发件人： CHRLCG <release@chrlcg-hk.org>
日期： 2010年5月4日 下午3:51
主题： China's Human Rights Myths 中�人�神�
收件人：
�表於��特赦��香港分�《人�季刊》2010年春季�第11-12�
Published in pp. 11-12, Spring 2010 Issue, Human Rights Magazine, Amnesty International Hong Kong
��Source：http://www.amnesty.org.hk/e-Newsletter/HR%20Spring%202010.pdf
China's Human Rights Myths
中�人�神�
News about human rights violations in China continues to hit the newspaper headlines every day, even though many people are impressed by the country's remarkable economic development.
I sometimes meet people who shrug their shoulders when human rights groups criticise China's human rights records. They only travel to the country's magnificent tourist spots or business hubs, and they can't understand why human rights groups still focus on China's human rights problems. Perhaps they never have the chance to meet ordinary farmers or workers, not to mention the increasing number of political dissidents, writers, human rights lawyers and other activists who advocate rights for ethnic minorities, religious groups and people with various sexual orientations, as well as the abolition of the death penalty, and other basic human freedoms.
Some outsiders might say they doubt whether the grievances of these ordinary people and the claims of the activists are genuine. Their "real-life" experiences in China show them that it is possible to enjoy dinners in luxurious hotels and restaurants, and shop in glossy shopping malls. On top of everything else, China is such a great nation that it even hosted the Beijing Olympic Games. Everything in China seems so perfect that some Westerners consider whether they should "learn" from China's "socialism with Chinese characteristics".
So, are the accusations about China's human rights record just myths or conspiracies created by "subversive foreign elements", as the Chinese government invariably maintains when it faces any criticism? Or is China's most urgent human rights issue still the struggle to feed its 1.3 billion population, after which it will be able to improve in other areas, as Chinese officials often claim?
China is undoubtedly becoming a world power. It has enormous influence in the global economy. Many African and Arab countries in particular regard it as a counterbalance to the United States' dominance of the world economy. But are we reinforcing China's authoritarian regime and rationalising its suppression of dissidents? China often claims its understanding of human rights is different from that of the West. It accuses Western countries of "interfering in China's internal affairs" if they criticise its human rights shortcomings, such as the death penalty, harassment of human rights defenders and suppression of Tibetans and Uyghurs.
Facts speak better than rhetoric. Let's look at some of China's major human rights problems. Readers can then decide whether or not they really are parts of a "conspiracy to demonise the Chinese government".
The death penalty: According to Amnesty International, at least 1,718 executions were carried out and 7,003 people were sentenced to death in China during 2008. These penalties were not in the result of fair trials, and the defendants did not always have proper access to lawyers. They may also have been tortured in various ways after they were detained. Although the authorities say the number of death sentences has fallen since the Supreme People's Court began reviewing all of them on 1 January 2007, the statistics on this subject and the number of executions carried out remain state secrets. So external observers are unable to verify the official claims.
On 29 December 2009, China executed Akmal Shaikh, a British national who was arrested for smuggling heroin, despite pleas for clemency by his family and the British government, who said he was mentally unstable. Shaikh was the first European citizen to be executed in China since 1951. One thing we can be sure of is that China is still determined to justify executions and defy any foreign criticisms of them.
Harassment of human rights defenders: Dissident writers, human rights lawyers and human rights defenders are subjected to various forms of harassment, including imprisonment, torture and round-the-clock surveillance. The government often invokes charges of "inciting subversion of state power" and "subverting state power" to punish these dissidents.
One of the most recent examples was Liu Xiaobo, a prominent Beijing writer and honorary president of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre, who was taken away by public security officers on 8 December 2008, two days before its authors planned to publish Charter 08. This manifesto called for improvements in human rights, democracy and the rule of law in China, and it was initially signed by 303 intellectuals, including academics, writers, journalists and lawyers. Liu was formally arrested on a charge of "inciting subversion of state power" on 23 June 2009, after he had been under "residential surveillance" in a Beijing suburb for more than seven months. Even more outrageous was the fact that China chose to sentence Liu to 11 years' imprisonment on 25 December 2009, while many people in the West were celebrating Christmas. As of December 2009, more than 10,000 people in China and overseas had signed Charter 08.
Another is the case of Sichuan human rights defenders Tan Zuoran and Huang Qi. They investigated the sub-standard construction of buildings in which thousands of people died during the Sichuan Earthquake in May 2008. The two were charged with "inciting subversion of state power" and "possessing state secrets", respectively. Huang was jailed for three years on 23 November 2009.
A third example concerns the government's treatment of human rights lawyers. About 10 of them � including Jiang Tianyong, Tang Jitian, Liu Wei and Wen Haibo � failed to have their legal practice licences renewed; and they have been periodically warned not to take up sensitive cases. Beijing human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng disappeared on 4 February 2009 and has not been heard of since. Shandong's blind "barefoot lawyer", Chen Guangcheng, has been suffering from acute diarrhoea while he is serving a prison sentence of four years and three months. Guangdong legal activist Guo Feixiong is serving a five-year sentence, and he is not being allowed to see his family members. If lawyers have also become the targets of official harassment, how can ordinary citizens struggle for their own human rights through legal channels?
