USCC MEETING WITH HONG KONG HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L HONG KONG 003068 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP AND EAP/CM NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/30/2031 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR CH HK SUBJECT: USCC MEETING WITH HONG KONG HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS CLASSIFIED BY: E/P ACTING SECTION CHIEF JEFF ZAISER; REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: ON JUNE 26, HONG KONG CONFEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS (HKCTU) SECRETARY GENERAL LEE CHEUK-YAN AND AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL (AI) HONG KONG-BASED RESEARCHER MARK ALLISON BRIEFED VISITING MEMBERS OF THE U.S.-CHINA ECONOMIC AND SECURITY REVIEW COMMISSION (USCC) ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN THE MAINLAND AND THE PROGRESS OF DEMOCRATIZATION IN HONG KONG. ACCORDING TO ALLISON, THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE PROGRESS ON THE MAINLAND IN THE AREAS OF CONCERN TO AI. HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS WERE PERMITTED TO WORK ON ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL WELFARE, CHILDREN'S AND WOMEN'S ISSUES, BUT IF THEY BECAME INVOLVED IN SENSITIVE HUMAN RIGHTS OR POLITICAL TOPICS, THE GOVERNMENT WOULD "CLOSE THEM DOWN." LEE SAID THAT THERE NOW WERE MORE "CONTRADICTIONS" BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PEOPLE IN THE MAINLAND, INCLUDING CONFISCATIONS OF LAND AND CORRUPTION BY OFFICIALS. PEOPLE WERE INCREASINGLY WILLING TO PETITION OR SUE FOR REDRESS, BUT WERE HAMPERED BY THE CONTINUING DENIAL OF FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE. BOTH LEE AND ALLISON SAID THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT REGARDED WITH PARTICULAR SUSPICION NGOS WITH FUNDING FROM THE USG, AS THE GOVERNMENT TENDED TO BELIEVE THAT THE USG WAS OPERATING "BEHIND THE SCENES," AND LEE SAID THIS SUSPICION ALSO WAS PRESENT, TO A LESSER EXTENT, IN THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT. WHILE IT WAS USEFUL FOR THE USG TO "SPEAK OUT" ON HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES, LEE SAID THE PRC USED NATIONALISM TO BLAME THE USG FOR PROBLEMS AND TO BOLSTER ITS OWN STANDING WITH THE CHINESE PEOPLE. ¶2. (C) IN HONG KONG, LEE SAID THE CURRENT "STALEMATE" BETWEEN THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT AND THE HONG KONG PEOPLE PREVENTED ANY REAL PROGRESS ON DEMOCRATIZATION. THE REPLACEMENT OF TUNG CHEE HWA WITH DONALD TSANG, A "BETTER CHIEF EXECUTIVE," TOGETHER WITH EXCLUSION OF THE POSSIBILITY OF ELECTORAL REFORM FOR THE 2007 AND 2008 ELECTIONS, HAD TO SOME EXTENT NEUTRALIZED THE PRO-DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT. LEE BELIEVED THAT PURSUIT OF DEMOCRATIZATION IN HONG KONG WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT PROVIDED A TEST FOR THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT: IF IT COULD NOT TOLERATE DEMOCRACY IN HONG KONG, WHERE IT IS MANDATED BY THE BASIC LAW, THEN IT CERTAINLY WOULD NOT ALLOW IT TO DEVELOP IN THE MAINLAND. LEE SAID THE ONLY REMAINING TRULY INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER IN HONG KONG WAS THE CHINESE-LANGUAGE "APPLE DAILY," BUT HE FEARED THAT ITS POPULARITY SOMEDAY WOULD ATTRACT AN OFFER FROM A TYCOON THAT WOULD BE TOO GOOD FOR ITS OWNER, JIMMY LAI, TO REFUSE. END SUMMARY. HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES -------------- ¶3. (C) ON JUNE 26, A VISITING DELEGATION FROM THE U.S.