[Joint House and Senate Hearing, 114 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
=======================================================================
EXCERPTED
FROM THE
2015 ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
OCTOBER 8, 2015
__________
Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China
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LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS
House
Senate
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, MARCO RUBIO, Florida, Cochairman
Chairman JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ROBERT PITTENGER, North Carolina TOM COTTON, Arkansas
TRENT FRANKS, Arizona STEVE DAINES, Montana
RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois BEN SASSE, Nebraska
TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California
MICHAEL M. HONDA, California JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
TED LIEU, California GARY PETERS, Michigan
EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS
CHRISTOPHER P. LU, Department of Labor
SARAH SEWALL, Department of State
STEFAN M. SELIG, Department of Commerce
DANIEL R. RUSSEL, Department of State
TOM MALINOWSKI, Department of State
Paul B. Protic, Staff Director
Elyse B. Anderson, Deputy Staff Director
(ii)
Criminal Justice
Introduction
Criminal justice was an area of significant concern during
the Commission's 2015 reporting year. Chinese authorities
introduced discrete reforms that could improve the criminal
justice system's fairness and accuracy.\1\ The Commission did
not observe statistics establishing the impact of reforms from
the past reporting year, such as whether they led to a decrease
in death sentences or a higher rate of convictions being
overturned on appeal. A May 2015 report by an international
human rights non-governmental organization (NGO) found that
Chinese authorities have failed to fully enforce certain
criminal justice reforms introduced in past years, especially
measures that provide for excluding suspects' confessions and
written statements obtained through torture.\2\ Fundamental
structural issues--including the dominance of police \3\ in the
police-procuratorate-court ``iron triangle'' \4\ and the
overriding influence of the Chinese Communist Party \5\--
remained impediments to creating a criminal justice system that
comports with standards dictated by both Chinese law \6\ and
international human rights instruments.\7\ Although reform-
minded individuals both within and outside the government
continued to press for reforms furthering the protection of
human rights,\8\ their ability to bring about meaningful reform
was constrained in a political climate that emphasized
perpetuating one-party rule at the expense of individual
freedoms.\9\
Alternatives to the Criminal Justice System
A narrow view of criminal justice in China that considers
only formal criminal processes fails to capture the full
breadth of extrajudicial measures used by the Chinese
government and Communist Party. So-called ``administrative'' or
otherwise non-criminal measures,\10\ disciplinary actions by
the Party against its own members,\11\ and other actions taken
by Chinese authorities that lack adequate legal support \12\
continued to be tools for suppressing behavior that the
government and Party deem dangerous, socially undesirable, or
threatening to the existing political structure.\13\ For
example, an amendment to the PRC Food Safety Law to take effect
in October 2015 provides that people who add inedible
substances to food can be detained for 15 days without being
afforded the protections in the PRC Criminal Procedure Law.\14\
While not labeled ``criminal'' by the Chinese government,
these ``administrative,'' Party-controlled, and extralegal
measures can restrict personal liberty as severely, if not
more, than some sanctions allowed by the PRC Criminal Law,\15\
and lack sufficient judicial procedures.\16\ These deprivations
of liberty raise concerns under international law because of
the Chinese government's failure to observe international norms
relating to the right to a fair trial,\17\ including as set
forth in the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR),\18\ which China signed in 1998 but still has
not ratified.\19\
administrative measures
In December 2013, the Chinese government ended the
longstanding practice of reeducation through labor (RTL)--a
form of administrative detention that could result in up to
four years' deprivation of liberty without a trial.\20\ The
Commission's 2014 Annual Report cautioned, however, that
alternative ``administrative'' measures remained after RTL's
abolition.\21\ Chinese authorities continued to use various
extrajudicial measures during this reporting year.\22\ For
instance, although the PRC Mental Health Law took effect in
2013,\23\ the use of psychiatric facilities to detain people
who do not necessarily have mental health conditions continued
to receive international attention as a form of arbitrary
detention.\24\ A report by a China-based NGO found that, in
2014, the government used mental health facilities to detain
rights advocates.\25\ Attention has also focused on China's use
of involuntary detention of drug addicts in compulsory drug
treatment centers,\26\ with the public health advocacy NGO
Beijing Aizhixing Institute questioning the conditions of
confinement and use of forced labor at drug treatment centers
in a February 2015 submission to the UN Committee against
Torture.\27\
A focal point of concern has been ``custody and
education,'' a form of administrative detention that can
deprive people of liberty for up to two years.\28\ In response
to a request through China's open government information
system, the government reported there were 116 ``custody and
education'' centers as of August 2014.\29\ Authorities have
largely used this form of detention against sex workers, and
sometimes their customers,\30\ though authorities have also
reportedly used it against government critics.\31\ Although
UNAIDS has advised, ``Sex workers and clients should have
access to high-quality educational opportunities,'' \32\ a
report by the international NGO Asia Catalyst concluded that
``custody and education'' detainees ``are required to engage in
long hours of uncompensated labor, and have few opportunities
for skill training and education.'' \33\ The release of actor
Huang Haibo in December 2014 after six months' detention for
soliciting a sex worker brought greater attention to the use of
``custody and education,'' \34\ but the centers remained in
use.\35\
chinese communist party disciplinary process
The approximately 87 million members of the Chinese
Communist Party \36\ are subject to a complex and opaque
disciplinary process entirely within the Party's control.\37\
The Party has special measures for investigating, detaining,
and punishing members prior to transferring them to the formal
criminal justice system.\38\ Party members can be subject to a
Party disciplinary process called shuanggui (sometimes
translated as ``double designation''),\39\ which requires them
to appear for interrogation at a designated time and place.\40\
Shuanggui not only contravenes the right to be free from
arbitrary detention guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and the ICCPR,\41\ but also violates Chinese
law.\42\ Shuanggui remains governed by internal Party rules
\43\ despite calls by voices ranging from Chinese legal experts
\44\ to a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Conference \45\ for the Party to consider bringing shuanggui
into the legal system.
President and Party General Secretary Xi Jinping's ongoing
anticorruption campaign brought new emphasis on the
intersection of the Party disciplinary process with the formal
criminal justice process.\46\ By April 2015, the campaign had
led to the removal of 100 high-ranking officials in addition to
scores of low-ranking ones.\47\ Most prominently, the June 2015
conviction of Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the Standing
Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party
Central Committee and Minister of Public Security, for bribery,
abusing power, and disclosing state secrets followed months of
detention under the Party's disciplinary process.\48\ The
Tianjin No. 1 Intermediate People's Court sentenced Zhou to
life in prison.\49\ The PRC Criminal Procedure Law provides
that trials be held in open court sessions by default.\50\ In
Zhou Yongkang's case, however, the government chose to hold the
trial entirely behind closed doors, citing the legal exception
for cases involving disclosure of state secrets.\51\
The lack of transparency regarding Party members'
experiences when subjected to disciplinary measures complicates
efforts to evaluate the extent to which the Party's procedures
comply with international human rights norms.\52\ The limited
reports available indicate that, at a minimum, there are
violations with respect to the arbitrary nature of the
detention as well as the conditions of detention.\53\
other extralegal measures
During the past reporting year, the Party and government
continued to take actions without legal basis in order to
silence voices perceived as threatening to the Party's
control.\54\ These extralegal measures were expedient tools for
suppressing dissent and, because the Party and government do
not formally recognize them, have been especially difficult to
monitor and evaluate.\55\ Measures range from home confinement
(sometimes called ``soft detention'' for the Chinese term
ruanjin) \56\ to holding people at secret detention sites known
as ``black jails.'' \57\ Prominent human rights lawyer Gao
Zhisheng,\58\ for example, was released from prison in August
2014 following completion of a three-year sentence for
``inciting subversion of state power.'' \59\ After his release,
however, he remained under 24-hour surveillance at his home
with limited telephone access.\60\
Criminal Law
During the Commission's 2015 reporting year, important
developments took place in the formal criminal justice system
with respect to both the substantive laws that could be used to
support a conviction as well as the procedures that people
undergo once identified as criminal suspects.
This past year the Chinese government adjusted the types of
conduct subject to criminal sanctions and the severity of
possible punishments. The National People's Congress Standing
Committee passed the Ninth Amendment to the PRC Criminal Law in
August 2015 with 51 revisions that will take effect in November
2015.\61\ The Ninth Amendment included positive changes such as
reducing the number of capital crimes \62\ and increasing
protections for vulnerable populations by criminalizing the
buying of women and children.\63\ [For more information, see
Section II--Human Trafficking.] Under the previous iteration of
the law, Article 291 criminalized gathering a crowd to disturb
order in a public place.\64\ The new addition to Article 291
punishes the fabrication and dissemination of certain types of
false information--including regarding ``dangerous
situations,'' ``epidemics,'' and ``disasters''--on the Internet
and other media with up to seven years' imprisonment.\65\ The
amendment did not include definitions of key terms like
``dangerous situations,'' ``epidemics,'' and ``disasters.''
\66\ An amendment to Article 308 provides up to three years'
imprisonment for the transmission of certain information
regarding court cases that are not to be tried in public.\67\
The amendments to Articles 291 and 308 thus create new criminal
liability for transmitting various types of information, in
addition to existing PRC Criminal Law provisions criminalizing
the disclosure of state secrets.\68\ The April 2015 sentencing
of veteran journalist Gao Yu to seven years' imprisonment for
allegedly leaking state secrets \69\ was criticized by foreign
governments \70\ and international non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) \71\ as an abuse of criminal laws to
silence peaceful criticism of the government. [For more
information on Gao's case, see Section II--Freedom of
Expression.]
laws criminalizing terrorism and extremism
The Chinese government's June 2015 report on ``Progress in
China's Human Rights in 2014'' highlighted efforts to combat
terrorism, reporting ``[T]he judicial organs severely punished
crimes such as the terrorist attacks at Tiananmen on October
28, 2013 and at Kunming railway station on March 1, 2014 to
ensure the safety of life and property of the people.'' \72\
During the 2015 reporting year, the government considered
adopting a counterterrorism law \73\ and passed revisions to
the PRC Criminal Law regarding the punishments for
``terrorism'' and ``extremism.'' \74\ The Supreme People's
Court's (SPC) 2014 work report noted a 14.8-percent increase
over the previous year in cases handled by Chinese courts
involving terrorist attacks and ``separatism.'' \75\ The draft
PRC Counterterrorism Law has garnered attention for its
potential to criminalize activities that are freedoms protected
under international human rights norms.\76\ One international
human rights NGO warned that ``in its present form [the PRC
Counterterrorism Law (Draft)] is little more than a license to
commit human rights abuses.'' \77\
``pocket crimes''
This past year, Chinese authorities expanded the use of
``pocket crimes'' (koudai zui) \78\--such as ``gathering a
crowd to disturb social order'' \79\--so named because Chinese
authorities incorporate a wide variety of conduct within their
definitions.\80\ In May 2015, authorities indicted Pu Zhiqiang,
a public interest lawyer, with ``inciting ethnic hatred'' \81\
and ``picking quarrels and provoking trouble'' \82\ related to
comments on his microblog.\83\ The PRC Criminal Law provision
for ``picking quarrels and provoking trouble'' lists four
relatively specific acts,\84\ and the SPC and Supreme People's
Procuratorate have issued a joint judicial interpretation of
the crime.\85\ One expert on Chinese law commented that the
crime ``as applied to Pu's case has to be stretched beyond all
recognition in order to apply.'' \86\ Authorities initially
detained Pu in May 2014.\87\
Authorities have used the offense of ``inciting subversion
of state power'' \88\ to imprison human rights advocates such
as lawyer Gao Zhisheng in 2006,\89\ Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Liu Xiaobo in 2009,\90\ and, in May 2015, democracy advocate
Liu Jiacai.\91\ Similarly, authorities have charged people whom
the government and Party see as threats with engaging in
``illegal business activity.'' \92\ Authorities arrested Guo
Yushan,\93\ founder of the think tank and NGO Transition
Institute, in January 2015.\94\ The Beijing Municipal Public
Security Bureau accused Guo of ``illegal business activity''
for publishing the Transition Institute's various research
reports on tax reforms, education equality, legal reforms, and
social and economic issues.\95\ Authorities released Guo and He
Zhengjun, a Transition Institute manager arrested on the same
charge, on ``guarantee pending further investigation''
(``bail'') the week prior to President Xi Jinping's state visit
to the United States in September 2015.\96\ In December 2014, a
district court in Beijing sentenced Shen Yongping,\97\ the
creator of a documentary about the history of constitutional
governance in China, to one year's imprisonment on the basis
that disseminating copies of the film constituted ``illegal
business activity.'' \98\
Criminal Procedure
Chinese authorities' implementation of key provisions in
the 2012 PRC Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) \99\ remained
inconsistent \100\ during the Commission's 2015 reporting year.
