By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China –Despite claims by the Chinese government that it is introducing democracy to its people, Chinese elections have faced criticism for harassing potential candidates and engaging in irregularities during the voting process.

Han Ying, a former potential candidate and land activist, has received threats and has been prevented from leaving her home. In addition, she was detained in a basement for ten hours after printing fliers to advertise her campaign and encouraging people to hear her speak.

The decision to end her campaign, however, came when she was nearly abducted after arriving home to find a guard at the gate of her neighborhood. In fear, she drove away but was followed by a gray car. After arriving at a friends apartment complex she was grabbed by officials, who attempted to drag her into the car, as she attempted to run up the stairs and into her friends apartment. After she screamed the men let go and, before leaving, told her that they were from the election commission and had “just wanted to talk” to her.

Another individual was forcibly removed by the police and taken out of town after he attempted to register as an independent candidate. On election day, he was accompanied by the local police and the state security police to his polling station.

In a similar case, Li Sihua, was accused of “sabotaging the election” when he refused to heed requests to not run for office. He was taken out of town by authorities during three important stages of the elections.

One of the few independent candidates to win the election was sixty-year-old Guo Huojia, a land activist, who received 7,000 out of the possible 9,000 votes.  The day after his victory, however, he was placed under house arrest where he has remained since September 29.

In addition to harassing prospective candidates, the Chinese government has misinformed voters about proper procedure causing many ballots to be deemed “spoiled.”

In one case, a voter chose one preselected candidate and then filled in the box that allowed voter’s to vote for a person not on the ballot. When she turned her ballot in, she was told that it would be discarded because she did not select two approved candidates as required.

Other voters have reported that employees watched them make their selections and did not offer private accommodations unless explicitly asked.

In another irregularity, a potential candidate was eliminated from the ballot during a selection meeting that the police prevented her from attending.

The elections have also been clouded by China’s central propaganda department’s direct order to state media that “news reports regarding independent candidates or election workshops are strictly prohibited.”

The central government also ordered those in charge of China’s most used websites to attend workshops where they were told to tighten censorship. Following the workshops, many of the independent candidate’s websites were removed.

Chinese officials have also arbitrarily removed candidate names from the ballot. Of the almost 7,000 candidates listed on the ballot, none of the thirteen known independent candidates were included.

Land confiscation is considered the hot button issue in these elections and many of the independent candidates have been involved in land rights activism. This background has been a cause of concern for Chinese authorities who have faced criticism in recent months for taking land from peasant farmers without adequately compensating them. As recently as November 7, three brothers in China self-immolated themselves in protest of land grabs drawing increased attention to the issue in China.

 

For more information, please see:

Radio Free Asia – Voters ‘misled’ at Polls – 8 November 2011

Voice of America – Democracy Candidates Barred from Beijing Elections – 8 November 2011

Radio Free Asia – Clampdown on Eve of Poll – 7 November 2011

Radio Free Asia – Three Peasants Self-Immolate – 7 November 2011

USA Today – ‘Chinese-Style Democracy’ Ensures Communists Prevail – 7 November 2011

Los Angeles Times – China’s Independents Find it Hard to Get on Ballot -5 November 2011

 

By Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

SEOUL, South Korea – The South Korean government has decided to resume aid to North Korea after a year and a half suspension. In a letter to the United Nations, South Korea requested the remaining seven million of the thirteen million dollar donation it made to the World Health Organization in 2009 for aid to North Korea be released to the North for humanitarian aid purposes.

The announcement comes day after South Korea’s Unification Minister met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss how to help North Korea. South Korean officials explained the decision “was based upon our belief that purely humanitarian support for the young and vulnerable in North Korea should continue.”

The aid will primarily be used to improve medical services ranging from medical equipment to high-nutrition foods that North Koreans desperately seek.

Originally, South Korea planned to send the full thirteen million dollars of aid to North Korea in 2009 until a South Korean warship was torpedoed by North Korea. The North rejected the accusation but South Korea was unconvinced.