-CHINA ECONOMIC AND SECURITY REVIEW COMMISSION (USCC) DISCUSSED THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATIONS IN BOTH HONG KONG AND THE MAINLAND WITH CONFEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS (HKCTU) SECRETARY GENERAL (AND LEGCO MEMBER) LEE CHEUK-YAN AND AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL (AI) RESEARCHER MARK ALLISON. THE USCC DELEGATION INCLUDED VICE CHAIRMAN CAROLYN BARTHOLOMEW; COMMISSIONERS PATRICK MULLOY, KERRI HOUSTON, AND DANIEL BLUMENTHAL; EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR T. SCOTT BUNTON; AND SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST FOR ECONOMICS AND TRADE PAUL MAGNUSSON. HUMAN RIGHTS IN MAINLAND CHINA -------------- ¶4. (C) ON THE MAINLAND, ALLISON SAID THE ECONOMIC CHANGES IN RECENT YEARS HAVE BEEN ENORMOUS, BUT THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE PROGRESS IN THE AREAS OF CONCERN TO AI. WHILE THE NUMBER OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS HAD GROWN, AND IN SOME LOCALITIES THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FORM LOOSE NETWORKS, ALLISON SAID THE ACTIVISTS COULD WORK ON ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL WELFARE, CHILDREN'S AND WOMEN'S ISSUES; IF THEY BECAME INVOLVED IN SENSITIVE HUMAN RIGHTS OR POLITICAL TOPICS, THE GOVERNMENT WOULD "CLOSE THEM DOWN." THAT SAID, HE BELIEVED THE EXISTENCE OF HEALTH AND SAFETY LAWS AND REGULATIONS, EVEN IF THEY WERE NOT ENFORCED, AS WELL AS THE 2003 INCLUSION OF PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE PRC CONSTITUTION, HAS PROVIDED SOME FORMAL LEGITIMACY, BUT NOT PROTECTION, FOR ACTIVISTS. ONE POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INTEREST TO AI WAS THAT THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT, FOLLOWING PRESS REPORTS THAT THE ALLEGED VICTIMS OF FOUR EXECUTED "MURDERERS" REMAINED ALIVE, HAD REINSTITUTED SUPREME COURT REVIEW OF ALL DEATH SENTENCES. ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE, HE SAID THERE HAD BEEN A "BIG CLAMPDOWN" ON MAINLAND JOURNALISTS DURING THE PAST YEAR. ¶5. (C) LEE, NOTING THAT THE HONG KONG ALLIANCE HAD ADDED "DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA" TO ITS SLOGANS FOR THE ANNUAL JUNE 4 CANDLELIGHT VIGIL IN HONG KONG, SAID THAT THERE NOW WERE MORE "CONTRADICTIONS" BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PEOPLE IN THE MAINLAND, INCLUDING CONFISCATIONS OF LAND AND CORRUPTION BY OFFICIALS. ALSO, PEOPLE WERE INCREASINGLY WILLING TO PETITION OR SUE FOR REDRESS. THEY WERE HAMPERED, HOWEVER, BY THE CONTINUING DENIAL OF FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE. LEE AND ALLISON AGREED THAT PROTESTERS REACHED THE GOVERNMENT'S "TIPPING POINT" OR "LINE IN THE SAND" WHEN THEY TRIED TO ORGANIZE, AT WHICH POINT