Even when Chinese authorities followed the CPL, they continued
to target government critics in an effort to suppress rights
advocacy.\101\ In March 2015, authorities detained five women's
rights advocates \102\ on suspicion of ``picking quarrels and
provoking trouble'' \103\--later changed to ``gathering a crowd
to disturb order in a public place'' \104\--for planning to
distribute materials calling attention to sexual
harassment.\105\ Authorities released the five women over a
month later on bail (also translated as ``guarantee pending
further investigation''),\106\ meaning that they remained
criminal suspects who were limited in their freedom of movement
and communications for an investigation period of up to 12
months.\107\ After their release, one of the women reported
that authorities summoned her back for eight hours of
interrogation and verbal abuse.\108\ As the government
reportedly continued surveillance of the women,\109\ another
Chinese women's rights advocate wrote, ``The police punished my
friends to intimidate other social and political activists.''
\110\
access to counsel and treatment of lawyers
Following the 2012 CPL's clarification of procedures for
lawyer-client contact,\111\ the Supreme People's Procuratorate
(SPP) introduced new regulations in December 2014 aimed at
improving the ability of lawyers to perform their professional
duties by, for example, emphasizing the right to lawyer-client
meetings in criminal cases.\112\ In March 2015, the head of the
SPP reportedly stated that all levels of procuratorates should
safeguard the rights of lawyers who represent defendants in
major bribery cases \113\--a noteworthy development because
lawyer-client contact had been especially constrained in cases
involving serious bribery, endangering state security, and
terrorism.\114\ In general, however, lawyers continued to face
substantial impediments when trying to play a meaningful role
in criminal cases.\115\ As explained by a Chinese legal
scholar, ``[T]he Chinese government was not prepared to adopt
broad legal protections for defendants, including the right to
remain silent and allowing lawyers to be present during
interrogations.'' \116\ The Commission did not observe any
change in the long-standing problem that most criminal suspects
are not assisted by counsel.\117\
Criminal detentions and prosecutions of lawyers,
particularly rights defense lawyers who took on cases deemed
sensitive by the government, continued during the reporting
year.\118\ Article 306 of the PRC Criminal Law creates a strong
disincentive for lawyers to collect evidence on their clients'
behalf because the government has used the provision to allege
that lawyers who take on sensitive cases have fabricated
evidence or induced witnesses to change their testimony.\119\ A
revision to the PRC Criminal Law amended Article 309 to
stipulate that ``insulting, defaming, or threatening a judicial
officer'' and ``engaging in other acts that seriously disrupt
the order of the court'' may be punishable by up to three
years' imprisonment.\120\ Over 500 lawyers signed an open
letter in November 2014 expressing concerns that this provision
could criminalize lawyers' speech during trials if they
challenge the court.\121\
Lawyers also faced reprisals short of formal criminal
prosecution. In December 2014, authorities detained defense
lawyer Zhang Keke after he invoked China's Constitution in
court while representing a Falun Gong practitioner.\122\
Approximately 260 Chinese lawyers signed an open letter
protesting Zhang's treatment.\123\ In April 2015, court
personnel removed defense lawyer Chen Jian'gang from the
courtroom and detained him after he objected to the court's
decision to shackle his client in contravention of Chinese
law.\124\
Concerns for lawyers' safety go beyond official government
action. In April 2015, unidentified assailants attacked four
defense lawyers outside a court after they had publicly accused
police of having coerced their clients into confessing.\125\
Hundreds of lawyers responded by calling for an investigation
into the beatings.\126\ [For information on a crackdown against
rights lawyers launched in July 2015, see Section III--Access
to Justice--Harassment and Abuse of Human Rights and Public
Interest Lawyers.]
sources of evidence: torture and wrongful convictions
Numerous reports have surfaced over the past decade of
innocent people convicted in China based on faulty
evidence.\127\ The Chinese government for years has
acknowledged the problem of wrongful convictions, including the
use of torture to extract confessions.\128\ In a major policy
document issued in October 2014, the Chinese Communist Party
emphasized strengthening procedures for gathering and using
evidence in criminal cases.\129\ In March 2015, the head of the
Supreme People's Court (SPC) apologized for past wrongful
convictions and called on courts to improve practices.\130\
Also in March 2015, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP)
issued ``Five Major Cases in Correcting Wrongful Convictions.''
\131\ In April 2015, the SPP announced that it was launching a
special campaign to rectify ``miscarriages of justice.'' \132\
According to a December 2014 media report, the SPC was
reportedly drafting more detailed guidance in conjunction with
other government bodies regarding the procedures for excluding
evidence, but this document had not been released publicly as
of September 2015.\133\
Sources continued to report on high-profile wrongful
convictions this past year.\134\ In December 2014, the Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region High People's Court posthumously
overturned an April 1996 guilty verdict for rape and murder
that resulted in the swift execution of Huugjilt, an 18-year-
old ethnic Mongol.\135\ The case's handling came under intense
scrutiny when, in December 2014, the commanding officer faced
criminal charges for using force to extract confessions in
other cases \136\--a rare example of police being held
accountable for their interrogation practices.\137\ Huugjilt
reportedly confessed to the murder after 48 hours of
interrogation but subsequently proclaimed his innocence.\138\
Other examples from the 2015 reporting year included the Fujian
Province High People's Court's decision in August 2014 to
overturn Nian Bin's conviction for murder after eight years in
prison following a coerced confession,\139\ and the Shandong
Province High People's Court's review of the infamous 1995
execution of Nie Shubin for a murder he did not commit.\140\
In early 2015, the Party called for an end to quotas for
``arrests, indictments, guilty verdicts and case conclusions.''
\141\ Depending on the implementation of such a plan,\142\ this
change could positively influence the incentive structure for
police, as well as for prosecutors and judges, by reducing
pressure to extract confessions.\143\ Chinese authorities took
steps to require that police film all interrogations \144\ and
to increase accountability of individual police officers for
their conduct.\145\ In addition, discussions continued
regarding possible adoption of a new PRC Detention Center
Law,\146\ covering interrogation conditions at centers
controlled by the Public Security Bureau.\147\ One Chinese law
professor pointed out, however, that rules for excluding
illegally obtained evidence and other discrete legal reforms
are insufficient,\148\ and improvements to the overarching
structure of the criminal process are necessary.\149\
Chinese authorities have stated their intention to place
greater emphasis on trials,\150\ including increasing citizen
participation in the trial process.\151\ For those cases
proceeding from police investigation to formal charges and a
trial, however, defendants regularly faced substantial
challenges when countering the government's case. China had a
nearly 100-percent conviction rate as of 2013 \152\ and has
long had a practice of leniency for those who confess and
severity for those who do not.\153\ Witnesses rarely appear in
court for questioning,\154\ and the Commission observed few
reports of successful use of the rules on excluding illegally
obtained evidence contained in the 2012 Criminal Procedure
Law.\155\ In a May 2015 report, Human Rights Watch (HRW)
reviewed 158,000 criminal court verdicts published on the
Supreme People's Court (SPC) website and found 432 in which the
suspects alleged torture.\156\ HRW reported that, ``The
defendants were convicted in all 432 cases, and judges excluded
confessions in only 23 cases (6 percent of the verdicts) due to
concerns over police torture. And even in those 23 cases, the
defendants were convicted.'' \157\
The conditions under which suspects confess will be subject
to detailed international scrutiny on November 17 and 18, 2015,
when the UN Committee against Torture (Committee) reviews
China's compliance with the Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.\158\
A number of NGOs have submitted to the Committee issues of
concern ranging from an insufficient legal definition of
torture under Chinese law to the use of extralegal detention
facilities such as ``black jails.'' \159\
clemency and parole
The Chinese government took steps during the 2015 reporting
year to address the use of clemency and parole in criminal
cases. Following issuance in 2014 of various new rules on
commutations and parole by the SPC,\160\ Supreme People's
Procuratorate (SPP),\161\ and the Ministry of Justice,\162\ the
SPP announced in March 2015 that 252 officials were punished in
2014 for ``illegally granting parole or shortening prison
terms.'' \163\ In February 2015, the SPC provided additional
guidance in the form of eight typical cases involving
commutations, parole, and temporarily serving sentences outside
prison.\164\ In April 2015, the Ministry of Justice issued an
``Opinion on Further Deepening Prison Affairs Openness'' that
included provisions on information that should be provided to
the public as well as to the families of prisoners.\165\ The
Ministry of Justice also warned about abuses of the medical
parole system.\166\ This past year, there were allegations that
some wealthy prisoners bought patents to take advantage of an
early release arrangement for prisoners who developed new
technologies.\167\
The PRC Criminal Law further allows early release on the
basis of good behavior.\168\ American geologist Xue Feng was
released on this basis in April 2015, 10 months before the end
of his 8-year sentence.\169\ The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate
People's Court convicted Xue in July 2010 of ``illegally
procuring state secrets'' following a trial reportedly marred
by numerous procedural abuses.\170\
Death Penalty
In its 2014 annual report on the death penalty, the
international NGO Amnesty International once again was unable
to publish an exact figure for executions in China because of
the information's classification and inaccessibility as a state
secret.\171\ Amnesty International noted, however,
``[A]vailable information indicates that thousands of people
are executed and sentenced to death in China each year.'' \172\
There were signs that the overall trend of curbing use of the
death penalty had not reversed course.\173\ The U.S.-based
human rights organization Dui Hua Foundation estimated that
executions would stay steady at about 2,400 in 2013 and 2014
because ``[a]nnual declines in executions recorded in recent
years are likely to be offset in 2014 by the use of capital
punishment in anti-terrorism campaigns in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region and the anticorruption campaign nationwide.''
\174\
Public support in China for retaining the death penalty
remained strong, including in corruption cases.\175\
Nonetheless, in line with the goal announced at the Third
Plenum of the 18th Party Congress Central Committee in November
2013 \176\ of ``gradually reducing the number of crimes
punishable by the death penalty,'' \177\ the Chinese government
reduced the number of capital crimes from 55 to 46.\178\ The
crimes for which the death penalty is most commonly applied
were not among those on the list.\179\
The Chinese government continued to reevaluate the
procedures used to determine and carry out death
sentences,\180\ procedures that were overhauled in 2006 when
the SPC took back final review power of capital cases.\181\ In
January 2015, the SPC issued new measures that detailed how
judges should take defense lawyers' opinions into account
during the review of death sentences.\182\ Courts also
continued to face scrutiny from the general public regarding
whether death sentences were warranted in individual
cases.\183\ An example of public pressure followed the April
2015 decision by a court in Anyue county, Ziyang municipality,
Sichuan province, to suspend the death sentence of Li Yan, a
woman who murdered her abusive husband.\184\ [For more
information on Li Yan's case, see Section II--Status of Women.]
