By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Protests continue into a fourth day in China where residents are expressing anger that land taken by the government has remained idle for years.

Police have been exercising control of Guangdong’s Lufeng city as citizens protest not only the government’s taking of farmland but also the inadequate compensation paid by officials.

 Reportedly, the protesters had only received 500 yuan per person, the equivalent of 78 American dollars, in compensation. The amount of compensation is shockingly low when compared to the $156 million paid by developers for the most recently seized plots.

According to Lufeng city officials, the land has been sold to be used for the development of industrial parks and high priced housing. There have also been reports that developers intend to use the land to build a luxury holiday resort, tourism villas and a neon-lit nightclub.

One protester, Chen, stated that the police “…have been sitting on that land and not using it, while more than 10,000 people in our area have no land to cultivate.”

A local resident and protest participant, Yang, estimated that between 3,000 and 4,000 people took part in the first day of protest which began on Wednesday following reports that more than 800 acres of the land that had been taken from farmers had been sold.

By Thursday several hundred armed officers and riot police were dispatched to disperse protesters.  Violence increased following the detention of several protesters by police as fellow protesters attacked the police station and overturned two police cars in demanding release of those who had been detained.

According to a local resident, the four individuals who were detained haven’t been released and the police have become increasingly violent, sending several people to the hospital including two thirteen year old children who were seriously harmed.

Chen described the nature of such attacks:  “[a]t about 10:00 a.m. [Thursday], the villagers were having a meeting, when [the police] suddenly drove up and starting beating people.”  

The villagers retaliated against police violence by vandalizing four police cars, besieging government buildings, overturning SWAT team vehicles and attacking police officers. The clashes resulted in more than a dozen protesters being injured by police batons.

It has also been reported that residents have attacked local businesses, including a factory and a livestock farm. On Friday, hundreds of protesters gathered outside of government offices, banging gongs, chanting and carrying banners reading “Return our farmland!”

Thousands of protests, many of which become violent, by local communities in China are sparked each month by official land acquisitions that result in lucrative offers for officials while the landowner receives little compensation in return.

 

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Land Grab Protest in S. China Simmers for 4th Day – 24 September 2011

The Wall Street Journal – Riots Erupt Over Land in China – 24 September 2011

The New York Time – Farmer’s in China’s South Riot Over Seizure of Land – 23 September 2011

Radio Free Asia – Protests Intensify After Clashes – 23 September 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

BEIJING, China – A Pakistani man, Syed Zahid Hussain Shah, has been executed by the Chinese government after being sentenced to death for a 2008 drug trafficking charge.

Shah, a 36 year old former businessman, was arrested in 2008 amid accusations of drug trafficking and in 2010 he was sentenced to die by lethal injection.

Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Director, Sam Zarifi, stated that “executing someone for drug related offences violates internationally accepted standards for imposing the death penalty…”

Zarifi also called on the Pakistani government to “…provide Shah with urgent additional consular assistance.” This request went unheeded as the Pakistani government refused pleas from not only the human rights community but also from the family members of Mr. Shah.

Frustration at the Pakistani governments failure to act was expressed by the Asian Human Rights Commission which stated “it is the primary duty of the Pakistani government to come forward and save the life of any Pakistani citizen who is made a victim because of the wrong advice from him lawyer and the sheer negligence of staff of the Pakistan embassy in Beijing.”

Although the consular assisted Shah during the three years he spent in detention his family believes that  the assistance he received was inadequate.

Shah was allowed a half hour visit with his family on the day preceding his execution and one last meeting on Wednesday morning before he was executed at four o’ clock that afternoon.

According to Shah’s family, he had been falsely implicated by business associates whom he was attempting to help at the time of his arrest and was not aware that he was breaking any law.

Although statistics on the death penalty are considered a state secret in China, Amnesty International estimates that thousands of people are executed in China each year and are not provided with clemency procedures after they have exhausted their appeals.

This year the Communist party has cut the number of crimes punishable by death, such as forging tax invoices, from 68 to 55. Of the 55 remaining crimes; however, 31 are non-violent crimes which are still death penalty eligible. An example of China’s willingness to utilize the death penalty is exemplified by the assurance Beijing has given the Chinese public that those who violate food safety laws which result in a fatality will face the possibility of execution.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – China Executes Pakistani Man on Drug Charges – 21 September 2011

The International News – Family Meets Pakistani in China Before Execution – 21 September 2011

Truth Dive – Human Rights Groups Urge China to Stop Pak Convict’s Execution – 21 September 2011

BBC News – China Lobbied Over Pakistan Man’s Imminent Execution – 20 September 2011

Asian Human Rights Commission – PAKISTAN: The Government Should Engage with the President of China for the Commutation of the Death Sentence of Zahid Hussain Shah – 19 September 2011

Hindustan Time – Justice by Death in China – 17 September 2011

Amnesty International – China Must Halt Execution of Pakistan National – 16 September 2011

By Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch, Asia

BEIJING, China – It has been confirmed that Chinese government officials have placed a one year suspension on the popular TV talent show “Super Girl.” “Super Girl”, which is modeled after “American Idol,” has drawn nearly 400 million viewers in the past.

When questioned about the ban placed on Super Girl, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) explained that the show exceeded the ninety minute time limit for talent competitions. SARFT claims that episodes of “Super Girl” can last more than three hours.

When speaking of “Super Girl,” government officials have described the program as “vulgar,” “manipulative,” and “poison for our youth.”

Li Hao, spokesperson for Hunan Satellite Television which aired “Super Girl”, said next year the station will air programs at night that encourage healthy morals, public safety, and give practical information about housework.

The ban has evoked much criticism of the Chinese government and organizations that regulate such as SARFT.

