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GUILTY AS CHARGED
Wang Youcai -- 11 Years
Wang Youcai, 32, a former student democracy leader, was detained on November 2, 1998 in connection with his leading role in seeking to officially establish the China Democracy Party (CDP). He was formally charged on November 30, 1998 for "conspiring to subvert the government," organizing a meeting of party supporters, using e-mail to send party materials abroad, and accepting funds from overseas to buy a computer. He was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment after being tried by the Hangzhou Intermediate Court on December 17, 1998. Wang had been detained for 50 days following an attempt to register the CDP in July. From Human Rights in China
Qin Yongmin -- 12 Years
Qin Yongmin, activist and author, was arrested on November 30, 1998 for "endangering state security." Chinese officials claimed that his role in preparing for the establishment of the China Democracy Party "breached the relevant provisions of China's criminal laws." His trial is scheduled for December 17, 1998. Qin served seven years in prison for his participation in the Democracy Wall Movement and three years in Reeducation Through Labor for his participation in drafting the Peace Charter. From Human Rights in China
Xu Wenli -- 13 Years
Xu Wenli, 55, was arrested on November 30, 1998 for "endangering state security" in connection with his efforts to officially establish the China Democracy Party. On the night he was taken away by the police, officers made an exhaustive search of his home, confiscating a computer, address books and documents related to the opposition party. His was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment following a one-day trial on December 21, 1998. A veteran democracy activist, Xu served 12 years in prison following his participation in the Democracy Wall Movement in 1979. From Human Rights in China
Xu has been condemned by Beijing First Middle Court for his activities and his attempts to create the Beijing-Tianjin regional branch of the China Democracy Party, an illegal organization. He declared himself so-called chairman of this branch and was seeking members for his illegal organization.Wang was condemned in Hangzhou for similar activities related to the illegal China Democracy Party in Zhejiang province.
--GUANGMING RIBAO, official Chinese Communist Newspaper Source
No Photo Available
Xu Wangping -- 3 Years
BEIJING, Dec 19 (AFP) - A member of the outlawed China Democracy Party (CDP) has been sentenced to three years in a "labor re-education camp," dissident sources reported Saturday, in a new sign that authorities are intensifying their crackdown. Xu Wanping, 36, was sentenced early December in the southwestern city of Chongqing for "disrupting social order," according to a statement from the Hong Kong-based Information Center on Human Rights and Democracy in China. The center quoted Xu's friend Che Xueying as saying Xu was detained in October when he tried to set up a branch of the CDP in Chongqing. A maximum three year sentence to a labor camp is an administrative measure in China and is normally handed down to dissidents without a trial. Xu had been released only in July after spending eight years in prison for his part in the 1989 pro-democracy protests. The former factory worker in Chongqing had been convicted as a "counter-revolutionary" for pushing for free trade unions. From AFP, Patrick Baert byline, 12-19-98
Lin Hai -- Unknown Sentence
Lin Hai, a 30-year-old computer company owner in Shanghai, was detained on March 25, 1998, after he allegedly provided Chinese e-mail addresses to the U.S.-based on-line magazine Dacankao (VIP Reference). VIP Reference, which is described by prosecutors as a "hostile foreign publication," compiles and distributes articles on dissident activities, human rights and other issues to more than 200,000 e-mail addresses in China. Lin Hai's trial begun on December 4, 1998, behind closed doors because of the "state secrets" allegedly involved in his case. His wife has been denied all visits since his initial detention. From Human Rights in China
Liu Nianchun -- Exiled
Standing before you today, I feel very strange, as if in a dream. Only two days ago, I was in a Reeducation Through Labor camp in China. I was extremely sick, and it was very difficult to get a medical examination, and even more difficult to obtain treatment. My living conditions were despicable. The police also enlisted convicts to keep close watch over me...However, there is one point that I must underline clearly: My release into exile for medical treatment cannot be seen as an improvement of China's human rights situation. I suffer from many ailments which were not properly treated in the labor camp. The labor camp failed to act in accordance with the relevant regulations for granting me medical parole. The very fact that I am here, forced to leave China in order to receive medical treatment, is a serious violation of human rights in itself. From Human Rights in China
If it is designed to go for the multiparty system and try to negate the leadership of the Communist Party, then it will not be allowed to exist. -- Li Peng, Chairman National People's Congress, Number Two in Communist Hierachy, 11-23-98 interview, to Peter Seidlitz of Germany's Handelsblatt magazine
My Dearest Jin,
Xu Jin, Xu Wenli's daughter
(at Press conference, 12-21-98, New York, New York)You will turn 10 this year. One's 10th birthday is an important chronological landmark in life. It signifies the departure of your infancy and anticipates the imminent advent of your independent personality. On such an important and memorable date, your loving and proud father should present to you a most precious and meaningful gift along with an extravagant birthday cake. I wish I could at least send you my presents in your dreams. On your ninth birthday I silently presented to you a bouquet of beautiful blossoming flowers (this time I will give you the sweetest oranges). . . . Do you know why I named you Xu Jin? You were named after the most courageous and virtuous heroine in our history, Chow Jin. I expect you to emulate Chow Jin's idealism, patriotism, and inexorable courage.
Letter to the young Xu Jin from her father during one of his prison stays.
From Boston Globe 12-9-98
From beginning to end, we must be vigilant against infiltration, subversive activities and separatist activities of international and domestic hostile forces...with a clear-cut stand and resolutely nip them in the bud. Jiang Zemin, leader Chinese Communist Party, in a speech on national TV, 12-18-98
Hong Kong protestor burns picture of Jiang Zemin
Such actions are potentially punishable in Hong Kong since July 1997
Well, first of all, I have a very high regard for his [Jiang Zemin] abilities...he's a man of extraordinary intellect, very high energy, a lot of vigor for his age, or indeed for any age. And I think he has a quality that is profoundly important at this moment in our history when there's so much change going on. He has a good imagination. He has vision; he can visualize; he can imagine a future that is different from the present. So I believe that there's a very good chance that China has the right leadership at the right time, and that they understand the daunting, massive nature of the challenges they face. William Clinton, President of the United States of America, in Hong Kong, July 3, 1998
