Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06GUANGZHOU14013
2006-05-11 07:33:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Guangzhou
Cable title:  

The Rights Protection Movement Leadership in South

Tags:  PHUM PGOV ECON SOCI CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 GUANGZHOU 014013 

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STATE FOR EAP/CM AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/16
TAGS: PHUM PGOV ECON SOCI CH
SUBJECT: The Rights Protection Movement Leadership in South
China: Choosing Battles Wisely

REF: A) Guangzhou 11684; B) Beijing 06612; C) 05 Bejing
16423

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 GUANGZHOU 014013

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

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STATE FOR EAP/CM AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/16
TAGS: PHUM PGOV ECON SOCI CH
SUBJECT: The Rights Protection Movement Leadership in South
China: Choosing Battles Wisely

REF: A) Guangzhou 11684; B) Beijing 06612; C) 05 Bejing
16423


1. (U) Classified by Consul General Edward Dong. Reason
1.4 (d).

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

2. (C) The rights protection movement in China, a
QvirtualQ network of democracy activists throughout the
mainland, is gaining force and membership. This is the
vision optimistically espoused by Guo Feixiong, a leader
from the South China branch of the rights protection
movement, whom Consulate officers met on April 20. During
the meeting, Guo discussed his leadership role in the 2005
Taishi incident in Guangdong Province and his goals for the
movement to use legalistic, non-violent protest
opportunities to spread grass-root-level democracy across
China. End summary.

Background
--------------

3. (C) On April 20, Econ/Pol Section Chief and Poloff met
with one of South ChinaQs leading democracy activists, Yang
Maodong, better know by his pen-name, QGuo FeixiongQ.
Consulate officers met with Guo for about one hour. Guo
discussed his involvement in the July 2005 Taishi incident
in GuangdongQs Panyu district as well as the Rights
Protection Movement in China, undoubtedly ChinaQs most
dynamic and innovative democracy movement today (see ref B
on Taishi and ref C on the movement). Guo helped lead the
Taishi incident, in which villagers legally protested the
removal of a corrupt village leader. As a result, he was
held in prison for three months from September untill
December 2005. Guo planned to travel to the United States
on April 30 for a State Department Democracy, Human Rights
and Labor (DRL) conference and was at the Consulate to
apply for his visa.


4. (C) Guo expressed his gratitude for U.S. support of the
Chinese democratic movement. He emphasized that economic
freedom in China is not enough. Guo said, additionally,
democratic and media freedoms must also be improved, which

can only occur through greater U.S. pressure of China. He
then emphasized the importance of religious freedom as a
fundamental human right (Note: this is understandable given
the movementQs connection with foreign and domestic
religious groups, see ref B, end note). Although he
himself is not Christian, his wife is Protestant, and he
believes that the treatment Protestants, Catholics and
Muslims receive at the hands of Chinese officials is quite
severe.

Taishi: Understanding South China Protest Methods
-------------- --------------

5. (C) When asked how activists heard of the Taishi
villagersQ problems Guo said that he had not known of the
villagersQ initial efforts to protest the actions of a
corrupt village official. Instead, a group of villagers
contacted him in at his law office in Guangzhou and asked
for his help. Guo gave the villagers some advice on how to
legally fight their case. Eventually the problems in
Taishi became known to other activists. They decided to
use Taishi as a chance to test the legal system of protest
combined with a media campaign to focus world attention on
problems in the Chinese countryside. Activists
additionally tested other methods of protest, including the
use of older women protestors and limited hunger strikes.
Guo mentioned he had met on a number of occasions with the
South China Morning Post and other journalists. In all,
between 30-40 QelitesQ from throughout the Chinese
democracy movement descended on Taishi to help with the
protest. These elites included lawyers, intellectuals,
activists, authors, and journalists. Guo said the biggest
sources of such elites often are from cities such as
Shanghai and Beijing; however, during Taishi, the majority
of participating elites were from Guangzhou. Guo
considered the protest method highly effective since many
different world media sources focused attention on the
issue.


6. (C) Guo compared Taishi with the December 2005 Dongzhou
incident and the recent April 12 protest in Bomei village
(near Shantou, Guangdong Province) (ref A). Guo said both
the Dongzhou and Bomei protests had three problems: 1) the
protest lacked elites; 2) villagers used violence against
the police; and 3) villagers did not focus on elections.

GUANGZHOU 00014013 002 OF 003


Guo argued, elections, not land compensation and improved
water infrastructure projects, are what attract world-wide
and eventually domestic Chinese attention. In contrast to
the Dongzhou and Bomei village incidents, his Movement
strives for legal and completely peaceful protest methods.

The QRights Protection MovementQ: Vision and Tradecraft
-------------- --------------

7. (C) Guo commented on the make-up of the QWei Quan Yun
DongQ (The QRights Protection MovementQ),describing the
Movement as ChinaQs Qmost important democracy movementQ
with several thousand members throughout China. In GuoQs
interpretation, the movementQs mission is to focus on
democratic election rights. The Movement wants to legally
encourage elections at the village, county, and township
level. Guo hopes that as elections become a protected
right, democracy will spread upwards through the six levels
of government and throughout the country. As democracy
spreads, China will eventually become a rule of law nation.
The first step is to make the media (foreign and domestic)
aware of the need for elections in China and eventually the
masses in China will begin to care as well.