Another point of concern was the conditions under which
detainees on death row are held,\185\ with reports that one
prisoner was handcuffed and shackled for eight years.\186\
According to state-run media, the Chinese government
announced the end of harvesting organs from executed prisoners
starting in January 2015,\187\ but further reported that death
row prisoners remained ``among the qualified candidates for
donations.'' \188\ International medical professionals and
human rights advocates expressed concerns regarding the
voluntary nature of such donations.\189\ One international
human rights NGO cautioned that weaning China off harvesting
organs from executed prisoners was a ``marathon, not a
sprint.'' \190\
Notes to Section II--Criminal Justice
\1\ See, e.g., Supreme People's Court, Measures Concerning
Listening to Defense Lawyers' Opinions in Handling Death Penalty Review
Cases [Zuigao renmin fayuan guanyu banli sixing fuhe anjian tingqu
bianhu lushi yijian de banfa], issued 29 January 15; Supreme People's
Procuratorate, People's Procuratorate Guidelines for Reviews of
Criminal Case Appeals [Renmin jianchayuan fucha xingshi shensu anjian
guiding], issued 29 April 14, reprinted in Procuratorial Daily, 21
November 14.
\2\ Human Rights Watch, ``Tiger Chairs and Cell Bosses: Police
Torture of Criminal Suspects in China,'' May 2015, 3.
\3\ Hu Wei, ``Experts Call for Less Police Dominance in China Legal
System,'' Voice of America, 10 September 14; Murray Scot Tanner and
Eric Green, ``Principals and Secret Agents: Central Versus Local
Control Over Policy and Obstacles to `Rule of Law' in China,'' China
Quarterly, Vol. 191 (September 2007), 644; Kam C. Wong, Chinese
Policing, History, and Reform (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2009),
157. The colloquial term ``police'' encompasses a variety of law
enforcement officials in China, e.g., local public security officers,
state security officers, and People's Armed Police.
\4\ Mike McConville, Criminal Justice in China: An Empirical
Inquiry (Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 2011), 378-79.
\5\ ``Xi Makes the Rules,'' Economist, Analects (blog), 24 October
14.
\6\ See, e.g., PRC Criminal Procedure Law [Zhonghua renmin
gongheguo xingshi susong fa], passed 1 July 79, amended 17 March 96, 14
March 12, effective 1 January 13, arts. 33, 54, 121; Human Rights Watch
(HRW), ``Tiger Chairs and Cell Bosses: Police Torture of Criminal
Suspects in China,'' May 2015. HRW's report describes the Chinese
government's failure to fully implement Articles 33, 54, and 121 of the
PRC Criminal Procedure Law. See also Chinese Human Rights Defenders,
``New Rules on Lawyers' Input on Death Penalty Reviews Too Weak To Cut
Down on Executions,'' 5 February 15.
\7\ See, e.g., UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by UN General
Assembly resolution 39/46 of 10 December 84, entry into force 26 June
87; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by UN
General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 66, entry into
force 23 March 76.
\8\ See, e.g., ``China's Broken Justice System,'' New York Times,
17 March 15. During an annual report to the National People's Congress,
President of the Supreme People's Court Zhou Qiang reportedly stated,
``We deeply reproach ourselves for letting wrongful convictions happen
. . ..'' Luo Guoping, ``Committee Member Li Wai: `Shuanggui' Must Be
Clearly Stipulated by Law'' [Li wai weiyuan: ``shuanggui'' ying minque
rufa], Caixin, 9 March 15; Tom Mitchell, ``Lunch With FT: He Jiahong,''
Financial Times, 20 February 15; Elizabeth M. Lynch, ``Translation--
Beijing News Interviews Tian Wenchang on Custody & Education,'' China
Law & Policy (blog), 25 June 14.
\9\ See, e.g., ``Xi Makes the Rules,'' Economist, Analects (blog),
24 October 14.
\10\ See, e.g., State Council, Measures on Sex Workers' Custody and
Education [Maiyin piaochang renyuan shourong jiaoyu banfa], issued and
effective 4 September 93.
\11\ See, e.g., ``What Is `Shuanggui': Special Organizational and
Investigative Measures'' [Shenme shi ``shuanggui'': teshu de zuzhi
cuoshi he diaocha shouduan], China News, reprinted in Sina, 19 October
03.
\12\ See, e.g., ``To Date, Qin Yongmin and His Wife Kept Under Soft
Detention for Over Two Months'' [Qin yongmin fufu bei ruanjin liang ge
duo yue zhijin], Radio Free Asia, 20 March 15.
\13\ Peter Larson, ``Laying Down the Law: Jerome Cohen on the Rule
of Law in China Pt. 2,'' China Focus (blog), 25 April 15.
\14\ PRC Food Safety Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo shipin anquan
fa], passed 28 February 09, amended 24 April 15, effective 1 October
15, art. 123; Zhou Dongxu, ``Changes to Food Safety Law Include Tougher
Punishments,'' Caixin, 4 May 15.
\15\ PRC Criminal Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa], passed 1
July 79, amended 14 March 97, effective 1 October 97, amended 25
December 99, 31 August 01, 29 December 01, 28 December 02, 28 February
05, 29 June 06, 28 February 09, 25 February 11, arts. 32-58.
\16\ See, e.g., Jerome A. Cohen, ``Incommunicado Detention in
China,'' New York University School of Law, US-Asia Law Institute, 18
April 12.
\17\ UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ``Fact
Sheet No. 26, The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention,'' May 2000,
sec. IV(C).
\18\ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted
by UN General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 66, entry
into force 23 March 76, art. 9(1). See also CECC, 2014 Annual Report, 9
October 14, 207-08, endnotes 14, 15.
\19\ ``Over One Hundred Lawyers and Citizens Urge National People's
Congress To Ratify International Conventions on Human Rights and Enact
Press Laws'' [Yu bai lushi ji gongmin yu renda pizhun guoji gongyue
baozhang renquan ji banbu xinwen fa], Radio Free Asia, 10 March 15.
\20\ ``China Abolishes Reeducation Through Labor,'' Xinhua, 28
December 13.
\21\ CECC, 2014 Annual Report, 9 October 14, 82-84. See also ``Four
Cities Pilot Reeducation Through Labor System Reform; Unlawful
Activities in Education and Corrections To Be Replaced'' [Si shi
shidian laojiao zhidu gaige you weifa xingwei jiaoyu jiaozhi qudai],
Beijing News, reprinted in Xinhua, 29 August 12.
\22\ See, e.g., Human Rights Watch, ``World Report 2015: China,''
last visited 22 June 15.
\23\ PRC Mental Health Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo jingshen
weisheng fa], passed 26 October 12, effective 1 May 13.
\24\ Chinese Human Rights Defenders, ``[CHRB] Forced Psychiatric
Detention Persists 2 Years After China Enacted Mental Health Law,'' 8
May 15. See also Chinese Human Rights Defenders, `` `The Darkest
Corners': Abuses of Involuntary Psychiatric Commitment in China,'' 6
August 12.
\25\ Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch, ``2014 Year-End Report on
Mental Health and Human Rights (Forced Psychiatric Commitment) in
China'' [2014 nian zhongguo jingshen jiankang yu renquan (bei
jingshenbing) nianzhong baogao], 14 January 15; ``Forced `Psychiatric
Care' for China's Government Critics Now Endemic: Report,'' Radio Free
Asia, 15 January 15.
\26\ See, e.g., Dan Levin, ``Despite a Crackdown, Use of Illegal
Drugs in China Continues Unabated,'' New York Times, 25 January 15.
\27\ Beijing Aizhixing Institute, ``List of Issues on the Rights of
Drug Addicts in China Submitted to UN Committee against Torture by
Beijing Aizhixing Institute, on Feb 8th, 2015,'' 8 February 15, 1-2.
\28\ State Council, Measures on Sex Workers' Custody and Education
[Maiyin piaochang renyuan shourong jiaoyu banfa], issued and effective
4 September 93, art. 9; Asia Catalyst, `` `Custody and Education':
Arbitrary Detention for Female Sex Workers in China,'' December 2013.
\29\ Wang Xing, ``Ministry of Public Security Answers Information
Request; Entire Country Presently Has 116 Custody and Education
Centers'' [Gong'anbu dafu xinxi gongkai shenqing quanguo xian you 116
ge shourong jiaoyu suo], Southern Metropolitan Daily, 1 August 14.
\30\ Asia Catalyst, `` `Custody and Education': Arbitrary Detention
for Female Sex Workers in China,'' December 2013, 14, 18-20; Lu Yijie
et al., ``Three Questions on the Measures on Sex Workers' Custody and
Education'' [San wen maiyin piaochang renyuan shourong jiaoyu banfa],
China Youth Daily, 6 June 14.
\31\ Dui Hua Foundation, ``Custody and Education Worse Than
Reeducation Through Labor? '' Dui Hua Reference Materials, 26 December
13.
\32\ ``UNAIDS Guidance Note on HIV and Sex Work,'' UNAIDS/09.09E/
JC1696E, updated April 2012, 10-11.
\33\ Asia Catalyst, `` `Custody and Education': Arbitrary Detention
for Female Sex Workers in China,'' December 2013, 8.
\34\ Wang Gangqiao, ``Robust Constitutional Supervisory System
Makes Custody and Education Abolition a Real Question'' [Jianquan
xianfa jiandu zhidu xi shourong jiaoyu cunfei zhen wenti], Yangcheng
Evening News, reprinted in People's Daily, 2 December 14; Wang Ruiqi,
``Actor Huang Haibo Released After Six-Month Detention,'' Sina English,
1 December 14; Li Yunfang, ``Lawyers Propose Repeal of Measures on Sex
Workers' Custody and Education'' [Lushi jianyi chexiao maiyin piaochang
renyuan shourong jiaoyu banfa], 17 April 14.
\35\ ``Committee Member Zhang Kangkang Calls for Abolition of the
Custody and Education System'' [Zhang kangkang weiyuan huyu feizhi
shourong jiaoyu zhidu], Caixin, 4 March 15.
\36\ Evan Osnos, ``Born Red,'' New Yorker, 6 April 15.
\37\ ``Policing the Party,'' Economist, 1 September 12.
\38\ Tania Branigan, ``Bo Xilai's Fate Lies With the Communist
Party,'' Guardian, 10 May 12.
\39\ Jerome A. Cohen, ``Incommunicado Detention in China,'' New
York University School of Law, US-Asia Law Institute, 18 April 12.
\40\ ``What is `Shuanggui': Special Organizational and
Investigative Measures'' [Shenme shi ``shuanggui'': teshu de zuzhi
cuoshi he diaocha shouduan], China News, reprinted in Sina, 19 October
03; Flora Sapio, ``Shuanggui and Extralegal Detention in China,'' China
Information, Vol. 22, No. 1, March 2008.
\41\ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted and proclaimed
by UN General Assembly resolution 217A (III) of 10 December 48, art. 9;
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by
General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 66, entry into
force 23 March 76, art. 9.
\42\ PRC Constitution, issued 4 December 82, amended 12 April 88,
29 March 93, 15 March 99, 14 March 04, art. 37; PRC Legislation Law
[Zhonghua renmin gongheguo lifa fa], passed 15 March 00, effective 1
July 00, arts. 8, 9. See also Donald Clarke, ``Discipline Inspection
Commissions and Shuanggui Detention,'' Chinese Law Prof Blog, 5 July
14; Eva Pils, China's Human Rights Lawyers: Advocacy and Resistance
(New York: Routledge, 2015), 80; Flora Sapio, ``Shuanggui and
Extralegal Detention in China,'' China Information, Vol. 22, No. 1,
March 2008, 23-24.
