Dear Friend,
2015 may be marked as the year when China's President
Xi Jinping completed his China Dream on the implementation of his
directives known as Document No 9 which attacks universal values,
civil society, constitutionality, as the perils to the power of
the CCP.
While China has often put journalists in jail, the
use of pressuring their family such as in the case of detaining
the son of journalist Gao Yu 高瑜 in forcing her
"confession" is a new low for the government. Gao was sentenced
to seven years in prison in April.
Liu Wei 劉偉, a deputy editor of well
respected Southern Metropolis News 南方都市報 was arrested in October
for reporting on a corruption case even as Xi's campaign against
corruption is being carried out leading people to wonder whether
such campaign is meant to target Xi's political enemies.
Perhaps the most absurd of China's control of the
press is the detention and subsequent "confession" on TV by
financial magazine Caijing's 財經 reporter, Wang Xiaolu
王曉璐 , for his article published in July 20 which the
government claimed as causing the market crash in Shanghai.
With human rights lawyers using China's own
constitution and laws to defend their fellow citizens against
official land grabs, arbitrary arrests, religious rights, etc.,
the government of China followed Xi's directive by putting more
than 300 human rights lawyers, staffs, family members in
detention, arrests, house arrests and under surveillance.
China's government sees its control of information,
news, distortion of history as a means to maintain social
stability without recognizing that those with grievances must have
some avenues to try to right a wrong without resorting to
violence.
It is only with the free flow of information that
disasters can be avoided. A case in point is China's great famine
of 1958-1962 during which more than 40 million Chinese died. Had
there been freedom of the press and information, this man-made
famine would not have lasted for so long and spread over most of
China.
China is facing a disaster in pollution. Even by
1999, 80% of China's waterways had no fish in them. Soil
pollution is a well kept secret with China's political elite
enjoying organic food grown under strict guidelines. Air
pollution is something that China's government cannot cover up
thus making it necessary for China to participate in the Paris
Climate conference. Even as China claims to combat pollution,
China's environmentalist Wu Lihong continued to be kept under
surveillance.
Despite the gloom on human rights in China, NGOs such
as Visual Artists Guild can still find encouragement in keeping
our work going. Under international pressure, Gao Yu's appeal on
her sentence resulted in her being released in November under
medical parole.
We wish you a Happy Peaceful New Year and thank you
for your support on human rights throughout the year.
Ann Lau
Chair, Visual Artists Guild