http://www.cecc.gov/pages/roundtables/041502/wong.php3

Round-Table on Internet and Free Flow of Information in China

Statement by Bobson Wong, Executive Director, Digital Freedom Network

Presented to
Congressional-Executive Commission on China

April 15, 2002

Since January 2000, when the Chinese newspaper People's Daily published new
Internet regulations from the State Secrecy Bureau, the Chinese government has
cracked down on Internet use that it considers dangerous, arresting several
individuals, shutting down sites, and passing new laws that codify existing
practice. The Digital Freedom Network (DFN), a U.S.-based organization that
promotes and develops the use of Internet technology for human rights activism,
has been monitoring the use of the Internet in China. Below is a list of at
least 25 individuals in China currently detained for online activity (this list
is online at http://dfn.org/focus/china/netattack.htm).
DFN also has a page containing the latest news related to Net restrictions in
China at http://dfn.org/focus/china/chinanetreport.htm.

Many of the individuals listed below were detained for months or even years
before facing formal charges, usually subversion. Those who get a trial are
always found guilty and receive multi-year sentences. The detainees include
Falun Gong believers who forwarded material about the movement and others who
e-mailed pro-democracy publications to others or published articles online that
criticized government officials. Some are not even dissidents. Huang Qi was
detained two years ago after several overseas dissidents posted material on a
missing-persons Web site he used to run about the June 4, 1989 pro-democracy
demonstrations. He remains in custody. Wang Jinbo reportedly went on a hunger
strike in January 2002 because prison guards would not allow his family to see
him.

It is imperative that the United States and other nations act quickly to do
everything it can to ensure their release. But even if these 25 individuals were
to be freed, there is no guarantee that others won't be arrested and convicted
on similar charges. China uses a combination of tough legislation and modern
technology to restrict online information. Any online activity that the
government considers threatening is banned, including using the Internet to
incite the overthrow of state power, topple the socialist system, destroy
national unity, promote "cults" (interpreted to mean groups such as
the Falun Gong spiritual movement), or support the independence of Taiwan.

To ensure that individuals such as Huang Qi are not imprisoned in China, we
should continue to promote technological tools that enable Chinese users to
express themselves freely in a reasonable manner. Supporting efforts such as the
anonymous proxy service SafeWeb will certainly help. But we must also find a way
to reach out to China's young people. Internet users in China today are young,
urban, well-educated - a reflection of how economic reforms since the Tiananmen
Square crackdown have improved the living standards of many Chinese. But as
beneficiaries of official policy, they have little reason to distrust the
government and are incredibly suspicious of the United States. In the days after
the September 11 terrorist attacks, Chinese bulletin boards were flooded with
messages from Chinese users criticizing U.S. arrogance and claiming that the
U.S. got what it deserved for "meddling" in the affairs of other
nations. These users will grow up to become the future leaders of the world's
most populous nation. Reaching out to this generation will require more than
encryption software and other technical solutions. It will require that we build
up a relationship of mutual trust with China so that its next generation of
leaders will allow its citizens to live in a more open society.

Chinese individuals currently detained for online political or religious
activity
Compiled by the Digital Freedom Network (April 2002)
http://dfn.org/focus/china/netattack.htm

1. Chi Shouzhu, a veteran Chinese activist, was detained on April 18,
   2001 shortly after printing online pro-democracy material from a Web site
   using a friend's computer, according to the Hong Kong-based Information
   Center for Human Rights and Democracy. The center said he was carrying the
   material when he was detained at a train station in the northeastern city of
   Changchun. Chi was released in June after serving a 10-year prison term for
   taking part in 1989 pro-democracy protests. Leng Wanbao, a dissident living
   in the northeastern province of Jilin, was interrogated for more than two
   hours by police on April 18, 2001, according to the Paris-based Reporters
   sans fronti鑢es (Reporters without Borders). Police accused him of
   publishing "subversive articles" on the Internet. Some of Leng's
   writings were allegedly found on Chi Shouzhu, who was arrested a short time
   before. (See also "China Cracks Down on Cyber-Dissent," Associated
   Press, April 19, 2001; Reporters sans fronti鑢es protest letter, April 20,
   2001, http://www.rsf.fr/uk/html/asie/cplp01/lp01/190401.html)
   
   
2. Dong Yanhong, a staff member at Tsinghua University, was sentenced
   on December 13, 2001 to five years in prison for spreading information on
   the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement over the Internet, according to the
   Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy. In
   addition to Dong, five others were sentenced by the Beijing No. 1
   Intermediate People's Court on December 13: Liu Wenyu, a professor of
   electric power at Tsinghua University; Liu's wife Yao Yue, a
   microelectronics researcher at Tsinghua University; Wang Xin, an academic at
   Tsinghua University; Tsinghua electronics professor Meng Jun; and Wang
   Xuefei, graduate student at a Shanghai university. ("6 Convicted in
   China Falun Gong Case," Associated Press, December 24, 2001,
   "China Jails Six for Falun Gong Web Activity - Group," Reuters,
   December 23, 2001.)
   