\43\ Lucy Hornby, ``China Eyes Rule-Based System but Flexes
Extrajudicial Muscles,'' Financial Times, 16 October 14. See also Fu
Hualing, ``Wielding the Sword: President Xi's New Anti-Corruption
Campaign,'' Social Science Research Network, 7 September 14, revised 8
July 15, last visited 29 July 15, 148.
\44\ ``Pu's Video Workshop Exposed Party Abuses,'' Pu Zhiqiang, The
Lawyer (blog), 22 August 14; Ye Zhusheng, `` `Shuanggui': Between
Discipline and the Law'' [Jilu yu falu zhi jian de ``shuanggui''],
South Reviews, reprinted in Boxun, 13 June 13. For an English
translation of Ye's article, see Dui Hua Foundation, ``Corruption,
Shuanggui and Rule of Law,'' Dui Hua Human Rights Journal, 27 June 13.
\45\ Luo Guoping, ``Committee Member Li Wai: `Shuanggui' Must Be
Clearly Stipulated by Law'' [Li wai weiyuan: ``shuanggui'' ying minque
rufa], Caixin, 9 March 15.
\46\ See, e.g., Tania Branigan, ``Politburo, Army, Casinos: China's
Corruption Crackdown Spreads,'' Guardian, 14 February 15.
\47\ ``Most Complete `Hundred Tigers Map': Guide to High Officials
Sacked Since Start of 18th National Congress'' [Zui wanzheng ``bai hu
tu'': shibada yilai luoma gaoguan yilan], China Economic Net, 27 April
15; Joseph Fewsmith, ``China's Political Ecology and the Fight Against
Corruption,'' China Leadership Monitor, Hoover Institution, Stanford
University, No. 46 (Winter 2015), 19 March 15, 1-2; Human Rights Watch,
``Political Repression at a High Mark,'' 29 January 15.
\48\ ``Zhou Yongkang Sentenced to Life in Prison, No Limits for
Anti-Corruption,'' Xinhua, 11 June 15; Jerome A. Cohen, ``Zhou Yongkang
Case Shows China's Rule of Law Still Good Only in Theory,'' South China
Morning Post, 18 August 14.
\49\ ``Zhou Yongkang Sentenced to Life in First Instance Trial''
[Zhou yongkang yishen bei panchu wuqi tuxing], Caixin, 11 June 15.
\50\ PRC Criminal Procedure Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingshi
susong fa], passed 1 July 79, amended 17 March 96, 14 March 12,
effective 1 January 13, art. 183.
\51\ ``Zhou Yongkang Sentenced to Life in Prison, No Limits for
Anti-Corruption,'' Xinhua, 11 June 15. See also Jerome A. Cohen, ``Why
Was Zhou Yongkang Denied a Public Trial Like Bo Xilai's? '' South China
Morning Post, 7 July 15; ``Can Zhou Yongkang and Others Have Open
Trials? Zhou Qiang: Open in Accordance With the Law,'' [Zhou yongkang
deng shibushi dou hui gongkai shenpan? zhou qiang: yifa gongkai], CCTV,
reprinted in Legal Daily, 16 March 15.
\52\ David Wertime, ``Inside China's Blackest Box,'' Foreign
Policy, TeaLeafNation (blog), 2 July 14.
\53\ ``Bengbu, Anhui, Disciplinary Cadre Dies During Discussion,
Family Members Say Deceased Had Four Broken Ribs'' [Anhui bengbu jijian
ganbu tanhua qijian siwang, jiashu cheng sizhe si gen leigu duanlie],
The Paper, 16 January 15; ``Pu's Video Workshop Exposed Party Abuses,''
Pu Zhiqiang, The Lawyer (blog), 22 August 14; ``Lawyers Call for Probe
Into Torture by China's Party Investigators,'' Radio Free Asia, 15
August 14. See also Jamil Anderlini, ``China Launches Survey of
Suicides Among Communist Party Officials,'' Financial Times, 29 January
15. In early 2015, the Chinese Communist Party reportedly launched a
survey concerning suicides among officials.
\54\ Ian Johnson, ``China's Unstoppable Lawyers: An Interview With
Teng Biao,'' New York Review of Books (blog), 19 October 14. See also
Teng Biao, ``What Is a `Legal Education Center' in China,'' China
Change, 3 April 14.
\55\ See, e.g., ``Chinese Rights Lawyer Marks Ten Months Under
House Arrest,'' Radio Free Asia, 6 May 15; ``Authorities Suppress
Commemoration of Sensitive Figures on Eve of Qingming'' [Qingming
qianxi dangju daya jidian min'gan renshi], Radio Free Asia, 3 April 15;
Rights Defense Network, ``Democracy Rights Defender and Professor Sun
Wenguang Again Held in Soft Detention During Qingming'' [Minzhu weiquan
renshi sun wenguang jiaoshou qingming zai zao ruanjin], 5 April 15;
Rights Defense Network, ``Petitioner Yue Ailing From Zibo, Shandong,
Under Soft Detention for 10 Days for Going to Beijing To Petition''
[Shandong zibo fangmin yue ailing yin fu jing shangfang bei ruanjin
yijing 10 tian], 18 January 15; Rights Defense Network, ``Famous Artist
Mr. Li Xianting Under Soft Detention, House Under Guard'' [Zhuming
yishujia li xianting xiansheng bei ruanjin jia bei shanggang], 2
November 14; Ren Zhongyuan and Yang Baolu, ``Detective Work by Group in
`Black Jail' Claim Leads to Trial,'' Caixin, 23 April 14.
\56\ ``During 26th Anniversary of June 4th, Many Human Rights and
Democracy Public Figures in Guizhou and Zhejiang Placed Under Soft
Detention or Forced To Travel'' [Liu si 26 zhounian qijian guizhou
zhejiang duo ming renquan ji minzhu renshi zao ruanjin huo bei luyou],
Radio Free Asia, 8 June 15; ``To Date, Qin Yongmin and His Wife Under
Soft Detention for Over Two Months'' [Qin yongmin fufu bei ruanjin
liang ge duo yue zhijin], Radio Free Asia, 20 March 15. PRC Criminal
Procedure Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingshi susong fa], passed 1
July 79, amended 17 March 96, 14 March 12, effective 1 January 13,
arts. 72-77. Home confinement without legal basis and ``soft
detention'' (ruanjin) should be distinguished from ``residential
surveillance'' (jianshi juzhu), which is provided for in the PRC
Criminal Procedure Law.
\57\ Chinese Human Rights Defenders, ``We Can Beat You to Death
With Impunity,'' October 2014; ``Shanghai Petitioner Ma Yalian Put in
`Black Jail'; Following Refusal of Required Medical Attention Begins
Hunger Strike'' [Shanghai fangmin ma yalian bei guan ``hei jianyu''
yaoqiu kanbing bei ju bei po jueshi kangyi], Radio Free Asia, 12 March
15. See also Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch, ``Dispatches:
Casting a Light Into China's Black Jails,'' 28 March 14.
\58\ For more information on Gao Zhisheng, see the Commission's
Political Prisoner Database record 2005-00291.
\59\ ``Chinese Rights Lawyer Marks Ten Months Under House Arrest,''
Radio Free Asia, 6 May 15. See also Sophie Richardson, Human Rights
Watch, ``Dispatches: Making 2015 `Unforgettable' in China,'' 7 January
15; Jared Genser, Freedom Now, ``A Major Setback to the Rule of Law in
China,'' The Diplomat, 15 September 14; Teng Biao, ``A Chinese
Activist: Out of Prison but Not Free,'' Washington Post, 7 September
14.
\60\ ``Chinese Rights Lawyer's Phone Calls Limited Under House
Arrest,'' Radio Free Asia, 8 January 15. Dui Hua Foundation, ``Gao
Zhisheng Begins Sentence of Deprivation of Political Rights,'' Dui Hua
Human Rights Journal, 7 August 14; ``Geng He: Gao Zhisheng Is Starting
To Regain His Health and Is Retaining His Self-Confidence and
Optimism'' [Geng he: gao zhisheng shenti kaishi huifu reng baochi zixin
leguan], Radio Free Asia, 9 February 15; Austin Ramzy, ``Family of
Dissident Lawyer Fears for His Health After Prison,'' New York Times,
Sinosphere (blog), 14 August 14. After his release from prison, Gao
began serving a ``supplemental sentence of one year of deprivation of
political rights'' and reportedly suffered from serious medical
ailments.
\61\ National People's Congress Standing Committee, PRC Criminal
Law Amendment (Nine) [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa xiuzheng'an
(jiu)], issued 29 August 15, effective 1 November 15. For previous
drafts, see National People's Congress Standing Committee, PRC Criminal
Law Amendment (Nine) (Draft) (Second Reading) [Zhonghua renmin
gongheguo xingfa xiuzheng'an (jiu) (cao'an) (erci shenyi gao)], issued
6 July 15; National People's Congress Standing Committee, PRC Criminal
Law Amendment (Nine) (Draft) [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa
xiuzheng'an (jiu) (cao'an)], issued 3 November 14. See also National
People's Congress Law Committee, ``Deliberative Conclusions Report
Regarding `PRC Criminal Law Amendment (Nine) (Draft)' '' [Guanyu
``zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa xiuzheng'an (jiu) (cao'an)'' shenyi
jieguo baogao], 24 August 15.
\62\ National People's Congress Standing Committee, PRC Criminal
Law Amendment (Nine) [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa xiuzheng'an
(jiu)], issued 29 August 15, effective 1 November 15; Zhang Yi, ``Fewer
Crimes To Be Subject to Death Penalty,'' China Daily, 31 August 15. See
also Xie Wenying, ``Corruption Is Not Simply a Matter of Sentencing by
the Numbers'' [Tanwu shouhui buneng danchun yi shu'e liangxing],
Procuratorial Daily, 3 November 14.
\63\ National People's Congress Standing Committee, PRC Criminal
Law Amendment (Nine) [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa xiuzheng'an
(jiu)], issued 29 August 15, effective 1 November 15. See also National
People's Congress, ``Explanation of `PRC Criminal Law Amendment (Nine)
(Draft)' '' [Guanyu ``zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa xiuzheng'an
(jiu) (cao'an)'' de shuoming], 3 November 14.
\64\ PRC Criminal Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa], passed 1
July 79, amended 14 March 97, effective 1 October 97, amended 25
December 99, 31 August 01, 29 December 01, 28 December 02, 28 February
05, 29 June 06, 28 February 09, 25 February 11, art. 291.
\65\ National People's Congress Standing Committee, PRC Criminal
Law Amendment (Nine) [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa xiuzheng'an
(jiu)], issued 29 August 15, effective 1 November 15, item 32.
\66\ Ibid.
\67\ Ibid., item 36.
\68\ PRC Criminal Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa], passed 1
July 79, amended 14 March 97, effective 1 October 97, amended 25
December 99, 31 August 01, 29 December 01, 28 December 02, 28 February
05, 29 June 06, 28 February 09, 25 February 11, art. 398.
\69\ Verna Yu, ``Chinese Journalist Gao Yu: An Egg Breaking Against
the Communist Party's Wall,'' South China Morning Post, 16 May 15. For
more information on Gao Yu, see the Commission's Political Prisoner
Database record 2004-05037.
