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CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA ANNUAL REPORT 2012 ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION OCTOBER 10, 2012 Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.cecc.gov 2012 ANNUAL REPORT CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA ANNUAL REPORT 2012 ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION OCTOBER 10, 2012 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 76–190 PDF WASHINGTON : 2012 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 House Senate CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, SHERROD BROWN, Ohio, Cochairman Chairman MAX BAUCUS, Montana FRANK WOLF, Virginia CARL LEVIN, Michigan DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California EDWARD R. ROYCE, California JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota SUSAN COLLINS, Maine MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio JAMES RISCH, Idaho MICHAEL M. HONDA, California EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS SETH D. HARRIS, Department of Labor MARIA OTERO, Department of State FRANCISCO J. SANCHEZ, Department of Commerce KURT M. CAMPBELL, Department of State NISHA DESAI BISWAL, U.S. Agency for International Development PAUL B. PROTIC, Staff Director LAWRENCE T. LIU, Deputy Staff Director (II) CO N T E N T S Page I. Executive Summary ............................................................................................. 1 Overview ............................................................................................................ 1 Specific Findings and Recommendations ........................................................ 7 Political Prisoner Database ............................................................................. 46 II. Human Rights ..................................................................................................... 49 Freedom of Expression ..................................................................................... 49 Worker Rights ................................................................................................... 59 Criminal Justice ............................................................................................... 69 Freedom of Religion .......................................................................................... 78 Ethnic Minority Rights .................................................................................... 87 Population Planning ......................................................................................... 90 Freedom of Residence and Movement ............................................................ 96 Status of Women .............................................................................................. 100 Human Trafficking ........................................................................................... 104 North Korean Refugees in China .................................................................... 108 Public Health .................................................................................................... 111 The Environment .............................................................................................. 114 III. Development of the Rule of Law ...................................................................... 120 Civil Society ...................................................................................................... 120 Institutions of Democratic Governance .......................................................... 125 Commercial Rule of Law .................................................................................. 133 Access to Justice ............................................................................................... 141 IV. Xinjiang .............................................................................................................. 148 V. Tibet ..................................................................................................................... 156 VI. Developments in Hong Kong and Macau ........................................................ 169 VII. Endnotes ........................................................................................................... 172 Political Prisoner Database .......................................................................... 172 Freedom of Expression ................................................................................. 173 Worker Rights ............................................................................................... 178 Criminal Justice ............................................................................................ 185 Freedom of Religion ...................................................................................... 192 Ethnic Minority Rights ................................................................................. 199 Population Planning ..................................................................................... 202 Freedom of Residence and Movement ......................................................... 209 Status of Women ........................................................................................... 212 Human Trafficking ....................................................................................... 216 North Korean Refugees in China ................................................................ 220 Public Health ................................................................................................. 223 The Environment .......................................................................................... 226 Civil Society ................................................................................................... 234 Institutions of Democratic Governance ....................................................... 238 Commercial Rule of Law .............................................................................. 250 Access to Justice ........................................................................................... 257 Xinjiang .......................................................................................................... 260 Tibet ............................................................................................................... 267 Developments in Hong Kong and Macau .................................................... 283 (III) I. Executive Summary OVERVIEW Two countervailing trends exemplified human rights and rule of law developments in China this past year. On the one hand, the Commission observed the Chinese people, often at great risk, exer- cising the basic freedoms to which they are entitled and demanding recognition of these rights from their leaders. This development did not arise from any external force, but originated from the Chinese people themselves, and was evident not just among a handful of ac- tivists but at all levels of Chinese society. At the same time, the Commission observed a deepening disconnect between the growing demands of the Chinese people and the Chinese government’s abil- ity and desire to meet such demands. In a year marked by a major internal political scandal and leadership transition, Chinese offi- cials appeared more concerned with ‘‘maintaining stability’’ and preserving the status quo than with addressing the grassroots calls for reform taking place all over China. Citizen protests against lack of basic freedoms and official abuse cut across the diverse issues monitored by the Commission and in some cases were unprecedented. In late 2011 and early 2012, Chi- na’s beleaguered workers continued to strike and organize for high- er wages and better working conditions in reportedly the most sig- nificant series of demonstrations since the summer of 2010. The Commission documented demonstrations in multiple industries taking place in at least 10 provincial-level areas during that period. A tragic and unprecedented wave of self-immolations across the Ti- betan plateau indicated a new level of frustration with the Com- munist Party and government’s increasing cultural and religious repression. During the Commission’s 2012 reporting year, 45 (39 reported fatal) Tibetan self-immolations focused on political and re- ligious issues reportedly took place, out of a total of 50 since Feb- ruary 2009. Mongols in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region held a series of protests in April, June, and July over the confisca- tion of grassland for government and private development projects. Demonstrators took to the streets in large numbers to protest against land seizures, pollution, and large-scale energy projects. From July until September, tens of thousands of Hong Kong resi- dents protested a controversial Beijing-backed national education policy forcing a dramatic retreat by Hong Kong’s Chief Executive C Y Leung. The number of mass incidents in China has reportedly doubled since 2005. Chinese citizens’ desire for the free flow of information and an unfettered channel for expressing grievances and questioning gov- ernment policies continued to have a powerful presence on the Internet. The number of Internet users in China continued to rise rapidly, reaching 538 million in June 2012. By April 2012, there

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