Asia

Man Capturing and Forcing Women into Prostitution is Sentenced to Death

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Yesterday, a court in central China sentenced 35-year old Li Hao, a local government clerk and a father to an eight-month child, to death for holding six women as sex slaves in a man made dungeon.

A picture of Li Hao and his man made dungeon. (Photo Courtesy Business Insider)

After arresting Mr. Hao in September of last year, the court found him, guilty of “murder, rape, organized prostitution, illegal detention and spreading pornography for profit.”

According to Business Insider, Mr. Hao allegedly attended karaoke bars, hair salons, and massage parlors in order to persuade women to return with him.  Once these women would follow him, he would hold them captive between two and twenty-one months.  During this time, he would force them into prostitution, having sex with him, and appearing in online sex performances.

Mr. Hao’s plan was revealed when one of his captives in the Luoyan, Henan provinces escaped and informed authorities.

Three of the women previously kidnapped and kept were also found guilty of murder. They were involved in the death of two other women in the dungeon.  These women were given lenient sentences due to the nature of the situation.

One received three years and the two others were placed on probation. Authorities believed Mr. Hao intimidated them to commit murder.

According to Samay, Mr. Hao forced the women into having sex in order to generate money.

The police chief of Luoyang apologized to the public last year for failing to discover Mr. Hao’s crimes earlier and has subsequently suspended four police officers in relation to the case.

For more information, please see:

Sahara Samay – China’s serial rapist Li Hao gets death sentence – 01 December 2012

BBC News – China ‘sex slave’ case: Li Hao sentenced to death – 30 November 2012

Business Insider – Chinese Man Sentenced To Death For Keeping ‘Sex Slaves’ In Dungeon – 30 November 2012

Activist Chen Guangcheng’s newphew sentenced to 3 years and 3 months by a Shangdong Court

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

JINAN, China – Chen Kegui, nephew of Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng, has been convicted of intentional infliction of injury and sentenced to 3 years and 3 months in prison by a Shangdong province court.

Image of Chen Kegui who was sentenced by a Shangdong court. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

Chen Kegui was taken prisoner by police back in April when roughly 20 plain clothes police officers broke into his family’s home.  He attempted to fight the men back, not knowing who the intruders were, and was subsequently arrested and charged with intentional homicide.

The charge of intentional homicide was later dropped to intentional infliction of injury because the prosecutor’s office did not have enough evidence to back up the homicide charge.  Chen Guangfu, Kegui’s father, has condemned his son’s sentence as wholly illegal.

Chen Guangfu states that all of Kegui’s actions were in defense of himself and of his mother the night the plain clothes police broke into their home without warning or warrants.  Human rights advocates have also condemned Kegui’s sentence as illegitimate and believe that the verdict should be overturned.

The Shangdong court conducted a hasty trial behind closed doors which lasted only about half a day before the decision was reached.  Chen Kegui was held without any communication with his family, and he and his family were not allowed to choose their own lawyer for the legal proceedings.

Kegui’s court appointed lawyer, Ding Xikui, did not have access to any of the case materials nor did he have any contact with his client.  He had only heard about the trial merely hours before the proceedings started.

Ding Xikui said that he was not surprised by the hasty verdict reached by the Shangdong court.  He says this is not out of character for the local police and court, which he says has never respected due process and has violated the law in this manner in the past.

Chen Guangfu, Kegui’s father, said that his son would not be appealing the decision but does not know why since he was not allowed to witness the court proceedings.  He has also filed a separate lawsuit against the local police and official authorities, citing the illegality of their actions when they broke into their family home without a warrant.

Chen Kegui’s sentence and punishment is seen by rights activists as purposeful retaliation against the family for Chen Guangcheng’s escape.  Guangcheng escaped house arrest and fled to the United States in April, shortly before Chen Kegui was taken into custody.  These questionable legal proceedings will undoubtedly bring into question China’s legal system and their commitment to human rights.

For further information, please see:

Taipei Times – Blind Chinese activist’s nephew gets jail sentence – 1 December 2012

BBC – Chen Guangcheng: Nephew Chen Kegui sentenced – 30 November 2012

New York Times – Nephew of Chinese Dissident Given 3 Years in Prison for Assault – 30 November 2012

Reuters – Blind China activist’s nephew gets three years in jail – 30 December 2012


At Least 50 Injured by Riot Police in a protest over a Copper Mine in Myanmar

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar – Riot police used violence to disperse protestors in the town of Monywa located in the northwestern district of Sagaing, injuring at least 50 individuals.

An injured monk gets aid for his burns caused by the riot police. (Photo Courtesy of The Guardian)

Roughly 1,000 protestors, including local monks, gathered in a camp in Monywa to oppose a copper mining venture jointly operated by a subsidiary of the prominent weapons manufacturer, China North Industries Corp, and the military-owned, Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd.

The protestors alleged that the proposed billion dollar expansion of the copper mining venture was illegally usurping more than 7,800 acres of land.  Local farmers protesting the current expansion complained that they were forced to swallow an undesirable deal only two years prior when they gave up their land in exchange for new housing and cash compensation.

The riot police arrived early in the morning, around 3 a.m., and opened fire on the camp inhabitants with water cannons, tear gas and incendiary devices, or “phosphorous bombs.”  Some protestors suffered severe burns from the incendiary devices and, as they took off their burning clothes, fires started all across the camp.

Zaw Htay, a spokesperson for President Thein Sein’s office, denied any use of incendiary devices against the protestors and stated only water cannons, tear gas and smoke bombs were used to disperse camp inhabitants.

Some of the injured, many of them monks, have taken refuge in a nearby village to nurse their burns and other injuries suffered at the hands of Myanmar’s riot police.  The injured reported that there were no ambulances to take them to nearby hospitals, other emergency medical response measures, or doctors to help care for their burns.

