AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA
PRESS RELEASE

Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006

(Washington, DC) -- China's record on imprisoning citizens without charge, its treatment of human rights defenders and its respect of media freedoms are all deteriorating, despite promises from the Chinese government that it would make human rights improvements in advance of the Beijing Olympics, Amnesty International said in a new report today. The report finds that though China has made some progress in reforming the death penalty system, its record in other crucial human rights areas has gone downhill -- ironically, sometimes in the name of preparing for the Olympics.

"Flagrant human rights abuses continue in China, and the appalling 're-education through labor' system seems to be flourishing in the run up to the 2008 Olympic Games," said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). "This is contrary to the Olympic Charter ideal and clearly negates the 'preservation of human dignity' that Beijing, as an Olympic host, has committed to uphold."

The 28-page report, The Olympics Countdown: Failing to keep Human Rights Promises, focuses on four areas: "re-education through labor" (RTL), restrictions on media freedom, the harassment and imprisonment of human rights defenders, and the death penalty. Amnesty International has sent its findings to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has stated that it would act if human rights commitments by China were not upheld in practice. The organization is urging the IOC to use its influence with the Chinese authorities and to speak out on behalf of individuals who have been wrongfully imprisoned.

Amnesty International is concerned that the Chinese authorities may be using the forthcoming Olympic Games as an incentive to retain the unjust system of RTL in the name of safeguarding security and maintaining order. Police have the power to issue sentences of up to three years for vaguely defined charges. Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to be held at RTL labor camps across the country.

The report examines China's continued forced evictions of residents from buildings on Olympic construction sites, which has led to the imprisonment of residents who resisted. The report documents the case of Ye Guozhu, a human rights defender, who was sentenced to four years imprisonment after he sought permission to organize a demonstration with other victims of forced evictions. Ye has been tortured in detention, including being suspended from the ceiling by his arms and suffering beatings with electro-shock batons. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely for the peaceful expression of his beliefs.

The Amnesty International report documents a crackdown on individual journalists, newspapers and Web sites that raises serious doubt about China's commitment to ensure 'complete media freedom' during the Beijing Olympics. Over the last two years at least 38 foreign journalists working in China have been detained by the police, according to the Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC). In addition, the Chinese authorities have intensified controls over newspapers and Web sites, shutting down the popular Web site Century China and others. Amnesty International is concerned that if these trends continue, there is no guarantee that foreign journalists covering the Beijing Olympics will be safe or that they will even be able to travel freely about China.

The report found a positive development regarding China's policy on the death penalty: the Supreme People's Court is to reinstate its power of final review and approval of all executions, a development that will hopefully lead to a reduction in death sentences. However, the death penalty in China continues to be applicable to such crimes as tax fraud and drug offenses, and China still executes more people than any other country.

Amnesty International believes that the international community, including the United States, bears a strong responsibility in pressuring China to improve its human rights conditions.

"Time is running out. If the United States is serious about human rights, then it should secure China's adherence to specific human rights benchmarks," said T. Kumar, AIUSA Advocacy Director for Asia. "The United States should demand the elimination of 're-education though labor' and secure guarantees that journalists covering the Olympics will be allowed to travel freely in China and will not be harassed. If the United States fails to demand reforms in China, it is sending the Chinese government the message that ill-treatment of its citizens is acceptable to the U.S.A."

# # #

Read The Olympics Countdown: Failing to keep Human Rights Promises. »

Contact: Wende Gozan at 212/633-4247 or T. Kumar at 202/544-0200 x224

Send this page to a friend

Your Email:
Friend's Email:
Add a Message:
Security code: (case sensitive)