   
3. Guo Qinghai, a friend of dissident Qi Yanchen and also a freelance
   writer, was arrested in September 2000 for "subverting state
   power." Guo published articles on the Internet that discussed Qi's case
   and frequently put on overseas online bulletin boards essays promoting
   political reforms in China. On April 24, 2001, the Information Center for
   Human Rights and Democracy reported that a court in Cangzhou, in the
   northern province of Hebei, tried Guo on April 3 for subversion. According
   to the center, the court did not inform Guo's family of the hearing, the
   group said. On April 26, 2001, he was sentenced to four years in prison.
   (See also "China Charges, Tries Internet Dissidents: Group,"
   Reuters, April 25, 2001.)
   
   
4. Hu Dalin was detained on May 18, 2001 by police in the southeastern
   city of Shaoyang after he published articles online that were written by his
   father, retired Beijing strategy scholar Lu Jiaping, according to the
   U.S.-based Chinese dissident e-mail publication V.I.P. Reference. No formal
   charges have been filed against Hu, but police told family members that he
   was arrested because of "subversive" activities online, according
   to the publication. Lu remains free in Beijing. (See also "Denial and
   Detentions," Digital Freedom Network, May 24, 2001.)
   
   
5. Huang Qi, 36, an Internet entrepreneur from Chengdu who ran a site
   containing information about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, was
   detained on June 3, 2000 on the eve of the massacre's eleventh anniversary.
   One of the items on Huang's Web site (http://6-4tianwang.com),
   which was originally a Web site about missing persons, was a letter from the
   mother of a young student killed during the demonstrations. The letter
   accused police of beating her son to death. On July 14, 2000, Huang's wife
   Zeng Li was officially notified that her husband was being charged with
   "subversion. " Huang's trial began on February 13, 2001. It was
   suspended after Huang Qi collapsed in court on the afternoon of the trial's
   first day. On June 25, 2001, a relative of Huang's was notified that his
   trial was rescheduled for June 27. On June 26, the Chengdu Intermediate
   Court announced that the trial was again postponed indefinitely. On August
   14, Huang was tried secretly. No family members were allowed to attend. (See
   also "Trial of Chinese Website Creator to Reopen This Week,"
   Agence France-Presse, June 26, 2001; "CHINA: Jailed Internet publisher
   tried in secret," Committee to Protect Journalists, August 16, 2001.)
   
   
6. Jiang Shihua, a high school computer teacher in Nanchong, was
   arrested on August 16, 2000 after publishing articles online that criticized
   the Chinese government. Using the pen name Shumin, which means "common
   citizen," Jiang started writing and posting articles on August 11, 2000
   from the Silicon Valley Internet Caf? which he owns. Jiang was immediately
   charged with "subverting the state power. " According to the
   Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, a court in Nanchong
   sentenced Jiang to two years in jail in December 2000. On May 18, 2001, the
   Higher People's Court in the southwestern province of Sichuan upheld his
   conviction. (See also "Web dissident sentenced to two years
   imprisonment," Reporters sans fronti鑢es Action Alert, March 14, 2001,
   "Chinese Court Turns Down Internet Dissident's Appeal: Rights
   Center," Agence France-Presse, May 23, 2001.)
   
   
7. Jin Haike, a geological engineer, was one of four intellectuals
   detained in Beijing on March 13, 2001 and charged with subversion on April
   20, 2001. Jin, along with Consumer Daily reporter Xu Wei, software developer
   Yang Zili, and freelance writer Zhang Honghai - had co-founded the "New
   Youth Study Group," a discussion group that discussed Chinese political
   reform, particularly in rural areas. The center said that university
   students participated in the study group's events and that members posted
   material on a Web site and sent e-mails to each other. A fifth intellectual,
   Zhang Yanhua, was also detained with the four but was later released. Jin,
   Xu, Yang, and Zhang were tried on September 28, 2001. (See also "China
   Said to Charge Four of Subversion," Associated Press, May 21, 2001;
   "China Charges Four with Subversion: Rights Group," Reuters, May
   21, 2001; "Four Chinese intellectuals tried for subversion,"
   Digital Freedom Network, September 28, 2001.)
   
