YEAR OF LITTLE PROGRESS FOR EAST CHINA HUMAN RIGHTS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 SHANGHAI 000010

SIPDIS

STATE ALSO FOR DRL O'SULLIVAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/12/2035
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI CH
SUBJECT: YEAR OF LITTLE PROGRESS FOR EAST CHINA HUMAN RIGHTS,
POLITICAL REFORM

REF: A. (A) 09 SHANGHAI 97

B. (B) 08 SHANGHAI 542

C. (C) 09 SHANGHAI 253

D. (D) 09 SHANGHAI 395

E. (E) 09 TOKYO 2862

F. (F) 09 SHANGHAI 368

G. (G) 09 SHANGHAI 174

H. (H) 09 SHANGHAI 249

I. (I) 09 SHANGHAI 351

J. (J) 09 SHANGHAI 67

K. (K) 09 SHANGHAI 386

L. (L) 09 SHANGHAI 126

M. (M) 09 SHANGHAI 374

N. (N) 09 SHANGHAI 231

O. (O) 09 SHANGHAI 178

P. (P) 09 SHANGHAI 462

Q. (Q) 09 SHANGHAI 423

R. (R) 09 SHANGHAI 481

S. (S) 09 SHANGHAI 168

CLASSIFIED BY: BEATRICE CAMP, CONSUL GENERAL, US CONSULATE
SHANGHAI, DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



Summary

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1. (C) East China's scorecard for human rights and political
reform recorded little progress in 2009, despite a few
encouraging signs. Continued prosperity for most inhabitants of
the region along with local governments' tight control over
dissent combined to limit politically charged protests,
activists said. There appeared to be some positive momentum,
however, on the spread of religion and proliferation of
religious organizations despite problems faced by house
churches. East China's netizens also remained active despite
tightened government controls. As the Shanghai 2010 World Expo
draws near, it is not clear whether the local government will
continue to impose measures to restrict freedom of speech and
movement at the same level as 2009. End Summary.



Charter 08 Concerns: Tough Year for Political Officers

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2. (C) The political sensitivities of 2009 were brought starkly
home to the Consulate on the eve of a planned February 11, 2009
reception to commemorate the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln.
The Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office tried to stop the
reception, stating that the event would include invitees who are
"so-called human rights activists and so-called democratic
movement activists." In addition, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs convoked the Charge in Beijing to protest what an MFA
official called the Consulate's plans to hold a "seminar for
human rights activists." Local officials ultimately notified
universities and other institutions in Shanghai that their
representatives should not attend the reception. Zhang Nian, a
professor at Tongji University's Institute of Cultural
Criticism, characterized the government's nervousness about the
year as "extreme," telling PolOff that because of sensitive
anniversaries, such as the sixtieth anniversary of the founding
of the PRC in October, "if you are a Political Officer for the
U.S. Embassy or Consulate, you might as well take a long break
because the Chinese Government is not going to let you do
anything" (Ref A).




3. (C) The government's concern about "human rights activists"
attending the Lincoln reception apparently was directed
primarily at signatories of the Charter 08 human rights

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declaration that called for sweeping political reforms in China.
The document was signed by more than 300 leading intellectuals
and activists and was posted on the internet in December 2008
(Ref B). Six Charter 08 signatories -- three from Shanghai and
three from Hangzhou -- were on the event guest list in their
capacities as long-term Consulate contacts.




4. (C) Of the 303 original signatories to Charter 08, 47 were
from East China, led by 26 from Shanghai and 17 from neighboring
Zhejiang Province (Ref B). PolOff met on several occasions
during 2009 with more than a dozen of the signatories, many of
whom reported harassment by local authorities in 2009. Wen
Kejian, a writer for the Independent PEN and considered to be
one of the leaders of East China's Charter 08 movement, was
placed under house arrest several times, including before and
after the 20th anniversary of the suppression of the Tiananmen
Square Democracy Movement on June 4 (Ref C) and around the
period of the October 1 60th anniversary celebrations (Ref D).