THE LEADERS AND/OR THEIR LEGAL ADVISORS WOULD BE DETAINED. NEVERTHELESS, FACED WITH UNRESPONSIVE OFFICIALS AND THE CORRUPT COURT SYSTEM, LOCAL PROTESTERS, GENERALLY IN RURAL AREAS, OFTEN FELT THEY HAD NO CHOICE OTHER THAN TO SPEAK OUT AND DEMONSTRATE. ALLISON CITED SEVERAL DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST LAND CONFISCATIONS AND A 1997 PROTEST BY UIGHUR ACTIVISTS IN XINJIANG PROVINCE AS EXAMPLES OF POPULAR PROTESTS THAT HAD BEEN SUPPRESSED VIOLENTLY BY THE GOVERNMENT. LEE OBSERVED THAT ANY MORE FUNDAMENTAL "REAL REFORM" ON THE MAINLAND WOULD HAVE TO COME FROM THE TOP DOWN." FOREIGN INTERFERENCE -------------- ¶6. (C) LEE AND ALLISON AGREED THAT THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT REGARDED WITH PARTICULAR SUSPICION NGOS WITH FUNDING FROM THE USG, AS THE GOVERNMENT TENDED TO BELIEVE THAT THE USG WAS OPERATING "BEHIND THE SCENES." LEE SAID THIS SUSPICION ALSO WAS PRESENT, TO A LESSER EXTENT, IN THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT. ACCORDING TO ALLISON, THERE ARE NO "REAL HUMAN RIGHTS NGOS" OPERATING IN THE MAINLAND. HE BELIEVED ANY GROUP THAT WANTED TO WORK ON ANY "VERY SENSITIVE" ISSUE WOULD BE UNABLE TO FIND A SPONSORING ORGANIZATION. MOST OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL NGOS ARE REGISTERED AS COMPANIES WITH THE GOVERNMENT. ¶7. (C) ASKED WHETHER IT WAS USEFUL FOR THE USG TO "SPEAK OUT" ON HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN THE PRC, LEE SHRUGGED AND SAID THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT "HATES THE U.S." ANYWAY, SO IT DID NOT MATTER. ASKED TO CLARIFY, LEE SAID WHAT HE MEANT WAS THAT THE PRC USED NATIONALISM TO BLAME THE USG FOR PROBLEMS AND TO BOLSTER ITS OWN STANDING WITH THE CHINESE PEOPLE BY TAPPING INTO THEIR REAL FEAR OF THE COUNTRY SPLITTING APART AND DEGENERATING INTO CHAOS. ASIDE FROM NATIONALISM, THE GOVERNMENT HAD "NOTHING ELSE TO TURN TO" TO MAINTAIN ITS CREDIBILITY. BEIJING ALSO INCREASINGLY ATTEMPTED TO USE PERCEIVED HUMAN RIGHTS PROBLEMS IN THE U.S. AS "AMMUNITION" FOR COUNTERING U.S. CRITICISM OF THE MAINLAND. ¶8. (C) ASKED ABOUT ALLEGATIONS BY THE FALUN GONG ORGANIZATION THAT BODY ORGANS HAD BEEN "HARVESTED" FROM SOME OF ITS MAINLAND ADHERENTS, ALLISON SAID AI HAD TRIED UNSUCCESSFULLY TO VERIFY THE ALLEGATIONS. HE BELIEVED IT POSSIBLE THAT THE CLAIMS WERE TRUE, GIVEN THE CORRUPT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN COURTS, POLICE, AND HOSPITALS IN SOME MAINLAND LOCALITIES. (NOTE: IN A SUBSEQUENT MEETING ON JULY 12, ALLISON TOLD US THAT AI CONTINUED TO MONITOR THE ORGAN HARVEST ALLEGATIONS, BUT STILL HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO CORROBORATE THE FALUN GONG CLAIMS. END NOTE.) LEE OBSERVED THAT BUYING AND SELLING OF HUMAN ORGANS WAS COMMON IN THE MAINLAND. HONG KONG: STALEMATE -------------- ¶9. (C) IN HONG KONG, LEE SAID THE CURRENT "STALEMATE" BETWEEN THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT AND THE HONG KONG PEOPLE PREVENTED ANY REAL PROGRESS ON DEMOCRATIZATION. HE SAID THAT WHEN THE BEIJING LEADERSHIP DECIDED TO REPLACE TUNG CHEE HWA WITH A "BETTER CHIEF EXECUTIVE" AFTER THE MASSIVE POPULAR DEMONSTRATIONS