Disputes over land usurpation, like the one presented in the expansion of the copper mining venture, has been a growing problem in Myanmar, especially after the central government under Thein Sein has relaxed the laws governing individuals’ rights to protest.

Prominent Burmese politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, has offered her services to ensure a peaceful resolution to the current conflict between the interests of the joint mining venture and local land owners.

Aung San Suu Kyi has already met with the companies behind the mining venture and desires to meet with the thousands of protestors and local land owners to ensure better cooperation between the conflicting parties.

The hiccup in the mining venture’s progress has caused the Chinese media to characterize the ordeal as a losing situation for the Chinese interests involved.  The Chinese media has also gone as far as to blame Western interests as the cause for the unrest and stall in the project, claiming that only third party Western interests will benefit from the current result.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Burmese police break up copper mine protest – 29 November 2012

The Guardian – Burma: riot police move in to break up copper mine protest – 29 November 2012

Reuters – Riot police move in to end Myanmar copper mine protest – 29 November 2012

The Telegraph – Burma copper mine protest broken up by riot police – 29 November 2012

Democratic Voice of Burma – Hundreds protest against Burma copper mine – 21 November 2012

Samsung Audit Reveals Inadequate Practices at Suppliers in China

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch, Asia

BEIJING, China – On Monday, Samsung Electronics Co., a South Korean manufactuer, announced that auditing 105 of its suppliers revealed “several instances of inadequate practices at the facilities.”  Furthermore, Samsung anticipates reviewing practices at 144 other suppliers in China.

A Samsung phone. (Photo Courtesy of CNet)

According to BBC News, said practices include fines for being absent or late to work and excessive overtime.  However, there has been no evidence of under-age workers despite China Labor Watch’s report, a New York-based labor rights group, published prior of such workers in the facilities.  Specifically, China Labor Watch alleged that the hiring, use, and working conditions were “inhumane.”

“Samsung did not identify any instance of child labour during the audits after reviewing HR records of all workers aged below 18 and conducting face-to-face ID checks,” stated Samsung.

Moreover, Samsung requested that all its suppliers implement a new hiring process as soon as possible to combat the previously mentioned issues.  Furthermore, it further requested that they amend irregularities in labor contracts and cultivate a longer-term plan to correct working hours.

“Samsung takes concerns about working conditions in China seriously and, whenever an issue is identified, we take immediate and appropriate steps to correct it,” shared the company.  “Our goal is to assess, improve, and continuously monitor every aspect of working conditions at Samsung supplier facilities to meet our own high standards.”

A supplier of Apple and Microsoft, Foxconn, is well known for its alleged use of child labor, excessive hours, and working conditions.  This was revealed after a Fair Labor Association inspected Apple’s supply facilities.  After this incident, Foxconn agreed to increase workers’ wages.  Since the last check, the Foxconn made progress in these areas.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Samsung audit finds ‘inadequate practices’ at China suppliers – 26 November 2012

CNET – Samsung finds no child labor, promises fixes to supply chain – 26 November 2012

Washington Post – Samsung’s audit find inadequate labor practices at its Chinese suppliers – 26 November 2012

 

 

South East Asian Countries Move to Adopt Human Rights Declaration Despite Protest From Activists

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have committed to signing the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration to combat the rampant disregard for basic human rights in the region.

Cambodian rights activists protest the summit in Phnom Penh. (Courtesy of the Philippine Star)

Despite strong protest from rights groups that say the declaration adopted by ASEAN falls short of international standards on human rights, the countries plan to move forward with the adoption of the declaration.

The ASEAN Human Rights Declaration will not be legally binding and currently contain certain loopholes that allow the nations who sign it into “law” to escape penalty.  The document declares all citizens of the nations who sign the declaration into effect are entitled to equal protection under the law.

The declaration also provides special protection to marginalized groups such as women, minorities, disabled persons, and displaced migrants.  These groups are said to have certain “inalienable rights and freedoms” under the proposed human rights declaration.

Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN Secretary General, has touted the declaration as representation progress in the realm of human rights for many of the ASEAN members.  However, Pitsuwan also acknowledges that inherent weaknesses exist within the declaration.

Deputy Director for Human Rights Watch Asia, Phil Robertson, has condemned the declaration, calling it an “ASEAN human rights feel-good show.”  Robertson believes that the declaration is nothing more than a “public relations game” to improve ASEAN members’ international perception because the human rights abuses in this area of the world have been so prevalent.

Vietnam has been guilty of imprisoning internet bloggers because of their criticisms of the Communist government’s policies.  Cambodia, the host for the declaration summit, has also been host to over 300 politically motivated killings in the past two decades alone.

Because the declarations are not binding, the provisions essentially have no weight in the context of improving human rights for citizens of these countries.  There are event specific omissions that show that this declaration is weightless such as the Muslim majority in Malaysia lobbying for gay rights to be omitted from the final draft of the declaration.

President Barak Obama of the United States is slated to visit the region, specifically Myanmar, to address these failures in adhering to the minimum international standards on human rights.  The president is under immense pressure by rights groups to persuade the region to raise their standards on human rights.

ASEAN members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.  All member countries have struggled with promoting basic human rights and have all been guilty of violating international standards in recent history.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Calls mount to scrap ASEAN human rights plan – 17 November 2012

The Philippine Star – Territorial disputes, human rights top Asia summit – 17 November 2012

Reuters – Southeast Asia to adopt human rights platform; condemned by activists – 17 November 2012

The Washington Post – Southeast Asian leaders plan to adopt human rights declaration despite calls for delay – 15 November 2012