5. (C) Other Charter 08 signatories in East China also were
detained or otherwise harassed during the year:



--Shanghai lawyer Zheng Enchong remained under house arrest for
much of the year because of his support for housing petitioners;



--Feng Zhenghu earned worldwide media notoriety for remaining in
the Customs hall of Tokyo's Narita airport when he was refused
entry to China at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport and
returned to Japan (Ref E);



--Zhejiang University authorities allegedly refused sociology
professor Feng Gang's otherwise qualified application for a
position as dean because of Feng's involvement in Charter 08
(Ref F);



--Shanghai housing activist Chen Enquan reported harassment by
immigration authorities at the land border crossing to Hong Kong.



Political Activists Report Ongoing Harassment

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6. (C) Other rights advocates and proponents of reform,
including lawyers, writers, and housing petitioners, all
reported facing difficulties in 2009's more controlled
environment. In addition, Shanghai authorities detained several
activists before and after the November 15-16 visit of President
Obama to Shanghai. East China contacts in the dissident
community reported a wide range of difficulties during the year.




7. (C) Key cases included the following:



--Shanghai-based lawyer Yan Yiming was beaten by three
"mysterious persons" in mid-April. Yan had received
considerable national attention earlier in the year when he had
requested more information on the Central Government's economic
stimulus package under the Open Government Information (OGI)
Regulation (Ref G);


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--Authorities in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province detained Wu Gaoxing,
a former Tiananmen prisoner who in late May co-signed an open
letter to the government complaining about economic
discrimination against dissidents (Ref H);



--Shanghai civil activist and housing petitioner Mao Hengfeng
reported harassment by police when she attempted to travel to
Beijing on two separate occasions. Mao, who had been released
from prison in late 2008, said several other petitioners were
arbitrarily detained during 2009 (Ref I).



Courts and Local Governments Focus on "Stability"

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8. (C) The Communist Party apparatus continued to exercise
obvious control over the courts and administrative regulations
to quash perceived threats to social stability in East China
over the course of 2009. In mid-October, a court in Jiangsu
Province sentenced university professor Guo Quan to 10 years in
prison on charges of "subversion." Guo had been fired from his
position as a professor at Nanjing Normal University after
writing a series of articles in 2007 announcing the formation of
the China New Democracy Party (CNDP). Similarly, a Hangzhou
court sentenced Wang Rongqing to six years in prison in January
2009 for "subverting state authority" when he organized a
meeting prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics of the China
Democracy Party (CDP) (Ref J).




9. (C) Shanghai courts prevented local attorneys from bringing
class-action lawsuits during 2009, apparently under instructions
from the Communist Party. Wang Fuhua, a professor at Shanghai
Jiaotong University Law School who specializes in class-action
lawsuits, told PolOff in October there "is virtually no chance"
of class-action lawsuits being successful in East China in the
near future because of the lack of an independent judiciary.
East China University of Political Science and Law professor
Tong Zhiwei pointed out during a September meeting that the
Shanghai Bar Association remains a weak organization, which so
far is not willing to challenge the Shanghai Municipal Justice
Bureau and accepts Party guidance to "avoid sensitive cases"
(Ref K).




10. (C) Local governments in East China also enacted more
stringent regulations on residency requirements that further
restricted labor mobility. The Shanghai Municipal Government
announced a new permanent residency (hukou) policy in late
February, reportedly ending the quota system for hukou
management and revealing a new set of "requirements" for
converting a temporary resident's permit into a permanent
resident card (Ref L). In Zhejiang Province, continued concern
about the economy -- and its impact on social stability -- was
the impetus for a new residency law, which would require
migrants to register for resident permits (Ref M).



Religious Freedom: Good News and Not-So-Good News...

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11. (C) On the bright side, there appeared to be positive
momentum on certain elements of religious freedom in East China.
Shanghai's Catholic Bishop, Jin Luxian, told House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi in May the atmosphere for religious freedom is

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"more favorable" (Ref N). San Francisco Catholic Diocese
Auxiliary Bishop IGNATIUS Wang was pleasantly surprised to
discover he was permitted to preside over Easter Mass at
Xujiahui Catholic Church in Shanghai (Ref O). Joseph Gu, the
president of the Hangzhou Christian Council and pastor at the
Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) Chongyi Mega Church, told
PolOff in February the number of worshippers at both the
official and house Protestant churches in Zhejiang Province was
growing rapidly. Wu Jianrong of the Shanghai YMCA confidently
asserted during a September meeting that he has witnessed
greater activity among Shanghai's middle class at local churches
in recent years (Ref K). Religious scholar Yan Kejia told
PolOff he was encouraged by the Shanghai Municipal Government's
decision to allow the opening in December 2009 of a new
religious think-tank -- the Center for the Study of Religion and
Culture -- where Yan will serve as director.