   
8. Li Hongmin was arrested around June 10, 2001 and sent to a
   detention center in his hometown of Shaoyang (Hunan Province). Sources for
   the U.S.-based dissident publication VIP Reference and the Hong Kong-based
   Information Center of Human Rights and Democracy said that he was arrested
   after e-mailing copies of the Chinese version of The Tiananmen Papers to
   friends. The Tiananmen Papers are a collection of documents allegedly
   smuggled out of China that reveal the decisions of China's top leaders
   before, during, and after the bloody June 4, 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy
   demonstrations. (See also "Chinese Held for Distributing 'Tiananmen
   Papers' on the Internet, Agence France-Presse, July 2, 2001; E-mail with
   Richard Long, June 27, 2001.)
   
   
9. Liu Wenyu, a professor of electric power at Tsinghua University,
   was sentenced on December 13, 2001 to three years in prison for spreading
   information on the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement over the Internet,
   according to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and
   Democracy. In addition to Liu, five others were sentenced by the Beijing No.
   1 Intermediate People's Court on December 13: Liu's wife Yao Yue, a
   microelectronics researcher at Tsinghua University; Tsinghua staff member
   Dong Yanhong; Wang Xin, an academic at Tsinghua University; Tsinghua
   electronics professor Meng Jun; and Wang Xuefei, graduate student at a
   Shanghai university. ("6 Convicted in China Falun Gong Case,"
   Associated Press, December 24, 2001, "China Jails Six for Falun Gong
   Web Activity - Group," Reuters, December 23, 2001.)
   
   
10. Liu Weifang was sentenced in northwestern China for posting
    articles on Internet chatrooms that criticized the Communist Party, the
    Xinjiang Daily reported on June 15, 2001. The paper said that the small
    business owner was convicted of inciting subversion against state power. Liu
    had posted several articles in 1999 and 2000 that criticized both the Party
    and China's top leaders. Although he used the Internet name "Lgwf,"
    Chinese officials determined that he posted the articles. (See also
    "Chinese Man Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Cyber
    Writings," Agence France-Presse, June 18, 2001.)
    
    
11. Lu Xinhua was detained on March 11, 2001 in Wuhan, capital of
    central China's Hubei province, according to the Information Center for
    Human Rights and Democracy. On April 20, 2001, he was formally charged with
    inciting to subvert state power. The group said that Lu was the most active
    dissident on the Internet in Wuhan. He often posted on overseas Web sites
    essays promoting democracy in China and reports on human rights violations
    in Wuhan. On January 14, 2002, the Wuhan Municipal Intermediate People's
    Court convicted him and sentenced him to four years in prison. Lu was
    convicted for an article of his in which he attacked Chinese President Jiang
    Zemin. The article said that only a system of "mutual supervision"
    and a more stable system of laws would reduce corruption in China, according
    to Agence France-Presse. (See also "China Charges, Tries Internet
    Dissidents: Group," Reuters, April 25, 2001; "Two More Chinese
    Fall Afoul of Internet Laws: Report," Agence France-Presse, April 25,
    2001; "Two Chinese political dissidents jailed for airing views on
    Internet," Agence France-Presse, January 14, 2002.)
    
    
12. Meng Jun, an electronics professor at Tsinghua University, was
    sentenced on December 13, 2001 to 10 years in prison for spreading
    information on the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement over the Internet,
    according to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and
    Democracy. In addition to Meng, five others were sentenced by the Beijing
    No. 1 Intermediate People's Court on December 13: Yao Yue, a
    microelectronics researcher at Tsinghua University; Yao's husband Liu Wenyu,
    a professor of electric power at Tsinghua University; Wang Xin, an academic
    at Tsinghua University; Tsinghua staff member Dong Yanhong; and Wang Xin,
    graduate student at a Shanghai university. ("6 Convicted in China Falun
    Gong Case," Associated Press, December 24, 2001, "China Jails Six
    for Falun Gong Web Activity - Group," Reuters, December 23, 2001.)
    
    
13. Qi Yanchen, sentenced to four years in prison on September 19,
    2000, is the first Chinese convicted of subversion for material he wrote
    that was published on the Internet. The charges stem from articles that Qi
    wrote for the November 1998 and January 1999 issues of Open magazine in Hong
    Kong and published under the pen name Ji Li. Qi was also officially charged
    for writing articles in the May 6, 1999 and May 17, 1999 articles of the
    U.S.-based Chinese dissident e-mail publication Dacankao (V.I.P. Reference).
    Qi was arrested on September 2, 1999 in the northeastern Chinese city of
    Botou. According to V.I.P. Reference, who spoke to Qi's wife Mi Hongwu, Qi
    Yanchen's right to appeal his conviction expired on September 29, 2000.
    Although Mi wanted to appeal the conviction, Qi's lawyer decided not to help
    him due to pressure from the National Security Bureau at Cangzhou.
    
