China
11.11.03
Urgent Interventions
Open Letter to President Hu Jintao, People's Republic of China
Geneva-Cairo, 11 November 2003
Mr. President,
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) and the Coordination Office of the Habitat International Coalition’s Housing and Land Rights Network (HIC-HLRN) are deeply concerned about the repression, prosecution and ill-treatment of people who are being forcibly evicted and displaced by the Shanghai urban redevelopment projects, and of others who are attempting to aid them.
OMCT and HIC-HLRN have received information from Human Rights in China that Mr. Zheng Enchong, a lawyer who assisted individuals and families displaced by the Shanghai urban redevelopment projects, has been sentenced by the Shanghai Intermediate People’s Court to three years imprisonment for “passing state secrets to foreigners”.
On 26 August 2003, the Observatory for Human Rights Defenders (a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT) issued an urgent appeal for the release of Mr. Zheng Enchong, who was being tried in secret before the Shanghai Intermediate People’s Court. He was arrested on 6 June 2003, after assisting displaced families in more than 500 cases relating to Shanghai's urban redevelopment projects. According to the information received, Mr. Zheng's license was revoked in 2001 in relation to cases he was handling for people who have been displaced by Shanghai urban redevelopment schemes. Despite the prohibition against his practising law and the increasing official persecution against him, Mr. Zheng has continued to provide legal advice to affected people, even though he could not represent them in court. Most recently, Mr. Zheng was advising families involved in a lawsuit alleging corruption and collusion between officials and Mr. Zhou Zhengyi, a wealthy property developer. Mr. Zhou Zhegyi had allegedly relocated 2,159 residents of a property in West Beijing Road to a fringe district with very poor transportation and communication links, without paying anything for a 70-year land lease on the property.
Human Rights in China has also informed OMCT and HIC-HLRN that more than ten persons involved in repeated protests against Shanghai’s redevelopment and relocation scheme will soon be sentenced to ‘Re-education Through Labor’ (RTL) on charges of “illegal assembly.” These protesters were among approximately 85 people whom Shangai Police rounded up on 29 September 2003 while they were in Beijing to petition the authorities over forced relocations, unjust conditions attached to the redevelopment projects and inadequate compensation of the displaced residents. After reportedly having been forcibly returned to Shanghai, the arrestees were kept in various detention centres throughout the city. According to the information received, the police have subjected a number of the detainees to torture and other protestors to ill-treatment, harassment and surveillance.
These reports are the latest in a series documenting the harassment, repression and intimidation of displaced residents who attempt to voice their grievances and seek assistance from the central government. Since early March this year, police have dispersed a number of peaceful protests, prevented victims from travelling to Beijing to complain to the central government, or rounded them up and forcibly sent them back on their arrival in Beijing. According to the information received, Shen Ting, a Hong Kong resident, was in Beijing to petition the central authorities on behalf of her displaced parents. Two Beijing police officers who had been keeping her under surveillance allegedly stole her handbag, which contained her identification papers, her money and credit cards, plane ticket, camera and other belongings. As a result of the theft, Shen Ting is unable to return to Hong Kong.
We would like to bring to your attention that the authorities have failed to provide public consultations with affected inhabitants in planning the redevelopment of portions of the city, and a fair assessment procedure for determining compensation. According to the information received, residents are often offered a very low compensation that is insufficient to allow them to obtain other housing in the city or as in the situation leading to the lawsuit, moved to fringe district that have poor transportation links. Human Rights in China has documented a number of suicides, deaths and serious injuries that have resulted because of the forced evictions.
It is also reported that the majority of the evictions are illegal, as occupants have not agreed to vacate the property (Chinese law only allows for forced evictions if a resident refuses to vacate a property after signing an agreement to do so). Despite these provisions, the residents have been unable to get objective and independent judicial recourse.
We hope that your government will intervene to ensure that redevelopment projects are undertaken in a manner that does not violate China’s obligations under numerous international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
In this respect, we refer in particular to the General Comment No. 4 of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, that expressly states that “forced evictions are prima facie incompatible with the provisions of the Covenant and can only be carried out under specific circumstances.” Moreover, in its General Comment No. 7 (1997), the Committee emphasized that, under international human rights law, these exceptional circumstances in which forced evictions could be carried out impose certain requirements to which State parties to the Covenant must adhere to.
First, prior to carrying out any eviction, States must ensure that all feasible alternatives are explored in consultation with the affected persons, with a view of avoiding, or at least minimizing, the need to use force. Secondly, legal remedies or procedures should be provided to those who are affected by eviction orders, along with adequate compensation for any property, both personal and real, which is affected. Thirdly, in those rare cases where evictions are considered justified, they should be carried out in strict compliance with the relevant provisions of international human rights law and in accordance with the general principles of reasonableness and proportionality. Additionally, in these rare cases where evictions are considered justified, they should not render individuals homeless or vulnerable to the violations of other human rights. Governments, therefore, must ensure that adequate alternative housing or resettlement is available for all those affected by the urban redevelopment projects.
