HUMAN RIGHTS DAY DINNER: "08 CHARTER" SIGNATORIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 004493 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2033 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KIRF CH SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS DAY DINNER: "08 CHARTER" SIGNATORIES CALL FOR "SWEEPING REFORM" IN CHINA REF: A. SHANGHAI 523 ¶B. SECSTATE 125694 ¶C. BEIJING 3788 ¶D. BEIJING 2766 ¶E. 07 BEIJING 5974 ¶F. 07 BEIJING 5815 ¶G. 07 BEIJING 3608 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) To commemorate Human Rights Day and the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),the Charge hosted a December 9 dinner for four leading Chinese human rights lawyers and activists. Two of the guests were signatories to the "08 Charter," a manifesto calling for sweeping reforms in China, including political reform, endorsed by 303 leading Chinese intellectuals and activists and released via the internet earlier on December ¶9. The document's publication was timed to coincide with Human Rights Day and highlight the applicability of the UHDR's "universal values" to China. The charter's signers told us they believe that, absent reform, China may be headed for a period of significant unrest and violence. Similar to the late Qing Dynasty, one signatory told Charge, China's rulers today are "locked in a race between reform and revolution." Thus far, Chinese authorities have responded by detaining two activists reported to be key drafters of the charter. Other signatories contacted by PolOffs on December 10 have suffered no consequences. (Other topics discussed at the dinner to be reported septel.) Comment: Although other pro-reform Embassy contacts have for some time expressed concern over the social stability challenges faced by the Party, they have eschewed the dramatic language used in this conversation by the activist signers of the "08 Charter" and instead emphasized the unified and unrivaled power of PRC authorities. End Summary and Comment. ACTIVISTS ATTEND CHARGE'S "HUMAN RIGHTS DAY DINNER" -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) To commemorate Human Rights Day and the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),the Charge hosted a December 9 dinner for four leading Chinese human rights lawyers and activists. The four activists: -- Li Dun, legal activist and recently retired Professor at Tsinghua University's Center for the Contemporary Study of China. Li is best known for his legal advocacy on behalf of AIDS patients. In 2007 he was named one of China's most influential intellectuals by Nan Feng Chuang magazine. -- Mo Shaoping, rights lawyer and founder of one of China's first and most successful law firms. Mo is China's leading legal advocate for political dissidents. -- Wu Ge, rights lawyer and activist who uses litigation strategies to promote change in China. He founded the Tsinghua University Constitutional Law and Civil Rights Center, offering pro bono services to clients who believe their civil rights have been abused. -- Zhang Dajun, founder of the Transition Institute, an independent think tank that focuses on links between economic liberalization and social and political activism. Zhang also runs an online forum on political reform. Zhang is a member of a Christian "house church" and lectures frequently on Christianity and China's modernization. "08 CHARTER": PROMOTING UNIVERSAL VALUES -------------- ¶3. (C) Two of the dinner guests, lawyer Mo Shaoping and think tanker Zhang Dajun, are signatories to the "08 Charter" (lingba xianzhang),a manifesto calling for sweeping reforms in China endorsed by 303 leading Chinese intellectuals, lawyers, writers, artists and activists, which was released via the Internet earlier on December 9. According to the Chinese version of the charter received by PolOff, the document says its signers' "fundamental beliefs" are freedom, human rights, equality, republicanism, democracy and constitutional government. The document's 19 "fundamental proposals" address the following topics: constitutional revision, separation of powers, legislative democracy, judicial independence, making the military answerable to the government (not the Party),guaranteeing human rights, elections for public positions, rural-urban equality, freedom BEIJING 00004493 002 OF 003 of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, citizen education, protection of property, fiscal and tax reform, social guarantees, environmental protection, federal republicanism, and rectifying past injustices. (Comment: Perhaps most notable is the document's call for ending the "one Party monopoly on ruling privileges," tucked away under the "freedom of association" heading.) ¶4. (C) Mo and Zhang described their motivations for signing the document. First, the charter's release was timed to coincide with "Human Rights Day" and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and calls for adoption of the "universal values" contained in the UHDR. Second, the document's signatories wanted to address criticisms that China's intellectuals only "censure" the Party and Government, without offering concrete proposals of their own, Mo said. Zhang noted that, in this instance, Chinese intellectuals have laid out a detailed vision for "sweeping" political, legal, economic, social and cultural reforms. REFORM OR PERISH: CHINA HEADED IN "WRONG DIRECTION" -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Third, the document's signers share a "deep concern" over the "wrong direction" of the country, fearing that, absent reform, China may be headed for a period of significant unrest and violence. Lawyer Mo, who said he "rarely" signs such documents, expressed concern that China has reached a "critical" stage in its development, and he thus felt a responsibility to sign, and edit, the document. Both Mo and Zhang cited the large numbers of mass incidents in China as cause for concern, noting that even the Government in recent years has admitted such events have exceeded "80,000 cases" annually. Similar to the late Qing Dynasty at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, China's rulers today