By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SHANGHAI, China– Recent cyberattacks against American companies, including Google, has been linked to two prominent schools in China, Shanghai Jiaotong University and Lanxiang Vocational School.

Jiaotong is known to have one of China’s top computer science programs where a few weeks ago, Jiaotong students came out first in an international computer programming competition sponsored by I.B.M.

Lanxiang is a school that runs with military support and trains China’s computer scientists for the military.

Google had announced last week that some of its computer codes were stolen and that digital thieves had attempted to break into the accounts of human rights activists who oppose China’s policies.

In response to the cyberattack, Google confronted the Chinese government regarding its censorship policies where the government blocks politically and culturally-sensitive subject matters from search results in the country.

In China, controlling the web world is considered a matter of state security and although Beijing promotes Internet use for commerce, the government heavily censors materials it considers subversive.

However, the Chinese government had released a statement back in January claiming that their anti-hacking policy is transparent and has denied any involvement in the recent online attacks.

Nevertheless, a professor from Jiaotong’s School of Information Security Engineering who wished to remain anonymous said, “I’m not surprised.  Actually students hacking into foreign Web sites is quite normal.”

Conversely, a school official from Lanxiang said, “I think it’s impossible for our students to hack Google or other U.S. companies because they are just high school graduates and not at an advanced level.  Also, because our school adopts close management, outsiders cannot easily come into school.”

Google’s accusations against China regarding the cyberattacks have created a sensitive issue for the U.S. government in dealing with China. 

After Google went public with the accusations, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton challenged China’s Internet censorship, calling Chinese government control over the Internet an “information-age Berlin Wall.”
For more information, please see:

ABC – Schools in China Say They Weren’t Behind Hacking – 20 February 2010

FOX News – Cyberattacks Traced to Computers in Chinese Schools – 19 February 2010

NYT – 2 China Schools Said to Be Tied to Online Attacks – 18 February 2010

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

AMETHI, India – Multiple television channels broadcast a clip of a policeman beat a woman. The officer was suspended after millions viewed recorded attack.

Photograph of Sangeeta Kumar. Image courtesy of BBC World News.

Footage of the incident shows a policeman slapping a woman and pushing her to the ground, after which he punched and kicked her. The officer, Kailashnath Dwivedi of the Musafirkhana police station, claims he did it to force a confession after Sangeeta Kumar was accused of murdering her husband, Deepak Kumar. Correspondents say that the beating highlights the widespread problem of police brutality in India.

The woman, a member of the low-caste Dalit community, is accused of murdering her husband, whose strangulated body was found in their house on Tuesday. The footage appears to show an inspector assaulting the 26-year-old woman outside their home.

The woman was rounded up after some time and allegedly confessed to the crime, reported official, Satyendra Veer Singh. Despite the confession, Inspector Kailash Nath Dubey, however, beat her up while a second, subordinate female officer looked on. Condemning the incident, Singh said, “This kind of behaviour was really uncalled for. The lady had already confessed to the crime that she had murdered her husband….There was absolutely no need of beating up this lady so mercilessly.”

Singh went on to say that, “It was total brutality on part of the inspector. Finding him guilty, we have put him under suspension. A departmental inquiry is on. We will take necessary action against him.”

Subsequent to Singh’s announcement, a statement was issued addressing the gravity of the incident, and stated that the government has decided to terminate Dwivedi’s services, and would take immediate effect.

According to Indian law, there are strict guidelines on the arrest of a woman. A woman suspect can only be handled by a woman police officer and male policemen are not allowed to touch her. A policewoman has to be present at all times, including during interrogations. But most of these guidelines are regularly flouted by policemen in India.

Human rights activists are “appalled by this brutal attack on a woman.”

For more information, please see:

BBC World News – Indian policeman suspended over beating video – 18 February 2010

The Times of India – Inspector sacked for beating up Dalit woman – 18 February 2010

The Indian Express – Inspector suspended for thrashing woman before media – 17 February 2010

Press Trust of India – Cong slams Mayawati for police atrocity on Dalit woman -18 February 2010

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DANDONG, China – Korean children are being left to fend for themselves in China where they are not afforded any protection as stateless children.

Some children are left behind in China when their North Korean mothers who defected to China are forced to repatriate to North Korea when caught by the Chinese authorities.  Other children are abandoned by mothers who defected to China and then have fled to South Korea to start a new life away from hunger and oppression.

According to aid workers, there are about 2,000 “defector orphans” in China.  In addition to these children, there is an estimated 10,000-20,000 “stateless orphans.”

“Stateless orphans” are children born between North Korean women who defected to China and then married Chinese men but were subsequently deported back to North Korea.

Stateless orphans do not have official Chinese registration paperwork; therefore, these orphans cannot receive education.  Late registration fee for children without paper is about $750, three times the monthly salary of average Chinese worker.

Support groups from various countries have found schools for ethnic Korean-Chinese children and have paid the registration fee for some children. 

Some children are fortunate enough to live with foster parents.  Despite Chinese laws forbidding taking in a stranger’s child as one’s own, a couple near the North Korea-China border who wished to remain anonymous have taken in some “stateless orphans.”

