By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – A group of artists who resisted violent attempts to evict them, will receive compensation for giving up their claims to property and for their hardship.  A spokesperson for the group stated that they were awarded 6 million yuan ($0.88 million) for their protest. The amount is to be divided among dozens of artists living and working in the district.

 A worker uses a hammer on an old building to be demolished in China. Photograph courtesy of Yahoo! World News.

The artists involved were from art districts, Zheng Yang and the 008 area. The group’s representative, Zhang Jun, said that they were able to form an agreement after negotiations with local officials. Compensation came after an incident involving about 100 men who wore white masks and were armed with iron rods. They swarmed the two art districts, beating several as they marched through the regions.

Zhang stated that it was unclear who would pay the compensation, because the ties between the real estate developer and the government of the Chaoyang District of Beijing were murky. He said the negotiations went smoothly and took place with district officials, though police officers acted as intermediaries. In a public announcement, Zhang indicated that, “If they had been so rational and polite three months ago, everything would simply be fine.  We just want to be treated as humans.” 

The incident in Zheng Yang was not, however, an isolated event. Another group of artists in the Zhengyang district have also been compensated, although the amount has yet to be confirmed, according to spokeswoman, Xiao Ge.  Xiao is the curator of a project supporting the artists. For three months, the artists have taken turns standing guard to prevent developers from coming in to take over and destroy their studios.  Local authorities and land developers had said the artists must move out to make way for redevelopment. Water and electricity have reportedly already been cut off.

According to Xiao, “This is the first time that Chinese artists have united to protect their rights. It’s a small victory.” An even bigger triumph is the detention of 18 people last month, who were suspected of assaulting the artists, state media reported.

In the aftermath of negotiations, leaders from both Zhengyang and 008 will establish a “rights protection fund” to assist people in similar situations, such as the teachers and children in nearby migrant schools resisting forced eviction.

For more information, please see:

 Yahoo! World News – Artists in China compensated after daring protest – 16 March 2010

Global Times – Artists receive compensation for attack – 16 March 2010

New York Times –  China Compensates Evicted Artists – 15 March 2010

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Instead of releasing those who were arrested without charge during the March 2008 protests in Tibet, the Chinese government is stepping up security ahead of the protests’ anniversary in the Lhasa area.

The 2008 protests was the major protest held by Tibetans against the Chinese in twenty years.  Over a span of four days, hundreds of monks peacefully protested in and around Lhasa against China’s intrusive controls over religious, cultural, and economic activities.

However, Tibetan public began protesting against the police who were preventing the monks from leaving their compounds, which lead to Tibetan rioters burning Chinese shops and government buildings.

Since then, the Chinese have kept a close eye on Tibet.  China executed two Tibetans for the involvement with the 2008 riots last year.

Special police forces have been stationed across the Lhasa region, and the police are checking identification papers and searching homes.  Those who have been to Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, and other Tibetan cities in recent days have reported that police and paramilitary forces with automatic weapons have lined the streets.

Sophie Richardson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said, “Further repression will breed precisely the kind of instability the Chinese government fears.”

“Addressing underlying grievances and allowing Tibetans to enjoy basic rights of expression, assembly and due process is the only way to ensure the ‘harmony’ Beijing so craves,” added Richardson.

Both reports conducted by Human Rights Watch and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) show that Chinese government subjected Tibetans to arbitrary arrests and that little information has been provided as to the whereabouts of the detainees.

UNHCHR said the ethnic violence in China is the result of China’s “discrimination and failure to protect minorities.”

Lastly, Richardson commented, “National security concerns do not exempt Chinese government from its obligation to respect fundamental rights and freedoms.”

For more information, please see:

BBC – Heavy security in Tibet ahead of protests’ anniversary – 13 March 2010

Human Rights Watch – China: Accountability Overdue in Tibet Protests – 12 March 2010

NYT – China Increases Security in Tibet to Prevent Protests – 11 March 2010

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – China’s top print media censor is to introduce a new qualification exam for aspiring journalists this year in a push to tighten up on control of media. China has limited to an even greater extent, the abilities of journalists to report in an effort to further retrain freedom of the press, and rights of expression China will toughen requirements for reporters by launching a new certification system. Now, the Chinese government has implemented a new training system which requires journalists to be familiar with Marxist and communist theories of news.

