Re: [Marxism] Workers bore brunt of Tiananmen Repression

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Eli Stephens wrote:
> 
> Yesterday, the New York Times ran an article 
> (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/world/asia/04protester.html?_r=1&ref=world&pagewanted=print)
>  interviewing two former protesters, both of whom served two years in prison. 
> Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989) 
> says that "Wang Dan, the student leader who topped the most wanted list, 
> spent seven years in prison." Given these facts, it seems highly unlikely 
> that anyone still in prison after 20 years was a mere "protester." Far more 
> likely is that were among those involved with physical assaults, including 
> murder, on members of the PLA.

You clearly have a more sanguine view of the Chinese legal system than I do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/world/asia/20iht-protest.4.15476805.html

BEIJING — Two women in their late 70s have been sentenced to a year of 
"re-education through labor" after they repeatedly sought a permit to 
demonstrate in one of the official Olympic protest areas, according to 
family members and human rights advocates.

The women, Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, had made five visits 
to the police this month in an effort to obtain permission to protest 
what they contended was inadequate compensation for the demolition of 
their homes in Beijing. During their final visit, on Monday, Public 
Security officials informed them that they had been given administrative 
sentences for "disturbing the public order," according to Li Xuehui, 
Wu's son.

Li said his mother and Wang, a former neighbor who is nearly blind, were 
allowed to return home but were told they could be sent to a detention 
center at any moment. "Can you imagine two old ladies in their 70s being 
re-educated through labor?" he asked.

The repeat arrests and detentions of aspiring protesters who appeared to 
follow official procedures for registering their complaints are perhaps 
the most striking example of how the Olympics have so far failed to 
force China to relax political controls, even for the short duration of 
the games.

A man who answered the phone at the Public Security Bureau declined to 
give out information about the case.

At least a half dozen people have been detained by the authorities after 
they responded to a government announcement late last month designating 
venues in three city parks as "protest zones" during the Olympics. So 
far, no demonstrations have taken place.

Xinhua, the state news agency, reported that 77 people had submitted 
protest applications, none of which had been approved. Xinhua, quoting a 
Public Security spokesperson, said all but three applicants had dropped 
their requests after their complaints had been "properly addressed by 
relevant authorities or departments through consultations." The last 
three applications were rejected as incomplete or violating Chinese law.

But the authorities have refused to explain what happened to applicants 
who disappeared after they submitted their paperwork. Gao Chuancai, a 
farmer from northeast China who was hoping to publicize government 
corruption, was forcibly escorted back to his hometown last week and 
remains in custody.

Relatives of Zhang Wei, a Beijing resident who was also seeking to 
protest the demolition of her home, were told she would be kept at a 
detention center for a month. Two rights advocates from southern China 
have not been heard from since they were seized at the Public Security 
Bureau's protest application office last week.

Wu and Wang were well known to the authorities for their persistent 
campaign for greater compensation for the demolition of their homes. Li 
said his family had given up their home in 2001 with the expectation 
that they would get one in the new development that replaced it. 
Instead, he said, the family has been forced to live in a ramshackle 
apartment on the capital's outskirts.

"I feel very sad and angry because we're only asking for the basic right 
of housing, and it's been six years. But nobody will do anything to help 
them," Li said. He said he and Wang's daughter tried to apply for their 
own protest permit on Tuesday but the police would not even give them 
the necessary forms.

The two elderly women were given administrative sentences to what is 
known as re-education through labor, or laojiao, which seeks to reform 
political and religious dissenters and those charged with minor crimes 
such as prostitution and petty theft. Government officials say that more 
than 200,000 people are detained in re-education centers for terms 
ranging from one to three years, although detentions can be extended for 
those whose rehabilitation is deemed inadequate.

Human rights advocates have criticized the system because punishment is 
handed down by officials without a trial or means of appeal. Last year, 
the government grappled with revamping the system but backed off in the 
face of opposition from Public Security officials.

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