By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

Chinese authorities have ordered a prominent women’s legal aid center in Beijing to shut down. The Beijing Zhongze Women’s Legal Counseling and Service Center, a product of the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, was not given a reason for the closing.

The center, led by attorney Guo Jianmei, was set up as an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) at Peking University and later moved to Beijing. The center provided legal assistance concerning rights issues regarding domestic violence, child custody, land rights, and employment for twenty years.

At the time of the center’s founding, China was struggling to receive international acceptance following the Tiananmen Square massacre a few years earlier. The center’s opening was symbolic because it signified a significant move toward greater civil freedoms.

The center’s closing shocked many women’s rights advocates. In the past, it has been China’s official policy to promote gender equality and the status of women. China had also just expressed its dedication to women’s rights at the United Nations conference in September. The center had a good reputation and Chinese authorities seemed to tolerate the work that the center was doing, according to Maya Wang of advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

Colleagues of Ms. Guo believe that authorities shut down the center in part because of its foreign funding. The center was unable to receive domestic funding because its work did not conform with governmental objectives. In the past, Chinese authorities have been known to blame independent advocacy organizations of taking money from foreign entities that want to destabilize the country.

The high-profile cases that the center had taken in the past could also have contributed to its closing. One of the center’s most high profile clients was Li Yan, a woman sentenced to death for murdering her husband. Ms. Li’s sentence was commuted by a court last year.

The closing of the center is only one of the many measures the Chinese government has taken recently to curb the civil liberties of its citizens.

 

For more information, please see:

Shanghaiist – Chinese Authorities Order Beijing-based Women’s Legal Aid Center to Shut Down – 30 January 2016

South China Morning Post – Leading Woman’s Rights Group to Shut Down as China Tightens Squeeze on Civil Society – 30 January 2016

The New York Times – China is Said to Force Closing of Women’s Legal Aid Center – 29 January 2016

China Digital Times – Guangzhou Activists Sentenced; Beijing Women’s Legal Aid Center Closed – 29 January 2016

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

KATHMANDU, Nepal –

Police shot and killed three ethnic Madhesi protesters in Rangeli, Nepal last week. The killings occurred amidst continuing political discord over Nepal’s new constitution.

Protesters disrupted a pro-constitution rally run by the Youth wing of Nepal’s governing Communist Party last Thursday, according to Toyam Raya, the chief district officer of the region. The event was organized to honor Nepal’s current prime minister, K. P. Oli.

The United Madhesi Front, a group that has organized most of the Madhesi protests, reportedly warned the Youth wing of the Communist Party not to have its rally. The United Madhesi Front also said that it would disrupt any attempt to honor Prime Minister Oli.

Protesters began to throw stones at police, at which point the police fired tear gas at them and attempted to use batons and blank shots to control the crowd. When those tactics did not work, the police then opened fire on the protesters.

The number of injuries is unclear at this time. Mr. Raya states that eight protesters and 13 police officers were wounded during the conflict, while the Madhesis say that 35 people were injured.

The Madhesis have repeatedly called for changes to the new constitution, primarily because it redraws the boundaries of Nepal’s provinces. The redrawn districts, according to the Madhesis, deny them adequate political power and representation. They have called for the districts to be redrawn so that electoral constituencies are based on population and proportional representation. Members of the Madhesis have held talks with Nepali authorities on the issue, but those talks have failed to end in agreement.

Nepal’s parliament proposed a constitutional amendment in an attempt to quell the protests, but the Madhesis rejected the amendment this week. Laxman Lal Karna, a member of the United Democratic Front, says that the amendment was incomplete and failed to address the Madhesis’ concerns.

Since the introduction of the new constitution in September 2015, over 50 people have been killed in confrontations between police and protesters. Protesters have also blocked supplies coming in from India, leading to a severe fuel shortage in Nepal.

 

For more information, please see:

The New York Times – Nepal Police Fire on Madhesi Protesters, Killing at Least 3 – 21 January 2016

Voice of America – Police Fire on Protesters in Southern Nepal; 3 Killed – 21 January 2016

Business Standard – 3 Killed in Police Firing as Madhesis Clash with CPN-UML – 21 January 2016

ABC News – Ethnic Protesters in Nepal Reject Constitutional Amendment – 24 January 2016

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

A student who traveled to North Korea as a tourist has been detained for a “hostile act”, according to North Korea’s state-run media. Otto F. Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, has been accused of entering North Korea with the intent to bring down the foundation of North Korea’s “single-minded unity”.

Mr. Warmbier traveled to North Korea with Young Pioneer Tours, a China-based company that organizes trips to North Korea. The company released a statement saying that Mr. Warmbier had been detained in Pyongyang on January 2 as he went through customs. It appears that Mr. Warmbier was about to travel to China when he was detained.

Young Pioneer Tours also stated that it was in contact with Mr. Warmbier’s family and the Swedish Embassy, which offers consular assistance to Americans in North Korea. KCNA, North Korea’s state-run news source, has disclosed that Mr. Warmbier is currently under investigation. Further details about Mr. Warmbier’s detainment are currently unknown.

A spokesman for the U.S. State Department, Mark Toner, has stated that the State Department is aware that Mr. Warmbier has been detained and that the Department is working with the Swedish Embassy to address the situation. The Swedish Embassy represents U.S. interests in North Korea, as the U.S. and North Korea do not have formal diplomatic relations with each other.

