PRC NERVOUSNESS OVER HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 003126 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2029 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL CH SUBJECT: PRC NERVOUSNESS OVER HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN LEAD-UP TO PRESIDENT'S VISIT: DEMARCHE AND DETENTIONS REF: A. BEIJING 2811 ¶B. BEIJING 3057 Classified By: DCM Robert Goldberg. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Embassy contacts confirm press reports of increased restrictions on and detention of activists and dissidents in the lead-up to the President's November 15-18 visit to China. The MFA demarched the DCM November 14 to convey concerns over alleged plans for a meeting between the President and the wife of a prominent jailed activist. End Summary. The Usual Suspects: Activists Detained Prior to Visit -------------- --- ¶2. (C) Post contacts corroborated international media and NGO reports of increased detentions and harassment of Chinese human rights activists and dissidents in the lead-up to the President's visit. On November 14, petitioners rights activist Liu Anjun (protect) informed PolOff that Beijing municipal security officials had visited him and instructed him not to leave his house November 14-19. Liu was placed under similar restrictions prior to the October 1 sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the PRC. Liu said that he was aware of many other activists, throughout China, who had received similar warnings, including a lawyer in Xi'an who had been told not to leave Shaanxi province. Also on November 14, PolOff was contacted by Zhu Juru, democracy activist (ref B) who said that he had been informed by the front desk of the hotel where he is staying in Beijing that Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials were looking for him. Zhu was released in July 2009 after spending a year in a re-education-through-labor (RTL) facility. PolOff has been unable to contact Zhu since November 14. MFA Discourages Meeting with Dissidents -------------- ¶3. (C) On November 14, MFA North American and Oceanian Affairs Department Director General Zheng Zeguang protested to the Deputy Chief of Mission alleged plans for the President to meet with the wife of a prominent dissident. DG Zheng said that he understood that "politically-sensitive elements" were preparing for the President to meet with the wife of Liu Xiaobo (drafter of the democracy manifesto Charter 08, who is currently in pre-trial detention on charges of inciting subversion). Zheng said that such a meeting would constitute a "gross interference in China's internal affairs" and would have a negative impact on the President's visit and on U.S.-PRC relations. DCM denied such a meeting was being planned, but made clear that support for human rights remained a fundamental aspect of U.S. foreign policy. HUNTSMAN