\70\ Office of Press Relations, U.S. Department of State, ``Daily
Press Briefing--April 17, 2015,'' 17 April 15; ``U.S. State Department
Publicly Calls on China To Release Reporter Gao Yu'' [Meiguo guowuyuan
gaodiao huyu zhongguo shifang jizhe gao yu], BBC, 28 April 15; European
Union External Action, ``Statement by the Spokesperson on the
Sentencing of Veteran Chinese Journalist Gao Yu,'' 17 April 15.
\71\ Human Rights in China, ``Heavy Sentence for Gao Yu Exposes
Hollowness of `Rule by Law' in China,'' 17 April 15; Maya Wang, Human
Rights Watch, ``Dispatches: Silencing a Veteran Chinese Journalist,''
15 April 15.
\72\ State Council Information Office, ``White Paper on Progress in
China's Human Rights in 2014,'' reprinted in Xinhua, 8 June 15, sec. 2.
For information on the October 28, 2013, attack in Tiananmen Square,
Beijing municipality, see Rebecca Valli, ``3 Sentenced to Death in
China for Organizing Terror Plot,'' Voice of America, 16 June 14;
Barbara Demick, ``Tiananmen Square Attack Sows Terror in Spiritual
Heart of China,'' Los Angeles Times, 28 October 13. For information on
the March 2014 attack in Kunming municipality, Yunnan province, see
Shannon Tiezzi, ``China Executes 3 for Deadly Kunming Attack,'' The
Diplomat, 24 March 15.
\73\ ``Counterterrorism Law Draft Enters Second Reading, Further
Improving Definition of Terrorism'' [Fan kongbu zhuyi fa cao'an jinru
ershen jinyibu wanshan kongbu zhuyi deng dingyi], China News Net, 25
February 15; Shannon Tiezzi, ``US Claims Victory in Debate Over Chinese
Terror Law,'' The Diplomat, 17 March 15.
\74\ National People's Congress Standing Committee, PRC Criminal
Law Amendment (Nine) [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa xiuzheng'an
(jiu)], issued 29 August 15, effective 1 November 15, item 7.
\75\ Supreme People's Court, ``Supreme People's Court Work Report''
[Zuigao renmin fayuan gongzuo baogao], 12 March 15, 2; ``Cases of
Terrorism, Separatism Up 15%: Chief Justice,'' China Daily, 12 March
15. See also Dui Hua Foundation, ``Xinjiang State Security Trials Flat,
Criminal Trials Soar in 2014,'' Dui Hua Human Rights Journal, 10 March
15.
\76\ Amnesty International, ``China: Draconian Anti-Terror Law an
Assault on Human Rights,'' 4 March 15; Shuan Sim, ``China Terrorism
Crackdown: Rising Cases in 2014 Concern Rights Groups,'' International
Business Times, 12 March 15.
\77\ Human Rights Watch, ``China: Draft Counterterrorism Law a
Recipe for Abuses,'' 20 January 15.
\78\ Xu Qianchuan, ``The Pockets of Criminal Law,'' Caijing, 21
January 14.
\79\ PRC Criminal Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa], passed 1
July 79, amended 14 March 97, effective 1 October 97, amended 25
December 99, 31 August 01, 29 December 01, 28 December 02, 28 February
05, 29 June 06, 28 February 09, 25 February 11, art. 290.
\80\ Zhao Bingzhi, ``Zhao Bingzhi: Be Aware That Picking Quarrels
and Provoking Trouble Has Become a New `Pocket Crime,' '' [Zhao
bingzhi: jingti xunxin zishi zui chengwei xin ``koudai zui''], Wo
Bianhu, 8 May 15; Alinda Vermeer, ``Renowned Chinese Human Rights
Lawyer Still Detained After 10 Months,'' Global Voices Online, 27
February 15.
\81\ PRC Criminal Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa], passed 1
July 79, amended 14 March 97, effective 1 October 97, amended 25
December 99, 31 August 01, 29 December 01, 28 December 02, 28 February
05, 29 June 06, 28 February 09, 25 February 11, art. 249.
\82\ Ibid., art. 293.
\83\ Chris Buckley, ``Human Rights Lawyer Pu Zhiqiang Is Charged''
[Renquan lushi pu zhiqiang bei tiqi gongsu], New York Times, 15 May 15;
Zhang Qianfan, ``Conviction for One's Words Is a Legal Travesty'' [Yi
yan dingzui shi fazhi daji], Financial Times, 22 May 15. See also Perry
Link, ``China: Inventing a Crime,'' New York Review of Books (blog), 9
February 15. For more information on Pu Zhiqiang, see the Commission's
Political Prisoner Database record 2014-00174.
\84\ PRC Criminal Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa], passed 1
July 79, amended 14 March 97, effective 1 October 97, amended 25
December 99, 31 August 01, 29 December 01, 28 December 02, 28 February
05, 29 June 06, 28 February 09, 25 February 11, art. 293.
\85\ Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme
People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of
Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Picking Quarrels and Provoking
Trouble [Zuigao renmin fayuan, zuigao renmin jiachayuan guanyu banli
xunxin zishi xingshi anjian shiyong falu ruogan wenti de jieshi], 15
July 13; Jeremy Daum, ``Quick Note on `Picking Quarrels,' '' China Law
Translate (blog), 6 May 14. See also Edward Wong, ``China Uses `Picking
Quarrels' Charge To Cast a Wider Net Online,'' New York Times, 26 July
15.
\86\ Donald Clarke, `` `Picking Quarrels and Stirring Up Trouble'
in Chinese Law,'' Chinese Law Prof Blog, 1 July 14. See also Edward
Wong, ``China Uses `Picking Quarrels' Charge To Cast a Wider Net
Online,'' New York Times, 26 July 15.
\87\ Luo Jieqi, ``Prominent Lawyer Pu Zhiqiang Arrested'' [Zhiming
lushi pu zhiqiang zao pibu], Caixin, 13 June 14; ``On the Anniversary
of Pu Zhiqiang's Detention; Beijing Prosecutors Conduct Three
Supplemental Investigations'' [Pu zhiqiang shouya zhounian beijing
jianfang sanling buchong zhencha], BBC, 5 May 15; Celia Hatton, ``The
Case Against Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Pu Zhiqiang,'' BBC, China
Blog, 28 January 15; ``Case of Human Rights Lawyer Pu Zhiqiang Enters
Critical Prosecutorial Investigative Period'' [Renquan lushi pu
zhiqiang an jinru shencha qisu guanjian qi], Voice of America, 7 May
15. See also Bernhard Zand, ``Interview with Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei:
The State is Scared,'' Spiegel Online, 20 May 15. Artist Ai Weiwei
commented on the broader implications of Pu's case that, ``There is not
a shred of evidence, of course. No one knows what is going to happen to
him. But his case will show where China will move in the coming years.
Will he get a fair trial? Will there be rule of law in China? Will we
ever respect each other's free speech and opinion? ''
\88\ PRC Criminal Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa], passed 1
July 79, amended 14 March 97, effective 1 October 97, amended 25
December 99, 31 August 01, 29 December 01, 28 December 02, 28 February
05, 29 June 06, 28 February 09, 25 February 11, art. 105.
\89\ Julie Makinen, ``In China, Human Rights Lawyer Leaves Prison,
but Has No Freedom,'' Los Angeles Times, 12 September 14.
\90\ Beijing Mo Shaoping Law Firm, ``Concerning Liu Xiaobo's Appeal
Against the Charge of Inciting Subversion of State Power,'' translated
by Human Rights in China, 28 January 10. For more information on Liu
Xiaobo, see the Commission's Political Prisoner Database record 2004-
03114.
\91\ ``Chinese Activist Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for
Inciting Subversion'' [Zhongguo huodong renshi yin shandong dianfu zui
bei pan 5 nian jianjin], BBC, 11 May 15. For more information on Liu
Jiacai, see the Commission's Political Prisoner Database record 2013-
00281.
\92\ China Digital Times, ``NGOs' `Illegal Business Operation'
[Updated],'' 14 May 15.
\93\ For more information on Guo Yushan, see the Commission's
Political Prisoner Database record 2014-00370.
\94\ Edward Wong, ``China Arrests Activist Amid a Clampdown,'' New
York Times, 6 January 15; Gianluca Mezzofiore, ``Chinese Scholar Who
Helped Blind Dissident Chen Guangcheng Flee Is Arrested,''
International Business Times, 6 January 15; Zeng Jinyan, ``Guo Yushan
and the Predicament of NGOs in China,'' Probe International, 21 May 15.
\95\ Beijing Municipality Public Security Bureau, ``Opinion
Recommending Prosecution for Guo Yushan'' [Guo yushan qisu yijianshu],
2 April 15, reprinted in Boxun, 24 April 15.
\96\ ``China Releases Two NGO Activists `On Bail' Ahead of
President's US Trip,'' Radio Free Asia, 15 September 15.
\97\ For more information on Shen Yongping, see the Commission's
Political Prisoner Database record 2014-00389.
\98\ Edward Wong, ``Prison Sentence for Maker of Documentary on
Chinese Constitutional Rule,'' New York Times, Sinosphere (blog), 30
December 14; Clifford Coonan, ``Chinese Filmmaker Jailed After
Documentary About Constitution,'' Hollywood Reporter, 1 January 15.
\99\ PRC Criminal Procedure Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingshi
susong fa], passed 1 July 79, amended 17 March 96, 14 March 12,
effective 1 January 13.
\100\ Sun Qian, ``Reflections on the Implementation of the Revised
Criminal Procedure Law'' [Guanyu xiugai hou xingshi susong fa zhixing
qingkuang de ruogan sikao], Procuratorial Daily, 9 April 15.
\101\ See, e.g., Maya Wang, ``China's Chilling Message to Women,''
CNN, 7 April 15; ``China's Dissidents Feel the `Chilling Effect' as
Party's Muzzling Tactics Prove Effective,'' Agence France-Presse,
reprinted in South China Morning Post, 10 July 14.
\102\ Chinese Human Rights Defenders, ``[CHRB] 5 Women's & LGBT
Rights Activists Detained in Escalating Clampdown on NGOs (3/6-12/
15),'' 12 March 15. For more information on the five women's rights
advocates and their cases, see the following records in the
Commission's Political Prisoner Database: 2015-00114 on Wei Tingting,
2015-00115 on Wang Man, 2015-00116 on Li Tingting, 2015-00117 on Wu
Rongrong, and 2015-00118 on Zheng Churan.
\103\ PRC Criminal Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa], passed 1
July 79, amended 14 March 97, effective 1 October 97, amended 25
December 99, 31 August 01, 29 December 01, 28 December 02, 28 February
05, 29 June 06, 28 February 09, 25 February 11, art. 293.
\104\ Ibid., art. 291. See also Elizabeth M. Lynch, ``To Arrest or
Not To Arrest--Prosecutors Have to Today To Determine Fate of Five
Female Activists,'' China Law & Policy (blog), 13 April 15.
\105\ Edward Wong, ``China Releases 5 Women's Rights Activists
Detained for Weeks,'' New York Times, 13 April 15; Zhao Sile, ``The
Inspirational Backstory of China's `Feminist Five,' '' Foreign Policy,
17 April 15.
\106\ PRC Criminal Procedure Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingshi
susong fa], passed 1 July 79, amended 17 March 96, 14 March 12,
effective 1 January 13, chap. 4.
\107\ Human Rights in China, ``HRIC Law Note: Five Detained Women
Released on `Guarantee Pending Further Investigation,' '' 13 April 15.
\108\ John Ruwitch and Sui-Lee Wee, ``Chinese Woman Activist Says
Interrogated a Week After Release,'' Reuters, 25 April 15.