    
14. Wang Jinbo, 29, was arrested on May 12, 2001 for
    "defaming" police on the Internet, according to the Information
    Center on Human Rights and Democracy. He was arrested in Junan town in
    eastern China's Shandong province. When Wang's father asked for more
    information about the charges against his son, police threatened to arrest
    him as well. On December 13, 2001, the Intermediate People's Court in Linyi,
    Shandong, found Wang guilty of subversion for publishing foreign news
    articles on the Internet and posting an online message that urged the
    government to re-evaluate the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations
    at Tiananmen Square. He began a hunger strike on January 9, 2002 because
    prison guards did not allow his family to see him. (See also "Chinese
    dissident arrested for defaming police online," Agence France-Presse,
    May 12, 2001, "Outlawed party member jailed," Reuters, December
    14, 2001, "Rights activist sentenced to four years in jail,"
    Deutsche Presse-Agentur, December 14, 2001; "CHINA: China jails
    dissident for subversion - HK group," Reuters, January 14, 2002.)
    
    
15. Wang Sen, a member of the banned China Democracy Party, was
    arrested on April 30, 2001 for seeking to usurp power according to the
    Information Center on Human Rights and Democracy. Wang had posted an
    allegation that the southwestern Chinese city of Dachuan's medical center
    had sold tuberculosis medicine, which was donated by the Red Cross, at
    inflated prices. He was arrested in Dachuan, located in Sichuan province.
    (See also "Chinese dissident arrested for defaming police online,"
    Agence France-Presse, May 12, 2001.)
    
    
16. Wang Xin, an academic at Tsinghua University, was sentenced on
    December 13, 2001 to nine years in prison for spreading information on the
    banned Falun Gong spiritual movement over the Internet, according to the
    Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy. In
    addition to Wang, five others were sentenced by the Beijing No. 1
    Intermediate People's Court on December 13: Yao Yue, a microelectronics
    researcher at Tsinghua University; Yao's husband Liu Wenyu, a professor of
    electric power at Tsinghua University; Tsinghua staff member Dong Yanhong;
    Tsinghua electronics professor Meng Jun; and Wang Xuefei, graduate student
    at a Shanghai university. ("6 Convicted in China Falun Gong Case,"
    Associated Press, December 24, 2001, "China Jails Six for Falun Gong
    Web Activity - Group," Reuters, December 23, 2001.)
    
    
17. Wang Xuefei, graduate student at a Shanghai university, was
    sentenced on December 13, 2001 to 11 years in prison for spreading
    information on the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement over the Internet,
    according to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and
    Democracy. In addition to Wang, five others were sentenced by the Beijing
    No. 1 Intermediate People's Court on December 13: Yao Yue, a
    microelectronics researcher at Tsinghua University; Yao's husband Liu Wenyu,
    a professor of electric power at Tsinghua University; Wang Xin, an academic
    at Tsinghua University; Tsinghua staff member Dong Yanhong; and Tsinghua
    electronics professor Meng Jun. ("6 Convicted in China Falun Gong
    Case," Associated Press, December 24, 2001, "China Jails Six for
    Falun Gong Web Activity - Group," Reuters, December 23, 2001.)
    
    
18. Wang Zhenyong, a 30-year-old former assistant professor in
    psychology at Southwestern Normal University, was arrested in China for
    e-mailing four articles about the Falun Gong spiritual group to a colleague,
    according to the Chongqing Daily seen by Agence France-Presse on June 2,
    2001. He downloaded the articles from an overseas Web site in December 2000
    and forwarded the articles to a colleague, who then distributed the articles
    over the Internet. (See also "Academic Arrested in China for Spreading
    Falungong Views Via Internet," Agence France-Presse, June 2, 2001.)
    
    
19. Xu Wei, reporter for Consumer Daily, was one of four intellectuals
    detained in Beijing on March 13, 2001 and later accused of unspecified
    charges. Jin had co-founded the "New Youth Study Group," a
    discussion group that discussed Chinese political reform, particularly in
    rural areas. Members posted material on a Web site and sent e-mails to each
    other. Xu was tried on September 28, 2001. (See also "China Said to
    Charge Four of Subversion," Associated Press, May 21, 2001; "China
    Charges Four with Subversion: Rights Group," Reuters, May 21, 2001;
    "Four Chinese intellectuals tried for subversion," Digital Freedom
    Network, September 28, 2001.)
    
