jshen@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Jun Shen) (05/17/91)
>From scchan@watnow.waterloo.edu Fri May 17 10:04 EDT 1991 From: Sing-Cho Chan <scchan@watnow> To: chieh@watdcs, rzhu@violet Hi, dear Rupert, The following is the recent newsletter of the Association for Human Rights in China (K-W). I shall be pleased if you would send it by email to the members of CSSA of UW and also to other CSSA's in Guelph, London, Hamilton, etc. Thanks. J. Chan AHRC Association for Human Rights in China (K-W) 488 Heatherhill Place, Waterloo N2T 1H7 Newsletter 3, May 1991 Content: * Coming activities in commemoration of the 2nd anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre. * Brief report on recent activities of AHRC. * Report on 2nd North American Community-Based Organization Conference on Human Rights and Democracy in China. * Summary of results of trial of dissidents/pro-democracy activists. * Further information and news. ************************************************************************** Coming Activities in Commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre * The major event being organized by the Toronto Association for Democracy in China is a rally and march: Date: June 1, 1991 (Saturday) Time: 3:00 pm Place: Queen's Park, Toronto * Our Association is also organizing two major events at the University of Waterloo: - The first event will be an arts exhibition to be held at the Campus Center, UW, on the following dates: May 31, 91 (Friday) 9am-6pm June 2, 91 (Sunday) 9am-6pm June 3, 91 (Monday) 9am-9pm June 4, 91 (Tuesday) 9am-6pm The items on display come from a collection of works which includes oil paintings, pencil drawings, photographs, and sculptures made from various materials. They were created by Chinese artists from Vancouver, New York and Hong Kong during the past year in response to the events at Tiananmen in May/June, 1989. We may consider these works not simply as a historical documentation, or as a political statement, but as the deeper thoughts and concerns of a group of artists of our time in meditation upon the fate of the Chinese people. Their language in addressing this shared human concern is that of contemporary artistic expression. - The second event will be the "Tiananmen Memorial Night" as scheduled below: Date: June 4, 1991 Time: 8:00pm -- 9:30pm Place: Rm 1351, Davis Centre, UW The objectives of the memorial night are: > To commemorate the patriotic, pro-democracy movement happened in May/June 1989 in China, which was met with brutal suppression by the Chinese government. > To express concern on the abuse of human rights in China, especially on the recent trials of political prisoners such as Wang Juntao and Chen Ziming. > To strengthen the support from the local community and provide news and information to those people who are interested. The programme on that night will include video clips, songs, musical performance, short talks and is highlighted by a drama based on the trial of the most prominent dissident, Wang Juntao. This event is supported by the following local organizations: # Central Ontario Chinese Cultural Center # Chinese Student Association, UW # Chinese Student and Scholars Association, UW # K-W Chinese Alliance Church # Lantin Club *************************************************************************** Brief report on recent activities of AHRC In our last newsletter, we announced the activities that were being held in Toronto and in Waterloo in commemoration of the first anniversary of the 1989 pro-democracy movement in China. The major activity organized by us was the Forum on Democracy and Human Rights in China held on June 2, 1990. The Central Ontario Chinese Cultural Centre, CSA of UW, CSSA of UW, K-W Chinese Alliance Church and Lantin Club sponsored the forum and it was a success. Over 200 people participated in the events that night. In last December, when the Chinese government began to put the dissidents on trial as the world turned its attention to the Middle East crisis, we wrote several letters to the Chinese authorities expressing our concern over the trials and urging that the trials should be fair and open to the public. In April this year, we started to plan for the activities for the coming June as announced in this newsletter. On April 6-7, 1991, several members of our Association attended a conference organized by the North American Coaliton for Chinese Democracy in Toronto. A report on the conference, written by one of our directors, is included in this newsletter. ************************************************************************** 2nd North American Community-Based Organization Conference on Human Rights and Democracy in China Introduction: In the past months, as the world focused on the Gulf war, the Chinese government put many students, workers and intellectuals on trial. Most of them had been illegally detained since their arrests following the June 4 Massacre. The trials were closed to the public or carried out secretly. Those put on trial committed no crimes but strived to exercise their rights of freedom of speech and demanded the government to be free of corruption. However, some of them were sentenced to long, harsh jail terms. It was under this saddening turn of events that the 2nd North American Community-Based Organizations Conference was held in Toronto on April 6 and 7, 1991. Organized by the North American Coalition for Chinese Democracy and hosted by the Toronto Association for Democracy in China and the University of Toronto China Affairs Association, the conference provided a forum for pro-democracy groups to coordinate with each others, exchange ideas and to chart a course for the advancement of human rights and democracy. Over 40 organizations supported the event. There were participants from north to south, east to west of the continent: