[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 55 (Wednesday, April 21, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E719-E721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CHINA'S XINJIANG REGION: AMNESTY 
             INTERNATIONAL REPORT DOCUMENTS SERIOUS ABUSES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 21, 1999

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of 
our Colleagues an outstanding but deeply troubling report by Amnesty 
International which was released by Amnesty at a press conference 
earlier today sponsored by the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.
  The report--entitled ``People's Republic of China: Gross Violations 
of Human Rights in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region''--documents 
in an unprecedented fashion the outrageous human rights violations in 
this autonomous region of China, which borders several Central Asian 
countries. These egregious human rights violations are committed 
primarily against the Uighurs, the majority ethnic group among the 
predominantly Muslim local population.
  The appalling human rights violations, which are documented and 
verified for the first time by a leading international human rights 
organization, include a pattern of arbitrary and summary executions, 
torture, arbitrary detention and unjust political trials. For the first 
time, the Amnesty report was able to document 210 death sentences and 
190 executions of political prisoners in this region. In addition, the 
report also documents the cases of 200 political prisoners and 
prisoners of conscience who were arrested during the 1990s and are 
still believed to be imprisoned.
  Amnesty International further highlights the outrageous use of 
particular torture techniques which are sexual in nature, and not known 
to be used in other areas of the People's Republic. These forms of 
torture include the insertion of horsehair into the penis, as well as 
wires with small spikes.
  Mr. Speaker, this important report further documents the dismal human 
rights record of the People's Republic of China. On Friday, the 
international community has an opportunity to take a stand against 
these despicable human rights practices in China, when the U.S.-
sponsored resolution condemning the PRC for its human rights violations 
comes up for a vote at the UN Human Rights Commission. In the face of 
such unspeakable atrocities which are documented in the Amnesty report, 
I urge nations who are friends and allies of the United States to 
support the strong and principled stand for human rights resolution 
which the United States had introduced.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the executive summary of the Amnesty 
International report on human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uighur 
Autonomous Region be placed in the Record, and I urge my colleagues in 
the Congress to give thoughtful attention to its documentation of the 
deplorable human rights record of China.

                [From Amnesty International, April 1999]

  People's Republic of China--Gross Violations of Human Rights in the 
                   Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region

       In a new 92-page report, Amnesty International documents a 
     pattern of gross violations of human rights in the Uighur 
     Autonomous Region of Xinjiang (XUAR), one of the five 
     autonomous regions of the People's Republic of China (RPC), 
     which borders several Central Asian countries.
       These violations include arbitrary and summary executions, 
     torture, arbitrary detention, and unfair political trials. 
     The main victims of these abuses are the Uighurs, the 
     majority ethnic group among the predominantly Muslim local 
     population in the region.
       Thousands of people have been arbitrarily detained in the 
     XUAR over the past few years and arbitrary arrests continue. 
     Thousands of political prisoners, arrested at various times 
     during the 1990s, are reported to remain imprisoned, some 
     have been sentenced to long prison terms after unfair trials, 
     others still detained without charge or trial after months or 
     years in jail. Many of those detained are reported to have 
     been tortured, some with particularly cruel methods which, to 
     Amnesty International's knowledge, are not being used 
     elsewhere in the PRC. Scores of Uighur political prisoners 
     have been sentenced to death and executed in the past two 
     years. Others are alleged to have been killed by the security 
     forces in circumstances which appear to constitute extra-
     judicial executions.
       These gross violations of human rights are occurring amidst 
     growing ethnic unrest. With a massive influx of ethnic 
     Chinese (or Han) in the XUAR since 1949, the indigenous 
     population has felt increasingly marginalised in what they 
     regard as their ancestral land. Ethnic discontent has also 
     been fuelled by government policies, unemployment, 
     discrimination, unequal economic opportunities, and curbs on 
     fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion.
       Over the past ten years the local ethnic population has 
     witnessed a steady erosion of its social, economic and 
     cultural rights. Economic development in the region has 
     largely bypassed the local ethnic population and benefited 
     mainly Han Chinese. Racial discrimination is reported to be 
     common and unemployment is high among Uighurs. Despite that, 
     the influx of Han migrant workers has considerably increased 
     in recent years.
       These trends have exacerbated long-standing ethnic tensions 
     between Uighurs and Han Chinese in the region, and 
     contributed to the escalation of violence. A growing number 
     of violent incidents have been reported in the region in 
     recent years, including attacks on government officials and 
     offices, and the planting and detonation of bombs. Some of 
     these incidents have been carried out by underground 
     opposition groups seeking independence from China.
       Aspirations towards independence have their roots in both 
     the distant past and recent history. During the 1930s and 
     1940s, two independent Republics of Eastern Turkestan were 
     formed successively in Kashgar (1933) and IIi (1944) as 
     attempts to resist Chinese rule. Both republics were short-
     lived, but they have continued to inspire nationalist 
     oppositions since 1949, particularly among the Uighurs. Over 
     the years, various opposition groups militating for Eastern 
     Turkestan's independence were formed clandestinely in the 
     XUAR--some reportedly supported by exiled nationalist groups 
     established among the Uighur diaspora in various countries. 
     Some of these groups have resorted to violence.
       Since 1990, the Chinese authorities' fears of organised 
     political opposition in the XUAR appear to have been 
     heightened by the emergence of independent Central Asian 
     states which followed the breakup of the Soviet Union, and 
     the rise of Islamic movements as well as protracted conflicts 
     in other neighbouring countries. This has led to a reversal 
     of the relatively liberal policies implemented in the region 
     during the 1980s, notably concerning religion.
       While the ``open door'' policy led to a religious revival 
     in the XUAR during the 1980s, since 1990 the government has 
     reverted to restrictive policies amidst fears that Islam 
     might provide a rallying point for ethnic nationalism and 
     that Islamic movements abroad might inspire young Uighurs. 
     Many mosques and Koranic schools have been closed down in the 
     region and religious leaders who are deemed to be too 
     independent or