After severe flooding ravaged the North in October, South Korean officials prepared an aid offer to the North of baby food, biscuits, and instant noodles. The North who had earlier requested food, cement, and heavy construction equipment never responded to the aid offer.

South Korea has been frustrated for years by the North’s persistence in developing nuclear weapons. However, the international community has put pressure on South Korea to not punish North Koreans for their government’s actions.

It is estimated that over six million North Koreans need food. After visiting North Korea last month, Valerie Amos the U.N. under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs estimated that one in three North Korean children are malnourished.

Many aid organizations have reported that North Korean children are on average much shorter the South Korean children due to their poor diet. Doctors also report that malnutrition is delaying North Korean children’s cognitive development.

The South Korean government is expected to review other aid options this week while preliminary negotiations begin for a natural gas pipeline from Russia through North and South Korea which would bring billions of dollars a year to both countries

For more information, please see:

New York Times – South Korea Approves Sending Medical Aid to the North – 8 November 2011

The Chosunilbo  – S. Korea Resumes Humanitarian Aid to N. Korea – 8 November 2011

Voice of America — South Korea Releases Humanitarian Aid to North, Ending Freeze — 8 November 2011

Yonhap News – Unification Minister to ‘actively consider’ giving aid to N. Korea through U.N – 6 November 2011

by Hibberd Kline
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANKOK, Thailand — As relief efforts in Thailand attempt to help the millions of people affected by flooding caused by three months of heavy monsoon rains, thousands of devastated migrant workers, mostly from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia face neglect, exploitation and fear.

Though the extent of the damage caused by the flood is still not entirely clear, current estimates put the number of people who have lost their lives at 500 and rising with an additional estimated 650,000 who have been forced to leave their jobs by rising flood waters. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) places the total number of people impacted by the floods as high as 9 million.

Food, water and shelter are largely available for the many evacuated Thais. However, many Thais have opted to stay with relatives or have remained in their homes in order to protect their possessions. As a result, many government shelters have not reached capacity.

Thailand’s largely Burmese migrant population has not fared nearly so well. Many have suggested that the pressing needs of migrants, stranded without food, water or electricity simply isn’t a priority for the authorities as they struggle to rescue thousands of Thais. In Kakhon Pathom outside of Bangkok, an estimated 200-400 Burmese are reportedly taking refuge at the only shelter available to Burmese migrants.

According to the Thai Labor Ministry, nearly 1 million of Thailand’s estimated 2-3 million Burmese migrant workers live in flood affected areas. Aid workers have placed the number of migrants still stranded by  flood waters as high as 600,000.

Burmese migrants face a wide range of obstacles when attempting to deal with Thai authorities. According to Jackie Pollock, a spokeswoman for the Mekong Migration Network, one of the largest obstacles often faced by migrants is neglect and discrimination resulting from the authorities’ lack of skilled translators.

Many migrants also face legal problems when they attempt to flee to dryer areas. Flood-affected migrants possess work visas that prohibit them from legally traveling to another province inside Thailand or that become void once the individual leaves the country. Furthermore, a large proportion of Thailand’s migrant workers have been working in the country illegally or claim to have lost their documents in the flood.

As a result, many migrants fleeing to unaffected areas face arrest, imprisonment, deportation and often a ban on future employment inside Thailand. One report claims that as many as 30,000 Burmese seeking to cross the border into Myanmar have been temporarily held in a detention center near the border town of Mae Sot over the past few weeks.

Rather than face the difficulties posed by run-ins with the authorities or the dangers of navigating through swamps and roads submerged under waist-deep, foul-smelling water, hundreds of fearful Burmese migrants have chosen to ride out the flood. Those who remain behind seek refuge in cramped apartment buildings with no electricity, and little or no food, water or medical supplies.

The IRC has expressed concern for the safety of those remaining in flooded areas, citing the potential for the spread of illnesses and other health hazards as a result of contaminated water. The Mekong Migration Network has called for Thailand’s government to alleviate the situation by allowing registered migrant workers to temporarily leave Thailand with an option to return once the situation improves.

