"Citizen" Article Writes About "Wei quan" Activists

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 027726 SIPDIS USPACOM FOR FPA SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM SOCI PGOV CH SUBJECT: "Citizen" Article Writes About "Wei quan" Activists Ref: A) GUANGZHOU 25214; B) GUANGZHOU 20891; C) GUANGZHOU 20890; D) GUANGZHOU 18191; E) HONG KONG 02908 (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified. Please handle accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: A recent article in the progressive magazine "Citizen" ("Shimin") profiles ten Chinese activists, linking them under the term "wei quan." Yet the nature of the "wei quan" movement remains unclear, and articles such as this may indicate that various activists are trying to set definitions of what exactly the term "wei quan" means. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) An article in the June 2006 issue of the progressive political magazine "Citizen" ("Shimin") profiles ten activists, grouping them under the term "wei quan" (for more information on "Citizen," see refs A, B, C, and D). "Wei quan," loosely translated as "rights protection," is commonly used when referring to lawyers, journalists, human rights activists, or leaders of specific protests. The term as yet has no fixed meaning, however. (For more information on the various uses of "wei quan," see ref E). The "Citizen" article, written by staff reporter Zuo Dongyun, shows how Zuo attempts to appropriate the term into her own specific meaning. ¶3. (SBU) In the introduction to the ten activists, Zuo writes that they "harbor lofty ideals to promote the democratic autonomy of communities in China, and to build safe and harmonious new-style communities where property owners coexist in harmony with their neighbors and where everyone is well-disciplined and enjoys democracy." In addition, "their actions amount to nothing less than a civic movement [gongmin de yundong] - a trigger spurring the awakening of civic awareness as well as the awareness of democratic self-governance." For Zuo, "wei quan" activists are concerned with democracy and the autonomy of small communities. ¶4. (SBU) However, Zuo ignores other definitions of "wei quan," and treats this definition as the only one. There is no mention of the concerns of other self-professed "wei quan" activists who see themselves fighting for human rights, or those who say it is a grassroots movement coming from the bottom up, without any specific leaders (ref E). Zuo, then, seeks to link democracy and community rights to the "wei quan" movement, in an attempt to create a specific definition for it. She then calls it a "civic movement," claiming that as such it will spur "democratic self- governance." Claiming that this movement has the support of the people gives her definition further legitimacy. ¶5. (SBU) The ten activists themselves come from various backgrounds and diverse interests. Wang Hai, for example, is primarily concerned with combating the production of fake goods. Shu Kexin is the chief executive of the Haiding Harmonious Community Development Center in Beijing, and is concerned with "building harmonious communities in China." Zou Jiajian is a lawyer who sued a developer for installing dangerous elevators in a building. And Cai Ruoyan is a businessman who works with other property owners to resolve conflicts. These "activists," then, are all professionals. Many are lawyers, some are businessmen, and some are scholars. All of them have their own specific interests, and there is little evidence that they see themselves as part of any kind of "movement." Whether or not they consent to be labeled as such, this article groups them together under the umbrella phrase, "a community movement for democracy." Comment -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The definitions that this article gives to members of the "wei quan" movement - democracy, autonomy of communities, and civic awareness - correspond to the broader interests of "Citizen"'s publisher and editors. Editorials in "Citizen" often link concepts such as "democracy" and "freedom" to seemingly unrelated issues (ref A). A similar practice can be seen in this article. As contacts involved with "Citizen" told Congenoffs in previous meetings, the magazine's ultimate goal is to develop a foundation of civic awareness in China, in preparation for future political change (refs C and D). With that ambition in mind, defining "wei quan" as a "civic movement" is more appealing than an unorganized, undefined understanding of a term. End comment. GUANGZHOU 00027726 002 OF 002 MARTIN