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Annual Report CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA ANNUAL REPORT 2006 ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION SEPTEMBER 20, 2006 Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.cecc.gov VerDate 11-MAY-2000 16:18 Sep 19, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6011 Sfmt 5011 U:\DOCS\29862.TXT CHINA1 PsN: CHINA1 CECC 2006 ANNUAL REPORT VerDate 11-MAY-2000 16:18 Sep 19, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6019 Sfmt 6019 U:\DOCS\29862.TXT CHINA1 PsN: CHINA1 CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA ANNUAL REPORT 2006 ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION SEPTEMBER 20, 2006 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 29–862 PDF WASHINGTON : 2006 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) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 16:18 Sep 19, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 U:\DOCS\29862.TXT CHINA1 PsN: CHINA1 CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS Senate House CHUCK HAGEL, Nebraska, Chairman JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa, Co-Chairman SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas DAVID DREIER, California GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon FRANK R. WOLF, Virginia JIM DEMINT, South Carolina JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania MEL MARTINEZ, Florida ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama MAX BAUCUS, Montana SANDER LEVIN, Michigan CARL LEVIN, Michigan MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California SHERROD BROWN, Ohio BYRON DORGAN, North Dakota MICHAEL M. HONDA, California EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS STEVEN J. LAW, Department of Labor PAULA DOBRIANSKY, Department of State FRANKLIN L. LAVIN, Department of Commerce CHRISTOPHER R. HILL, Department of State BARRY F. LOWENKRON, Department of State DAVID DORMAN, Staff Director (Chairman) JOHN FOARDE, Staff Director (Co-Chairman) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 16:18 Sep 19, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 U:\DOCS\29862.TXT CHINA1 PsN: CHINA1 C O N T E N T S Page I. Commission Finding ............................................................................................ 1 II. Executive Summary ........................................................................................... 2 III. List of Recommendations .................................................................................. 16 IV. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 22 V. Monitoring Compliance With Human Rights ................................................... 25 (a) Special Focus for 2006: Freedom of Expression ....................................... 25 (b) Rights of Criminal Suspects and Defendants ........................................... 42 (c) Protection of Internationally Recognized Labor Rights ........................... 60 (d) Freedom of Religion .................................................................................... 75 (e) Status of Women ......................................................................................... 97 (f) The Environment ......................................................................................... 100 (g) Public Health ............................................................................................... 104 (h) Population Planning ................................................................................... 109 (i) Freedom of Residence and Travel .............................................................. 113 VI. Political Prisoner Database .............................................................................. 118 VII. Development of the Rule of Law and Institutions of Democratic Governance . 119 (a) Development of Civil Society ..................................................................... 119 (b) Institutions of Democratic Governance and Legislative Reform ............. 124 (c) Access to Justice .......................................................................................... 131 (d) Commercial Rule of Law and the Impact of the WTO ............................. 142 VIII. Tibet ................................................................................................................. 160 IX. North Korean Refugees in China ..................................................................... 172 X. Developments in Hong Kong .............................................................................. 175 XI. Appendix: Commission Activities in 2005 and 2006 ....................................... 178 XII. Endnotes ........................................................................................................... 180 (III) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 16:18 Sep 19, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 U:\DOCS\29862.TXT CHINA1 PsN: CHINA1 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 16:18 Sep 19, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 U:\DOCS\29862.TXT CHINA1 PsN: CHINA1 CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA 2006 ANNUAL REPORT I. Commission Finding The Commission is deeply concerned that some Chinese govern- ment policies designed to address growing social unrest and bolster Communist Party authority are resulting in a period of declining human rights for China’s citizens. The Commission identified lim- ited improvements in the Chinese government’s human rights prac- tices in 2004, but backward-stepping government decisions in 2005 and 2006 are leading the Commission to reevaluate the Chinese leadership’s commitment to additional human rights improvements in the near term. In its 2005 Annual Report, the Commission high- lighted increased government restrictions on Chinese citizens who worship in state-controlled venues or write for state-controlled pub- lications. These restrictions remain in place, and in some cases, the government has strengthened their enforcement. The Communist Party’s concern with growing social unrest domi- nated its policy statements over the past year, and served as justification for increased government interference with, and in- timidation and harassment of, individuals and groups that the Party believes may threaten its authority or legitimacy. The gov- ernment targeted social, political, and legal activists, as well as religious believers who violated strict government limitations on re- ligious practice. In the past year, government efforts to maintain social stability have led to a greater reliance on the coercive powers of the police to subdue potential threats to Party rule. Chinese offi- cials have also taken additional steps in the past year to curb the growth of China’s emerging civil society. New government and Party controls have been imposed on courts and judges that may further weaken the independence of the Chinese judiciary. More- over, the Chinese government continues to use its regulatory con- trol over the Internet and print publishing to censor political and religious expression, to imprison journalists and writers, and to prevent Chinese citizens from having access to independent news sources. The Commission notes the progress that the Chinese government has made over the past 25 years in beginning to build a political system based on the rule of law and on respect for basic human rights. The twin demands of social stability and continued economic progress have spurred legal reforms that may one day be the lead- ing edge of constraints on the arbitrary exercise of state power. The Chinese government continues to pursue judicial and criminal re- forms, often in cooperation with international partners, that could lead to further protection of citizen rights. The government’s achievements in the economic realm are impressive, none more so than its success in lifting more than 400 million Chinese citizens (1) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 16:18 Sep 19, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 U:\DOCS\29862.TXT CHINA1 PsN: CHINA1 2 out of extreme poverty since the early 1980s. Economic reforms have also contributed to a growing middle class, expected to total 170 million people by 2010. China’s WTO accession commitments have resulted in gradual improvements in transparency at all lev- els of government. Elections at the village level are now common- place in China, and limited experiments with popular participation continue at other levels of government. Average Chinese citizens are free to discuss sensitive issues in a way that would have been unimaginable two decades ago. While all of these changes are important, the gap between forward-looking economic freedoms and a backward-looking polit- ical system remains significant. There are leaders now within China who comprehend the need for change, and who understand that inflexibility, secretiveness, and a lack of democratic oversight pose the greatest challenges to continued development. These lead- ers will need to gather considerable reformist courage to overcome obstacles and push for continued change. Such changes will not occur overnight, but rather in ways that Chinese society, culture, infrastructure, and institutions must be prepared for and willing to accept. II. Executive Summary China has an authoritarian political system controlled by the Communist Party. Party committees formulate all major state poli- cies before the government implements them. The Party dominates Chinese legislative bodies such as the National People’s Congress (NPC), and fills
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