EMBASSY RAISES CONCERNS OVER DETENTIONS OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 023629

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2031
TAGS: PHUM PGOV CH
SUBJECT: EMBASSY RAISES CONCERNS OVER DETENTIONS OF
ELECTION CANDIDATES IN HUBEI PROVINCE

REF: A. BEIJING 22633

B. BEIJING 17493

Classified By: Classified by Political Internal Unit Chief Susan
Thornton. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Elections activist Yao Lifa was reportedly
detained by local police in Hubei Province on November
6, was released and was subsequently redetained on
November 7. In between detentions, Yao reported that
several other independent candidates running in
Hubei's November 8 elections had also been detained
and that others among the approximately 47
independents running in Yao's home Qianjiang City
region are being harassed by authorities trying to
disrupt their electoral chances. The Embassy raised
concerns over the detentions of Yao and other election
candidates with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on
November 7. IO Deputy Director Zhao Xing said he was
unaware of the reports, but that the MFA would look
into the issue. End summary.


2. (C) Elections activist Yao Lifa reported to
poloff on November 7 that he and several other
independent candidates running in the November 8 local
people's congress elections in Qianjiang City, Hubei
Province had been detained for several hours on the
night of November 6 (see reftels). Yao told poloff
that independent candidates in Qianjiang are facing
intense harassment from local authorities, who feel
threatened by the large number of independents running
and are determined to thwart their electoral chances.
Shortly after his conversation with poloff, Yao sent a
message saying he had been redetained at 11:30 a.m. on
November 7. As of the evening of November 7, Yao had
not yet been released.


3. (C) Elections expert Li Fan (protect),who has
worked closely with Yao, commented that Qianjiang
officials would likely try to keep Yao under detention
in order to diminish his chances of being elected.
Yao, who served previously as a people's deputy in
Qianjiang after winning a write-in campaign in 1998,
is viewed by local officials as a troublemaker and was
accused by police who detained him as wrecking the
atmosphere for elections, Li noted.


4. (C) Forty-seven independent candidates are running
in Qianjiang and represent a palpable threat to local
officials, according to Li, because only ten deputies
are needed to bring a motion or put forward a proposal
in the local congress. Li said that he and others are
watching the Hubei elections closely, as the field of
independent candidates is larger than in other
upcoming contests. By contrast, only about eighteen
independents are running in Beijing's November 8 local
congress elections, all in the more open university
districts. Yao's efforts in Hubei are "creating a
stir," Li commented.


5. (C) Poloff raised concerns over the reported
detentions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs North
American Affairs and International Organizations (IO)
Divisions on November 7, noting that no illegal
behavior was alleged by the authorities who detained
Yao or the other candidates on the eve of the
elections. IO Deputy Director Zhao Xing said he was
unaware of the reports, but that the MFA would look
into the issue.
Randt