By:  Lindsey Brady
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor – News

Two elderly women, Ms. Wu (79 years old) and Ms. Wang (77 years old) were notified this past Monday that they had been sentenced to “re-education through labor” for a period of one year.  The two women had been seeking permits to hold demonstrations in one of China’s newly designated protest areas.  It was their fifth visit to the police when they were told they had been given the administrative punishment for their acts of “disturbing the public order.”

Ms. Wu and Ms. Wang had been neighbors in Beijing before their homes were destroyed to make way for China’s redevelopment project.  Despite agreeing to the move on the premise that they would have a new home built for them, six years later both women are living in rundown apartments on the outskirts of Beijing.  The Chinese government announced in July that three city parks would serve as protest areas while the Olympics were in Beijing but so far no demonstrations have taken place and no applications for demonstrations have been approved.  Ms. Wu and Ms. Wang wanted to use one of these protest areas to fight what they view as unjust compensation for the demolition of their homes.

Ms. Wu and Ms. Wang are not the only applicants who have faced what human rights advocates view as unjust treatment.  It has been reported that two Chinese advocates were seized from a Public Security Bureau’s protest application office and have not been heard of since.  Ms. Wang’s son, Mr. Li, has attempted to apply for a permit since his mother’s sentencing but has not even been allowed the opportunity to fill out the required forms.  Human Rights advocates have been criticizing the use of administrative sentences such as “re-education through labor” because they are handed down without a trial or option of appeal.  Similar punishments have been handed out to Chinese citizens caught taking pictures of schools destroyed during the earthquake in China and believe government corruption led to the school’s faulty construction.

For more information, please see:

New York Times – Two Women Sentenced to “Re-Education” in China – 20 August 2008

Canadian Press – 2 Chinese Sentenced to Labour Camp – 20 August 2008

AFP – China Detains Six US Pro-Tibet Activists at Olympics – 20 August 2008

Impunity Watch – A Pre-Olympic Look at China’s HR Record; Pakistan’s Taliban Threatens Women with Acid; Sri Lankan Government Accused of Allowing Serious Human Rights Violations to Continue – 04 August 2008

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – In an annual report on human rights worldwide, Amnesty International urged China to “live up to the human rights promises it made around the Olympic.”  The report criticized China for shipping weapons to Sudan in defiance of a U.N. arms embargo and traded with abusive governments like Myanmar and Zimbabwe. “The Chinese government has too often pursued resources to fuel its growing economy at the expense of human rights, seeking relationships with oil- or mineral-rich countries such as Sudan, Myanmar and Zimbabwe”, Amnesty said.

The report also criticized China’s expansion of the “re-education through labor” program, which allows the government to arrest people and sentence them to a manual labor without trial.  Moreover, the organization condemned the crackdown on Tibetan protests. The Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile says more than 200 people have been killed since the protests erupted on March 10.  “Freedom of religion, expression and association for Tibetans continues to be severely restricted”, Amnesty said, “and peaceful expression of support for the Dalai Lama is harshly punished”.

China has rejected previous such reports. It says its human rights record has improved in recent years.

For more information, please see:

AP- Amnesty International condemns US, China in report – 28 May 2008

Bloomberg – Amnesty Accuses U.S., China, Russia of Rights Abuses – 28 May 2008

CNN – China, Russia, U.S. focus of human rights report – 28 May 2008

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan – After reviewing sanctions placed on Uzbekistan for human rights violations surrounding the Andijan Massacre in 2005 (see Impunity Watch article here), the EU has decided to keep the sanctions suspended.  EU foreign ministers remain seriously concerned about human rights protections in Uzbekistan, but believe the sanctions should remain suspended due to progress made by the government by abolishing the death penalty and releasing some rights activists.

For more information, please see:

Impunity Watch – BRIEF: EU Reviews Sanctions on Uzbek Government for Human Rights Violations – 29 April 2008

Reuters – EU keeps sanctions on Uzbekistan suspended – 29 April 2008

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan’s coalition government leaders are meeting today to discuss reinstating the judges fired by President Pervez Musharraf during his declaration of emergency rule in late 2007.  By removing the judges, many believe Musharraf greatly abused his power and it has been a significant issue in Pakistani politics since.

When the coalition was formed in February after the parliamentary election (see Impunity Watch article here), it vowed to reinstate the judges by the end of April.  However, the coalition parties are struggling to resolve their differences and thus have not been able to reach a conclusion.  Analysts believe that the shaky coalition’s future rests on its ability to resolve this problem, and the future of Pakistan’s democracy is strongly connected to the coalition.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Crisis talks over Pakistan judges – 30 April 2008

Impunity Watch – UPDATE: Pakistan Opposition Parties Form Coalition Government – 22 February 2008

International Herald Tribune – Pakistan’s leaders close to deadline in talks on reinstating sacked judges – 30 April 2008

HANOI, Vietnam – The Vietnamese government has decided to end its adoption agreement with the US after recent allegations of widespread corruption and baby-selling.

The Vietnamese government stated it will stop taking applications received after July 1^st, but it will continue to processing applications for families matched prior to that date. The end of the adoption agreement between the countries will close 42 adoption agencies operating in Vietnam.

Days earlier the US released a report accusing Vietnam of adoption fraud, baby-selling, and bribery. The US Embassy report described brokers coercing poor mothers in small villages, hospitals selling babies whose parents cannot pay their medical bills, a grandmother giving her grandchild up for adoption without the parents knowing, and cash-donations diverted for personal uses.

During the announcement, Head of Ministry’s Department for International Child Adoption, Vu Doc Long, noted that Vietnam law is quite “strict” and “transparent” in the adoption field. In an interview to the Vietnam News Agency a day earlier, Vu Doc Long also commented that the US report contained “slanderous” and “distorted” information.

For more information, please see:

Impunity Watch – United States Accuses Vietnam of Widespread Adoption Fraud – 25 April 2008

The Washington Post – US Allegations Prompts Vietnam to Halt Adoption Program – 29 April 2008

VietNam Net – Vietnam Not to Renew Adoption Agreement with US – 30 April 2008