Unfortunately, US President Barack Obama did not raise any specific human rights issues or the cases of any imprisoned human rights defenders at his meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao during his first state visit to China on 15-18 November 2009. So, what can we do? If we do not want to see the human rights myths about China perpetuated, it is our duty as citizens of the world to make the Chinese government understand how it ought to treat its citizens.
Patrick Poon
Executive Committee member of AIHK
Vice-chairman of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre
Executive Secretary of the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group
Executive Committee member of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese (2005-2009)
�管中�近年��猛�，我��是天天看到�章以中�侵犯人�的新�作��。
我不��遇到一些人，一些在中�人����遭���依然不�不�的人。他�只道中�旅�景�或商���；他�不理解�何人�����中�的人���。或�，因�他�不曾��村���民或城中�工人吧？更不用提及��人士、作家、��律�，和其他�少�族裔、宗教��和不同性向的群��取�益，及�除死刑及捍�人�的人士。
有人��疑百姓的投�及活�份子的�法的真�，因�他��平日於中�的「��生活」��得出，在�片土地上，他��是可以到上高�餐�或是豪�酒店享用�富的晚膳，到�潢一流的商��物。更重要的是，中�成功��2008年的北京���！�一切都太完美了，完美得叫西方�家不禁思量是否��始「仿�」中���「富中�特色的社�主�」。
��以上��，�中�人���的指控是否����？或是一如中�政府面�所有批��所�持的，是外�破�份子的��？又或者是一如中�官��常��的，中��前最迫切的人���是�13�人民得到��，�足了人民的基本需要，始可著手改善其他人���的��？
�疑，中�正在崛起，其一�一��全球���足�重。尤其是非洲及阿拉伯的�家，更�中��可�美�抗衡的�大���系。但�道�都是支持中�政府�行�裁�治，及打���人士的理��？中方常�其�人�的理解�西方有�，而每�西方�家��中��人����理不��（如死刑��、迫害��人士、��藏人及�吾�族人等），中��是反指外�「干�中��政」。
事��於雄�。�在�我一一�列中�主要的人���。�者看後可自行�定�些指控是否只是「妖魔化中�政府的��」。
死刑：���特赦���料�示，中�政府於2008年至少��了1,718�死囚，另有7,003多人被判�死刑。值得�注的是�些判��非�公平聆�所得。在�大部份情�下，被告人都不能循正常途�接�律�。在扣留期�，他�有可能遭受各�酷刑�待。�然有��局指，自2007年起最高人民法院�始再度�理案件，判�死刑的�字已�著下降，但��行刑�目��家�密，不能外泄，故外界�法得悉官方所言是否��。
2009年12月29日，中���一名英藉男子Akmal Shaikh，指其偷�海洛英入境。Akmal Shaikh的家人及英�政府曾求情，指�犯罪�神智不清，可是中方依然�持己�。Akmal Shaikh是自1951年以�首位被中方判�死刑的�洲公民。可�中�政府�心��行死刑��，向外���有�人�的指控下��。
迫害��人士：在��，��作家、��律�和��活�份子一直遭受不同形式的打�，如禁�、酷刑虐待及全天候��。中�政府最常以「煽��覆�家政�罪」及「�覆�家政�罪」的罪名作����人士的藉口。
��波案是近�最炙手可�的例子。�氏是北京有名的作家，更是�立中文��的����。2008年12月8日，�氏遭公安�走。��日子正是《零八�章》出版前�天。�氏起草《零》，�的是宣告其�中�境�改善人�、�取民主及��法治的�求。超�300名知�份子已�署《零》，�中包括��人士、作家、�者及律�等。2009年6月23日，�氏正式被控以「煽��覆�家政�罪」。在此之前的七�多月中，�一直住在北京城郊，接受「��居住」。12月25日�天本是普世��的�日，但����，2009年的����是��的一天：�氏於�天被判罪名成立，入�11年。可喜的是，直至2009年12月�止，��外已有超�10,000人�署《零》，相信�氏亦�感到欣喜。
另一�案例的主人翁是�作人和�琦，他�一直在四川�事��工作。2008年5月四川汶川�生大地震，�房倒塌�致多人死亡，�氏和�氏二人致力�查「豆腐渣工程」��。最後分�被控以「煽��覆�家政�罪」及「持有�家�密罪」，�氏更於2009年11月23日被判罪名成立，入�三年。
第三�例子是有�中�政府如何「�待」����律�。江天勇、唐吉田、�巍、�海波四人的律��照�法�期，有��局更定期警告他�不要受理一些敏感的案件；高智晟自2009年2月4日在北京的老家失�，至今音�沓然；山�失明「赤�律�」�光�在服刑的4年3�月期�，一直肚�，�奇得很；��法律��人士郭�雄正在服其5年判刑，但他��法�其家人�面。�些故事令人汗�－－律�尚且受到政府�局此等�待，平常百姓�取人�的道路�不是更�棘�途？
美����巴�於2009年11月15至18日期���，��家主席胡��和�理�家��晤，但�巴���有把握��在�面�指出中�的人���，亦�有���提及境�遭�禁的��人士。既然如此，我�能��取甚�行�? 如果我�不希望看到中�的人���延�，作�世界公民，我�必��中�政府明白��怎��待她的公民。
潘嘉�
��特赦��（香港）�行委����
�立中文��副��
中���律��注��行秘�
香港天主教正�和平委���行委���� (2005-2009)
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