PRC: DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST UNDETERRED BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 003057 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/05/2029 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL PTER CH SUBJECT: PRC: DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST UNDETERRED BY REFORM-THROUGH-LABOR SENTENCE Classified By: Political Section Chief Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.4 (b/ d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Zhu Juru, a Jiangxi province native and university professor, was recently released from a one-year term in a reeducation through labor (RTL) facility. In an October 28 meeting with PolOff, Zhu stated his intention to continue his efforts to bring about democratic reforms in China. Zhu advocates the adoption of a multi-party system with direct elections and plans to submit a petition outlining his views to the March 2010 session of the National People's Congress (NPC). End Summary. From Tiananmen Activist to RTL Detainee -------------- ¶2. (C) PolOff met October 28 with Zhu Juru, a democracy activist and associate of recently convicted Nanjing University professor and democracy activist Guo Quan. Zhu has worked as a professor since graduating from college in ¶1986. Zhu stated that he had been present during the 1989 Tiananmen demonstrations and afterwards had returned to Jiangxi province to engage in social advocacy on behalf of workers. ¶3. (C) Once back in Jiangxi, he began to speak to the media urging investigations of violations of workers rights and government corruption. Starting in 2004, Zhu reported, he began to receive more police attention. In 2005, he wrote an article generally critical of one-party political systems and posted it on the Internet. In 2008, Zhu met with Guo Quan and shortly thereafter was warned that his activities were threatening state security ("weixie guojia anquan") and constituted subversion of state power ("dianfu guojia zhengquan"). Zhu was not charged with any crimes at that time. ¶4. (C) Zhu said he wrote an open letter, which he shared with PolOff, before the 2008 Beijing Olympic games calling for China to implement "a multi-party system with fair competition and direct elections." Shortly after publishing the letter, Zhu was detained, and on August 28 he was sentenced to one year of reeducation through labor on charges of questioning the one-party system, enflaming public dissatisfaction with the government and attempting to subvert the current political regime. ¶5. (C) Zhu told PolOff he had been detained from July 29, 2008, to July 28, 2009, in the Number Two reeducation through labor facility in Guo'an City, Jiangxi province. While detained, Zhu reported, he worked daily from 5:30am to 9:30pm with only 10-15-minute breaks to eat. Vows to Continue Democracy Efforts -------------- ¶6. (C) Although only recently released from detention, Zhu said, he remained committed to continuing his activism. Zhu and a group of other democracy activists were preparing to send a petition on democratization and direct elections to the National People's Congress (NPC) when it convenes in March 2010. Zhu characterized the petition as sharing the democratic principles of Charter 08. ¶7. (C) The document, entitled "Open Recommendations on Direct Elections of the PRC President," begins with a recommendation that the "President of the PRC be directly elected by the people, not by the National People's Congress, in order to guarantee that the PRC President is openly, transparently and legally produced, conscientiously performs his duties after taking office, forms a responsible government, and builds a harmonious society." Zhu's document iterates seven articles of the Chinese constitution which support the use of direct elections, such as Article II, paragraph 1, which states, "All the power of the People's Republic of China belongs to the people." Personal Security and 60th Anniversary Restrictions -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) Due to constant surveillance and concerns over the safety of his family members, Zhu said, he has separated from his wife and child. Zhu reported regular harassment, including often being photographed during meetings and being prevented from moving freely. The local Public Security Bureau in his home of Xinyu, Jiangxi, told Zhu he was prohibited from traveling to Beijing October 1)15, during celebrations marking the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Zhu believed that BEIJING 00003057 002 OF 002 security officials had been aware of a 2008 meeting with democracy activist Guo Quan, which led to his own arrest. Zhu currently is unemployed, having been fired by his employer of 20 years, the Xinyu County Vocational College, because of his political views. Urges U.S. Attention on Democracy Efforts in China -------------- -------------- ¶9. (C) Zhu urged the USG to continue to press the Chinese government to stop repression of democracy activists. Zhu appealed to the United States to intervene with the Chinese government on behalf of Guo Quan and other democracy activists, such as Liu Xiaobo. (Note: Embassy has raised concern about these particular cases, among many others.) HUNTSMAN