OMCT and HIC-HLRN strongly urge your government to ensure that the conviction and sentence passed against Mr. Zheng Enchong are appealed and his prosecution for passing state secrets to foreigners challenged and withdrawn in appellate proceedings. We also urge drop all charges against the protestors, who will soon be sentenced to Re-education Through Labor (RTL) on charges of “illegal assembly,” and to secure their release.
In view of these considerations, OMCT and HIC-HLRN hope that your Government will take immediate measures to ensure that the rights of these individuals and their families are protected and upheld, and in particular their right to peaceful assembly, adequate housing, as well as their right to be protected from any cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in conformity with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as well as the General Comments No. 4 and No. 7 of the U.N. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, respectively, on the right to adequate housing and forced evictions.
OMCT and HIC-HLRN also hope that these measures will be accompanied by the provision of adequate compensation, reparation and rehabilitation to all the victims. Finally, OMCT and HIC-HLRN urge your Government to take all the appropriate steps to guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible for these violations, bring them before a competent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law.
We thank you in advance for your careful consideration of this matter.
Yours Sincerely,
Habitat International Coalition, Housing & Land Rights Network (HIC-HLRN)
World Organisation against Torture (OMCT)
CC
Mr. Wen Jiabao, Premier
Gowuyuan, 9, Xihuancchenggenbeigie Street
Beijing 100032, People’s Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 65 125810
Mr. Jiang Zemin, Chairman of the Central Military Commission
c/o Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China\
Chemin de Surville 11
Case postale 85
1213 Petit-Lancy 2
Genève, Suisse
Fax: +4122 7937014
E-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
Mr. Zhang Fusen Buzhang Minister of Justice of the People's Republic of China
Sifabu, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie
Chaoyangqu
Beijingshi 100020, People's Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 65 292345
Mr. Li Zhaoxing Buzhang Waijiaobu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
2 Chaoyangmen Nandajie
Beijingshi 100701, People's Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 6588 2594
Email: ipc@fmprc.gov.cn
Mr. Sha Zukang, Ambassadeur, Mission permanente de la Rép. Pop. De Chine
Chemin de Surville 11
Casse postale 85
1213 Petit-Lancy 2
Genève, Suisse
Fax : +4122 793 70 14
E-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
Mr. Han Zheng, Mayor of Shanghai
c/o Foreign Affairs Office
Shanghai Municipal People's Government
1418 Nanjing Road West
Shanghai 200040, People’s Republic of China
Fax: +86 21 625 52 761
E-mail Form: http://www.sh.gov.cn/gb/shanghai/node8059/node10471/node10505/index.html
Mr. President,
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) and the Coordination Office of the Habitat International Coalition’s Housing and Land Rights Network (HIC-HLRN) are deeply concerned about the repression, prosecution and ill-treatment of people who are being forcibly evicted and displaced by the Shanghai urban redevelopment projects, and of others who are attempting to aid them.
OMCT and HIC-HLRN have received information from Human Rights in China that Mr. Zheng Enchong, a lawyer who assisted individuals and families displaced by the Shanghai urban redevelopment projects, has been sentenced by the Shanghai Intermediate People’s Court to three years imprisonment for “passing state secrets to foreigners”.
On 26 August 2003, the Observatory for Human Rights Defenders (a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT) issued an urgent appeal for the release of Mr. Zheng Enchong, who was being tried in secret before the Shanghai Intermediate People’s Court. He was arrested on 6 June 2003, after assisting displaced families in more than 500 cases relating to Shanghai's urban redevelopment projects. According to the information received, Mr. Zheng's license was revoked in 2001 in relation to cases he was handling for people who have been displaced by Shanghai urban redevelopment schemes. Despite the prohibition against his practising law and the increasing official persecution against him, Mr. Zheng has continued to provide legal advice to affected people, even though he could not represent them in court. Most recently, Mr. Zheng was advising families involved in a lawsuit alleging corruption and collusion between officials and Mr. Zhou Zhengyi, a wealthy property developer. Mr. Zhou Zhegyi had allegedly relocated 2,159 residents of a property in West Beijing Road to a fringe district with very poor transportation and communication links, without paying anything for a 70-year land lease on the property.
Human Rights in China has also informed OMCT and HIC-HLRN that more than ten persons involved in repeated protests against Shanghai’s redevelopment and relocation scheme will soon be sentenced to ‘Re-education Through Labor’ (RTL) on charges of “illegal assembly.” These protesters were among approximately 85 people whom Shangai Police rounded up on 29 September 2003 while they were in Beijing to petition the authorities over forced relocations, unjust conditions attached to the redevelopment projects and inadequate compensation of the displaced residents. After reportedly having been forcibly returned to Shanghai, the arrestees were kept in various detention centres throughout the city. According to the information received, the police have subjected a number of the detainees to torture and other protestors to ill-treatment, harassment and surveillance.