In spite of the dangers and difficulties involved, huge numbers of Burmese migrants have fled the flood zone to return home to Myanmar. According to provincial police, on October 29 alone over 10,000 Burmese workers living both legally and illegally in and around Bangkok crossed through the Huay Hin Fon border checkpoint into Myanmar.

Those who decide to return to Myanmar generally face an arduous journey filled with the potential for exploitation at the hands of local mafia and “brokers” who arrange for transportation in exchange for exorbitant fees. Aid workers report that both the Thai and Burmese governments have moved to put a stop to border officials demanding bribes from returning migrants. However, in addition to the costs of reaching the border, many migrants are required to pay fines for visa violations before they make the crossing.

Upon reaching the border, migrants are faced with a processing backlog, which locals claim is due to the fact that the Burmese authorities are only allowing 150 people to cross the border each day.

On the Burmese side of the border, the government has reportedly been providing food, water, transportation and  small sums of money to migrants seeking to escape the flood in Thailand. However, reaching Myanmar does not guarantee that a migrant’s plight will improve. Returning migrants must face the possibility of abduction or exploitation at the hands of human traffickers such as the Karen border guard force, a militia associated with the Burmese military.

Thailand’s large Burmese migrant worker population makes up one of the most impoverished segments of Thai society. Funds sent back to Myanmar by migrant workers in Thailand are essential to the welfare of many Burmese families. Aid groups say that the exodus of Burmese migrant workers is likely to have a significant impact on the economies of both countries.

For additional information, please see:

Irrawaddy — Thailand Floods: The Straw That Broke the Broker’s Back — 02 November 2011

Reuters — Trapped Burmese Face Arrest, Extortion to Flee Thai Floods — 02 November 2011

Voice of America — Migrant Workers Struggling to Escape Thai Floods — 02 November 2011

Bangkok Post– 10,000 Burmese Workers Go Home to Escape Floods — 30 October 2011

International Rescue Committee — Amid Major Flood Disaster in Thailand, Aiding Burmese Refugees and Migrants on the Margins — 27 October 2011

International Rescue Committee — Crisis Watch: Flood Waters Sweep through Thailand — 27 October 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar– Rights groups are calling on authorities in Myanmar to end the poor conditions of fifteen political prisoners who are being held in dog cells and deprived of water.

On October 26 the prisoners began a hunger strike to protest the denial of the same sentence reductions that are offered to criminal prisoners. In Myanmar, criminal prisoners automatically have their sentences reduced by one-third in return for good behavior. Political prisoners, however, are given no opportunity to reduce their sentences.

On October 27, authorities began to retaliate against the prisoners by depriving them of water. This deprivation continued through at least November 2.

Amnesty International has stated that “depriving prisoners of drinking water as a punishment for participating in a hunger strike that could result in the prison authorities being responsible for the rapid death of the hunger strikers due to dehydration.” The statement continued to state that prisoner induced death by dehydration would be a “…violation of the right to life according to international law…”

On November 1 two of the prisoners were sent to the hospital while eight other prisoners were moved into cells designed to contain prison guard dogs. The dog cells measure approximately ten feet in length and seven feet in width. They are sound proof, do not have windows and are generally unsanitary and lacking in a bed or mat on the floor.

Reportedly, the prisoners have also been denied food, letters from their families, medication and visits.

The joint-secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma, Bo Kyi, believes that approximately 1,600 political prisoners remain imprisoned in Myanmar. He also stated that “[t]he Burmese prison authorities usually crack down brutally on striking prisoners, so we are worried for their lives.”

There have been reports that the Myanmar government is planning to release approximately 600 political prisoners next week as part of a new amnesty program by President Thein Sein’s new civilian government. The new releases would add to the several hundred political prisoners released less than a month ago.