[[Page E720]]

     ``subversive'' have been dismissed or arrested. Muslims 
     working in government offices and other official institutions 
     are prohibited from practising their religion, failing which 
     they lose their jobs.
       In the past few years, the Chinese government has responded 
     with harsh repression to growing unrest in the region, 
     blaming it on a ``small number'' of ``separatists'', 
     ``terrorists'' and ``religious extremists'' accused of having 
     links with ``foreign hostile forces'' whose aim is to ``split 
     the motherland''. Since 1996, the government has launched an 
     extensive campaign against ``ethnic separatists'', imposing 
     new restrictions on religious and cultural rights, and 
     resorting increasingly to executions, show trials and 
     arbitrary detention to silence real and suspected opponents.
       Amnesty International recognizes the state's duty to take 
     the measures necessary to maintain law and order, but even in 
     situations of internal strife, this must be exercised within 
     the limits set by international human rights law. Killings by 
     members of armed opposition groups can never provide 
     justification for government forces to deliberately kill 
     defenceless people or torture prisoners in police custody.
       Furthermore, the official reports about ``separatists and 
     terrorists'' in the XUAR obscure a more complex reality in 
     which many people who are not involved in violence have 
     become victims of human rights violations. Over the years, 
     Uighurs' attempts to air their views or grievances and 
     peacefully exercise their most fundamental human rights have 
     been met with repression.
       Amnesty International is calling on the Chinese government 
     to establish a special commission to investigate human rights 
     violations and economic social and cultural needs in the 
     region, to suggest remedial measures and provide a forum for 
     individuals and groups to voice their grievances. It is also 
     calling on the authorities to take immediate measures to stop 
     the gross violations of human rights occurring in the region.