Other Americans have been detained by North Korea in the past, often for activities seen as subversive due to their religious or political nature. The U.S. State Department and Canada’s government have warned against traveling to North Korea because of the westerners who have been detained there. Despite the warnings, around 6,000 westerners continue to travel to North Korea every year.

Mr. Warmbier is the third westerner known to be held in North Korea at this time. The others include a Korean-American detained on spying charges and a Canadian pastor who allegedly plotted to overthrow North Korea’s government.

 

For more information, please see:

CNN – North Korea Arrests American Student for ‘Hostile Act’ – 23 January 2016

BBC News – North Korea Arrests US student for ‘Hostile Act’ – 22 January 2016

The New York Times – North Korea Says It’s Holding U.S. Student for ‘Hostile Act’ –22 January 2015

Reuters – North Korea Detains U.S. Student on New Year Trip for ‘Hostile Act’ – 22 January 2016

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan –

 

At least ten people were killed by an explosion at a military checkpoint outside of Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday. At least 20 people were also wounded. Pakistani authorities say that the death toll is expected to increase as rescue efforts continue.

Shahab Ali Shah, the administrator for the region, has stated that based on eyewitness accounts, the attack was a suicide bombing. According to police, the suicide bomber rode a motorcycle loaded with explosives into a roadside military checkpoint located on the Torkham-Jalalabad Highway, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The bomber drove the motorcycle directly into a police car and the checkpoint, detonating the explosives on the vehicle. In addition to the casualties, several vehicles and buildings near the checkpoint were damaged in the explosion.

Among those killed in the explosion were a child, a military officer, and a prominent senior member of the Tribal Union of Journalists. At least five policemen were also killed. Saiful Islam, an official in the region, has stated that a local security official, Nawab Shah, appears to have been the intended target.

It is unclear at this time who planned the bombing, and multiple parties appear to be taking responsibility for the attack. The senior commander of the Pakistani Taliban, Maqbool Dawar, is one of the parties who has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Mr. Dawar told Reuters that the bombing was revenge for the deaths of Taliban members who died recently while in government custody. A separate Taliban group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaatul Ahrar (TTP-JA), has also claimed responsibility for the explosion.

The explosion occurred in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas near the outskirts of Peshawar. The region has been marked by fighting between security forces and the Pakistani Taliban since more than 150 people were killed in a nearby school in December 2014.

At least 26 people were killed in another suspected suicide attack on a government building in northwestern Pakistan last month.

 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera America – Deadly suicide blast in Pakistan kills at least 10 – 19 January 2016

BBC – Pakistan Suicide Bombing ‘Kills 10’ in Peshawar – 19 January 2016

NBC News – Motorcycle Suicide Attack Hits Major Pakistan Highway, Killing 10 – 16 January 2016

Newsweek – Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 10 in Northwest Pakistan – 19 January 2016

The New York Times – Explosion, Said to Be Suicide Bombing, Kills 8 in Northwest Pakistan – 19 January 2016

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

TAIPEI, Taiwan –

Taiwan elected Tsai Ing-wen as its new president on Saturday, giving her Democratic Progressive Party greater control in its legislature. Ms. Tsai is the first woman in Taiwan’s history to win the presidential office and is now the most powerful female leader in Asia.

Ms. Tsai ran against Eric Chu, party secretary of the previously governing Kuomintang party, as well as a third-party candidate, James Soong. According to Taiwan’s Central Election Commission, 56% of the vote went to Ms. Tsai, while 31% of the vote went to Mr. Chu.

Economic issues were at the forefront of the election due to Taiwan’s stagnant economy. Ms. Tsai has spoken of strengthening regional industry and manufacturing as well as strengthening Taiwan’s international trade relationships during her presidency. The DPP will also work to improve education and tourism in Taiwan.

Ms. Tsai is only the second president in Taiwan’s history who does not belong to the Kuomintang party (KMT). The other president belonging to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Chen Shui-bian, held office from 2000-2008.

Taiwan was an authoritarian state under the KMT’s rule until the late 1980s, when democratic reforms began to be implemented. If the DPP is able to win full control of Taiwan’s legislature, it is expected to initiate an investigation into abuses committed by the KMT during the party’s rule.

Taiwan has been independent from China since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province and has threatened to take Taiwan back by military force. Taiwan is not formally independent from China in the international arena, with only a few countries recognizing it as an independent nation.

The DPP supports Taiwan’s formal independence from China, while some leaders in the KMT have strived to create a closer relationship with China. Taiwan’s previous president, Ma Ying-jeou, formed more than 20 agreements with China during his term.

Ms. Tsai has stated that she wishes to continue positive relations with China while maintaining Taiwan’s democracy and independence. China is Taiwan’s primary trade partner and receives a significant amount of Taiwan’s exports. Ms. Tsai will face the challenge of balancing Taiwan’s economic interests with its independence during her term as president.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC – Tsai Ing-wen Elected Taiwan’s First Female President – 17 January 2016

The Guardian – Taiwan Elects First Female President – 16 January 2016

The New York Times – Tsai Ing-wen Elected President of Taiwan, First Woman to Hold Office – 16 January 2016

Time – Taiwan Elects Its First Female President – 16 January 2016