By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
BEIJING, China – Activists who attempted to register as independent candidates in district legislative elections, which are generally dominated by the Communist party, are being held under house arrest and detained by Chinese authorities.
Reportedly, dozens of activists across China have filed applications to campaign despite receiving official warnings that there is “no such thing” as an independent candidate in China. As of Friday, there were thirteen candidates who had been detained for several hours after meeting to discuss the upcoming election in Beijing.
Although the capital generally has only a few independent representatives, Li Fan of the World and China Institute Think tank estimates that there are now tens of thousands independent candidates prompting unease among the Communist Party. Li attributes this increase to an awareness of civic rights, an increasingly worse relationship between the government and citizens, and social networking that allows for information to be transferred quickly.
Han Ying, who planned to run for election for the National People’s Congress, described her inability to pursue political office when she explained that, “[t]here are a lot of plainclothes officers near my house, and the police come to my home everyday to stop me from campaigning and to stop me from meeting with journalists.” Han also stated that barriers had been set by the police to prevent journalists from approaching her and that they took her cell phone away when she attempted to make a phone call.
Ye Qingchun, another independent candidate, was held at her home by authorities who intended to prevent her from campaigning in the elections.
In addition, three other potential candidates were detained and given fifteen days detention for “obstructing public servants in the course of their duties.”
Other candidates have reported being detained until after the polls were closed, having their name excluded from the ballot, enduring threats against them self and their family, having their business investigated and being told that males were not allowed to campaign against the communist party.
As a result of government opposition to independent candidates, some were forced to resort to refusing donations and avoiding public campaigning opportunities in order to avoid conflict with Chinese authorities.
The election for the People’s Congress, the lowest level of China’s parliamentary system, seats delegates to represent the townships and urban districts across the country. Elections for the People’s Congress are conducted every five years and are the only elections in which citizen’s can directly vote for their legislatures.
Chinese law allows anyone over the age of eighteen years old to be an independent candidate if they are endorsed by at least ten people although elections are tightly controlled by Communist Party officials who choreograph the outcome of elections.
For more information, please see:
Radio Free Asia – Election Candidates Held in Beijing – 30 September 2011
CNN – Independent Candidates Test China’s Election Experiment – 23 September 2011
NTD Television – China’s Independent Candidates Face Detention, Harassment – 20 September 2011
The Guardian – China’s Boom in ‘Citizen Candidates’ Sparks Backlash – 19 September 2011