A senior employee at Hunan Satellite Television told BBC that SARFT was bitter over the popularity and financial success of “Super Girl.” “It is widely believed that the real reason for the ban is that Hunan TV’s talent programs have been extremely popular,” she said.

Others suggest the ability of viewers to vote for their favorite contestants was “dangerously democratic.” This theory has credibility as the government banned text-messaging voting in 2007.

Zhan Jiang, a journalism professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University said the ban is a reflection of the rift between the younger generation and the conservative bureaucrats who have kept a close watch on what kind of programs appear on media channels throughout the country.

“Super Girl” was previously banned in 2006 for three years, following a campaign by a cultural minister opposing the show. The minister, Liu Zhongde, said “Super Girl is certainly the choice of the market, but we can’t have working people reveling all day in low culture.”

Interestingly, an article was published in the China Daily eleven days ago about “Super Girl’s” dying popularity and appeal. The article explained that contestants and judges left much to be desired. The article quoted Li Hao as saying “Let’s face it. The heyday of reality singing shows is over.”

In addition to the ban placed on “Super Girl,” media regulators also imposed a one month suspension on a television station in the province of Hebei which displayed a son criticizing his father.

For more information, please see:

BBC- China takes popular TV talent show Super Girl off air – 19 September 2011

New York Times – Popularity May Have Doomed Chinese TV Talent Show – 19 September 2011

People’s Daily Online – Super girl taken off air – 19 September 2011

China Daily – Reality kicks in – 8 September 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

HANOI, Vietnam – Truong Van Suong, a political prisoner who has spent 33 years of his 68 year life in jail, died from medical complications while in detention.

In November 2010, Suong’s family was notified by prison officials that Suong had developed a serious heart condition. As a result of this condition, he was given one year of medical parole.

This parole was spent at a hospital until authorities suddenly re-appeared to return Suong to prison on August 19, just weeks before his passing, against the objection of his family who told authorities that his heart was too fragile to survive the conditions of his imprisonment.

Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch has criticized the Vietnamese government for forcing Suong to return to prison when he “urgently needed proper medical treatment.”

Phil Robertson also stated that “by locking him up again in such terrible health, the government of Vietnam essentially condemned him to die alone, separated from family and friends in his last days.”

Luong Thanh Nghi, Foreign Ministry spokesman, confirmed the death and stated that it came despite receiving hospital attention and returning to prison from medical parole in “stable health”.

Suong served as an officer in Southern Vietnam’s Army during the Vietnam War. When the north invaded Saigon, Suong was forced to spend six years in re-education camp in central Vietnam.

After being released, Suong fled to Thailand and joined the United Front of Patriotic Force for the Liberation of Vietnam in an attempt to bring democracy to Vietnam.

After returning to Vietnam, Suong and 200 other individuals were arrested after a Vietnamese spy informed the government of their involvement with the organization. In 1983 Suong was charged with treason and his involvement in an attempt to overthrow the Vietnamese government for which he was sentenced to life in prison.

Suong is the second political prisoner to die in Vietnam since July.

Human Rights Watch is calling on the Vietnamese government to “…immediately release all political prisoners unconditionally, but they should especially prioritize the release of those with serious health problems so they can receive proper medical treatment.”

For more information, please see:

Forbes – Vietnam Political Prisoner Dies After 33 Years – 13 September 2011

The Guardian – Vietnamese Political Prisoner Truong Van Suong Dies in Detention – 13 September 2011

Voice of America – Vietnamese Prisoner Dies in Prison After Year-Long Medical Parole – 13 September 2011

Radio Free Asia – Prominent Dissident Dies in Jail – 12 September 2011

By: Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — On the last day of August, President Mahinda Rajapaksa requested that the Sri Lankan Parliament allow the emergency powers given to his government to expire. The regulations, which have been in place since 1971, gave the government unrestrained power to search, arrest, and detain.

Many sources claim that this broad governmental power led to many people being tortured, unlawfully detained, and forced to disappear. The majority of the victims belong to the political party known as the Tamil Tigers.

The Sri Lankan government has come under heavy criticism since the government defeated the Tamil Tigers in a twenty-six year war that ended two years ago. Instead of allowing the emergency powers to expire at the conclusion of the war, the government clung to the powers until last month.

While allowing the emergency powers to expire appears to be an act of good faith by the government, many are calling this action deceitful and a “bait and switch” by the government.

The 1979 Prevention of Terrorism Act and several other laws still exist which give the government power to detain individuals up to eighteen months without trial. Furthermore, proposed legislation will allow the regime to keep the over 6,000 people currently held under the expired emergency powers act.

“The Sri Lankan government announced that the state of emergency is over, but it is holding on to the same draconian powers it had during the war,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Many groups and journalists have cautioned the world that the Sri Lankan government’s power has not changed since the emergency regulations expired. A local journalist wrote “we hope that the government will not hoodwink the international community by publicizing that the country’s emergency laws have been abolished.”

The outgoing attorney-general, Mohan Peiris, told BBC that the expiration of the emergency powers should lead to the release of long term prisoners. However, he later told other journalists that “no suspects will be released and there is no change even though the emergency has been allowed to lapse.”

Peiris continued to explain that the government would create more legislation that would allow the secretary of defense or the president to pass emergency laws as needed. An example of this occurred on August 6 when the president granted the military search and arrest powers. It is unclear how short or long this decree will last.

Sri Lankans are relieved that the state of emergency and the war are over, but the world is keeping its eye on the government.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press — Rights group says Sri Lanka still uses abusive detention laws despite end of war — 8 September 2011

BBC – Human Rights Watch condemns ‘draconian’ Sri Lankan laws – 8 September 2011

Daily Mirror – Laws that promote democracy and development – 7 September 2011

Human Rights Watch – Sri Lanka: ‘Bait and Switch’ on Emergency Law – 7 September 2011