Writers in Prison Committee

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY (10 DECEMBER)

The People's Republic of China: The Case of Huang Jinqiu

Summary: Internet use is growing exponentially in China, but the government has introduced a battery of measures in an attempt to fetter free access to it. At last count, the Chinese authorities are currently detaining more than sixty cyber-dissidents. Writer and journalist Huang Jinqiu's recent sentencing to 12 years in prison is a worrying example of the Chinese authorities' determination to stifle all attempts to use the Internet as a rallying point for opposition activity.

Country Background

An Amnesty International report on China (Controls tighten as Internet activism grows) stated that as of 7 January 2004 a total of 54 people who had been detained for disseminating their beliefs or information through the Internet. By mid-2004, according to Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF), this figure had risen to 61. Those imprisoned include political dissidents, students, those associated with the banned spiritual group Falun Gong, writers, lawyers, businessmen and engineers. Signing online petitions, posting articles calling for reform, and communicating with groups abroad can all give rise to accusations of "subversion" and threatening "state security".

The apparatus the Chinese authorities have put in place to monitor the Internet is vast. All online communications pass through five hubs, which are systematically scrutinised for allegedly "subversive" material. Thousands of web-sites are fire-walled, so that users attempting to access them find their connection severed, or receive a message that there is no such web-site. For instance, one of the country's most popular discussion forums Yi Ta Hu Tu was closed down by the authorities as recently as 13 September 2004. Yi Ta Hu Tu had nearly 300,000 users and debated such sensitive topics as human rights and Taiwanese independence.

Many commentators believe that Internet interception and censorship is no where more developed than in China. Dissident communities abroad are constantly seeking new ways to ensure people in China can access their web-sites. One method is the use of "proxy relays", whereby a user in China dodges the Chinese filters by going online through a server abroad.

The first arrest of a cyber-dissident in China was that of Huang Qi in 2000 who was accused of "inciting subversion" through his postings on his own web-site. He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and is due for release in June 2005. He has been joined by scores of other activists, among them Tao Haidong, who is serving a seven-year prison term for "incitement to subvert state power" in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in northwest China. One of the heaviest penalties, however – a term of twelve years in prison – was handed down recently to Huang Jinqiu of Shandong Province.

The arrest of Huang Jinqiu

Huang Jinqiu was arrested on 13 September 2003, although this was not reported in the Chinese media until mid-December 2003, and it was only in January 2004 that the authorities officially acknowledged that he was in detention.

Active as a journalist since the age of 18, Huang became well-known among the Chinese community overseas when he moved to Malaysa and began to publish essays on the website Boxun.com. He used a pen-name, Qing Shuijun ("Mr. Clear-Water"). His pieces were collected into two volumes, one non-political and published under his real name, the other more political in its commentary and published under his pen-name for safety purposes. By 2001, the authorities were already alerted to his writing activities and apparently paid a visit to his parents, warning them of their concerns about his activities.

In January 2003, Huang announced on Boxun.com his plan to form a new party, the China Patriot Democracy Party. He returned to China in August 2003, travelling through various provinces and posting articles on Boxun.com as he went. By his own account, he was at times followed by the security police. By September 2003, he had arrived in his home province, Shandong, and visited his family there. His last article, "Me and My Public Security Friends" appeared on 10 September. Three days later, in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, he was arrested.

The trial of Huang Jinqiu

Huang's trial began on 22 June 2004 at the Changzhou Intermediate People's Court. At first, the Court declared there was insufficient evidence to convict him but the prosecution then assembled more material and, on 27 September 2004, the court sentenced him to twelve years' imprisonment. Specifically, the Court declared that he was guilty of "organising, planning and performing subversion of state power by publishing a large number of reactionary articles on the Internet in his capacity as member of the preparatory committee of the China Patriotic Democracy Party." In other words, the charges were based entirely on his literary output on the Internet and the Writers in Prison Committee believes he is being held solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression.

Huang Jinqiu is currently at the Changzhou Detention Centre, where, with the aid of his defence attorney Guo Guoting, he is appealing the sentence.

Huang Jinqiu's career

Born in Shandong Province in 1974, Huang attended a writers' class at the Lu Xun Literature Institute and was publishing articles for a local magazine in Shandong as early as age 18. His first book appeared when he was 20. He worked as a journalist and editor for several newspapers and magazines, including the Guanzhou daily Yangcheng Wanbao.

In 2000, he won a scholarship to study journalism at the Central Academy of Art in Malaysia. He remained abroad until 2003, teaching Chinese and writing for Chinese-language newspapers. He also studied for a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science. This period was marked by a prolific output of his online articles covering a range of topics from entertainment to politics. In August 2003, Huang decided to return to China for an extended trip, a decision that quickly led to his arrest.

Appeals to the Authorities

The Writers in Prison Committee calls on the Chinese authorities to release Huang Jinqiu from prison. It believes that his activities online were in accordance with his legitimate exercise of freedom of expression. Letters requesting that the sentence against him be quashed and that he be unconditionally released can be sent to:

His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People's Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
P.R. China

See also Recommended Actions for further action on Huang Jinqui's behalf.

Last updated: December 6, 2004