89–486 PDF 2003

CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE

COMMISSION ON CHINA

ANNUAL REPORT

2003

ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

OCTOBER 2, 2003

Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.cecc.gov

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CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS

House Senate

JIM LEACH, Iowa, Chairman

DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska

DAVID DREIER, California

FRANK WOLF, Virginia

JOE PITTS, Pennsylvania

SANDER LEVIN, Michigan

MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio

DAVID WU, Oregon

CHUCK HAGEL, Nebraska, Co-Chairman

CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming

SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas

PAT ROBERTS, Kansas

GORDON SMITH, Oregon

MAX BAUCUS, Montana

CARL LEVIN, Michigan

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California

BYRON DORGAN, North Dakota

EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS

PAULA DOBRIANSKY, Department of State*

GRANT ALDONAS, Department of Commerce*

D. CAMERON FINDLAY, Department of Labor**

LORNE CRANER, Department of State*

JAMES KELLY, Department of State*

JOHN FOARDE, Staff Director

DAVID DORMAN, Deputy Staff Director

* Appointed in the 107th Congress; not yet formally appointed in the 108th

Congress.

** Resigned July 2003.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

“The Commission works to implement its recommendations until

they are achieved. Thus, in addition to the recommendations made

in the 2002 report, the Commission makes the following recommendations

for 2003:

 

Human Rights for the Chinese People

 

“The Chinese government made significant and far-reaching

commitments on human rights matters during the December

2002 U.S.-China human rights dialogue. The President and the

Congress should increase diplomatic efforts to hold the Chinese

government to these commitments, particularly the release of

those arbitrarily detained, and the unconditional invitations to

the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and the UN Working

Group on Arbitrary Detention….

 

“The Chinese government has also taken advantage of the global

war on terrorism to persecute both Uighurs in northwestern China

and political dissidents. In February 2003, Wang Bingzhang, a U.S.

permanent resident and veteran pro-democracy activist, was convicted

of ‘‘leading a terrorism organization’’ and ‘‘spying’’ and sentenced

to life imprisonment. The Guangdong Higher People’s Court

rejected his appeal. In June 2003, the Chinese government accused

two overseas dissidents of ‘‘violent terrorist activities’’ relating to

an alleged plot to drop thousands of pro-democracy leaflets over

Tiananmen Square and the Beijing airport via remote-controlled

balloons.

 

“Courts rarely acquit defendants charged with political crimes (or

those charged with nonpolitical crimes to punish political activities).

As John Kamm notes, ‘‘prosecutions in [endangering state

security] cases almost always result in convictions, and parole and

sentence reduction for prisoners convicted of endangering state security

are rarely handed out.’’ 49 The number of individuals serving

time in Chinese prisons for political crimes is higher today than at

any time since the end of 1992….

 

“In 2001, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

concluded that the Chinese government had detained Wang arbitrarily

after he peacefully expressed his right to freedom of opinion

and expression.”

 

Disappearances (at page 18)

 

Democracy activist Wang Bingzhang was missing for 6 months

before Chinese government authorities admitted in December 2002

that they had arrested him on terrorism and spying charges. Public

security authorities apparently detained Wang and two other expatriate

dissidents who were traveling with him for 6 months but

denied any knowledge of their whereabouts. After being released,

the two dissidents traveling with Wang claimed that Chinese

agents abducted the three in Vietnam in June 2002 and forcibly

took them into China, where they were held incommunicado. Wang

subsequently was convicted of terrorism and espionage and is currently

serving a life sentence. In July 2003, the UN Working Group

on Arbitrary Detention declared that Wang’s arrest and imprisonment

violated international law.