Week of February 15, 2002

SUMMARY: (2/13) - The New York-based Committee for Investigation on Persecution of Religion in China claims to have obtained eight documents detailing the Chinese government's crackdown on religious groups. Robin Muro, a China scholar at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, said the documents appeared authentic and could rank as being among the most important internal Chinese documents relating to religious persecution viewed by the West. "These documents are from all around the country, all consistent, all quite draconian, and all expressing implacable hostility toward these groups and determination to eradicate them," Muro said.

The Committee published the papers as part of a 141-page report on religious persecution in China. The group claims to have identified 23,000 individuals arrested since 1983 for illegal religious activities and to have taken statements from 5,000 individuals who were victims of torture and persecution in 22 provinces and 200 cities. China allows its citizens to worship only in state-sanctioned sects. The documents purport to outline China's plan to demolish 14 Christian or Buddhist organizations labeled as cults since 1995. The Committee's executive director, Bob Fu, said China's government is hinting at easing restrictions on religion while actually trying to crush religious groups. Li Shixiong, president of the Committee, said Chinese Christians obtained half of the documents from provincial police officials. The rest came from a former Ministry of State Security official who has now gone into hiding, Li said.

In one of the documents, Sun Jianxin, vice director of public security in Anhui province, said "Hostile organizations" at home and abroad were infiltrating foundations, academic delegations, and media. He said the West, led by the United States, was intent on Westernizing and weakening China. He also reported that despite discussions of the Vatican recognizing China, he was ordering his security forces to crack down on underground Catholic worshipers. He strongly backed the crackdown on Falun Gong.

Various documents describe using secret agents to infiltrate groups and forcing members of targeted groups to become informers after secretly arresting them. There is also an order to establish "mobile reconnaissance teams" throughout China to conduct electronic surveillance on individuals suspected of underground worship.

"Secret forces are the heart and soul in covert struggles and the crucial magic weapon in our battle against and victory over the enemy," Sun reportedly said, counseling security forces to focus on Falun Gong, underground Catholics, private businessmen with complicated political backgrounds, professors at universities and students. In one document, President Jiang Zemin is quoted as telling police to be wary of the sect Eastern Lightning and to "deal with it according to law…."

 

SUMMARY: (2/11) - Two Chinese leaders have assailed human rights criticisms of China in recent days. Li Peng, head of China's parliament, the National People's Congress, said in a January 30 statement reported by the official Xinhua news agency that Beijing was "firmly opposed" to the notion of "interfering in other countries' internal affairs by using the human rights issue." Li's comments were made in congratulatory remarks to the China Society for Human Rights Studies for coming out with a new magazine. While China still has work to do in protecting personal freedoms, Li said, it was against "the neo-interventionist fallacy about `human rights transcending over sovereignty' ... and firmly opposed to pursuing hegemony and power politics under the guise of human rights."

Li maintained it was impossible for all countries to maintain one standard for human rights and that different cultures assign different meanings to human rights. He was backed by director general of the State Council Information Office Zhao Qizheng. In an interview February 10 with the new human rights magazine, Zhao lambasted the "United States and some other Western countries" for proposing "anti-China" resolutions at the United Nations Human Rights Commission. He lauded China's great progress in "subsistence and development," which he said were the nation's current priorities.

According to Li, the new magazine is intended to be a "window through whichpeople in China could have dialogues and exchanges with foreign academic circles."
In January, Beijing set up an English-language human rights website, giving its view of the status of human rights in China.

 

SUMMARY:   (2/12) - China's actual foreign direct investment (FDI) jumped 33.54% year-on-year in January to $2.966 billion, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Contracted foreign investment, which often signals future trends, shot up 47.97% year-on-year in January to $7.187 billion, Xinhua reported. According to the Foreign Trade Ministry, China's actual FDI went up an annual 14.9% in 2001 to $46.85 billion.

Meanwhile, the official People's Daily Overseas Edition said Taiwanese invested $3.14 billion in the mainland in 2001, up 32.82% from 2000. Taiwanese have now invested over $70 billion in the mainland; the People's Daily quoted Vice Foreign Trade Minister An Min as saying accumulated Taiwanese investment is currently $29.32 billion. The newspaper reported two-way trade between the mainland and Taiwan to have grown an annual 5.92% in 2001 to $32.34 billion. Mainland China exported $5 billion of goods to Taiwan, while Taiwan exported $27.34 billion of goods to the mainland. Taiwan was the mainland's fifth largest trading partner.