you for your attention.

Sincerely yours

Sidiki Kaba
President of the FIDH

Eric Sottas
Director of the OMCT