12. (C) Activities by religious organizations unrecognized by
the government remain constrained, though. The Shanghai Jewish
community still does not have routine access to Ohel Rachel
Synagogue, though over the last decade the historic facility has
been made available at Hanukah and more recently occasionally
for weddings. In the local Christian community, the closure of
the popular Wanbang House Church in Shanghai's Minhang District
in early November (Ref P) reportedly followed a decision by the
church's leadership to rent or buy a new commercial worship
space for its rapidly growing congregation. Shanghai house
churches face difficulties when they outgrow their meeting
spaces and need to move to new, larger locations. According to
East China Normal University professor Li Feng, "Small house
churches are OK, but public worship in large numbers at an
unrecognized church is not." However, anecdotal information and
interviews with contacts indicate the number of religious
adherents in East China continues to grow rapidly despite local
government controls.



...And More Freedom On-Line

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13. (C) East China netizens found reason for optimism about
trends in internet freedom despite tightened government controls
during 2009. On October 8, fifteen Chinese intellectuals,
including Zan Aizong, a Charter 08 signatory and Hangzhou-based
writer, posted on-line a petition calling for greater internet
freedom. The "Internet Human Rights Declaration" espoused ten
principles in support of on-line "rights," including "freedom of
speech on the internet" (Ref Q). On December 11, Zan told
PolOff he and other activists believe free speech on the
internet is expanding, adding there is possible room for
maneuver on-line for those netizens who "act wisely" in
exercising this freedom. The Chinese Government cannot
completely control the internet, he added. According to Zan,
human rights activists were "very happy" with President Obama's
remarks at the Town Hall event in Shanghai on November 16, which
identified the internet as a powerful mechanism for change (Ref
R).




14. (C) At the beginning of 2009, activists had been concerned
about the fate of 23-year-old Jia Xiaoyin, who had been arrested
in July 2008 for writing in his blog that the murders of six
Shanghai police officers by vagrant Yang Jia were "justifiable"
because the officers had tortured Yang. East China contacts
were pleasedwhen Jia was released in January 2009 after
prosecutors decided not to charge him with libel for "spreading
rumors" (Ref J). East China University of Political Science and
Law professor Tong Zhiwei told PolOff that Jia's release was a
legal victory for proponents of free speech on the internet.




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15. (C) Shanghai-based political reformers, legal scholars, and
internet experts also underscored the growing significance of
the internet as a tool to combat corruption in East China. Wang
Xiaoyu, a Shanghai-based professor, blogger, and Charter 08
signatory, said in March that netizens increasingly post blogs
to expose corrupt local government officials. Anecdotal
evidence suggested the number of on-line reports on corrupt
officials increased in 2009 (Ref S).



Ahead in 2010: The Shanghai World Expo

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16. (C) As the Shanghai 2010 World Expo draws near, municipal
authorities are eager to show their best side to the world.
Local dissidents, however, expect the Expo to result in
additional "temporary measures" such as were in place during
sensitive periods in 2009 and the Beijing Olympics in 2008.




17. (C) Human rights activists outside Shanghai have criticized
the 2010 World Expo for the project's alleged links to coercive
housing relocations. Several housing petitioners in Shanghai,
including Mao Hengfeng, however, told PolOff they do not see a
link between the Shanghai 2010 World Expo and housing
relocations; they are more concerned with long-time harassment
of petitioners that pre-dated Expo planning.



Comment: East China Focused on the Economy

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18. (C) East China's relative wealth means many of the region's
residents enjoy a comfortable lifestyle with considerable
personal freedom. An economic meltdown due to the dramatic fall
in exports at the end of 2008 did not occur. Consequently, most
individuals appear willing to accept the Communist Party's
arguments on the need for stringent measures to maintain
stability. The concerns and complaints voiced by human rights
and political activists may resonate with many members of the
public, but not to such an extent that large numbers of people
would be willing to challenge the authorities head-on. Events
during 2009 demonstrated that the coercive apparatus of the
Party-state is alive and well in East China; we see little
incentive for the local authorities to take steps to liberalize
the existing environment over the coming year.
CAMP