Another caretaker, Kim Hey-young, said that the children are in a “terrible state of neglect and malnutrition” when they first arrive at foster homes. 

Some children have also been subject to abuse.  One child, whose North Korean mother was taken away by the authorities, was then tortured by her alcoholic Korean-Chinese father.

In addition to the impact on the children of North Korean mothers who defect, Committee for Human Rights in North Korea also pointed out the flight of female North Korean defectors.

The Committee reported that North Korean women who are trafficked to China are usually trafficked into forced marriages.  Many North Korean women flee North Korea to escape famine but after being “sold” to Chinese men, these women have to endure backbreaking labor, physical assault, and sexual abuse.

Under UN’s refugee convention, China should not force defectors back to North Korea where they will face punishment and torture.

 
For more information, please see:

One Free Korea – Benefit Concert for Stateless Orphans in China – 21 January 2010

One Free Korea – China’s Loathesome Treatment of North Korean Children – 14 February 2010

Radio Free Asia – Korean Children Left n China – 12 February 2010

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KUARA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Bernama, a national Malaysian news agency, recently reported upon the first ever time the country executed a caning as punishment under Islamic law.  Although the practice of caning has been performed since the 19th century, during the British colonial period in MalaysiaThree moderate women were caned under Islamic law for adultery.  The women were caned following a decision rendered in December, heard within a religious court of Malaysia.  Sharia requires that Muslim women be caned with a stick called a rotan by a female guard, and the women must be fully clothed.

The Malaysian government took about a week to actually report the occurrence of the caning, which raised much concern in NGOs, the international community, and numerous human rights organizations.  An official from Amnesty International equated caning with torture.

Malaysia’s minister of domestic affairs, Hishamuddin tun Hussein, expressed no repentance for the caning in a subsequent statement.  Hussein justified the purpose and policy of the caning, claiming that this incident would serve as a warning to ‘sinful’ Muslims.  He also said that, although, the caning did not excessively injure the women, it serves as a means of touching and cleaning their conscience.  Hussein’s words suggest a willingness to continue enforcing Sharia in such a manner.

The enforcement of Sharia law may also have another significant impact upon the ethnic minority of the Malaysian state.  Malaysia is considered a secular state with its own set of domestic laws which exist independently of Sharia.  The religious laws make admissible archaic policies that have not been enforced in many years, including the ban on Muslims consuming alcohol.

Although Sharia, which controls family affairs and many other cultural aspects, applies only to the Muslim community of Malaysia, the enforcement of religious law could have the effect of discriminating against Muslim women.  Other discriminatory implications, such as the adverse effects upon Malaysia’s ethnic minorities, perpetuated by the enforcement of Sharia have provoked statements from sister nations and various human rights organizations.  The Malaysian government has not yet addressed the myriad rights concerns which could be violated by the strict enforcement of Sharia to the Muslim majority.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Malaysia canes women for adultery – 18 February 2010

The Christian Science Monitor – Malaysia begins caning women for adultery – 18 February 2010

CNN – 3 women caned in Malaysia for adultery – 17 February 2010

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Human rights groups have expressed significant concern about the recent arrest of General Sarath Fonseka.  The General was apprehended earlier this week by the government military forces of Sri Lanka.

The General was once heralded as a hero of the Sri Lankan military for his prowess during battles with the Tamil Tigers liberation group.  The General was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s victory over the Tamil Tigers, ending a civil war which lasted over twenty-five years.  Despite the General’s achievements for the army, he was allegedly dragged out of his campaign offices by the Sri Lankan government.

The General has been charged with numerous human rights violations, but vehemently denies all charges.  Allegations include fault for the over 7,000 civilian casualties who fell victim to the civil war and underhanded tactics during the war.  Human rights violations charges against the Sri Lankan government also include the mistreatment of members of the Tamil ethnic minority during and after the civil war.  The Sri Lankan government was lambasted by the international community for the sub-human conditions and lack of essential resources in its refugee camps to house internally displaced persons.

General Sarath Fonseka was also charged with cooperating with anti-government organizations.  The current President of Sri Lanka, who recently fell out with General Sarath Fonseka over the post-war elections in Colombo, arrested the General as part of a program aimed at capturing everyone he considers a threat to national security.

General Fonseka’s capture has given many opposition leaders a reason for concern.  They fear that the government will execute an extra-judicial killing in secret while they have General Fonseka captive.  An Asian human rights group has made a claim that the government of Sri Lanka has denied General Fonseka the right of due process.  Because of the military procedure being afforded the General, as opposed to hearings in civilian court, the group seems to suggest there is an element of unfairness against the General.

The General’s capture has also incited rioting in Sri Lankan streets.  The government has yet to release a statement concerning the General’s fate.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Fonseka Challenges S. Lanka Outcome – 16 February 2010

AsiaNews – Colombo under tight control, waiting for General Fonseka’s trial – 12 February 2010

BBC News – Sri Lanka Supreme Court hears Fonseka arrest challenge – 12 February 2010