China

The Chinese Government continued to deny citizens basic democratic rights, and law enforcement authorities continued to suppress political, religious, and social groups perceived to be a threat to national stability. The Government did not allow social, political, or religious groups to organize or act independently of the Government or the Communist Party. Those who tried to act independently were often harassed, detained, or abused by the authorities, including Internet writers, journalists, leaders of unregistered religious groups, political dissidents, and human rights defenders. The Government adopted measures to control print, broadcast, and electronic media more tightly and pressured Internet companies to censor and restrict the content of material available on-line. It increased scrutiny of NGOs, especially those perceived as promoting democratic agendas. Public protests by citizens seeking to redress grievances increased, but were often suppressed, including by security forces. In Dongzhou village, security forces opened fire on demonstrators, fatally shooting at least three protestors. The Government increasingly discussed human rights, rule of law, and democracy in its policies and public statements. However, laws that could expand citizens’ rights often failed to do so in practice, especially when rights protection conflicted with the interests of law enforcement institutions responsible for maintaining social order. Local authorities who abused human rights often violated the law, but the Central Government rarely stepped in to address such violations.

The United States employed multiple strategies to promote human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in China. This comprehensive strategy included bilateral diplomatic efforts, multilateral action, and support through Government and nongovernmental channels for rule of law and civil society programs. In public statements and private diplomacy, U.S. officials continued to urge China to bring its human rights practices into compliance with international standards, to make systemic reforms, and to release prisoners of conscience. The United States sought to strengthen the judicial system and further the rule of law, encourage democratic political reform, promote freedom of religion and the press, protect human rights, including the rights of workers and women, improve transparency in governance, and strengthen civil society. Officials at all levels also worked with Chinese officials, domestic and foreign NGOs, and others to identify areas of particular concern and encourage systemic reforms.

President Bush raised human rights, democracy, and religious freedom issues when he met with President Hu Jintao in New York in September and when he visited Beijing in November. The Secretary of State raised concerns about these issues during her March and July visits to Beijing. The Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor traveled to Beijing in August to urge China to improve human rights cooperation. Members of Congress, their staff, and staff of the Congressional Executive Committee on China traveled regularly to China to discuss democracy, human rights, religious freedom, corporate social responsibility, and rule of law concerns, often raising these issues with Chinese officials.

Chinese elections did not extend beyond village assemblies or local people’s congresses, but U.S. programs offered support for grassroots democratization efforts through training for elected village officials and deputies to local legislatures. Other U.S. programs provided technical assistance to ministries and legislative bodies charged with drafting local election regulations and to those experimenting with legislative oversight and public participation in Government decisionmaking.

The U.S. Government supported seminars and training on international standards for free expression, reaching out to journalists, lawyers, judges, and lawmakers. In December, the United States brought leading constitutional scholars to China to discuss First Amendment and media issues with Chinese academics and lawmakers. Visiting officials discussed the need for greater freedom for the Internet and for the press, especially in light of increasing international attention on the 2008 Olympics, to be hosted in Beijing. The President, the Secretary of State, the Ambassador, and other U.S. officials also repeatedly raised the cases of detained journalists and Internet writers in public remarks and in private meetings with Chinese officials.

Due to Chinese Government concerns about the role of NGOs in advancing democracy abroad, international and domestic NGOs operating in China faced an increasingly restrictive environment. Nonetheless, hundreds of NGOs, mostly Chinese Government affiliated, were active in health, environment, and other areas. The U.S. Government supported capacity building for small, independent NGOs. It also helped a major university conduct a comprehensive study of non-profit organization work in China and abroad. A nongovernmental women’s network supported by the U.S. Government was a key advocate for a new law outlawing sexual harassment.

The United States funds a large program to promote legal reform and encourage judicial independence, increase popular participation in government, and foster the development of local elections and civil society in China. Under this program, more than a dozen major projects are being implemented, including projects that provide legal services, reform criminal law, strengthen legal education, and enable average citizens to seek protection under the law. Smaller U.S.- funded projects complemented these goals. For example, U.S.-supported research by the National Prosecutors College and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate focused on criminal procedure issues, including the exclusion of illegally seized evidence. Another program allowed a federal prosecutor assigned to the Embassy to encourage criminal justice reform through interaction with the academic community and Government. This official lectured to numerous Chinese counterparts at law firms and universities on issues ranging from search and seizure to compelling witness testimony at trial and participated in international and domestic anti-corruption conferences. In addition, the Embassy has coordinated programs for federal and state judges, highlighted by visits of Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Anthony M. Kennedy, to discuss rule of law issues with Chinese judges, lawyers, officials, and academics. Judges from Massachusetts toured China presenting a model trial program, and U.S. officials served as judges for China’s first university-level moot trial competition.

