By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
NEW YORK, United States– The Chinese government should cancel the criminal trials of Huang Qi and Tan Zuoren in the absence of any credible proof that they endangered state security during their investigation of schools that collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
School destroyed during the quake (Source: AP)
Huang is a well-known civil rights campaigner and is accused of possessing state secrets, a crime punishable by imprisonment for five-years to life in China. His charge is based on Huang’s investigation which found that poor construction lead to the collapse of the schools during the Sichuan quake. Tan is also a famous civil rights and environmental advocate and can be jailed for five-years for his subversion charge. Tan’s sentence stems from the fact that he compiled a list of children killed during the earthquake.
“Subversion” and “state secrets” charges have long been used by the Chinese government to silence dissidents who exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights. Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch said, “These trials are not about a reasonable application of the law, but about silencing government critics whose work has considerable public benefit….” Richardson also commented that there is no evidence to suggest that Huang or Tan did anything more than to embarrass the government, which is not a crime.
The trials of Huang and Tan appears to be part of China’s plan to repress those who are challenging the government’s death toll of the quake and those who are seeking answers as to why 7,000 classrooms collapsed. Furthermore, prosecuting advocates like Huang and Tan violates international law as well as China’s constitution. That is, China implemented its first-ever national human rights campaign in April 2009 in which the government promised to “[r]especting earthquake victims (and) registering the names of people who died or disappeared in the earthquake and make them known to the public.”
Mother, amid quake rubbles, mourning her daughter (Source: Reuters)
Independent research by a renowned architect suggested that the death toll is more than 6,000. Moreover, outspoken parents of children who died in the school collapse have been harassed, detained or punished by government officials.
For more information, please see:
AP – Trial of Chinese dissidents ends without ruling – 5 August 2009
Human Rights Watch – China: Cancel Trials of Quake Victim Advocates – 4 August 2009
NYT – China Urged to Cancel Quake Trials – 5 August 2009