8. (C) Because of Central Government surveillance, Guo
said he and his fellow activists try to avoid using phones
and email as much as possible. Nevertheless, the movement
finds creative ways to remain effective. For example,
recently Guo helped advise a protest in Henan in Xinxiang
village, though police had barred him from physically
traveling to the area. Using cell phone calls and friends,
Guo was able to pass messages and advice to activists on
how to best protest. Perhaps the most effective method the
Movement uses is internet articles. Under the name QGuo
FeixiongQ, Guo will speak into the phone to a friend who
takes down his words and posts articles on-line. In March
2006 alone, Guo said he had 20 such articles published,
which he says have had a great effect on the movement.

Cooperation with Urban Labor Rights Groups?
--------------

9. (C) Guo said urban labor rights activists and rural
protesters rarely mix, though he has been consulted by a
few groups which are working together on the legal aspects
of labor issues. In his opinion, the labor rights movement
was much less developed than the rural democracy movement.
Moreover, he is convinced a democratic revolution will
occur from the countryside first.

Government Pressure: A Tightening Noose?
--------------

10. (C) Throughout the meeting, Guo complained about the
effects of increased government censorship and personal
harassment in his life. He argued that without the media
controls on rural protests and on his journal articles, the
movement would be much more successful. Guo personally
faces a 24/7, constant intrusion on his cell phone,
internet correspondence, and in his human interactions. He
cannot attend many local activist meetings at present
because police will stop him or even will stand in front of
him on the street. Therefore, he must send friends to
attend the meeting in his place. Friends are also afraid
to meet with him because they might go to jail after even
one encounter with him.


11. (C) Moreover, the Movement itself is receiving the
highest levels of state attention. Guo said beginning in
February 2006, the Rights Protection Movement was labeled
an official enemy of the state. Guo said he was certain of
this infamy, because in March alone he was stopped in four
different provinces (Beijing, Hubei, Jiangxi and Guangdong)
and told that the Movement was an enemy of the state.

Future of the Movement
--------------

12. (C) Guo believes the chances of the movementQs success
(despite government pressure) is quite good. The PRM hopes
to focus on smaller, more achievable goals. By end of
2006, Guo wants 1,000 QindependentQ representatives
throughout China at the various village, county, and
township levels. The Movement will focus on local level
election rights and, he believes elections eventually will
move up and spread throughout the whole country. But he
said, a handful of individuals in the Movement is not
enough. There needs to be a sufficient number of members
so that if one person is rendered ineffective due to police
tactics, others can pop up elsewhere. He optimistically
believes that in two years time, the Movement will continue

GUANGZHOU 00014013 003 OF 003


to grow and be a much larger force throughout China.

Comment:
Fertile Ground in South China?
--------------

13. (C) Among the 87,000 protests in China last year,
there are some small, durable links. Not all of the
protests are atomistic spasms related to extremely
parochial interests (although the majority of protests
surely fall in this realm). Instead ChinaQs national-level
rights protection movement seems to be gaining strength and
selecting useful targets for protest opportunities. The
Movement has many advantages. It is made-up of educated
elites with access to international journalists, academics
and other activists throughout China. The Movement seeks
legalistic methods focused on election rights, which hopes
to put pressure on local-level democracy. Moreover, its
birdQs-eye perspective on the country affords it the chance
to select specific weak points to pressure the government
for democratic change. South China will remain fertile
ground for implementing this strategy because of its access
to foreign media in Hong Kong and a high likelihood of
continued protests over corruption, land rights, and land
compensation.

Or Scorched Earth?
--------------

14. (C) However, the Movement has a great challenge before
it. Despite Guo FeixiongQs optimistic predictions, the
likelihood of even 1,000 QindependentQ local
representatives seems difficult to achieve, and the
Movement can be expected to suffer continued harassment of
activists and poor national recognition due to government
censorship. The Chinese Central Government puts enormous
resources and attention into censoring any information
about rural protests that might lead to further unrest.
Moreover, the Government also spends great effort tracking
and blocking activists. However, it does not appear that
the Central Government has carried out a systematic crack-
down on the activist Qelites,Q upon whom much of GuoQs
current strategy rests. The Government has been much less
reticent about suppressing protesters. The Government has
expressed little interest in expanding local elections.
However, acknowledging the legitimacy of rural complaints
over the past two or three years, Chinese leaders have paid
greater attention to rural equity issues. Most recently,
they have insisted that land compensation be quickly and
fully paid, based on market value. Also, the 11th Five-
year Plan, begun in 2006, places a premium on bringing the
benefits of the city to rural areas through its QBuilding
the New Socialist CountrysideQ program, likely an effort to
mitigate on-going rural complaints.


15. (U) Embassy Beijing has cleared this cable.

DONG