Through U.S. speaker programs numerous speakers traveled to China to discuss rule of law issues. Almost 50% of Chinese citizens sent to the United States to participate in the International Visitors Leadership Program worked in democracy and rights related fields. Both the Fulbright and Humphrey exchange programs annually devoted resources to rule of law subjects. For example, a Chinese prosecutor came to the United States for post-graduate courses and U.S. professors served in residence at top Chinese legal training institutions.

As a result of U.S. bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, the Chinese Government took a number of steps to engage with the international community on human rights. China hosted visits by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in August and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture in November. The Government also permitted the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to open an office in Beijing in July, although the Government did not authorize the ICRC to visit Chinese prisons. U.S. advocacy helped political prisoners gain early release from prison or improved treatment. Uighur businesswoman and activist Rebiya Kadeer was released early from prison in March and permitted to travel to the United States on medical parole. In August, a team of Chinese and U.S. legal experts discussed parole and sentencing reduction for those still serving sentences for now-repealed political crimes.

The President and senior U.S. officials consistently called upon the Chinese Government to respect international standards for religious freedom for people of all faiths. U.S. officials regularly raised religious freedom issues with Chinese leaders, including calling for the release of religious prisoners, the reform of restrictive registration laws, and more freedom for religious groups to practice their faith. The President emphasized the importance of religious freedom in his November meetings with Chinese leaders and attended a church service in Beijing. The Secretary of State also attended church services during her March 2005 visit. During the year, the Chinese Government addressed long-standing international concerns by publicly stating that minors were free to receive religious education from their parents. Officials also said that "house Christians" could hold informal prayer services with friends and family members at home without needing to register with the Government. Problems continued in both areas. In an effort to extend the rule of law to religion, the Government issued new religious affairs regulations, expanding some legal protection for registered religious groups. However, the regulations continue to allow the Government to define lawful religious activity and to punish activity by those who have not registered.

The United States continued to urge the Chinese Government to enter into dialogue with the Vatican. President Bush stressed the importance of such dialogue in his November meeting with President Hu Jintao. After lengthy diplomatic efforts, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) visited China in August. The Commission met with a Vice Premier and leading officials of central and provincial government ministries responsible for religious, judicial, and civil affairs.

U.S. officials worked to strengthen cooperation and the flow of information about human rights issues between the United States and like-minded governments. The United States participated in the "Bern Process" with other governments that hold bilateral human rights dialogues with China to share information about human rights strategies and democracy, human rights, and rule of law programming.

The United States devoted significant resources and time to address numerous other human rights concerns. It urged the Government to put an end to its coercive birth limitation program. The United States publicly and privately urged China not to use the war on terrorism as justification for cracking down on Uighurs expressing peaceful political dissent. U.S. officials also pressed the Government not to repatriate forcibly North Koreans and to allow the UN High Commission for Refugees access to this vulnerable population, as required by international conventions China has signed.

The United States promoted compliance with international labor standards. In 2005, China ratified ILO Convention 111 on eliminating discrimination in employment, meeting a long-standing request of the international community. The Embassy worked to monitor compliance with the U.S.-China Memorandum of Understanding and Statement of Cooperation on Prison Labor and to investigate allegations of forced child labor. The United States supported programs of technical cooperation to advance labor rule of law and coalmine safety as well as exchange programs in the areas of occupational safety and health, mine safety and health, wage and hour administration, and administration of private pension programs. The United States supported programs of technical cooperation on dispute resolution. Through the Partnership to Eliminate Sweatshops, the U.S. Government supported programs that address unacceptable working conditions in manufacturing facilities that produce goods for the U.S. market. Other U.S. programs combated discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS in the workplace and improved the ability of labor institutions to combat trafficking for labor purposes. The Embassy hosted a major conference on trafficking in persons in December, which helped explain anti-trafficking strategies to Chinese law enforcement agencies and academics.

