China Human Rights Report 2017》

臺灣民主基金會 Taiwan Foundation for Democracy 本出版品係由財團法人臺灣民主基金會負責出版。臺灣民主基金會是一個獨立、非營利的機構，其宗旨在促進臺灣以及全球民主、人權的研究與發展。臺灣民主基金會成立於二○○三年，是亞洲第一個國家級民主基金會，未來基金會志在與其他民主國家合作，促進全球新一波的民主化。 This is a publication of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD). The TFD is an independent, non-proﬁt foundation dedicated to the study and promotion of democracy and human rights in Taiwan and abroad. Founded in 2003, the TFD is the ﬁrst democracy assistance foundation established in Asia. The Foundation is committed to the vision of working together with other democracies, to advance a new wave of democratization worldwide. 本報告由臺灣民主基金會負責出版，報告內容不代表本會意見。版權所有，非經本會事先書面同意，不得翻印、轉載及翻譯。 This report has been published by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. Statements of fact or opinion appearing in this report do not imply endorsement by the publisher. All rights reserved. No portion of the contents may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the publisher. 臺灣民主基金會 Taiwan Foundation for Democracy 臺灣民主基金會 Taiwan Foundation for Democracy 《China Human Rights Report 2017》 Contents Foreword..................................................................................................... i Preface........................................................................................................ 1 Human Rights Dialogue and Confrontation between China and the West during 2017 ................................................................................. 29 Political Human Rights ............................................................................ 67 Judicial Human Rights ........................................................................... 107 Social Rights .......................................................................................... 153 Economic and Environmental Human Rights ........................................ 211 Religious and Ethnic Minority Human Rights ....................................... 241 Gender Human Rights ............................................................................ 301 The Human Rights of Taiwanese People in Mainland China ................. 335 Foreword i Foreword The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy has been in existence for 15 years on a mission to enhance public appreciation of democracy and human rights. This annual China Human Rights Report, now in its 14th incarnation, is hereby presented for you to peruse. Soon after the Foundation’s inception in June 2003, the board of directors assigned a high priority to tracking human rights status in China -- through systematic analysis and prudent comparison -- for insights about its democratic and human rights advancement. Such a long-term commitment is demonstrated in publication of the China Human Rights Report year after year in both Chinese and English editions to cater to audiences in Taiwan and abroad. The notion of human rights entails multi-faceted interpretations, as seen in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Along a similar vein, this China Human Rights Report 2017, as in previous years, examines situations in China against the rules and standards expounded in the ICCPR and ICESCR to ensure objectivity and completeness. The authors of individual chapters, have gleaned publicly available information in print or over the web to identify events and trends to shed light on human rights progress in China against the backdrop of official white papers, regulations, policies and executive orders. There were six chapters in previous editions of the China Human Rights Report: social, political, judicial, economic and environmental, education and cultural rights as well as situations of Taiwanese business people in China. For this 2017 edition, we append two more chapters to explore human rights status 2017 by Taiwan Foundation for Democracy ii China Human Rights Report 2017 related to religions, minority populations and gender issues. To portray a realistic picture, the chapter on Taiwanese business people in previous editions has been expanded to cover all Taiwanese people living in China. Under the able guidance of Professor Dong Liwen, the project leader, monthly meetings were held with all designated authors to share findings and coordinate the scope of each chapter to ensure a comprehensive coverage. This Foundation would like to thank all the scholar-authors and the research teams behind them. From the observations compiled inside, China Human Rights Report 2017 projects a party-state that has been slipping backward in upholding human rights while insisting to subscribe to human rights “of Chinese characteristics” rather than those widely accepted as universal values. During 2017, we see continued decline of and suppression in areas like civil, political and social rights, but in lesser areas like economic rights, relative improvement is recognized and repeatedly hyped as governance achievement. Besides, a number of human rights “mishaps” have drawn concerns and criticism from inside China and out. “Community of Common Destiny for the Humanity” is the new buzzword in 2017 propaganda and the term “the people” was mentioned over 70 times in the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Such newfangled narratives seem to indicate China’s aspiration to win over developing countries and shore up influence in the global human rights community as well as United Nations-related human rights entities. Instead of enhancing people’s political rights, Chinese leadership clinches on to power to ensure regime stability and national security with the enactment of the Cybersecurity Law, the National Intelligence Law, and the Rules for the Implementation of the Counterespionage Law in 2017 to impose more restrictions on the populace. We examined the following cases: “Taiwanese advocate Lee 2017 by Taiwan Foundation for Democracy Foreword iii Ming-che jailed in China”, “death of Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo”, and “Oxford University Press removed articles deemed sensitive” about the “right of personal freedom”, as well as “election for grassroots officials”, “Hong Kong chief executive election”, and “Hong Kong student leaders” about the “right to participate in politics”. We find no grounds for optimism about political rights in these incidents. In terms of judicial rights, China signed the ICCPR in 1998, but has yet to ratify it, and related optional protocols to recognize the competence of the UN Human Rights Committee to examine individual citizen’s complaints or inquiry. China has insisted on the “rule by law”, but that concept is drastically different from the “rule of law” principle that we are familiar with and observed in democracies worldwide. This year we examine judicial rights status in China from five perspectives: personal liberty and dignity during crime investigation, fair and just process during the trial, proper execution of court decisions, legal aid, and lawyers’ rights to practice law. We found some progress during the investigation stage, but the trial and enforcement phases remain problematic: what happened to opposition activist Liu Xiaobo was a glaring example of correctional mis- treatment. Besides, there is plenty room for improvement in China’s legal aid services and lawyers’ rights to practice law. In the realm of social rights, China has promoted various social welfare policies to strive for a “comprehensively well-off society” as achievements in human rights development. In the white paper The Right to Development: China’s Philosophy, Practice and Contribution published in December of 2016, the right to health, to social security and social aids are elaborated. The current chapter on social rights cites many examples to shed light on the policy to reduce poverty (the right to adequate living standard), medical service, public health 2017 by Taiwan Foundation for Democracy iv China Human Rights Report 2017 and food safety (the right to health), and those on welfare (the right to social security). Whether or not the new two-child policy since 2016 has enhanced people’s right to reproduction is also discussed as an aspect of social rights. Overall speaking, China’s policy adjustments in public health, poverty reduction and social securities have seen distinct progress – though in different directions and at diverse pace – and people’s life have improved to a certain extent thanks to implementation of welfare policies. Yet, there are intrinsic constraints and hurdles to overcome: social services have not seen significant outcome because service-delivery institutions have yet to map out a clear path for reform. Likewise, incidents of aberration, snafu, delay and corruption have ultimately compromised the efficacy of policies ostensibly to improve people’s life. Moreover, despite Chinese authority’s best intention, and its absolute power in policy setting and promotion, the party-state regime intrinsically harbors constraints – manifested in monopoly to present and interpret policy achievements while people’s voice is silenced. Regarding economic and environmental rights, we have focused on the predicament of laborers in safeguarding their rights, massive layoffs, air pollution, water pollution as well as animal protection and trades. People’s demands for economic rights have escalated along with the rising prosperity and disposable income after decades of reform and opening-up. Due to increased public awareness

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