\109\ Lu Jun, Yirenping, ``Five Women's Rights Sisters Under Close
Police Surveillance, After Visit, Li Tingting's Close Friend Not in
Contact'' [Nuquan wu jiemei shoudao jingfang yanmi jiankong, li
tingting miyou tanwang hou shilian], Yirenpingnews Google Group, 15
April 15.
\110\ Xiao Meili, ``China's Feminist Awakening,'' New York Times,
13 May 15.
\111\ PRC Criminal Procedure Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingshi
susong fa], passed 1 July 79, amended 17 March 96, 14 March 12,
effective 1 January 13, art. 37.
\112\ Supreme People's Procuratorate, Supreme People's
Procuratorate Regulations on Protecting Lawyers' Practice Rights
According to Law [Zuigao renmin jiancha yuan guanyu yifa baozhang lushi
zhiye quanli de guiding], issued 23 December 14, arts. 2, 5; Chen Kai,
``SPP Introduces New Regulations to Protect Lawyers' Practices,
Resolving `Three Difficulties' and Other Problems'' [Zuigao jian chutai
baozhang lushi zhiye xingui jiejue ``sannan'' deng wenti], China
Internet Information Center, 15 February 15; Zhou Bin, ``Lawyers'
Meetings at Detention Centers Usually Arranged Within Half an Hour''
[Lushi kanshousuo huijian yiban ban xiaoshi nei anpai], Legal Daily, 17
August 15; Xing Shiwei, ``Five Ministries Will Jointly Issue Document
Protecting Lawyers' Practice Rights'' [Wu bumen jiang lian fawen
baozhang lushi zhiye quanli], Beijing News, 21 August 15. See, e.g.,
``Ganyu Procurator Notifies Detention Centers To Correct Violations;
Protect the Right To Meet With Lawyers'' [Ganyu jiancha tongzhi
kanshousuo jiuzheng weifa baozhang lushi huijian quan], Jiangsu
Province People's Procuratorate Net, 14 April 15.
\113\ Luo Sha and Chen Fei, ``SPP: Strict Standards in Major
Bribery Cases for Lawyers' Meetings, Protect Lawyers' Rights and
Interests'' [Zuigao jian: yan'ge guifan zhongda huilu anjian lushi
huijian baozhang lushi quanyi], Xinhua, 24 March 15.
\114\ PRC Criminal Procedure Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingshi
susong fa], passed 1 July 79, amended 17 March 96, 14 March 12,
effective 1 January 13, art. 37; Human Rights Watch, ``China: End
Nationwide Crackdown on Activists,'' 29 June 14.
\115\ Dui Hua Foundation, ``Despite Legal Reform: SPC Still Blocks
Lawyer-Client Access,'' Dui Hua Human Rights Journal, 9 June 15; Wang
Feng, ``One-and-a-Half Years After Implementation of the New Criminal
Procedure Law, Difficulties Meeting Clients and Having Witnesses Appear
in Court Are Still Prominent'' [Xin xing su fa shishi yi nian ban hui
jian nan he zhengren chuting nan wenti rengran tuchu], 21st Century
Business Herald, 15 September 14; Shangquan Law Firm, `` `New Three
Difficulties' Appear for Criminal Defense'' [Xingshi bianhu chuxian
``xin san nan''], Shangquan Criminal Defense Network, 5 November 14.
\116\ Andrew Jacobs, ``Conviction Rates Count More in Chinese
Justice Than Innocence,'' New York Times, 12 May 15.
\117\ Zhang Youyi, ``High Risk and Low Quality, Revealing Criminal
Defense Lawyers' Six Major Difficulties'' [Gao fengxian di zhiliang
jiemi xingshi bianhu lushi liu da nanti], Legal Daily, reprinted in
Nanjing Lawyers Net, 7 January 08; Jia Jinfeng, ``Investigation of
Lawyer Representation Rates in Criminal Cases'' [Xingshi susong anjian
de lushi bianhu lu qingkuang diaocha], Lunwen Wang, 23 December 14; US-
Asia Law Institute, New York University School of Law, ``Professional
Responsibility for Chinese Criminal Defense Lawyers--A Potential Source
of Protected Space,'' 21 October 14; ``Mu Ping: In Twenty Thousand
Criminal Cases, Lawyers Represented [Defendants] in Only 2.5 Percent of
Cases'' [Mu ping: liangwan xingsu'an lushi jin daili 2.5%], Beijing
News, 9 March 12; Zhu Lei, ``CPPCC Member Yu Ning: Proposal To Increase
Criminal Case Lawyer Participation Rate'' [Yu ning weiyuan: jianyi
tigao xing'an lushi canyu lu], Legal Daily, 12 March 12.
\118\ See, e.g., Chinese Human Rights Defenders, ``Silencing the
Messenger: 2014 Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights
Defenders in China,'' March 2015, 20-23; ``China Human Rights Lawyers
Concern Group Calls for Attention to Detained Mainland Human Rights
Lawyers'' [Zhongguo weiquan lushi guanzhu zu huyu guanzhu neidi bei
jiya weiquan lushi], Radio Free Asia, 17 February 15; Amnesty
International, ``China: Drop Politically Motivated Charges Against
Prominent Human Rights Lawyer,'' 15 May 15. For background on the long-
term harassment of Chinese lawyers, see, e.g., Human Rights Watch,
``China: Restrictions on Lawyers Fuel Unrest,'' 30 April 08.
\119\ Human Rights Watch, ``China: Protect Lawyers From Beatings
and Harassment,'' 25 June 15; Human Rights Watch, ``Tiger Chairs and
Cell Bosses: Police Torture of Criminal Suspects in China,'' May 2015,
60, 113; Chen Xiao and Zhu Yuchen, ``The Pain of the Criminal Law's
Article 306'' [Xingfa di 306 tiao zhi tong], Legal Weekend, reprinted
in Legal Daily, 2 July 11; `` `Big Stick 306' and China's Contempt for
the Law,'' New York Times, 5 May 11. The 2010 conviction by a Chongqing
municipality court of lawyer Li Zhuang, for example, received national
and international attention as an abusive use of this provision. See
Wang Huazhong, ``Lawyer for Gang Boss Suspect Gets Prison Sentence,''
China Daily, 9 January 10; Donald Clarke, ``Li Zhuang's Conviction and
the Problem of Witnesses,'' Chinese Law Prof Blog, 8 January 10,
updated 9 January 10; Vincent R. Johnson and Stephen C. Loomis, ``The
Rule of Law in China and the Prosecution of Li Zhuang,'' Chinese
Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1 March 13, 66-83.
\120\ National People's Congress Standing Committee, PRC Criminal
Law Amendment (Nine) [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa xiuzheng'an
(jiu)], issued 29 August 15, effective 1 November 15, item 37. See also
National People's Congress Legal Committee, ``Deliberative Conclusions
Report Regarding `PRC Criminal Law Amendment (Nine) (Draft)' '' [Guanyu
``zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa xiuzheng'an (jiu) (cao'an)'' shenyi
jieguo baogao], issued 24 August 15, item 6.
\121\ ``Legal Opinion on Revisions to Article 35 in `Criminal Law
Amendment (9)' Draft,'' [Guanyu ``xingfa xiuzheng'an (9)'' cao'an di 35
tiao xiugai neirong de falu yijian], reprinted in Boxun, 22 November
14; Joshua Rosenzweig, ``Chinese Lawyers to Chinese Lawmakers: Let Us
Defend Our Clients,'' Asia Society, ChinaFile (blog), 15 January 15;
Frances Eve, ``The Plight of China's Rights Lawyers,'' Asia Society,
ChinaFile (blog), 16 January 15.
\122\ ``Over 200 Chinese Lawyers Jointly Protest Lawyer's Detention
in Court'' [Zhongguo yu 200 ming lushi lianshu kangyi lushi ting shang
bei zhua], BBC, 12 December 14.
\123\ ``260 China Rights Lawyers Protest Detention of Fellow
Lawyer,'' Jurist, 14 December 14. Earlier in 2014, the Wuhan Municipal
Lawyers Association delayed renewing Zhang's lawyer's license
reportedly in connection with his representation of Falun Gong
practitioners. See ``Over a Hundred Lawyers `Fast' in Support of Zhang
Keke'' [Bai duo lushi ``jinshi'' shengyuan zhang keke], Radio Free
Asia, 11 June 14.
\124\ Leo Timm and Frank Fang, ``Chinese Judge on Shackles: `Who
Cares If It's Illegal? ' '' Epoch Times, 28 April 15; Tian Jing,
``Jiangsu Court Violates the Law, 14 Lawyers Jointly Promote Justice
for Colleague'' [Jiangsu fayuan weifa 14 lushi lianhe wei tonghang
shenzhang zhengyi], New Tang Dynasty Television, 5 May 15.
\125\ ``Four Lawyers Beaten at Court in Hengyang, Hunan, Before
Defending Case'' [4 ming lushi zai hunan hengyang chuting bianhu qian
zao ren ouda], BBC, 21 April 15.
\126\ ``Four Lawyers Outside Hunan Court Beaten, 400 Lawyers
Jointly Call for a Thorough Investigation'' [Si lushi hunan fayuan wai
zao ou 400 lushi lianming cu checha], Boxun, 23 April 15.
\127\ Human Rights Watch, ``Tiger Chairs and Cell Bosses: Police
Torture of Criminal Suspects in China,'' May 2015; Ira Belkin,
``China's Tortuous Path Toward Ending Torture in Criminal
Investigations,'' Columbia Journal of Asian Law, Vol. 24, 2011, 273.
\128\ See, e.g., Chinese Communist Party Central Committee,
Decision on Certain Major Issues Regarding Comprehensively Deepening
Reforms [Zhonggong zhongyang guanyu quanmian shenhua gaige ruogan
zhongda wenti de jueding], reprinted in Xinhua, 15 November 13, sec.
9(34); Yue Deliang, ``Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress Standing
Committee Special Supervision of Confessions Extracted Through Torture
and Other Problems'' [Zhejiang sheng renda changweihui zhuanxiang
jiandu xingxun bigong deng wenti], 6 April 14; Chen Hongyang, ``To
Prevent Torture Focus on Excluding Illegal Evidence'' [Fang xingxun
bigong zhong zai feifa zhengju paichu], Guangzhou Daily, 15 May 14;
Yang Yi, ``Top Chinese Procurator Vows To Better Protect Rights,
Prevent Wrongful Judgements,'' Xinhua, 10 March 14; Xing Shiwei,
``Establish `Wrongful Convictions Alert Day' To Reflect Upon Cases of
Injustice'' [Sheli ``cuo'an jingshi ri'' lai fansi yuanjiacuo'an],
Beijing News, 19 August 13; Shen Deyong, ``How We Should Be Preventing
Miscarriages of Justice'' [Women yingdang ruhe fangfan yuanjiacuo'an],
People's Court Daily, 6 May 13; Melissa Bancroft, ``China Admits
Torture Behind Recent Wrongful Convictions,'' Jurist, 20 November 06.
\129\ Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, Decision on
Several Major Issues in Comprehensively Advancing Governance of the
Country According to Law [Zhonggong zhongyang guanyu quanmian tuijin
yifa zhiguo ruogan zhongda wenti de jueding], issued 23 October 14,
item 4(5).
\130\ ``Zhou Qiang Gives Supreme People's Court Work Report'' [Zhou
qiang zuo zuigao renmin fayuan gongzuo baogao], reprinted in Caixin, 12
March 15; Zhang Jian, ``Zhou Qiang: Regarding the Occurrence of
Miscarriages of Justice, We Are Deeply Remorseful'' [Zhou qiang: dui
cuo'an fasheng women shen'gan zize], Beijing Times, 13 March 15.