Tibet

The Government’s human rights record in Tibetan areas of China remained poor, and the level of repression of religious freedom remained high. The Government continued to view the Dalai Lama with suspicion and tended to associate Tibetan Buddhist religious activity with separatist sympathies. The preservation and development of the unique religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage of Tibetan areas and the protection of Tibetan people’s fundamental human rights continued to be of concern. The Government strictly controlled information about, and access to, Tibetan areas, making it difficult to determine accurately the scope of human rights abuses.

The U.S. Government continued to advocate vigorously for improvements in human rights conditions in Tibetan areas of China and urged the Chinese Government to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama. Discussions between Chinese officials and envoys of the Dalai Lama were held in Switzerland in June, the fourth round of talks since 2002. President Bush specifically encouraged China to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama when he met with President Hu Jintao in Beijing in November.

Numerous U.S. officials visited Tibetan areas during 2005, providing opportunities to raise human rights abuses with local officials. USCIRF commissioners and staff visited the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in August, a visit that had been sought since the 2002 bilateral Human Rights Dialogue. USCIRF was able to meet in Lhasa with released political prisoner Phuntsog Nyidrol. A large congressional delegation traveled to the TAR in August, visited religious sites, and raised concerns about human rights violations. In November, the UN Special Rapporteur for Torture visited Lhasa to meet with officials and visit two prisons. U.S.-funded programs focused on economic and community development, mindful of the importance of preserving Tibet’s environment and religious and cultural heritage.

 

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and maintains a high degree of autonomy except in matters of defense and foreign affairs. It has well-established institutions that support the rule of law and a vigorous civil society. The Basic Law, the SAR’s Constitution, provides for the protection of fundamental human rights and calls for further democratization after 2007, eventually leading to universal suffrage. In 2004, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee issued a controversial interpretation of the Basic Law that ruled out universal suffrage in the 2007 Legislative Council (Legco) and 2008 Chief Executive elections. The chief executive is chosen by an election committee composed of 800 directly elected, indirectly elected, and appointed individuals. The Legco is comprised of 60 members, only half of whom are elected through direct popular vote. The judiciary is independent and the Basic Law vests Hong Kong’s highest court with the power of final adjudication. However, before making final judgments on matters related to PRC central Government responsibilities or on the relationship between the central authorities and the SAR, courts must seek an interpretation from the National People’s Congress Standing Committee.

The Government generally respected the human rights of residents, and the law and judiciary provided a fair and efficient judicial process. A number of human rights problems existed, including limitations on citizens’ ability to change their government and the power of the legislature to affect government policies. Violence and discrimination against women, media self-censorship, and restrictions on workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively also remained issues of concern. Despite the ban on the Falun Gong in mainland China, the Falun Gong was legally registered and practitioners continued their activities in Hong Kong.

The United States supported Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and movement toward universal suffrage as called for by the Basic Law. The Vice President and the Secretary of State discussed Hong Kong’s democratic development with Chief Executive Donald Tsang and other senior Hong Kong officials during the Hong Kong officials’ visit to the United States in October 2005. The Deputy Secretary of State also raised these points during his July 2005 visit to Hong Kong, as did the Secretary of State with senior Chinese officials during her visit to Beijing in March 2005. Following a mass rally on December 4, 2005, in support of universal suffrage, and following the defeat of the Government’s reform proposal several weeks later, the U.S. Government voiced support for the early introduction of universal suffrage. Additionally, the U.S. Consul General has actively affirmed U.S. support for greater democratization in Hong Kong both privately with Hong Kong Government officials and publicly through speeches and remarks to the press. Following December’s pro-democracy rally, the Consul General reiterated publicly the U.S. Government’s belief that Hong Kong was ready for democracy. His comments were featured prominently in local and international newspapers, reaching a wide cross-section of Hong Kong society. Democracy also figured prominently in Consulate General-sponsored speaker and International Visitors Leadership Programs. Additionally, the U.S. Government has facilitated local debate and discussion of democracy-related subjects and supported activities to strengthen civil society in Hong Kong.