    
20. Yang Zili, a software developer known for his outspoken criticism
    of communism and a grass-roots activist at Beijing University, and his wife
    Lu Kun were detained by security agents on March 13, 2001. Lu was released
    two days later, but Yang remains in custody. Yang had co-founded the
    "New Youth Study Group," a discussion group that discussed Chinese
    political reform, particularly in rural areas. Members posted material on a
    Web site and sent e-mails to each other. Yang ran the Web sites http://thought.home.sohu.com,
    http://yangzi.00books.com,
    and "Yang Zi's Garden of Ideas" (http://lib.126.com).
    Yang received a master's degree in geophysics in 1998 at Beijing University.
    Yang was tried on September 28, 2001. (See also "Dissident Web Writer
    Arrested in Beijing," Free China Movement press release, March 24,
    2001; "Some Supplementary Information About Yang Zili," Lu Kun;
    "China Said to Charge Four of Subversion," Associated Press, May
    21, 2001; "China Charges Four with Subversion: Rights Group,"
    Reuters, May 21, 2001; "Four Chinese intellectuals tried for
    subversion," Digital Freedom Network, September 28, 2001.)
    
    
21. Yao Yue, a microelectronics researcher at Tsinghua University, was
    sentenced on December 13, 2001 to 12 years in prison for spreading
    information on the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement over the Internet,
    according to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and
    Democracy. In addition to Yao, five others were sentenced by the Beijing No.
    1 Intermediate People's Court on December 13: Yao's husband Liu Wenyu, a
    professor of electric power at Tsinghua University; Tsinghua staff member
    Dong Yanhong; Tsinghua electronics professor Meng Jun; Tsinghua academic
    Wang Xin; and Wang Xuefei, graduate student at a Shanghai university.
    ("6 Convicted in China Falun Gong Case," Associated Press,
    December 24, 2001, "China Jails Six for Falun Gong Web Activity -
    Group," Reuters, December 23, 2001.)
    
    
22. Zhang Haitao, 30, creator of the only China-based Web site on the
    outlawed Falun Gong, was charged with subversion on October 11, 2000 in
    Changchun, Jilin Province. Zhang, a computer engineer in the Xu Ri Computer
    Company, is accused of establishing a site promoting Falun Gong in May and
    of posting an online petition urging followers to protest the government ban
    on the group. Authorities shut down his site on July 24, 2000; Zhang was
    detained on July 29. ("News Update," China Rights Forum (Winter
    2000/1), http://www.hrichina.org/crf/english/00winter/00W16_NewsUpdate.html)
    
    
23. Zhang Honghai, a freelance writer, was one of four intellectuals
    detained in Beijing on March 13, 2001 and later accused of unspecified
    charges. Zhang had co-founded the "New Youth Study Group," a
    discussion group that discussed Chinese political reform, particularly in
    rural areas. Members posted material on a Web site and sent e-mails to each
    other. Zhang was tried on September 28, 2001. (See also "China Said to
    Charge Four of Subversion," Associated Press, May 21, 2001; "China
    Charges Four with Subversion: Rights Group," Reuters, May 21, 2001;
    "Four Chinese intellectuals tried for subversion," Digital Freedom
    Network, September 28, 2001.)
    
    
24. Zhang Ji, a college student in Heilongjiang Province, was charged
    on November 8, 2000 with "disseminating reactionary documents via the
    Internet. " Authorities say Zhang had e-mailed information to U.S.- and
    Canada-based Web sites of the Falun Gong religious group. They say he also
    downloaded news about the group and shared it with others in China.
    ("News Update," China Rights Forum (Winter 2000/1), http://www.hrichina.org/crf/english/00winter/00W16_NewsUpdate.html)
    
    
25. Zhu Ruixiang, a lawyer and former producer of the Shaoyang Radio
    Station, was charged with subversion and sentenced to three years in prison
    on September 14, 2001 after he forwarded e-mail messages to 12 people inside
    China. The messages, deemed "reactionary" by a court in Shaoyang
    in the southern province of Hunan, contained copies of V.I.P. Reference (Dacankao),
    a daily e-mail publication based in the U.S. consisting of articles and
    essays related to democracy in China. Zhu was arrested on May 8, 2001, and
    Public Security Bureau officials confiscated his computer, according to the
    U.S.-based Free China Movement. (See also "China hands three-year jail
    term for relaying e-mail," Agence France-Presse, September 15, 2001;
    "Official verdict of judgment of Zhu Ruixiang," Digital Freedom
    Network, September 25, 2001.)