\131\ ``SPP Releases 2014 Procuratorial Agencies' Rectifications of
Miscarriages of Justice in Five Major Cases'' [Zuigao jian fabu 2014
nian jiancha jiguan jiuzheng yuanjiacuo'an wu da anli], Procuratorial
Daily, reprinted in Supreme People's Procuratorate, 14 March 15. In
October 2014, the SPP publicly released updated standards for reviewing
criminal appeals, the stage at which the higher courts examine cases to
determine whether mistakes were made earlier in the cases' handling.
See Supreme People's Procuratorate, ``People's Procuratorate Guidelines
for Reviews of Criminal Case Appeals'' [Renmin jianchayuan fucha
xingshi shensu anjian guiding], issued 29 April 14, reprinted in
Procuratorial Daily, 27 October 14.
\132\ ``China Launches Special Campaign To Rectify Miscarriages of
Justice,'' Xinhua, 28 April 15. In August 2015, the Supreme People's
Procuratorate issued a document listing eight prohibitions during the
investigation of official crimes that included the prohibition of
torture and other acts of illegal collection of evidence. See Supreme
People's Procuratorate, ``Supreme People's Procuratorate Eight
Prohibitions in the Investigation of Official Crimes'' [Zuigao renmin
jianchayuan zhiwu fanzui zhencha gongzuo baxiang jinling], issued 4
August 15, item 7.
\133\ Xing Shiwei, ``Grueling Interrogations Can Be Considered
Torture-Extracted Confessions in Disguise'' [Pilao shenxun ni suan
bianxiang xingxun bigong], Beijing Times, 8 December 14.
\134\ Jia Shiyu et al., ``Chasing Injustice: 10 Cases, 3 Already
Disposed Of'' [Yuan'an zhui ze: 10 qi anjian 3 qi yi chuli], Beijing
News, 18 December 14.
\135\ ``Courts Find Executed Chinese Teenager `Not Guilty,' '' BBC,
15 December 14; Shi Wansen and Zhang Chi, ``Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region High People's Court Finds Huugjilt Not Guilty'' [Neimenggu
gaoyuan xuanpan hugejileitu wuzui], Legal Daily, 15 December 14. See
also ``Second-Instance Trial in Zhao Zhihong Case Upholds Death
Sentence'' [Zhao zhihong an ershen weichi sixing panjue], Legal Daily,
4 May 15.
\136\ Adam Withnall, ``Parents of Teenager `Tortured' and
Wrongfully Executed for Rape and Murder Watch in Court as Another Man
is Convicted of the Crime,'' Independent, 9 February 15.
\137\ Human Rights Watch, ``Tiger Chairs and Cell Bosses: Police
Torture of Criminal Suspects in China,'' May 2015, 103. Human Rights
Watch noted that, ``Our search of all Chinese court verdicts published
on the SPC website during the first four months of 2014 found only one
case in which police officers were convicted for abusing criminal
suspects.''
\138\ Josh Chin, ``China Court Reverses Death Penalty Verdict, 18
Years Too Late,'' Wall Street Journal, China Real Time Report (blog),
15 December 14.
\139\ William Wan, ``In China, A Rare Criminal Case in Which
Evidence Made a Difference,'' Washington Post, 29 December 14; ``Man
Compensated for 8-Year Wrongful Custody,'' China Internet Information
Center, 18 February 15; Zhu Changjun, ``How To Write the Final Result
of the `Nian Bin Case' '' [``Nian bin an'' de xiaoguo daodi gai ruhe
shuxie], Beijing News, 2 February 15.
\140\ Dui Hua Foundation, ``Quest for Retrial: Court Holds Novel
Hearing on Nie Shubin Case,'' Dui Hua Human Rights Journal, 19 May 15;
Xu Mingxuan, ``Whether Nie Shubin Case Is Reviewed or Not, All Must
Oppose `Intervention of Public Opinion' '' [Nie shubin an fucha yu fou,
dou dei fang ``yulun ganyu''], Beijing News, 5 May 15. See also Zhan
Shanfeng, ``He Weifang: Why I Grabbed Hold of the Nie Shubin Case'' [He
weifang: wo weishenme jiuzhu nie shubin an bu fang], China Business
Morning Post, reprinted in He Weifang's blog, 22 December 14.
\141\ Josh Chin, ``China's Communist Party Sounds Death Knell for
Arrest, Conviction Quotas,'' Wall Street Journal, China Real Time
Report (blog), 22 January 15.
\142\ Stanley Lubman, ``Why Scrapping Quotas in China's Criminal
Justice System Won't Be Easy,'' Wall Street Journal, China Real Time
Report (blog), 30 January 15.
\143\ Shannon Tiezi, ``In China, A Move Away From Conviction
Quotas,'' The Diplomat, 23 January 15; Human Rights Watch, ``Tiger
Chairs and Cell Bosses: Police Torture of Criminal Suspects in China,''
May 2015, 33-34.
\144\ ``Police To Film Interrogations,'' Xinhua, reprinted in China
Daily, 15 February 15. For a critique of the actual efficacy of
recording interrogations in curbing extorted confessions see Wu Liwei,
`` `Preventing and Correcting' Unjust and Wrongful Cases''
[Yuanjiacuo'an ``fang yu jiu''], Caixin, 20 April 15.
\145\ ``China To Hold Police Accountable for Erroneous Cases, for
Life,'' Xinhua, reprinted in China Daily, 15 February 15.
\146\ Susan Finder, ``Senior Chinese Judges Speak Out on Preventing
Injustices in China's Criminal Justice System,'' Supreme People's Court
Monitor (blog), 17 May 15; `` `Detention Center Law (Draft for
Examination)' Experts' Seminar Was a Success'' [``Kanshousuo fa
(songshen gao)'' zhuanjia yantaohui chenggong juban], China Law Society
Research Office, 1 April 15; Wang Shoufeng et al., ``Ministry of Public
Security: Humanized Management Ensures Legitimate Rights and Interests
of Imprisoned'' [Gong'anbu: renxing hua guanli baozhang zai ya renyuan
hefa quanyi], Public Security Daily, reprinted in Legal Daily, 19
September 14. See also Gao Yifei, ``Detention Center Legislation From
the Perspective of Protecting Human Rights'' [Baozhang renquan shiye
xia de kanshousuo lifa], Procuratorial Daily, reprinted in People's
Daily, 2 July 15.
\147\ Xu Xiaotong, ``Can a Detention Center Law End `Death by Blind
Man's Bluff ' '' [Kanshousuo fa neng fou zhongjie ``duo mao mao si''],
China Youth Daily, 14 May 14; Dui Hua Foundation, ``Is Detention Center
Law Enough To Prevent Police Abuse? '' Dui Hua Human Rights Journal, 2
July 14. Detention centers are currently subject to the 1990 Detention
Center Regulations. See State Council, PRC Regulations on Detention
Centers [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo kanshousuo tiaoli], issued and
effective 17 May 90.
\148\ Duan Wen, ``Why Do Courts Dare Not Acquit? '' [Fayuan
weishenme bu gan zuo wuzui panjue?], Phoenix Weekly, reprinted in QQ, 1
April 15.
\149\ Human Rights Watch, ``Tiger Chairs and Cell Bosses: Police
Torture of Criminal Suspects in China,'' May 2015.
\150\ Zhou Bin, ``48-Item Reform Initiative Is a Strong Guarantee
of Impartial Justice'' [48 xiang gaige jucuo quanli baozheng gongzheng
sifa], Legal Daily, 9 April 15; Xing Shiwei, ``Central Judicial Reform
Office: Strengthening of Trial Stage Central in Preventing Miscarriages
of Justice'' [Zhongyang si gai ban: qianghua yi shenpan wei zhongxin
fangzhi yuanjiacuo'an], Beijing News, 31 October 14. See also Tang
Ya'nan and Ji Tianfu, ``From the Perspective of Making Trials the
Central, Preventing the Next Miscarriage of Justice'' [Yi shenpan wei
zhongxin shijiao xia de yuan cuo anjian fangfan], People's Court Daily,
13 May 15.
\151\ Zhou Dongxu, ``Legislature Approves Reform of Jury System,''
Caixin, 27 April 15.
\152\ Andrew Jacobs, ``Conviction Rates Count More in Chinese
Justice Than Innocence,'' New York Times, 14 May 15; Terrence McCoy,
``China Scored 99.9 Percent Conviction Rate Last Year,'' Washington
Post, 11 March 14. See also Supreme People's Court, ``2015 Supreme
People's Court Work Report'' [2015 nian zuigao renminfayuan gongzuo
baogao], 12 March 15, 4.
\153\ Supreme People's Court, ``Opinion on Comprehensively
Deepening Reform of the People's Courts--Fourth Five-Year Outline for
Reform of the People's Courts (2014-2018)'' [Zuigao renmin fayuan
guanyu quanmian shenhua renmin fayuan gaige de yijian--renmin fayuan
disi ge wu nian gaige gangyao (2014-2018)], 4 February 15, para. 13.
See also Margaret K. Lewis, ``Leniency and Severity in China's Death
Penalty Debate,'' Columbia Journal of Asian Law, Vol. 24, No. 2, 2011,
304-32.
\154\ Li Shouwei, ``Witnesses Appearing in Court: A New Scheme To
Resolve a Longstanding Problem'' [Zhengren chuting zuozheng: jiejue lao
wenti de xin fang'an], Chinese Social Sciences Today, 30 April 14; Ma
Aihu, ``Improving the System of Chinese Witnesses Appearing in Court To
Testify'' [Zhongguo zhengren chuting zuozheng zhidu de wanshan],
Lanzhou Lawyer (blog), 3 May 15. See also Human Rights Watch, ``Tiger
Chairs and Cell Bosses: Police Torture of Criminal Suspects in China,''
May 2015, 131; He Xin, ``Dai Yuqing Case: When Witnesses Do Not Appear
in Court, How To Distinguish Between Truth and Falsehood? '' [Dai
yuqing an: zhengren bu chuting zhenjia he bian], Caixin, 27 November
14.
\155\ Ouyang Yanqin, ``Courts Slow To Throw Illegally Collected
Evidence Out of Trials,'' Caixin, 8 January 15; Liu Ling, ``Lawyer Liu
Ling: Speaking Again on Illegal Evidence Exclusion Rules'' [Liu ling
lushi: zai tan feifa zhengju paichu guize], Lawyer Liu Ling's Blog, 9
March 15.
\156\ Human Rights Watch, ``Tiger Chairs and Cell Bosses: Police
Torture of Criminal Suspects in China,'' May 2015, 82.
\157\ Ibid.
\158\ UN Committee against Torture, Annotated Provisional Agenda,
CAT/C/56/1, 4 September 15, item 4; UN Committee against Torture,
``List of Issues in Relation to the Fifth Periodic Report of China,''
CAT/C/CHN/Q/5/Add.1, 15 June 15, paras. 31-32. The Committee most
recently reviewed China in 2008. See UN Committee against Torture,
Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 19
of the Convention: Concluding Observations of the Committee against
Torture: China, Adopted by the Committee at Its 41st Session (3-21
November 2008), CAT/C/CHN/CO/4, 12 December 08.
\159\ See, e.g., Letter From Human Rights Watch to Members of the
UN Committee against Torture, Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights, 12 February 15, 5-7; China Human Rights Lawyers Concern
Group Limited, ``An NGO Submission to the UN Committee Against Torture
for the LOIs and LOIPR of the 54th Session for the 6th Periodic Report
of the People's Republic of China on the Implementation of the
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment,'' 9 February 15, paras. 2-3; Chinese Human
Rights Defenders, ``Specific Information on the Implementation of the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment,'' 9 February 15, paras. 1, 2, 11.