IN 2003 AND 2004, THEY HAD BELIEVED THAT IMPROVED GOVERNANCE -- TOGETHER WITH EXCLUSION OF THE POSSIBILITY OF ELECTORAL REFORM FOR THE 2007 AND 2008 ELECTIONS -- WOULD NEUTRALIZE OR EVEN "CRUSH" THE PRO-DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT. ADMITTING THAT TO SOME EXTENT THIS STRATEGY HAD BEEN SUCCESSFUL, LEE SAID HE WAS "NOT TOO OPTIMISTIC" REGARDING TURNOUT FOR THE JULY 1 PRO-DEMOCRACY DEMONSTRATION BECAUSE THE CURRENT POLITICAL ATMOSPHERE WAS "NOT SO HEATED." ¶10. (C) LEE BELIEVED, HOWEVER, THAT PURSUIT OF DEMOCRATIZATION WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT PROVIDED A TEST FOR THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT: IF IT COULD NOT TOLERATE DEMOCRACY IN HONG KONG, WHERE IT IS MANDATED BY THE BASIC LAW, THEN IT CERTAINLY WOULD NOT ALLOW IT TO DEVELOP IN THE MAINLAND. HE SAID THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAD BEEN "CLEVER" IN ITS DRAFTING OF THE BASIC LAW: THE LANGUAGE REQUIRING "BALANCED PARTICIPATION" WOULD PROTECT THE STATUS OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY'S FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES, WHILE STIPULATION FOR "GRADUAL AND ORDERLY" PROGRESS TOWARD UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE WOULD ALLOW THE GOVERNMENT TO STRETCH IMPLEMENTATION TO THE YEAR 2047. THIS, HE SAID, WAS THE ANSWER TO THE DEMOCRATS' POPULAR SLOGAN OF "HOW MANY YEARS DO WE HAVE TO WAIT?" FREEDOM OF THE PRESS -------------- ¶11. (C) LEE, NOTING THE IMPORTANCE OF A FREE PRESS IN HONG KONG, OBSERVED THAT "CHINA BUYS UP THE PRESS." HE SAID THE ONLY REMAINING TRULY INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER IN HONG KONG IS THE CHINESE-LANGUAGE "APPLE DAILY," WHICH IS ABLE TO SURVIVE BECAUSE THE HIGH PROFITABILITY OF ITS TAIWAN EDITION ALLOWS ITS OWNER, JIMMY LAI, TO CONTINUE TO PUBLISH WITHOUT FEAR THAT ADVERTISERS MIGHT CANCEL THEIR CONTRACTS. HONG KONG'S OTHER PAPERS, HOWEVER, WERE "LINKED TO TYCOONS" WHO DID NOT WANT TO ANTAGONIZE THE MAINLAND GOVERNMENT AND WHO RECEIVED "PERKS" FROM BEIJING IN EXCHANGE FOR THEIR "FAVORS" TO THE GOVERNMENT. LEE FEARED THAT THE POPULARITY OF THE HIGHLY CRITICAL APPLE DAILY SOMEDAY WOULD ATTRACT AN OFFER FROM A TYCOON THAT WOULD BE TOO GOOD FOR LAI TO REFUSE. TAIWAN -------------- ¶12. (C) LEE SAID THE HONG KONG PRO-DEMOCRACY GROUPS DID NOT RECEIVE ANY SUPPORT FROM TAIWAN. IN THE PAST, TAIWAN'S NATIONALIST PARTY (KMT) HAD FUNNELED SOME MONEY TO HONG KONG, BUT "THEY ALWAYS PICKED THE WRONG HONG KONG PEOPLE" TO SUPPORT. TAIWAN'S DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S PARTY (DPP) HAD NO INTEREST IN SUPPORTING ANY HONG KONG ORGANIZATION, AND DPP LEADER (AND TAIWAN PRESIDENT) CHEN SHUI-BIAN WAS NOT POPULAR IN HONG KONG. CONVERSELY, KMT LEADER MA YING-JEOU WAS HIGHLY POPULAR IN HONG KONG, AND WERE HE ELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF TAIWAN IN THE 2008 ELECTION, THE IMAGE OF TAIWAN WOULD BE BOOSTED IN HONG KONG. LEE ALSO OBSERVED THAT COMPANIES FROM TAIWAN, AS WELL AS SOUTH KOREA, GENERALLY WERE NOT SUPPORTIVE OF PRO-LABOR EFFORTS IN THE MAINLAND. ¶13. (SBU) THE USCC DELEGATION HAS CLEARED THIS CABLE. MULLINS