CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA ANNUAL REPORT 2013 ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION OCTOBER 10, 2013 Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.cecc.gov 2013 ANNUAL REPORT CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA ANNUAL REPORT 2013 ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION OCTOBER 10, 2013 Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.cecc.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 85–010 PDF WASHINGTON : 2013 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS Senate House SHERROD BROWN, Ohio, Chairman CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, MAX BAUCUS, Montana Cochairman CARL LEVIN, Michigan FRANK WOLF, Virginia DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon ROBERT PITTENGER, North Carolina TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio MICHAEL M. HONDA, California EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS SETH D. HARRIS, Department of Labor FRANCISCO J. SA´ NCHEZ, Department of Commerce NISHA DESAI BISWAL, U.S. Agency for International Development LAWRENCE T. LIU, Staff Director PAUL B. PROTIC, Deputy Staff Director (II) CO N T E N T S Page I. Executive Summary ............................................................................................. 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Specific Findings and Recommendations ........................................................ 14 Political Prisoner Database ............................................................................. 54 II. Human Rights ..................................................................................................... 57 Freedom of Expression ..................................................................................... 57 Worker Rights ................................................................................................... 67 Criminal Justice ............................................................................................... 77 Freedom of Religion .......................................................................................... 86 Ethnic Minority Rights .................................................................................... 96 Population Planning ......................................................................................... 99 Freedom of Residence and Movement ............................................................ 105 Status of Women .............................................................................................. 109 Human Trafficking ........................................................................................... 113 North Korean Refugees in China .................................................................... 118 Public Health .................................................................................................... 121 The Environment .............................................................................................. 124 III. Development of the Rule of Law ...................................................................... 131 Civil Society ...................................................................................................... 131 Institutions of Democratic Governance .......................................................... 137 Commercial Rule of Law .................................................................................. 146 Access to Justice ............................................................................................... 157 IV. Xinjiang .............................................................................................................. 163 V. Tibet ..................................................................................................................... 172 VI. Developments in Hong Kong and Macau ........................................................ 187 VII. Endnotes ........................................................................................................... 191 Political Prisoner Database .......................................................................... 191 Freedom of Expression ................................................................................. 192 Worker Rights ............................................................................................... 198 Criminal Justice ............................................................................................ 206 Freedom of Religion ...................................................................................... 213 Ethnic Minority Rights ................................................................................. 221 Population Planning ..................................................................................... 224 Freedom of Residence and Movement ......................................................... 231 Status of Women ........................................................................................... 235 Human Trafficking ....................................................................................... 239 North Korean Refugees in China ................................................................ 244 Public Health ................................................................................................. 247 The Environment .......................................................................................... 251 Civil Society ................................................................................................... 260 Institutions of Democratic Governance ....................................................... 265 Commercial Rule of Law .............................................................................. 273 Access to Justice ........................................................................................... 279 Xinjiang .......................................................................................................... 285 Tibet ............................................................................................................... 295 Developments in Hong Kong and Macau .................................................... 313 (III) I. Executive Summary INTRODUCTION The Commission notes China’s lack of progress in guaranteeing Chinese citizens’ freedom of expression, assembly, and religion; re- straining the power of the Chinese Communist Party; and estab- lishing the rule of law under the new leadership of President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. Official rhetoric at the start of their tenure suggested openness to reforms and limits on the power of officials, sparking public discussion across China. But the new leadership soon cracked down on growing calls for human rights and the rule of law and reiterated the Party’s dominance over pub- lic affairs. Despite widespread acknowledgement that loosening re- strictions on society to encourage public participation, lessening state control over the economy, and enforcing the rule of law are essential to China’s economic development, China continues to pur- sue economic modernization without political reform or guarantees to fundamental human rights. The Commission’s reporting year, which covers the period from fall 2012 to fall 2013, began with some potentially hopeful signs. Statements starting in late 2012 by President Xi, Premier Li, and other top leaders pledged to crack down on corruption and rein in official abuses, promised major reforms to the abusive systems of reeducation through labor and household registration, and sug- gested an openness to giving greater authority to China’s Constitu- tion. New and revised laws that took effect, including the PRC Criminal Procedure Law and the PRC Mental Health Law, con- tained significant flaws but also had the potential to improve pro- tection of citizens’ rights. China’s relatively open response to an outbreak of avian flu in early 2013 stood in marked contrast to its poor handling of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) crisis 10 years earlier, a point highlighted at a Commission hearing held in May 2013. Whether buoyed by statements from China’s new leaders or the possibilities accompanying a transition of power, citizens from diverse sectors of society, from elements within the Party to individuals affiliated with the grassroots New Citizens’ Movement, sought to engage in public discussion over China’s fu- ture. They urged their government to give greater force to the Con- stitution as a check on official behavior, make good on its promise to combat corruption by requiring officials to disclose their assets, and ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China signed in 1998. By spring, however, it became clear that hopes China’s new lead- ers would engage with, or even tolerate, public discussion on issues such as constitutionalism and anticorruption would remain unfulfilled. In April, the Office of the Communist Party’s Central Committee reportedly issued Document No. 9, which sought to (1) 2 marginalize and silence calls for constitutional checks, anticorruption, universal human rights,