\160\ Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Court Provisions on
Procedures for Sentence Commutation and Parole Case Hearings [Zuigao
renmin fayuan guanyu jianxing, jiashi anjian shenli chengxu de
guiding], reprinted in China Court Network, issued 23 April 14,
effective 1 June 14.
\161\ Supreme People's Procuratorate, Supreme People's
Procuratorate Provisions on Handling Commuted Sentences and Parole
[Zuigao renmin jianchayuan banli jianxing, jiashi anjian gui-
ding], issued and effective 27 August 14.
\162\ Ministry of Justice, Provisions on Work Procedures for
Prisons Proposing Commutations or Parole [Jianyu tiqing jianxing jiashi
gongzuo chengxu guiding], reprinted in PRC Central Government, issued
11 October 14, effective 1 December 14.
\163\ ``China Punishes Officials for Illegal Sentence Reductions,''
Xinhua, 9 March 15. See also Zhang Hong, ``Abuse of Parole System
Targeted in Corruption Crackdown,'' South China Morning Post, 25
February 14; `` `Commutation After an Appointed Time,' `Bail Instead of
Medical Treatment,' `Pay To Get Out'--Committee Members Fiercely Debate
`Covert Jailbreaks' Phenomenon'' [``Dao dian jianxing'' ``bao er bu
yi'' ``ti qian chulong''--daibiao weiyuan reyi ``bianxiang yueyu''
xianxiang], Xinhua, 11 March 15; PRC Criminal Law [Zhonghua renmin
gongheguo xingfa], passed 1 July 79, amended 14 March 97, effective 1
October 97, amended 25 December 99, 31 August 01, 29 December 01, 28
December 02, 28 February 05, 29 June 06, 28 February 09, 25 February
11, art. 81.
\164\ Li Jing, ``Supreme People's Court Releases Eight Typical
Cases of Commutation, Parole, and Serving Time Outside of Prison''
[Zuigao fa fabu jianxing, jiashi, zan yu jianwai zhixing 8 jian
dianxing anli], People's Daily, 13 February 15.
\165\ Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Opinion on Further
Deepening Prison Affairs Openness [Sifabu guanyu jinyibu shenhua yu wu
gongkai de yijian], reprinted in China Court Network, 1 April 15. See
also Yuan Dingbo, ``202 Prisons Establish Platform for Handling
Commutation, Parole, and Serving Time Outside of Prison Cases'' [202
suo jianyu jiancheng jian jia zan ban'an pingtai], Legal Daily, 11 May
15.
\166\ Danzeng Sangzhou, ``Ministry of Justice Answers Question of
Commutation and Parole: Criminals on Medical Parole All Brought Back To
Be Checked'' [Sifabu huiying jianxing jiashi zhiyi: baowaijiuyi zuifan
dou daihui jiancha], China News Service, 5 November 14.
\167\ Austin Ramzy, ``In China, an Ingenious Scheme for Getting Out
of Jail Early,'' New York Times, Sinosphere (blog), 20 January 15;
``China: Wealthy Prisoners Buy `Get Out of Jail' Patents,'' BBC, 19
January 15; Gao Yuyang et al., ``Have `Prison Inventors' Already Become
a Supply Chain? '' [``Jianyu famingjia'' yi cheng chanyelian?], Beijing
Youth Daily, 19 January 15.
\168\ PRC Criminal Law [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa], passed 1
July 79, amended 14 March 97, effective 1 October 97, amended 25
December 99, 31 August 01, 29 December 01, 28 December 02, 28 February
05, 29 June 06, 28 February 09, 25 February 11, arts. 81-86.
\169\ Dui Hua Foundation, ``Dui Hua Welcomes Release of American
Geologist Xue Feng,'' 3 April 15; Xue Feng, ``Thank You,'' reprinted in
University of Chicago, Department of Geophysical Sciences, Faculty Page
of David Rowley, 4 April 15.
\170\ Keith B. Richburg, ``China Sentences American Geologist to 8
Years for Stealing State Secrets,'' Washington Post, 5 July 10; Andrew
Jacobs, ``China Upholds Conviction of American Geologist,'' New York
Times, 18 February 11; ``Beijing Court Upholds Eight-Year Sentence for
American Geologist Xue Feng,'' Congressional-Executive Commission on
China, 23 February 11.
\171\ Amnesty International, ``Death Sentences and Executions
2014,'' 31 March 15, 2.
\172\ Ibid.
\173\ Mara Hvistendahl, ``China Rethinks the Death Penalty,'' New
York Times, 8 July 14.
\174\ Dui Hua Foundation, ``China Executed 2,400 People in 2013,''
20 October 14; Amnesty International, ``Death Sentences and Executions
2014,'' 31 March 15, 11. Amnesty International reported that
``[b]etween June and August [2014], 21 people were executed in the
Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in relation to separate terrorist
attacks.''
\175\ ``No Change Seen in China's Use of Death Penalty Amid Broad
Public Support,'' Radio Free Asia, 2 April 15; Zachary Keck, ``China
Overwhelmingly Supports Death Penalty for Corrupt Officials,'' The
Diplomat, 7 November 14; Lijia Zhang, ``China's Death-Penalty Debate,''
New York Times, 29 December 14; Margaret K. Lewis, ``Leniency and
Severity in China's Death Penalty Debate,'' Columbia Journal of Asian
Law, Vol. 24, No. 2, 2011, 304-32.
\176\ Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, Decision on
Certain Major Issues Regarding Comprehensively Deepening Reforms
[Zhonggong zhongyang guanyu quanmian shenhua gaige ruogan zhongda wenti
de jueding], 12 November 13, sec. 9(34).
\177\ National People's Congress, ``Explanation of `People's
Republic of China Criminal Law Amendment (Nine) (Draft),' '' [Guanyu
``zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa xiuzheng'an (jiu) (cao'an)'' de
shuoming], 3 November 14, sec. 2(1).
\178\ National People's Congress Standing Committee, PRC Criminal
Law Amendment (Nine) [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo xingfa xiuzheng'an
(jiu)], issued 29 August 15, effective 1 November 15, items 9, 11, 41,
49; Zhang Yi, ``Fewer Crimes To Be Subject to Death Penalty,'' China
Daily, 31 August 15. See also National People's Congress Legal
Committee, ``Deliberative Conclusions Report Regarding `PRC Criminal
Law Amendment (Nine) (Draft)' '' [Guanyu ``zhonghua renmin gongheguo
xingfa xiuzheng'an (jiu) (cao'an)'' shenyi jieguo baogao], 24 August
15, item 8. The revisions to the PRC Criminal Law further heighten the
legal requirements for executing prisoners who are sentenced to death
with a two-year reprieve. National People's Congress Standing
Committee, PRC Criminal Law Amendment (Nine) [Zhonghua renmin gongheguo
xingfa xiuzheng'an (jiu)], issued 29 August 15, effective 1 November
15, item 2.
\179\ Susan Trevaskes, The Death Penalty in Contemporary China (New
York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), 42-46; Dui Hua Foundation, ``China
Mulls Harsher Penalties for Protesters, `Cults'; Fewer Capital
Crimes,'' Dui Hua Foundation Human Rights Journal, 6 August 15.
\180\ Susan Finder, ``What Does the 4th Plenum Mean for Death
Penalty Reviews? '' Supreme People's Court Monitor (blog), 10 November
14.
\181\ Ren Zhongyuan, ``Death Penalty Review Power Held for Eight
Years; How Does the Supreme People's Court Stay Executions'' [Sixing
fuhe quan shang shou ba nian zuigao fayuan ruhe daoxia liuren],
Southern Weekend, 16 October 14; ``The Death Penalty: Strike Less
Hard,'' Economist, 3 August 13.
\182\ Supreme People's Court, Measures Concerning Listening to
Defense Lawyers' Opinions in Handling Death Penalty Review Cases
[Zuigao renmin fayuan guanyu banli sixing fuhe anjian tingqu bianhu
lushi yijian de banfa], issued 29 January 15, effective 1 February 15;
Dan Yuxiao, ``In Death Penalty Review Cases, Lawyers Opinions Shall Be
Heard'' [Sixing fuhe anjian lushi yijian ying bei tingqu], Caixin, 29
January 15. For a contrasting view see Chinese Human Rights Defenders,
``New Rules on Lawyers' Input on Death Penalty Reviews Too Weak To Cut
Down on Executions,'' 5 February 15.
\183\ Yang Tao, ``It's Possible To Have a System of Hesitating in
Implementation of the Death Penalty'' [Sixing zhixing youyu zhidu zhe
ge keyi you], Beijing Youth Daily, 12 February 15; Lijia Zhang,
``China's Death Penalty Debate,'' New York Times, 29 December 14.
\184\ Didi Kirsten Tatlow, ``Courts in China Face Balancing Act on
Domestic Abuse,'' New York Times, Sinosphere (blog), 6 May 15; Ren
Zhongyuan, ``Shadow of Domestic Abuse Over Protection of Women's
Rights; Failure To Fully Reverse Li Yan Case'' [Jiabao yinying xia de
funu quanyi baohu weineng wanquan fanzhuan de li yan an], Southern
Weekend, 30 April 15. See also Chenjie Ma, ``China's Death Penalty
Practice Undermines the Integrity of the Death Penalty as a Sentencing
Option,'' Australian Journal of Asian Law, Vol. 15, No. 2, 7.
\185\ Chen Baocheng, ``Continuing To Ask About the Heilongjiang
Incident: How To Monitor `Death Row? ' '' [Zai wen heilongjiang
shijian: ruhe kanguan ``sixingfan''?], Caixin, 3 September 14.
\186\ Human Rights Watch, ``Tiger Chairs and Cell Bosses: Police
Torture of Criminal Suspects in China,'' May 2015, 5.
\187\ ``China Will Completely Stop Use of Executed Prisoners'
Organs as Donor Source of Organ Transplants'' [Zhongguo jiang quanmian
tingzhi shiyong siqiu qiguan zuowei yizhi gongti laiyuan], China
National Radio, reprinted in Xinhua, 2 January 15; ``China To Scrap
Organ Harvesting From Executed Prisoners,'' China Daily, 4 December 14;
``Weaning China Off Organs From Executed Prisoners,'' Lancet, Vol. 385,
No. 9962, 3 January 15. See also Tania Branigan, ``China To Stop Using
Executed Prisoners as Source of Transplant Organs,'' Guardian, 4
December 14; Alex Hosenball and Cho Park, ``China's New Year's
Resolution: No More Harvesting Executed Prisoners' Organs,'' ABC, 1
January 15. For background information on the topic, see Adnan Sharif
et al., ``Organ Procurement From Executed Prisoners in China,''
American Journal of Transplantation, 2014.
\188\ ``China To Scrap Organ Harvesting From Executed Prisoners,''
China Daily, 4 December 14.
\189\ ``Loopholes Remain in China's Organ Harvesting Ban,'' Radio
Free Asia, 7 December 14; Katie Hunt, ``Why China Will Struggle To End
Organ Harvesting From Executed Prisoners,'' CNN, 5 December 14; Liz
Kerr and Deborah Collins-Perrica, ``Correspondence: Organ
Transplantation in China: Concerns Remain,'' Lancet, Vol. 385, No.
9971, 7 March 15, 856. For an example of a preliminary report on organ
donations following the reforms, see Jia Peng, ``Huang Jiefu: Use of
Executed Prisoners' Organs Stopped for Two Months, Citizens Donate 937
Organs'' [Huang jiefu: siqiu qiguan ting yong liang yue gongmin juan
937 ge qiguan], Beijing News, 6 March 15.
\190\ ``Weaning China Off Organs From Executed Prisoners,'' Lancet,
Vol. 385, No. 9962, 3 January 15, 1.
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