According to the Myanmar government, there are only 600 political prisoners remaining in custody meaning that the expected release next week will free the remaining political prisoners. Amnesty International, however, insists that there are still approximately 2,000 political prisoners in jail.

Although the list of those to be released has been submitted to the National Defense and Security Council by the Myanmar president, it is unknown whether the hunger strikers are among those slated to be released.

For more information, please see:

The Irrawaddy – Families Fear for Hunger Strikers – 5 November 2011

Amnesty International – Myanmar Political Prisoners Held in Dog Cells and Denied Water – 4 November 2011

Radio Free Asia – New Political Prisoner Release ‘Likely’ – 4 November 2011

Reuters – Myanmar Prisoners on Hunger Strike Denied Drinking Water – 4 November 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 BEIJING, China – Rights groups are protesting the decision of Relativity Media to film a portion of its film “21 and Over” in the Chinese city of Linyi. The city has drawn criticism for its harsh treatment of an activist who has been kept under house arrest and subjected to beatings by government authorities.

Activist and lawyer Chen Guangcheng has been under house arrest since September 2010 after he completed a 51 month prison sentence for his involvement in a class action against brutal enforcement  of China’s “one child only” policy. Officials were being accused of forcing Linyi women to undergo abortions or sterilization in the interest of controlling the population.

Following his initial house arrest in 2005, Mr. Chen was then sentenced to serve four years in prison. After being released from prison, he was placed under house arrest along with his wife and young daughter while his school-aged son went to live with relatives. The house arrest sentence includes constant surveillance of his activities as well as the activities of his relatives.

In addition, Chen and his wife are beaten if they manage to make contact with the outside world or at the whim of government authorities.

Following his house arrest, authorities in Linyi have turned Chen’s village into a “hostile, no-go zone” in which activists, diplomats and reporters have been turned away and physically assaulted.  As recently as last week a group of unidentified men attacked visitors to Linyi as they tried to go to Chen’s home

Despite backlash from rights groups, Relativity Media asserts that it is proud of its partnership with China but admits that it was unaware of the political situation occurring in Linyi.

The company released a statement claiming that “[f]rom it’s founding, Relativity Media has been a consistent and outspoken supporter of human rights and we would never knowingly do anything to undermine this commitment. We stand by that commitment and we are proud of our growing business relationships in China… As a company, we believe deeply that expanding trade and business ties with our counterparts in China and elsewhere can result in positive outcomes.

Others, however, feel that the arrangement is a direct indicator of the company’s lack of concern for human rights. One example is Nicholas Becquelin, the senior researcher for Human Rights Watch Asia division, who stated that “…signing a deal with a person who is directly responsible for one of the most egregious and cruel abuses of a human rights defender in China is really beyond the pale.”

Criticism was also drawn from a press release by Relativity which quoted the party secretary of Linyi as praising “his good friend” Ryan Kavanaugh, who is the CEO of Relativity. In addition, the press release states that the studio was “…very much looking forward to shooting in china, especially in a place as amazing as Linyi.”

In direct response to the characterization of Linyi as an amazing place, China director for Human Rights Watch stated that Linyi is only amazing because of the , “amazing abuses Linyi officials have heap on one of China’s best known legal rights activists and his family…It’s almost equally amazing that Relativity was unaware of Linyi’s notoriety.”

Groups, such the Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, are calling for the worldwide boycott of “21 and Over” as a result of the partnership with china.

Relativity has produced or co-financed over 20 movies including “Bridesmaids”, “Limitless” and “The Social Network”.

For more information, please see:

Radio Free Asia – Call for Movie Boycott – 2 November 2011

The Washington Post – Hollywood Stirs Outrage With Comedy Filmed in Notorious Chinese City – 1 November 2011

The New York Times – Activists Denounce Film Deal in China – 31 October 2011

Huffington Post – Relativity Slammed for Linyi, China Shoot for ’21 And Over’ Film – 30 October 2011

Reuters – Human Rights Groups Rebuke Relativity Over Chinese Co-Production – 30 October 2011