Chinese officials already routinely censor journalists, but Chinese media has become less restricted in recent years as they have gained more revenue from independent sources as a result of advertising. Government censors keep a tight grip on news content and routinely ban reporting on issues deemed too politically sensitive or destabilizing, and many media outlets in China serve as mouthpieces for the state. Recent efforts, however, have sought to hamper such an outlet.

One theory of the reporting system advocates that the media serve as communicative reinforcement of the government’s political views rather than as a watchdog to report non-bias news about the country’s leadership and international happenings.

It is believed that the reporting initiative is only directed towards journalists operating on the mainland.

Often times, journalists are not only restricted in what they can cover for news stories, they are punished. For instance, in 2008, Li Changqing, a journalist awarded with the World Association of Newspapers Golden Pen of Press Freedom for reporting on an outbreak of dengue fever in Fuzhou province in 2004 before authorities had admitted it. Chinese authorities imposed Li with a jail sentence, and was forced to spend three years in prison.

According to Li, “Comrades who are going to be working on journalism’s front lines must learn theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics and be taught Marx’s view on news, plus media ethics and Communist Party discipline on news and propaganda.”

Despite the current fury by the government to fully control Chinese culture by limiting news sources to primarily all communist based reporting, several journalists are voicing their opinion before all non-communist communication mediums are closed off.

For more information, please see:

Chicago Tribune – China orders reporters trained in Marxist, communist theory to weed out politically incorrect – 11 March 2010

People’s Daily – Minister: China officials must report assets – 11 March 2010

The Guardian – China orders journalists to retrain in communist theory – 11 March 2010

South China Morning Post –  Journalists must face new exam – 11 March 2010

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – The U.S. State Department issued its annual survey of human rights on Thursday where it criticized several countries including China.

The annual survey by the U.S. specifically mentioned how China has intensified its control over the Internet and dissidents, as well as increasing repression of Uighurs after last year’s ethnic violence in Xinjiang.

In response, China accused the U.S. of being a hypocrite and issued its own annual assessment of U.S. human rights record. 

In discussing U.S.’s economic woes, the report released by China said, “The United States not only has a terrible domestic human rights record, it is also the main source of many human rights disasters worldwide.”

China blamed the U.S. for the current global financial crisis by specifically pointing a finger at U.S.’s sub-prime mortgage crisis and also mentioned various human rights issues arising out of U.S.’s invasion of Iraq.

In a separate statement by China’s Foreign Ministry, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi was criticized.  Pelosi had made a comment earlier this week praising the brave Tibetans who have sacrificed their lives in a fight for freedom.

China and the U.S. do not see eye to eye since China views Tibetans as “separatists” while the U.S. sees China as violating human rights of Tibetans.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement posted on the Ministry’s website, “We advise the relevant U.S. congresswoman to respect the facts, abandon her prejudices and stop using Tibet issue to interfere in China’s internal affairs.”

In China’s defense, Qin also added that China has achieved steady economic and cultural progress and has made strides in construction of democracy and legal system.

Qin said Chinese citizens have “gained more and more extensive freedom and rights.” 

Lastly, he said that although China is open to dialogues with other countries regarding human rights issues in order to enhance mutual understanding, Beijing adamantly opposes interference by other countries regarding its domestic affairs by invoking human rights issues.

One Chinese newspaper ran an article stating that China prefers a “mind-your-own-business” attitude. 

The author of the article said, “There is much room for improvement in China’s human rights indeed…[b]ut Washington can’t expect to have a grateful audience while randomly passing on moral judgment on others as savior of the world . . . . ”
For more information, please see:

China Daily – US, stop acting as guardian of human rights – 12 March 2010

Reuters – China calls U.S. a hypocrite over human rights – 12 March 2010

Xinhua – China urges U.S. to stop interference by using annual human rights report – 13 March 2010