Vancouver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Michigan, Washington, New York, Ottawa and, of course, Waterloo; and from the overseas: London, Netherlands, Hong Kong.... Seven members of our Association attended the two-day conference. We were glad to find that the movement for human rights and democracy in China is still very much alive, and there are active, concerned groups and individuals from all walks of life and from all corners of the world, all sharing the common goal of promoting human rights in China. The movement also enjoys the support from different government levels of Canada: The Premier of Ontario, the Mayor of Toronto, and the President of International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Ed Broadbent) all spoke at the conference in support of our goal. In the conference, we listened to many speakers who had dedicated themselves to the continued advancement of human rights and democracy in Europe, North America and China. Through workshops and discussion groups, we also exchanged views and deliberated on topics that were critical to the continued efforts toward the recognition and respect of human rights in China. The community organizations formed a useful network for future activities. We focused our attention to human rights issues and emerged more strengthened. We all realize that the road to democracy in China may be a long one with many obstacles, but by holding true to our commitment and belief, we can contribute to the democratization process. Conference Notes: The following is a partial summary of speeches of some of the speakers at the conference. The responsibility of accuracy of the notes are solely that of the writer of this article: * Szeto Wah, Chairman of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China: The support of Community based organizations for democracy movement in China should now focus on human rights issues. The respect of human rights is the first step toward a democratic society. Overseas support of Hong Kong's democracy is also important, since H. K. is now the frontier of the democracy movement. * Paul Lin, Professor of Chinese Studies: For a democratic government to become a reality in China, the Chinese people need to build a sense of dignity, own sense of value and respect for dissent. The position of the Chinese government of needing stability before political reform is fundamentally flawed: China has gone through 100 years of cycles of reforms, new governments, power corruption and reversal of policies, and the cycle of failure will repeat unless a new political culture of democracy is institutionalized. * Dora Nipp, Toronto Association for Democracy in China: Human rights is not merely a Western concept, as claimed by hardliners in the Chinese government; it is a universal concept, entrenched in the UN charter and supported by all members, including China. Economic reform is not a prerequisite of development of human rights; as proved by the cycle of reversals in China, such a policy can only provide short term gains. Community based organizations need to approach human rights with consistency and universality, and must be optimistic in nature by necessity. * Gao Xin, Hunger striker at Tiananmen Square: The pressure from overseas has resulted in shorter sentences and less harsh treatment of the June~4 participants. Community based organizations need to continue to exert pressure on their own governments and ask them to transmit our messages to China. * Irwin Cotler, Professor of Law: The 1990 was the year of universality of human rights, witnessing an explosion of acceptance and internationalization of human rights. China's own laws are clearly violated by the Chinese government in the wave of repression following the June 4 crackdown. Internationally, all governments need to engage in multi-lateral economic and technological policies to induce the Chinese government to recognize human rights; for instance, China's Most Favored Nation status with the US should be linked to the release of political prisoners. * Felice Gaer, Executive Director, International League for Human Rights: UN as an international body can take the role of researching and monitoring the human rights records of its member countries. It is clear that China has institutionalized violation of human rights against her own citizens. Community based organizations should initiate agendas with their own governments, build legitimacy for this cause, and through international consensus persuade the UN to urge China to respect human rights. Future Direction: The following actions were considered in the conference workshops: * Networking: The present North American Coalition for Chinese Democracy (NACCD) comprises six major organizations based in Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Toronto and Vancouver. In addition, there are close to 40 other supporting organizations in North America. A strong network is needed in order to communicate effectively, to share and optimize resources, and to take concerted actions on focal issues. Networking efforts include: compilation of a North American directory for all organizations concerned with human rights and democracy in China; quarterly publication of relevant news and events; and possibly establishing regional centres linking other smaller groups. * Lobbying: Community based organizations can work with all levels of governments with the aim of influencing US and Canadian government policies to promote human rights in China. Suggested actions include: - Establish ties with local elected representatives. - Lobby trade organizations, e.g., the Canadian Trade Council, to convey the importance of recognition of human rights. - Approach other high profile Canadian and American agencies such as Unichef and broaden the platform of international focus toward human rights in China. - Avoid confrontational positions and encourage governments