These reports are the latest in a series documenting the harassment, repression and intimidation of displaced residents who attempt to voice their grievances and seek assistance from the central government. Since early March this year, police have dispersed a number of peaceful protests, prevented victims from travelling to Beijing to complain to the central government, or rounded them up and forcibly sent them back on their arrival in Beijing. According to the information received, Shen Ting, a Hong Kong resident, was in Beijing to petition the central authorities on behalf of her displaced parents. Two Beijing police officers who had been keeping her under surveillance allegedly stole her handbag, which contained her identification papers, her money and credit cards, plane ticket, camera and other belongings. As a result of the theft, Shen Ting is unable to return to Hong Kong.
We would like to bring to your attention that the authorities have failed to provide public consultations with affected inhabitants in planning the redevelopment of portions of the city, and a fair assessment procedure for determining compensation. According to the information received, residents are often offered a very low compensation that is insufficient to allow them to obtain other housing in the city or as in the situation leading to the lawsuit, moved to fringe district that have poor transportation links. Human Rights in China has documented a number of suicides, deaths and serious injuries that have resulted because of the forced evictions.
It is also reported that the majority of the evictions are illegal, as occupants have not agreed to vacate the property (Chinese law only allows for forced evictions if a resident refuses to vacate a property after signing an agreement to do so). Despite these provisions, the residents have been unable to get objective and independent judicial recourse.
We hope that your government will intervene to ensure that redevelopment projects are undertaken in a manner that does not violate China’s obligations under numerous international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
In this respect, we refer in particular to the General Comment No. 4 of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, that expressly states that “forced evictions are prima facie incompatible with the provisions of the Covenant and can only be carried out under specific circumstances.” Moreover, in its General Comment No. 7 (1997), the Committee emphasized that, under international human rights law, these exceptional circumstances in which forced evictions could be carried out impose certain requirements to which State parties to the Covenant must adhere to.
First, prior to carrying out any eviction, States must ensure that all feasible alternatives are explored in consultation with the affected persons, with a view of avoiding, or at least minimizing, the need to use force. Secondly, legal remedies or procedures should be provided to those who are affected by eviction orders, along with adequate compensation for any property, both personal and real, which is affected. Thirdly, in those rare cases where evictions are considered justified, they should be carried out in strict compliance with the relevant provisions of international human rights law and in accordance with the general principles of reasonableness and proportionality. Additionally, in these rare cases where evictions are considered justified, they should not render individuals homeless or vulnerable to the violations of other human rights. Governments, therefore, must ensure that adequate alternative housing or resettlement is available for all those affected by the urban redevelopment projects.
OMCT and HIC-HLRN strongly urge your government to ensure that the conviction and sentence passed against Mr. Zheng Enchong are appealed and his prosecution for passing state secrets to foreigners challenged and withdrawn in appellate proceedings. We also urge drop all charges against the protestors, who will soon be sentenced to Re-education Through Labor (RTL) on charges of “illegal assembly,” and to secure their release.
In view of these considerations, OMCT and HIC-HLRN hope that your Government will take immediate measures to ensure that the rights of these individuals and their families are protected and upheld, and in particular their right to peaceful assembly, adequate housing, as well as their right to be protected from any cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in conformity with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as well as the General Comments No. 4 and No. 7 of the U.N. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, respectively, on the right to adequate housing and forced evictions.
OMCT and HIC-HLRN also hope that these measures will be accompanied by the provision of adequate compensation, reparation and rehabilitation to all the victims. Finally, OMCT and HIC-HLRN urge your Government to take all the appropriate steps to guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible for these violations, bring them before a competent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law.
We thank you in advance for your careful consideration of this matter.
Yours Sincerely,
Habitat International Coalition, Housing & Land Rights Network (HIC-HLRN)
World Organisation against Torture (OMCT)
CC
Mr. Wen Jiabao, Premier
Gowuyuan, 9, Xihuancchenggenbeigie Street
Beijing 100032, People’s Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 65 125810
Mr. Jiang Zemin, Chairman of the Central Military Commission
c/o Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China\
Chemin de Surville 11
Case postale 85
1213 Petit-Lancy 2
Genève, Suisse
Fax: +4122 7937014
E-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
Mr. Zhang Fusen Buzhang Minister of Justice of the People's Republic of China
Sifabu, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie
Chaoyangqu
Beijingshi 100020, People's Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 65 292345
Mr. Li Zhaoxing Buzhang Waijiaobu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
2 Chaoyangmen Nandajie
Beijingshi 100701, People's Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 6588 2594
Email: ipc@fmprc.gov.cn
Mr. Sha Zukang, Ambassadeur, Mission permanente de la Rép. Pop. De Chine
Chemin de Surville 11
Casse postale 85
1213 Petit-Lancy 2
Genève, Suisse
Fax : +4122 793 70 14
E-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
Mr. Han Zheng, Mayor of Shanghai
c/o Foreign Affairs Office
Shanghai Municipal People's Government
1418 Nanjing Road West
Shanghai 200040, People’s Republic of China
Fax: +86 21 625 52 761
E-mail Form: http://www.sh.gov.cn/gb/shanghai/node8059/node10471/node10505/index.html