                  Arbitrary detention and imprisonment

       Thousands of people have been arbitrarily detained in the 
     XUAR over the past few years. Suspected Uighur 
     ``separatists'', nationlist sympathisers and people taking 
     part in Koranic classes or religious groups have been 
     particularly targeted. Repression increased in 1997 following 
     protests by Uighurs on 5 and 6 February that year in the city 
     of Gulja (Yining), located near the border with Kazakstan in 
     the west of the XUAR. Between 3,000 and 5,000 people are 
     believed to have been detained in Gulja during the two weeks 
     which followed the protests. Many of them were tortured. Some 
     were released after being held without charge for weeks or 
     months. Others have remained in detention. Arbitary arrests 
     have continued since then, both in Gulja and elsewhere in the 
     region.
       One of those detained for involvement in the February 97 
     protests in Gulja is Abdulhelil, a 28 year-old businessman in 
     the city, married with three children. He was arrested on 5 
     February 1997 for taking part in a peaceful demonstration 
     calling for religious freedom and equal treatment for 
     Uighurs. Abdulhelil was the main leader of the ``meshreps'', 
     a traditional form of social gathering revived by members of 
     the Uighur community in Gulja in 1994 in order to tackle 
     social problems, particularly drug addiction which had become 
     widespread among unemployed young Uighurs. The meetings of 
     the meshreps were tolerated by the authorities for a few 
     months. They were popular and rapidly spread to other areas. 
     As the number of participants grew, however, the authorities 
     banned the meshreps in 1995. Abdulhelil was detained for a 
     short period at that time. Following his re-arrest on 5 
     February 1997, he was reportedly severely tortured in 
     detention. As of late 1998, his family had not received any 
     official notification about the charges against him or his 
     place of detention. He is not known to have been charged or 
     tried. Amnesty International believes that Abdulhelil is 
     arbitarily detained for the peaceful exercise of his 
     fundamental human rights, in violation of international 
     standards, and that he should be released immediately and 
     unconditionally.
       Among many others arbirarily imprisoned in the XUAR is 
     Abidjan Obulkasim, one of four students from Kashgar who were 
     arrested in early 1995 and subsequently sentenced to prison 
     terms ranging from 5 to 15 years for having discussed 
     political issues among themselves. They were aged in their 
     late teens or early 20s at the time of their arrest. Abidjan 
     Obulkasim, now aged about 23, was a student at the Physics 
     Department of the Kashgar Teacher's Training College at the 
     time of his arrest. In mid-1995, he was sentenced to 15 
     years' imprisonment after being convicted of forming a 
     ``counter-revolutionary group'' and ``planning'' to engage in 
     ``separatist'' activities. The sentence against him was 
     reportedly increased by one year in appeal.


                 Political prisoners and unfair trials

       Thousands of political prisoners are reported to be 
     imprisoned in the XUAR. In its report, Amnesty International 
     documents the cases of about 200 political prisoners arrested 
     during the 1990s who are believed to be still detained or 
     imprisoned.
       In the XUAR, as elsewhere in the PRC, political trials are 
     a mere formality. The verdict is usually pre-determined and 
     decided by or in consultation with the political authorities. 
     Political prisoners are often held incommunicado for months 
     or even years before they are tried, and torture is reported 
     to be systematic. Few defendants have access to lawyers. 
     According to some sources, some defendants in the XUAR are 
     not given a formal trial hearing but are simply informed of 
     their sentences after the court's adjudication committee 
     deliberates on the case among themselves and decides on the 
     verdict on the basis of files prepared by the police and 
     procuracy.
       Many political prisoners have been sentenced to long prison 
     terms after unfair trials. Some were convicted of 
     politically-motivated crimes which usually involved the 
     advocacy or the use of violence. In many cases, they were 
     tried behind closed doors, often without defence lawyers. 
     Some of them were taken to ``public sentencing rallies''--
     show trials attended by hundreds or thousands of people--
     during which their sentences were announced. In all cases, 
     the prisoners are reported to have been tortured to force 
     them to give incriminating information or to sign 
     ``confessions.'' Amnesty International is concerned that they 
     were convicted and sentenced after unfair trials and that 
     some of them may be prisoners of conscience held for the 
     peaceful exercise of fundamental human rights.
       One example is Abudkiram Abduveli, a 42-year-old Uighur 
     from Kucha county in Aksu district, who was sentenced in May 
     1993 to 12 years' imprisonment and four years' deprivation of 
     political rights of political charges. The court verdict 
     against him by the Urumqi city Intermediate People's Court 
     shows that Abdukiram Abduveli did not have an open trial and 
     no lawyer to represent him. Abduveli was found guilty of 
     ``organising a counter-revolutionary group'' for having 
     allegedly planned with others in October 1990 to form a 
     political party called the ``Islamic Reformist Party.'' 
     Abduveli was arrested on 17 November 1990 before the group 
     had undertaken any activities. He was also accused of 
     ``carrying out counter-revolutionary propaganda and 
     agitation'' for taking part in religious activities to 
     explain the Koran, during which he allegedly advocated 
     violence. He was initially charged (on 24 July 1991--eight 
     months after he was taken into police custody) with the 
     second charge only. The charge of ``organizing a counter-
     revolutionary group'' was therefore added later. The addition 
     of this second charge at a late stage raises strong doubts as 
     to the nature of the evidence against him both on this count 
     and on the other charge. Abdukiram Abduveli's current place 
     of detention is not known.


