COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT CHINA 1 OCTOBER 2009 UK Border Agency COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION SERVICE CHINA 1 OCTOBER 2009 Contents Preface Latest News EVENTS IN CHINA FROM 1 TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2009 REPORTS ON CHINA PUBLISHED OR ACCESSED BETWEEN 1 AND 30 SEPTEMBER 2009 Paragraphs Background Information 1. GEOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... 1.01 Map ................................................................................................ 1.04 Languages ................................................................................... 1.05 Population..................................................................................... 1.06 Naming conventions .................................................................. 1.07 Tibetan names ........................................................................... 1.08 2. ECONOMY ............................................................................................. 2.01 Poverty .......................................................................................... 2.03 Currency........................................................................................ 2.07 3. HISTORY ............................................................................................... 3.01 1949-1976: The Mao Zedong era ................................................. 3.01 1978-1989: China under Deng Xiaoping..................................... 3.03 1990-2000: Post-Tiananmen Square........................................... 3.04 2000 onwards: A new generation of leaders.............................. 3.05 4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ....................................................................... 4.01 5. CONSTITUTION ...................................................................................... 5.01 6. POLITICAL SYSTEM ................................................................................ 6.01 Chinese Communist Party (CCP)................................................ 6.03 Human Rights 7. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 7.01 8. SECURITY FORCES................................................................................. 8.01 Police............................................................................................. 8.03 Private security firms ................................................................. 8.06 Torture ....................................................................................... 8.07 Extrajudicial killings.................................................................... 8.14 Protection of witnesses/organised crime ................................... 8.15 Avenues of complaint .................................................................. 8.18 9. MILITARY SERVICE................................................................................. 9.01 Postponement and exemption .................................................... 9.04 Desertion....................................................................................... 9.06 10. JUDICIARY........................................................................................... 10.01 Organisation ................................................................................. 10.01 Independence ............................................................................... 10.02 Fair trial ......................................................................................... 10.05 Restrictions on lawyers ............................................................... 10.08 Criminal Procedure Law (1997)................................................... 10.12 State Security Law (1993) ............................................................ 10.13 ii The main text of this COI Report contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as at 31 August 2009. Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section to 30 September 2009. 1 OCTOBER 2009 CHINA Double jeopardy ........................................................................... 10.15 11. ARREST AND DETENTION – LEGAL RIGHTS............................................ 11.01 Arrest warrants............................................................................. 11.08 Wanted posters ............................................................................ 11.10 Resisting arrest/hitting an official............................................... 11.13 Punishment of minor offences.................................................... 11.15 12. PRISON CONDITIONS............................................................................ 12.01 Psychiatric custody (Ankang system)........................................ 12.07 Administrative detention/labour camps..................................... 12.11 Re-education Through Labour (RTL)......................................... 12.11 Other forms of administrative detention..................................... 12.16 13. DEATH PENALTY.................................................................................. 13.01 Suspended death sentences....................................................... 13.04 Number of executions.................................................................. 13.05 Judicial oversight......................................................................... 13.07 People exempted from the death penalty .................................. 13.09 14. POLITICAL AFFILIATION........................................................................ 14.01 Freedom of political expression ................................................. 14.01 Freedom of association and assembly ...................................... 14.06 Civil disturbances....................................................................... 14.09 Opposition groups and political activists.................................. 14.17 China Democracy Party (CDP).................................................. 14.19 UK Branch of the China Democracy Party ................................ 14.22 Tiananmen Square activists ...................................................... 14.23 15. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND MEDIA ........................................................ 15.01 Journalists .................................................................................... 15.09 16. HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS AND ACTIVISTS............ 16.01 17. CORRUPTION....................................................................................... 17.01 Breaches of Party discipline ....................................................... 17.04 Guanxi (social connections) ....................................................... 17.06 18. FREEDOM OF RELIGION........................................................................ 18.01 Registration .................................................................................. 18.05 Buddhists...................................................................................... 18.08 Taoists........................................................................................... 18.10 Folk religions ................................................................................ 18.11 19. CHRISTIANS ........................................................................................ 19.01 Availability of Bibles .................................................................... 19.03 Proselytising................................................................................. 19.07 Catholics ....................................................................................... 19.09 Relations with the Vatican ......................................................... 19.15 Protestants (including ‘house churches’).................................. 19.18 Orthodox Church.......................................................................... 19.25 20. MUSLIMS............................................................................................. 20.01 Uighur(s) (Uygur, Uyghur) ........................................................... 20.02 Human rights in Xinjiang (East Turkestan) ................................ 20.05 July 2009 violence ..................................................................... 20.08 Religious freedom in Xinjiang (East Turkestan)......................... 20.10 Uighur ‘terrorist’ groups ............................................................. 20.15 Other Uighur opposition groups................................................. 20.19 Hui (Huihui) ................................................................................... 20.21 21. BANNED SPIRITUAL GROUPS ................................................................ 21.01 The Shouters (Huhan Pai) or Local Church............................... 21.04 South China Church..................................................................... 21.07 Three Grades of Servants Church .............................................. 21.11 The main text of this COI Report contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as at 31 August 2009. Further brief iii information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section to 30 September 2009. CHINA 1 OCTOBER 2009 Eastern Lightning/Lightning from the East................................ 21.12 Jehovah’s Witnesses ................................................................... 21.13 Falun Gong ..................................................................................