are "locked in a race between reform and revolution," Mo said. In the face of rising dissatisfaction and social unrest, China's Communist Party leaders, as with the Qing, refuse to allow reform and change, which will lead only to further radicalization and unrest, and potential "revolution." The goal of the signatories, therefore, is to effect "peaceful, rational and non-violent" change, but this will only be possible through reform, Mo declared. (Note: Tsinghua Professor Li Dun, though not a signatory to the document, agreed with the seriousness of the challenges facing China, saying the current situation reminds him of that 20 years ago, just prior to the Tiananmen Square protests.) "LAUNCHING A SOCIAL MOVEMENT" -------------- ¶6. (C) A fourth objective of the charter is to "galvanize a social movement," Zhang Dajun declared, arguing that the document is "not a one-off event." That is why the document is entitled a "charter" and not an "open letter." The charter is "extremely influential" among China's "foremost intellectuals," having been endorsed by well-known figures such as former Peking University legal scholar He Weifang, former Zhao Ziyang assistant Bao Tong, the Tiananmen Mothers and many others, Mo Shaoping said. As part of a "long-term process," the signers hope that the document's ideas will spread broadly among the public, with many more Chinese "signing on" to the charter, which remains "open to signature," Zhang stated. The signatories plan to further elaborate upon the ideas contained in the document in the hope that further attention can be drawn to it. ¶7. (C) Zhang Dajun argued that the document's ideas should be "appealing" both to the Chinese public and the Communist Party, given that it is "not very radical." The drafters have "taken into account" the Party's interests, Zhang claimed, by calling, for example, for direct election of officials only at the county level, and not for the Chinese presidency. Moreover, the document calls for rights already enshrined in China's constitution, while also calling for the repeal of "unconstitutional" laws. (Comment: Despite Zhang's assertion that the charter is "not very radical," PRC Communist Party leaders are unlikely to share that view, particularly the sections of the document that call for ending the Party's monopoly on political power.) GOVERNMENT "REACTION" TO THE "08 CHARTER" -------------- ¶8. (C) When asked how the signers hope the Party will react to the charter, lawyer Mo Shaoping said it would be "ideal" if Chinese leaders would provide "any reaction at all," given that many previous initiatives have been "simply ignored." BEIJING 00004493 003 OF 003 Even if there is no official reaction, Mo said, he hopes the leadership will take note of the charter and "address its ideas seriously." According to Zhang Dajun, the Government's initial reaction has unfortunately been to detain two of the document's "principal drafters," dissident writer Liu Xiaobo and constitutional scholar Zhang Zuhua. Both Liu and Zhang were detained by security authorities on the evening of December 8. Police searched their homes and seized their computers and financial records. Zhang Zuhua was subsequently released mid-day on December 9, but Liu Xiaobo's whereabouts remain "unknown," Mo Shaoping and Zhang Dajun said. Zhang noted the "irony" of China detaining such leading dissident intellectuals on the eve of "Human Rights Day." ¶9. (C) PolOff spoke with several other signatories of the charter on December 10, none of whom, so far, has suffered as a result. Dissident intellectual Liu Junning said "nothing unusual" has happened to him. Tibetan blogger Wei Se and liberal intellectual Guo Yushan said everything for them was "normal." Tiananmen "black hand" dissident Chen Ziming told PolOff he was visited by two Ministry of State Security officers December 9, but he considered such a visit "normal" for him and not necessarily related to the charter's release. Chen said he had not heard of any charter signatory other than Liu Xiaobo and Zhang Zuhua being rounded up. Chen Ziming believes the detention of Liu Xiaobo and Zhang Zuhua is meant as a "warning to the activist community" in anticipation of the June 2009 20th anniversary of Tiananmen. Chen also believes the initial reaction by the Government this time was "stronger" than with past petitions because the slowing economy is making the regime worry more about social stability. Liberal intellectual Mao Yushi commented to PolOff that he actually "did not specifically remember" having signed the charter, even though he "fully agrees" with its contents and has suffered "no consequences" as a result of having his name associated with it. COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (C) Dissident signers of the "08 Charter" are watching carefully to see how PRC authorities respond to the document's call for fundamental reforms, beyond the detention of the two activists mentioned above. Despite Zhang Dajun's argument that the document is "not radical," many Communist Party leaders almost certainly will disagree, given their obsession not only with maintaining social stability, but also with nipping in the bud any potential challenge to the Party's monopoly on political power. Despite the fact that Chinese leaders often pay lip service to the need for "political reform," a range of Embassy contacts have long asserted (refs C-G) that the regime is not ready to accept any challenge to its authority. Instead, Party leaders hope to continue incremental tinkering with the current administrative system designed to make Chinese governance more efficient, less corrupt and more responsive in the eyes of the public. In the "08 Charter," many of China's leading liberal intellectuals have publicly expressed their view that such limited attempts are insufficient. Although other pro-reform Embassy contacts have for some time expressed concern over the social stability challenges faced by the Party, they have eschewed the dramatic language used in this conversation by the activist signers of the "08 Charter" and instead emphasized the unified and unrivaled power of PRC authorities. Piccuta