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