China criticised for its hard stance on human rights
Updated
Last week, a diverse group of 303 Chinese individuals including lawyers, academics, and peasants signed an open letter calling for legal reforms, democracy and protection of human rights.
The open letter called the "08 Charter" coincided with the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Day. Chinese authorities responded by immediately detaining two of the signatories.
Presenter: Stephanie March
Speakers: Sharon Hom executive director of New York and Hong Kong based NGO, Human Rights in China ; Patrick Poon, executive secretary China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group
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MARCH: Events of 2008 thrust some of China's more controversial internal policies into the international spotlight. The Asian giant's response dissent in Tibet and tainted milk scandal drew widespread criticism from across the world. The Beijing Olympics allowed the international community a first hand look at the nation's media censorship and human rights policies. It's against this backdrop that 303 Chinese individuals chose the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to call for a rethink of China's modernisation.The signatories are a diverse group, as Sharon Hom the executive director of New York and Hong Kong based NGO, Human Rights in China,explains.
HOM: Writers, intellectuals, lawyers, journalists, very high level cadres or officials such as Bo Tung you know from the reformers back in the late eighties... it includes workers, it includes peasants, and business people have signed it.
MARCH: The "08 Charter" is based on a series of concepts the group says need to be reaffirmed.
HOM: And the fundamental concepts include freedom, human rights, equality, republicanism, democracy, and constitutionalism.
MARCH: Sharon Hom says those concepts provide the basis for the document's reform recommendations.
HOM: And their 19 very specific suggestions range from legislative reforms, to structural reform such as separation of powers, moving the party out of the judiciary, ensuring a democratic judiciary, moving public officials elections into more accountability and having this kind of one vote, one person, equality in terms of urban and rural - it is a comprehensive content.
MARCH: But while human rights groups are applauding the 303, Chinese authorities responded by arresting two of the charter's key drafters. Writer Lui Xiaobo is being held under suspicion of "subversion of state power". However Patrick Poon, the executive secretary China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group says there is little basis to the government's claim.
POON: We find that it is very ridiculous this time as well because what we can find on the charter... we cant find any words in the charter that could be considered subversive.
MARCH: He says issues addressed in the charter - like exploring the possibility of federalism - are the things Chinese authorities should be prepared to debate. Patrick Poon says the government's usual justification for resisting change - that China is just too big - is getting old.
POON: Like other countries - huge countries - like the United States and Germany have been using federalism for many years. Why can't they think of using that kind of models? So what we think that this kind of suggestion and also demand from the general public including Lui Xiaobo and other writers who drafted this charter is fundamentally very reasonable.
MARCH: 2008 was an eventful year for China, but in 2009 Beijing would have to contend with some interesting anniversaries. It marks 20 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre and the 50th anniversary of the exile of the Dalai Lama. 2009 is also the 60th year since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Sharon Hom from Human Rights in China says its for those very reasons the international community must pay close attention to human rights issues .
HOM: Because 2009 will be a very difficult year with the significant anniversaries and as we know in China every time there is a significant anniversary there is going to be a crackdown and a tightening.