                                Torture

       Under international human rights law, the right not to be 
     tortured can never be derogated from, even ``in time of 
     public emergency which threatens the life of the nation''. 
     This right applies whoever the detainee may be and whatever 
     the crimes he or she is suspected of having committed.
       Although Chinese law explicitly prohibits ``torture to 
     extract confessions'', and China has been a party to the UN 
     Convention against Torture since 1988, torture remains 
     widespread in the PRC. The XUAR is no exception. The reports 
     received by Amnesty International from many sources indicate 
     that torture and ill-treatment of prisoners are endemic in 
     the region.
       Some prisoners are reported to have died in prison due to 
     torture or combination of ill-treatment and neglect. This was 
     the case with Nyzamidin Yusayin, a 70 year-old scholar from 
     Urumqi and former journalist for the official newspaper 
     Xinjiang Daily, who reportedly died in police custody due to 
     torture on 7 April 1998.
       Particularly disturbing allegations have been made about 
     the brutal treatment of people held in Gulja after the 
     February 97 protests there. Some reportedly had to have their 
     feet amputated, suffering severe frostbites after being hosed 
     with icy cold water by the security forces. Severe torture of 
     suspected political opponents is reported to have continued 
     in that area since then. According to some sources, the 
     extent of torture is such that many political detainees have 
     been brought to court barely conscious and unable to walk.
       Various sources had also reported the use in the XUAR of 
     some particularly cruel forms of torture which, to Amnesty 
     International's knowledge, are not being used elsewhere in 
     the PRC. This includes the insertion of horse hair into the 
     penis, or a special wire with small spikes which fold flat 
     when inserted into the penis but extend when the wire is 
     pulled out. According to former political prisoners, such 
     methods of sexual torture have been used in the XUAR for many 
     years.
       While torture is reported to be widespread across the XUAR, 
     some places of detention are particularly notorious for the 
     extent of torture and harsh treatment inflicted on prisoners. 
     This is notably the case at Liudaowan jail in Urumqi where 
     many political prisoners are held.
       Testimonies and cases of torture are cited in the Amnesty 
     International report. While Amnesty International is not in a 
     position to verify the specific allegations made in 
     individual testimonies and reports, it believes that the 
     number and consistency of these allegations suggest a pattern 
     which warrants immediate action by the authorities, including 
     thorough and impartial investigations of all reports and 
     complaints of torture.
       The authorities appear to have taken no action to curb 
     torture in the region or to bring alleged perpetrators of 
     torture in the XUAR. Amnesty International has not come

[[Page E721]]

     across any such report in the regional media over the past 
     two years. This contrast sharply with the Chinese provinces, 
     where local newspapers and other media have often reported 
     cases in which police officials have been prosecuted for 
     torture. The absence of such reports in the XUAR suggests 
     that the authorities either ignore or cover up the widespread 
     practice of torture in the region, or may even sanction its 
     use in the context of repression.


