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:

Amnesty International recently reported that a university student from Beijing, Liu Di, was detained by the government on 7 November 2002. She has reportedly been detained for posting opinion pieces critical of the Chinese government on an Internet site. Liu is being held incommunicado at an unknown location. Her family has not been officially notified of the reasons for her arrest or her whereabouts; they have great fears for her safety.

According to reports, Liu Di, using the pseudonym "Stainless Steel Mouse" ("bu xiu gang laoshu"), had reported posted various items to an Internet site that protested the arrest of Huang Qi, a computer engineer. Huang was detained in June 2000 on charges of "inciting subversion against state power" for operating a website critical of the government. (See: http://shr.aaas.org/aaashran/alert.php?a_id=224 for more information on this case.) Liu's postings denounced Huang's arrest as a miscarriage of justice and called for other Internet users in China to give themselves up to the police as a form of protest and to express solidarity with Huang.

Amnesty reports that police arrested Liu from the campus of Beijing Normal University, where she is a psychology student. Police also searched her home and confiscated notebooks, floppy disks, and a computer.

Since 1994 (the year before Internet service was available in China), the Chinese government has increasingly sought to control the content of websites and has taken harsh measures against individuals who post articles or information that is critical of the government. In 2001, the government implemented laws that made it a crime to send "reactionary" material over the Internet. Human Rights Watch has stated that "Chinese government controls on the Internet are having a chilling effect on academic freedom, commercial exchanges, and ordinary communication."

(Sources of information for this case include: Amnesty International, Human Rights in China, and Human Rights Watch.)

RELEVANT HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

• Article 19(1): Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
• Article 9(2): Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his [or her] arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him [or her].

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 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 Liu Di be granted immediate access to her family and her lawyer and that charges against her be clarified;
• Requesting that Liu Di's safety be assured while she is in detention;
• Expressing your concern that Liu Di has been detained solely for peacefully exercising her right to freedom of expression; and
• Urging the government to take immediate steps to ensure that all Chinese citizens are able to freely use the Internet, as such use is protected under international human right standards, which provide for freedom "to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19).

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

Wang Chongxun Juzhang
Director of the Beijing Municipal Justice Bureau
Beijingshi Sifaju
199 Haihutuncun
Yongdingmenwai
Beijingshi 100075
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
webmaster@bjsf.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear Mr. Director

Ma Zhenchuan Juzhang
Director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau
Gong'anju
19 Qianmen Dongdajie
Xuanwuqu
Beijingshi 100740
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Fax: 011 86 10 6524 1596
110@mps.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear Mr. Director

Jia Chunwang Buzhang
Minister of Public Security
Gonganbu (Ministry of Public Security)
14 Dongchang'anjie
Beijingshi 100741
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Fax: 011 86 10 6524 1596
110@mps.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear Mr. Minister

COPIES SENT TO:

Ambassador Yang Jiechi
Ambassador of the People's Republic of China
Embassy of the People's Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 328 2582
chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn
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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