Defense attorney loses his own case in Chongqing
Epoch Times 23/2/10
In the Chongqing First Intermediate Court a criminal defense attorney learned the hard way one of the basic unwritten rules of China’s legal system: don’t get involved in a political case. His sudden fall helps illustrate the progress of China toward adopting the rule of law.
Chongqing, a large city in southwestern China, is one of four provincial-level municipalities in China (meaning that the city itself has the status of a province). It is ruled by Party Secretary Bo Xilai, who in June 2009 launched a campaign called “hitting the black.” The state-run media describes the campaign as targeting organized crime and corruption, but it in fact is a political campaign, one that Bo Xilai launched to try to boost his career.
Beijing-based defense lawyer Li Zhuang was brought to Chongqing by the family of an alleged gangster named Gong Gangmo to defend him. On Dec. 13, however, Li himself was arrested on charges of having falsified evidence and obstructed justice in his attempt to defend Gong. In particular, Li was charged with having advised Gong to claim falsely that he had been tortured into confessing.
At his trial, Li asserted his innocence and even said he was willing to give up his freedom if in doing so he would help further the rule of law in China.
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Bo Xilai (center), communist party chief of Chongqing, has been accused of running an unconstitutional political campaign that is reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution.
Epoch Times
The “hitting the black” campaign in China was initiated in June 2009 by Bo Xilai, the high-profile communist party chief of Chongqing. The state-run media has lauded it as a means of cracking down on gangsters and local corruption, while critics view it as illegal, unconstitutional, and reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution. Some critics also say it functions to strengthen corruption within law enforcement circles.
The campaign has prompted the most large-scale crackdown on gangsters and corruption in the history of Chongqing since 1983, according to the deputy chief of the city’s Public Security Bureau.
An article in the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily on Feb. 3 reported that the campaign resulted in 10,372 people arrested within the city and over 1,000 sentenced to forced labor between July 10 and Sept. 30, 2009. The article, titled “Waves of Forced Labor Detentions Amidst the ‘Hitting the Black’ Campaign,” describes how the campaign has resulted in an inundation of the detention centers in Chongqing.
Police stations required to meet detention quotas
The article says that local police stations are given “forced labor detention quotas.” A police chief receives a warning for not meeting the quota the first time; a second violation results in dismissal.
In order to meet quotas, some police stations resort to purchasing forced labor detainees—at a cost of 3,000 yuan (US$439) per detainee, according to the report.
City authorities also warn that anyone with a previous criminal record can be sent to a forced labor camp for carrying a knife.
One Chongqing resident said that local court officials made it clear that, under the “hitting the black” campaign, once a person is sent to a forced labor camp, he or she will be required to serve a forced-labor term.
The report also states that if it is determined that a mistake has been made, it is acceptable to compensate the person only after the term of detention is served.
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Big names behind petition to U.N. for missing rights lawyer
Sound of Hope via Epoch Times 9/2/10
The one-year anniversary of the disappearance of renowned Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was marked on Feb. 5 by the filing of a petition with the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Involuntary Disappearances. And it received strong support from big names in international human rights. Filed by Freedom Now, a panel of international human rights experts put their names behind it, including Jerome A. Cohen, Irwin Cotler MP, David Matas and David Kilgour.
The petition requests the UN’s assistance in demanding that the Chinese communist regime, in accordance with Chinese law, provide information regarding the whereabouts and physical condition of Gao Zhisheng. It also requests that Gao be granted access to a lawyer, with the opportunity to challenge his internment.
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Aftenposten 9/2/10
Vaktene og politifolkene utenfor blokken til Liu Xia står der ikke for å beskytte henne. De står der fordi hun er gift med Liu Xiaobo, den fengslede aktivisten som i år er trippelnominert til Nobels fredspris.
Liu Xia har bare fått lov til å besøke ektemannen sin tre ganger etter at han ble arrestert i desember 2008. Sist gang hun så ham var 1. juledag, samme dag som han ble dømt til 11 års fengsel for å ha «trukket ytringsfriheten for langt», som det heter i dommen.
– Han deler celle med fire personer. Maten er naturligvis forferdelig og uten næring, men han forteller meg at han ikke blir fysisk mishandlet, sier Liu Xia, som har lave forventninger til utfallet av ankesaken, som behandles av en domstol i Beijing på torsdag.
Selv mistet hun mesteparten av sitt privatliv da ektemannen ble fengslet. Dersom hun tar heisen ned fra femte etasje og går forbi de mange vaktene utenfor boligblokken hun bor i, vet hun at en av dem vil løfte et telefonrør for å varsle at hun er på vei ut. Tar hun en drosje, er hun sikker på å bli skygget av en mann med et kamera i en bil med sotede vinduer.
– Alt jeg gjør, blir overvåket. Hvis jeg går ut, møter venner, bruker Internett, ringer noen…
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«Honningfeller», avlyttede hotellrom og skadelige minnepinner er blant midlene Kina bruker for å få tak i britiske hemmeligheter, avslører etterretningstjenesten MI5.
Aftenposten 2/2/10
Er det én ting britiske toppsjefer har lært om Kina etter å ha lest avisen den siste uken, er det dette: Vær forsiktig når du mottar en minnepinne som gave fra en kinesisk handelsforbindelse.
I en rapport fra den britiske etterretningstjenesten MI5 som nylig ble lekket til avisen The Times kommer det nemlig frem at slike minnepinner – eller andre elektroniske duppedingser – kan inneholde virusprogrammer som gjør at kinesiske spioner får tilgang på innholdet i PC-en til gavemottakeren.
Metoden er bare én av flere som avsløres i den pikante rapporten, som forventes å kjøle ned forholdet mellom Storbritannia og Kina betraktelig. Dette forholdet er allerede kjølig etter at Kina i desember valgte å henrette en britisk borger for narkotikasmugling – på tross av heftige protester fra statsminister Gordon Brown.
Den 14 sider lange rapporten, som opprinnelig var strengt hemmeligstemplet, oppfordrer også britiske forretningsfolk til å vokte seg på hotellrommet når de er på besøk i Kina.
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