freedomhouse.org: Ten Things You Should Know About China

Half of the world’s population living in countries designated “Not Free” by Freedom House live in China.
China imprisons more journalists than any other country in the world.
The Chinese government maintains one of the world’s most sophisticated systems of blocking access to websites and monitoring its citizens’ e-mail communications.
The one-child policy leads to forced abortions, a shortage of females, and an increase in trafficking of people.
65 crimes in China carry the death penalty.
The Chinese government has supported extremely repressive regimes such as those governing Burma, Sudan and Zimbabwe.
Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Muslims and practitioners of other religions face frequent harassment.
Thousands of North Korean refugees who escape into China are sent back to North Korea to face arrest, torture, and sometimes death.
Public protests have been on the increase in recent years.
Chinese citizens deserve better.

1) Half of the world’s population living in countries designated “Not Free” by Freedom House live in China.

Percentage of Population Living in "Not Free" countries (Freedom House)

In the 2007 edition of Freedom in the World, the number of people living under Not Free conditions stood at 2,448,600,000—37 percent of the world—and about one half of this number lives in just one country: China. If China was to become a Free country, the percentage of the world’s population living in freedom would rise from 46% (3,004,990,000 people) to 66% (4,304,990,000 people).

A Free country is one where there is broad scope for open political competition, a climate of respect for civil liberties, significant independent civic life, and independent media. A Not Free country, in contrast, is one where basic political rights are absent, and basic civil liberties are widely and systematically denied.

Chinese citizens do not have the ability to democratically elect their leadership or to participate in any political activity outside what is proscribed by the Chinese Communist Party. Basic civil liberties, such as freedom of speech, religion, and even personal autonomy are highly restricted.

2) China imprisons more journalists than any other country in the world.

China has been the world’s leader in imprisoning members of the press for the past eight years. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 29 Chinese journalists are currently in jail as a result of their work.

In 2006, President Hu Jintao’s administration effectively silenced the Chinese press by introducing new media regulations, jailing outspoken journalists, and restricting coverage of breaking news. The tightly controlled media are barred from criticizing senior leaders or their policies, and journalists who do not adhere to party dictates on news content are harassed, fired, or jailed.

3) The Chinese government maintains one of the world’s most sophisticated systems of blocking access to websites and monitoring its citizens’ e-mail communications.

'Beijing Internet Police' appear every 30 minutes on computer screens run by 13 major portals based in Beijing. Virtual police officers will soon begin visible patrols on Chinese Internet sites to warn surfers they are being monitored. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

China has the world’s second-largest population of internet users after the United States, with an estimated 137 million people online by the end of 2006. Nonetheless, the government is able to employ and maintain an extensive surveillance and filtering system to prevent Chinese users from accessing material that is considered obscene or politically subversive.

Internet censorship increased sharply after the government introduced new regulations in 2005. The so-called 11 Commandments of the Chinese Internet bar websites from distributing information that, among other offenses, violates the Chinese constitution, endangers national security, encourages illegal strikes, contains pornographic or violent content, or promotes religious sects.

The filtering system works by using multiple layers of control, including legal regulation and technical oversight. Taboo web pages are automatically blocked, as are questionable blogs and links to keywords or phrases like “democracy” or “Tiananmen Square.” Automatic censoring software deletes banned words or messages from bulletin boards or chat rooms, and a user’s location, browsing patterns and email messages may be examined. Many companies also censor themselves, as the Chinese government can hold internet providers responsible for the content they carry.

Foreign internet companies have largely cooperated with the Chinese government on censorship enforcement, and much of the filtering software used by the Chinese government is produced by American companies.

4) The one-child policy leads to forced abortions, a shortage of females, and an increase in trafficking of people.

Since the late 1970s, the state has implemented a draconian family planning policy, limiting urban families to one child and rural ones to two. Given China’s traditional preference for males, which no legislation can eradicate, an unintended consequence of the single-child policy has been the selective abortion of female fetuses and even the revival of female infanticide. Ninety-nine cities have a ratio of more than 125 boys for 100 girls, and there are already millions more men than women of marriageable age. Ironically, this has in turn resulted in an upsurge in trafficking in women to supply the market for brides as well as other forms of labor, including sex work.

5) 65 crimes in China carry the death penalty.

Policemen guard a suspect in a police station. (Getty Images)

The Chinese penal code prescribes capital punishment for 65 offenses. These include charges such as robbery and rape; pimping; serious drug charges; economic crimes such as tax fraud; and the vague offense of “undermining national unity.”

The official number of executions in 2005 was 1,770 people, or 81 per cent of the known worldwide total, although several human rights organizations contend that the number of people actually be executed by the Chinese government every year is closer to 10,000. In contrast, 60 people were executed in the U.S. in 2005. However, in 2006, the government ordered that all death penalty appeals be held in an open court, a move that should reduce the number of subsequent executions.

The Chinese justice system has a number of other problems. Torture is often used to induce confessions, judges lack independence, and a lack of media freedom means that the press is unable to hold the judiciary accountable.

6) The Chinese government has supported extremely repressive regimes such as those governing Burma, Sudan and Zimbabwe.