                    Arbitrary and summary executions

       The XUR is the only region of the People's Republic of 
     China where political prisoners are known to have been 
     executed in recent years. As elsewhere in the PRC, the death 
     penalty is also applicable for a very wide range of offenses, 
     including many non violent offenses such as theft, economic 
     and drug related crime.
       Since January 1997, Amnesty International has recorded at 
     least 210 death sentences in the region, of which 190 were 
     executed shortly after sentencing--the real figures are 
     believed to be higher. Almost two thirds of the cases 
     recorded were publicly reported by Chinese official sources. 
     The vast majority of those sentenced to death and executed 
     were Uighurs.
       These figures indicate that the ratio of death sentences to 
     the population is several times higher in the XUAR than 
     elsewhere in China. The execution rate vis a vis the number 
     of death sentences appears also to be higher.
       Most of those sentenced to death and executed in the region 
     are political prisoners. They have been accused of offenses 
     related to clandestine opposition activities, street 
     protests, violent clashes with the security forces, or 
     terrorist incidents. Some of these cases have been publicly 
     reported by the Chinese authorities, but others have not. 
     When they are reported, official sources merely list the 
     accusations against the defendants and do not provide any 
     detail about the evidence against them or the trial 
     proceedings.
       Political prisoners charged with such offenses are often 
     tried in secret, under procedures which are reported to be 
     summary. Trials are a mere formality, with the verdict 
     usually decided by the authorities before the trial. 
     Convictions are frequently based on forced confessions and 
     statements extracted under torture. The families are often 
     excluded from the trials and few defendants are known to have 
     had the assistance of defense lawyers. Defendants who appeal 
     against the verdict invariably see their appeal rejected.
       In many cases, the authorities have staged ``public 
     sentencing rallies'' to publicly ``pronounce'' sentences 
     imposed on alleged offenders. The defendants taken to such 
     rallies have usually been tried behind closed doors 
     beforehand, though in some cases it is unclear whether they 
     have actually gone through any prior formal trial process. 
     Official reports about such rallies show that the judicial 
     process is a mere formality tailored for the purpose of these 
     show trials. They also usually make clear that justice is 
     dictated by political considerations.
       Defendants who are taken to public sentencing rallies are 
     made to stand facing the audience with their hands tied 
     behind their back and wearing a placard on their chest, on 
     which their name and crime are written. They are usually 
     forced to keep their head bowed by soldiers escorting them. 
     In some cases, their feet are also chained and their mouth is 
     gagged with a rope or wire tied tightly at their back to 
     prevent them from speaking or shouting. These practices 
     violate international standards on the treatment of 
     prisoners, by which China has agreed to abide, and 
     unnecessary add to the inherent cruelty of the death penalty. 
     Prisoners sentenced to death at such rallies are invariably 
     executed immediately after the rallies.
       There have been reports that some prisoners have been 
     executed in public, notably in villages of IIi Prefecture in 
     the west of the XUAR. It has also been reported that the 
     authorities have refused to return the bodies of some 
     executed prisoners to their family, thus preventing the 
     families from burying their dead according to Muslim customs. 
     This increases concern about reports that the prisoners were 
     tortured to extract forced confessions. Often, the families 
     of those sentenced to death have not been informed until the 
     last minute about the fate of their imprisoned relatives. For 
     example, the parents of 23 year-old Jappar Talet, one of 
     those executed after a sentencing rally in Gulja on 22 July 
     1997, were reportedly informed of his execution just a few 
     hours before it was carried out. They had no prior warning of 
     what awaited their son. After his execution, they requested 
     his body in order to give him a proper burial, but the 
     authorities refused to return the body.
       Amnesty International is also concerned about reports 
     alleging that civilians and, in some cases, prisoners have 
     been killed by the security forces or prison guards in the 
     XUAR in circumstances which appear to constitute extrad-
     judicial executions: deliberate and arbitrary killings by 
     government forces acting outside the limits of the law. The 
     Amnesty International reports describes incidents in which 
     such killings allegedly occurred. International law provides 
     that lethal force should only be used when absolutely 
     necessary and in direct proportion to the legitimate 
     objective it is intended to achieve.
       Amnesty International is calling on the Chinese government 
     to take immediate measures to curb the gross violations of 
     human rights occurring in the region, in particular 
     executions and torture. These measures are described in the 
     concluding section of the report. Amnesty International is 
     also calling on the government to institute an impartial 
     commission of enquiry to investigate reports of human rights 
     violations in the region and provide a forum for individuals 
     and groups to voice their grievances. Amnesty International 
     believes this should be accompanied by a comprehensive 
     assessment of the needs in education, health and the economic 
     disparities in the region, particularly given China's 
     signature of the International Covenant on Economic, Social 
     and Cultural Rights in 1997.

     

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