to influence human rights in China through continued dialogues. * Helping Chinese political prisoners: - Letter writing to Chinese officials protesting harsh treatment of political prisoners --- experience shows that letters are effective to some degree; Chinese officials do pay attention to letters. - Adapt a Prisoner campaign --- write to selected prisoners directly and try to establish links with them; this would break the isolations suffered by them by letting them know that the world cares for them. ************************************************************************** Summary of Result of Trial of Dissidents/Pro-democracy Activists On Feb. 12, 1991, Wang Juntao and Chen Ziming, who were labelled by the Chinese government as "black-hands" of the 1989 pro-democracy movement, were each sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment. It was reported that, during the period from Jan. 5, 1991 to Feb. 12, 1991, the Chinese government conducted the trial of 96 dissidents/pro- democracy activists in Beijing and Shanghai. While 25 of them were sentenced to prison terms, the remaining 71 were released. Further trial was conducted on Mar. 4, 1991. Table 1 below shows a summary of the trial result of the best known dissidents/ pro-democracy activists. The Chinese authority has suspended the licences of two defense lawyers, Zhang Sizhi and Sun Yachen, for their defense of Wang Juntao. Some of the dissidents/pro-democracy activists, e.g., Li Yuqi, Pang Zhihong, Liu Xiaobo, Liu Suli, and Chen Xiaoping, were found guilty but were released because their "crimes" were deemed "less serious" and of their alleged "co-operation." Although Chen Xiaoping has been released from jail, his friends say he has received the worst punishment among all the political activists, not because of him being expelled from the communist party and his university, or losing his right to live in Beijing and being forced to return to his family home in rural Hunan, but because of his public repentance and co-operation with the authorities that he gets a bad reputation and has lost all credibility as a dissident. Table 1 ------- | Date | | Prison Name | convicted | Accused of | terms ----------------------------------------------------------- Zheng Xuguang| Jan 5, 91 | plotting to overflow | 2 yrs Ma Shaofang | | the government | 3 yrs Zhang Ming | | | 3 yrs Wang Youcai | | | 4 yrs Kong Xianfeng| | | 3 yrs Zhang Qianjin| | | 2 yrs Xue Jianan | | | 2 yrs ----------------------------------------------------------- Yao Junling | Jan 26, 91 | plotting to overflow | 2 yrs Guo Haifeng | | the government, | 4 yrs | | attacking the army | ----------------------------------------------------------- Wang Dan | Jan 26, 91 | anti-government | 4 yrs Bao Zunxin | | incitement, | 5 yrs Ren Wanding | | attacking the army | 7 yrs Liu Gang | Feb 12, 91 | | 6 yrs ----------------------------------------------------------- Wang Juntao | Feb 12, 91 | plotting to overflow | 13 yrs Chen Ziming | | the government, | 13 yrs | | counter-revolutionary | | | incitement | ----------------------------------------------------------- Luo Haixing | Mar 4, 91 | concealing counter- | 5 yrs Li Peicheng | | revolutionary elements| 5 yrs Li Longqing | | | 4 yrs ************************************************************************* Further Information and News The following is a list of newsletters, periodicals and proceedings published by some overseas pro-democracy organizations which you may like to subscribe: - Forum for a Better China, Issue No. 1 --- To order please send 3.0 sterling pounds (check/money order) payable to Alliance for a Better China (Forum Sales) at P.O. Box 59, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QZ, UK. - Echoes from Tiananmen --- US$2.5 per issue. To order please send check or money order payable to the Hong Kong Trade Union Education Center at 57 Peking Road, 3rd Floor, Kowloon, Hong Kong. - Proceedings of the First North American Conference of Community-Based Pro-Democracy Organizations, Dec. 2-3, 1989 --- To order please send US$4.0 payable to Foundation for Chinese Democracy at 1118 Grant Avenue, Suite 101, San Francisco, CA 94133. - Personalities from the Democracy Movements in China --- Brief biographies of 15 activists and intellectuals. To order please send US$2.0 payable to Northern California Association for Democracy in China (NCADC) at P.O. Box 6170, Moraga, CA 94570. - A Changing China --- Quarterly. Send subscription fee (C$15.0 per year) payable to Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement at 202-427 Dunlevy Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 3Y4. - Witness Reports On The Democratic Movement Of China '89 --- To order please send US$20.0 payable to Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China at 9/F., Good Hope Building, 618 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong. - The eyes have it --- Record of events of the pro-democracy movement and the subsequent massacre in 1989. To order please send US$15.0 payable to Foundation for Chinese Democracy at 1118 Grant Avenue, Suite 101, San Francisco, CA 94133, with clear specification that the remittance is for the purchase of this book. - China Forum Newsletter --- Monthly. To subscribe please send US$10.0 (for one year) payable to China Forum at P.O. Box 13781, Berkeley, CA 94701. - Human Rights Tribune --- Bi-monthly. To subscribe please send US$24.0 (for one year) payable to Human Rights in China at 485 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10017. *************************************************************************** You may contact our Association through Peter Chieh (President) at 519-746-5133, Ben Ho (Director) at 519-885-5137, or Joe Chan (Secretary) at 519-579-4457. Editor of this issue: J. Chan *************************************************************************** End