Unlike many western governments, China draws a clear line between business and politics in the countries with whom it trades. For example, Beijing supports Burma’s repressive military government with military assistance and millions in aid and infrastructure projects, including roads, railroads and dams. In exchange, China gains access to the Indian Ocean, as well as intelligence and economic cooperation.

In Sudan, at a time when western countries are aiming to punish the Sudanese government for its military actions in the Darfur region, China has been buying two-thirds of Sudan’s oil, supplying the country with arms, and investing millions in infrastructure. Simultaneously, the Chinese government has consistently blocked efforts at the UN to classify Sudan’s actions as genocide and enact sanctions against the government. China has also supported Zimbabwe’s repressive regime at the UN, and has sold it millions of dollars worth of arms. In addition, China has provided the government with equipment that can jam anti-government media broadcasts, as well as surveillance equipment to monitor President Mugabe's political opponents.

China also has business deals and investments other repressive countries, such as Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. However, mindful of its image prior to the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics, China has recently agreed to work more closely with the international community in bringing pressure to bear on these repressive regimes.

7) Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Muslims and practitioners of other religions face frequent harassment.

Catholics attend early morning mass in Beijing's North Cathedral. The pope had called on the communist regime to respect their 'authentic religious freedom' and warned that China's official church was 'incompatible with Catholic doctrine'. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)

Though constitutionally recognized, religious freedom is given little respect in China. All religious groups are required to register with the government, and while officially sanctioned groups are tolerated, members of unauthorized religious groups, such as Falun Gong, are harassed, detained and imprisoned in brutal conditions.

Also viewed as unauthorized are those Christians and Catholics that choose to worship in so-called house churches, rather than in state-managed congregations. Buildings where unregistered congregations hold services have been demolished, and questions of whether Catholics are loyal to the Pope rather than the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association continue to provoke conflict.

In Tibet, religious freedom is strictly limited by the Chinese government. While some religious practices are tolerated, officials forcibly suppress activities viewed as vehicles for political dissent or advocacy of Tibetan independence. Possession of pictures of the Dalai Lama can lead to imprisonment, and Religious Affairs Bureaus continue to control who can study religion in Tibet. Only boys who sign a declaration rejecting Tibetan independence, expressing loyalty to the Chinese government, and denouncing the Dalai Lama are allowed by Chinese officials to become monks.

In areas like the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, home to the predominantly Muslim Uighur ethnic group, the government has used the pretext of counterterrorism to crack down on Islamic organizations, labeling them religious extremists. Restrictions on Muslims’ religious activity, teaching, and places of worship in Xinjiang are implemented forcefully.

8) Thousands of North Korean refugees who escape into China are sent back to North Korea to face arrest, torture, and sometimes death.

Starting in the 1990s, many North Koreans began fleeing their country due to a devastating famine that killed between one and two million people. Though that crisis has ended, the country is plagued by food shortages and thousands face brutal political persecution and imprisonment in forced labor camps. As a result, many North Koreans have fled to China, although simply the act of leaving North Korea is considered a crime against the state and is punishable by death.

Though exact numbers are difficult to determine, tens of thousands of North Koreans are thought to be currently hiding in China. However, China forcibly repatriates the refugees back to North Korea, where they face detention, torture and possible execution. This policy of repatriation is in direct violation of a 1951 UN Convention and its 1967 Protocol that guarantee protection for refugees, both of which were signed by China. However, China has tried to avoid its international obligations by refusing to recognize North Koreans as refugees or asylum seekers, and instead labels them illegal “economic migrants.”

9) Public protests have been on the increase in recent years.

Ironworkers protest against poor pay and working conditions in Hong Kong (Andrew Ross/AFP/Getty Images)

As China develops, the number of public demonstrations by disgruntled citizens has increased massively over the past few years. According to the Chinese government’s Ministry of Public Security, 87,000 “public order disturbances” were reported in 2005, up from 74,000 in 2004 and 58,000 in 2003.

One of the major sources of discontent in both rural and urban areas is the confiscation of land without adequate compensation, often involving collusion between local government and developers eager to profit from China’s rapid urbanization. Environmental destruction as a result of rapid development has also been the source of mass protest. The authorities continue to frequently employ excessive force to quell such disturbances. In one of the most notorious cases, numerous people were injured and a teenage girl was killed in clashes between villagers and police in Panlong, Guangdong Province, in January 2006.

10) Chinese citizens deserve better.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was introduced in 1948 and has since been accepted as the bedrock of human rights standards worldwide. Adopted by China upon its introduction, the Universal Declaration outlines each individual’s right—regardless of nationality—to freedom of thought, speech, belief, assembly and association, among many other rights.

Although China’s traditional culture may be different from that of the western nations that initially developed the Universal Declaration, China’s adoption of the document establishes that Chinese citizens have the same rights as all other people around the world. All Chinese citizens deserve the freedom to communicate and worship as they wish, to associate with individuals of their choosing, to determine their own families, and to obtain access to justice. Until China is ranked Free and its 1.3 billion citizens are bestowed all of the rights outlined in the Universal Declaration, the Chinese government should continue to be a major target of international criticism.

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