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Country Listing: China Name: Lin Hai Profession: Engineering Subject: Engineer Imprisoned Alert Date: 19 August 1998 Case Number: CH9810.Hai Updated: 7 December 1998 Human Rights Issues
Lin Hai, a software engineer in Shanghai was arrested in March 1998 for providing 30,000 Chinese e-mail addresses to US-based Internet publications that promote democracy. He was brought before a secret tribunal on 4 December 1998, the outcome of which has not yet been made public. Lin was accused of "inciting to overthrow state power." His arrest has been described as evidence that the Chinese government is determined to prevent freedom of information on the Internet from posing a challenge to its leadership. On December 10, 1998, the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a coalition of 13 free speech and scientific organizations, including AAAS, launched an email campaign on behalf Lin Hai and Wang Youcai, whose case also appears in this Directory. A press release about this effort can be found at the Website http://shr.aaas.org/hackensack.htm (Sources of information on this case include Chinese VIP Reference, the Digital Freedom Network, Associated Press, and Human Rights in China.) Many of the rights and freedoms listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted without opposition by the by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948, have passed into international customary law and should therefore be upheld by China. Relevant International Treaty Articles The arrest of Lin Hai constitutes a serious violation of international human rights standards enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They include:
Name: Wang Dan Profession: Student Human Rights Activist Subject: Student/Activist Released Into Exile Alert Dates: 22 April 1998, 15 November 1996, 28 October 1996 Case Number: CH9621.DAN Human Rights Issues
Student and human rights activist Wang Dan arrived in the US on 19 April 1998 following his release from prison on medical parole. Wang was reportedly given the choice to stay in jail in China or to go to the US on medical parole. Wang was Number 1 on the government's "most wanted" list for his leadership role in the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations, for which he spent four years in prison. Upon his release, he resumed his pro-democracy activities and was arrested again in May 1995. After being held for 17 months incommunicado, Wang was sentenced in a closed trial to 11 years in prison for "conspiring to subvert the government." The charges were based on articles published in the overseas press, the receipt of donations from abroad, financial assistance received from two US-based organizations, and participation in a correspondence course offered by the University of California at Berkeley. Wang's release into exile was reportedly part of a deal between China and the US in anticipation of President Clinton's scheduled visit to China in June 1998. US officials describe Wang's release as a very positive step; however, human rights groups have criticized his forced exile. No further action is requested. (Sources of information for this case include The Washington Post; the New York Academy of Science, and Human Rights Watch.) Name: Wang Youcai Profession: Physics Subject: Physicist Imprisoned Alert Date: 19 August 1998 Case Number: CH9809.You Updated: 21 December 1998 Human Rights Issues
In December 1998, Chinese physicist and dissident Wang Youcai was charged with "inciting to overthrow state power." Among his crimes was sending e-mail messages to dissidents in the US He was tried before a secret tribunal on 17 December 1998 and sentenced to eleven years imprisonment. Wang was arrested on July 22, along with a labor rights activist, for trying to organize an opposition party. He was then released and put under house arrest. He was detained again on 2 November and formally charged on 30 November. On December 10, 1998, the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a coalition of 13 free speech and scientific organizations, including AAAS, launched an email campaign on behalf Wang Youcai and Lin Hai, whose case also appears in this Directory. A press release about this effort can be found at the Website http://shr.aaas.org/hackensack.htm (Sources of information on this case include Chinese VIP Reference, the Digital Freedom Network, Associated Press, and Human Rights in China.) Relevant International Treaty Articles The arrest of Wang Youcai constitutes a serious violation of international human rights standards enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They include:
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