AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

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FACTS OF THE CASE:

On 3 June 2000, Huang Qi, a computer engineer from Chengdu, Sichuan Province, was detained on charges of inciting subversion against state power and currently remains imprisoned. Huang and his wife, Zeng Li, created a website in June 1999 to help find missing persons and reunite families. The website soon became a forum for visitors to express their dissent regarding the Chinese government. Huang's trial ended 14 August 2001, but no verdict has been delivered as of yet.

In just under one year of operation, Huang's Tianwang network, www.6-4tianwang.com, collaborated with other organizations to find missing persons and succeeded in reuniting more than 200 families. This total includes the rescue of seven abducted girls who had been sold as wives. In 1999, the police reported 7,660 cases in which women were abducted into forced marriages or servitude, but Huang believes that number to be just a small fraction of the true total. In a letter from jail Huang wrote, "If I put myself into danger to rescue seven missing girls from the countryside, help over 200 families reunite, sell all of my belongings to start a missing persons search service to help people, and make it possible for thousands of people to air their grievances, please tell me how this can be considered as attempting to subvert the government?"

The Chinese government began to monitor the site more closely as local media began to publicize Tianwang's accomplishments. At the end of December 1999 Huang and a local journalist reported that over 200,000 workers who had been sent abroad on labor contracts had not been paid for their work. Furthermore, the Chinese employment agencies ordered the workers to undergo unnecessary appendectomies. Government-run employment agencies paid $100 per year for medical insurance for each worker, and these operations were viewed as preventive measures to avoid medical emergencies at sea. U.S. medical doctors, however, feel that the potential bodily harm of this unnecessary procedure far outweighs any benefits. In February 2000, Premier Zhu Rongji ordered an investigation into Huang's activities.

The mission of Tianwang was to find missing persons, but as Huang's website began to garner more attention, the message boards became a space where people could anonymously post their dissent with the Chinese government. After several articles concerning the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre were posted, government officials arrested Huang Qi on 3 June 2000, the eve of the eleventh anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown. Huang maintains that he was not personally responsible for the anti-government postings and that he had no connection to those who had voiced their dissent. Since Huang's arrest Tianwang's technical support administrator has confirmed that he designed the message board and that Huang did not know how to delete postings.

Huang was charged with violating Articles 103 and 105 of the Criminal Law, which punish crimes related to "organizing national separatism, destroying national unity"; "organizing, plotting or carrying out activities aimed at subverting state political power"; and "overthrowing the socialist system." His trial was set to begin on 13 February 2001 but was postponed because the police reported that Huang was ill and not well enough to stand trial. His wife, Zeng Li, then requested to post bail so Huang could seek medical treatment, but her application was refused. At the end of the month, Huang was deemed well enough to attend the hearing, but he fainted just a few hours into the proceeding. The trial was scheduled to resume in early summer but was again postponed. It has been suggested that the reason for the delay was that the Chinese government did not wish to attract more attention to its dismal human rights record at the height of its bid for the 2008 Olympics.

While in detention, Huang Qi was reportedly beaten by three policemen, resulting in the loss of one tooth and a scar on his forehead. In a published letter that Huang Qi wrote from jail, he describes being shackled to a urinal and being forced to sleep there nightly. In Huang's words, faced with unbearable torment and the government's hypocrisy, he attempted suicide but his fellow inmates prevented him from doing so. On 15 August 2001, his trial resumed in secret but no verdict was announced. Huang Qi remains imprisoned, awaiting his sentence.

The detention and treatment of Huang Qi is in direct violation of several international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948, and International Covenant on Civil and Political Right (ICCPR). China signed the ICCPR on 5 October 1998. While signing a treaty confers no legal obligation upon the signatory state, it is an indication that China approves of the general principles and has the intention to ratify the treaty.

(Sources of information about this case include: British Broadcasting Corporation, CNN, Human Rights Watch, Knight Ridder Newspapers Chengdu, San Jose Mercury News Beijing Bureau, and Tianwang http://www.6-4tianwang.com.)

RELEVANT HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

• Article 9(1): Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.
• Article 9(3): Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial, at any other stage of the judicial proceedings, and, should occasion arise, for execution of the judgement.
• Article 19(1): Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
• Article 7: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

• Article 12: (1): The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. (2): The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for: (c) The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases; (d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Article 05: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
• Article 10: Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his [or her] rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him [or her].

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send faxes, letters, or emails:

• Requesting that the verdict for Huang Qi be announced promptly and publicly and that he be given all legal opportunities to appeal;
• Expressing concerns that the trial's fairness appears to have been compromised by a lack of transparency and long delays;
• Requesting that Huang Qi's safety be ensured during his detention;
• Expressing your concern that it appears that Huang Qi has been charged and convicted solely for the peaceful exercise of his freedom of expression and opinion, which would constitute a serious violation of his human rights.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

His Excellency Jiang Zemin
President of the People's Republic of China
Zhong Naihai, Beijingshi 100032
People's Republic of China
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES SENT TO:

His Excellency Yang Jiechi
Ambassador of the People's Republic of Chin
Embassy of the People's Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Fax: (202) 588-0032
Salutation: Dear Mr. Ambassador

Please send copies of your appeals, and any responses you may receive, or direct any questions you may have to Victoria Baxter, AAAS Science and Human Rights Program, 1200 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005; tel. 202-326-6797; email vbaxter@aaas.org; or fax 202-289-4950.

The keys to effective appeals are to be courteous and respectful, accurate and precise, impartial in approach, and as specific as possible regarding the alleged violation and the international human rights standards and instruments that apply to the situation. Reference to your scientific organization and professional affiliation is always helpful.

To ensure that appeals are current and credible, please do not continue to write appeals on this case after 90 days from the date of the posting unless an update has been issued.

To verify the contents of this alert and/or the electronic signature, please download the signed file for this alert along with the Program's PGP Public Key.

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