The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in People's Republic of China.

Brief Description of the Situation

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has been informed by a reliable source that since the forced resettlement of villagers following the Three Gorges Dam project in Hubei Province, dozens of villagers who have been petitioning and protesting against the conditions imposed on those resettled for the project, have been harassed, injured or detained over the past 10 years. Among them is Three Gorges Dam resettlement activist Mr. Fu Xiancai, who was struck by an unknown assailant from behind on 8 June 2006. Following the attack, Mr. Fu Xiancai was paralysed from the shoulders down and lost control of all bodily functions except his ability to speak.

According to the information received, numerous villagers were forcibly resettled since the 1990’s following the Three Gorges Dam project. In many cases, villagers have not only been resettled on land greatly inferior to that of their original homes, but they have also been deprived of the compensation promised to them by corrupt local officials. These cases are allegedly so common and well documented that they constitute a systemic abuse that should be addressed by the central authorities. However, it is reported that the central government continues to turn a blind eye to abuses against Three Gorges villagers and victims of land grabs throughout China, with the result that rural discontent is increasingly becoming a destabilizing factor nationwide.

According to the information received, Mr. Fu Xiancai was interviewed in May 2006 by the German public television station ‘Das Erste’, for the program ‘A Celebration of the Construction of the Three Gorges Dam’, which was broadcasted on 20 May 2006. It is reported that Mr. Wang Xiankui, leader of the security squad of the Public Security Bureau in Zigui Country, Hubei Province, warned Mr. Fu Xiancai that this kind of ‘opportunist’ interview ‘would not have good consequences’. Moreover, Mr. Xiancai was warned that he could easily be sent off to ‘Re-education Through Labour’ and that the interview might have negative consequences for his family. On the morning of 8 June 2006, Mr. Wang Xiankui called Mr. Fu Xiancai in to discuss about the interview. When Mr. Xiancai was walking home after this meeting, he was attacked by an unknown person from behind with a heavy object, which left him unconscious on the side of the road. After lying there for about half an hour, a passer-by called for emergency assistance, which brought him to the local hospital. He was then transferred to No.1. People’s Hospital in Yichang city, where the necessary surgery could be carried out. However, at first the operation was postponed because Mr. Xiancai had a fever. Later on, the surgery was not carried out due to lack of funds. The surgery would cost a minimum of 60.000 yuan but the family only managed to collect a total of 20.000 yuan from friends and families. This delay comes despite promises from Chinese officials that Mr. Xiancai would receive all necessary medical treatment for his injuries, and after strong expressions of concern and support from the international community. On 15 June 2006, this promise was reasserted by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman. However, according to HRIC sources, the surgery was not carried out yet on 16 June 2006.

The attack followed a pattern of harassment and threats of Mr. Xiancai and his family over the course of more then a year in which he has come under constant surveillance, and he and his family have been subjected to chilling harassment, threats, assaults and injuries by mafia elements, but local authorities have failed to apprehend the culprits or provide any protection. HRIC was informed by sources that the second, fifth, sixth and seventh vertebrae of Mr. Xiancai were injured by the attack of 8 June 2006 and that the sixth was actually shattered. It is reported that he may be able to regain some use of his hands, but will probably remain confined to a wheelchair. Mr. Xiancai is the sole breadwinner in his family, which includes two sons of whom the elder one is about to enter college.

According to the information received, the Chinese authorities have been trying to prevent the news of Mr. Fu Xiancai’s assault and injuries from getting out. Police officers have been keeping a 24-hour surveillance on Mr. Xiancai’s ward and only his immediate family members have been allowed to visit him. The incident was reported by an unknown person to the German journalist who by arrival at the hospital with a photographer was denied access to Mr. Xiancai’s room. On 15 June 2006, at around 8.00 pm, three German officials from Germany’s Beijing Embassy visited Mr. Fu Xiancai at Yinching. However, after a couple of minutes of conversation they were required to leave by the police officers. The police also refused to allow the German diplomats to leave their name cards. Around 9.00 am on 16 June 2006, the three diplomats returned to the hospital in the company of a Hubei Province foreign official, and after consultation with hospital administrators, they were allowed to visit Mr. Fu Xiancai. Furthermore, according to HRIC sources, the three German diplomats told Mr. Fu Xiancai that they were visiting on behalf of the German government and that they had already expressed their hopes for the fast recovery of Mr. Xiancai to hospital officials. In return, Mr. Fu Xiancai told the German diplomats that ‘I have no regrets for giving the interview to the German television station. This case only goes to show that China still has no genuine rule of law, and the public has no means of expressing its view through normal channels’. Mr. Fu Xiancai eventually underwent surgery on 18 June 2006, following the funding provided for the operation by the German government.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by the continues harassment, injuring, and detention of Three Gorges Dams activists and urges the Chinese authortities to guarantee their psysical and psycological integrity. Furthermore, OMCT calls on the Chinese Government to immediately launch an impartial investigation into the allegations of ill-treatment, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the civil penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law, as well as to provide adequate reparation to Mr. Fu Xiancai.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in the People's Republic of China urging them to:

i. Ensure that Mr. Fu Xiancai is provided with all required medical assistance, relating to the attack, at present and in the future;

ii. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the civil penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;

iii. Guarantee that adequate compensation is awarded to Mr. Fu Xiancai, and to all other Three Gorges Dam activists who became victim;

iv. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all villagers who were forcibly resettled and ensure that they receive adequate compensation;

v. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

- President Hu Jintao, People's Republic of China, c/o Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China, Chemin de Surville 11, Case postale 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Geneve, Suisse, Fax: +4122 7937014, E-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int

- Minister of Justice of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Fusen Buzhang, Sifabu, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 65 292345

- Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Li Zhaoxing Buzhang Waijiaobu, 2 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Beijingshi 100701, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6588 2594, Email: ipc@fmprc.gov.cn

- The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Brussels, Mr. Guan Chenjyyuan, Av. De Terveuren, 463, 1160 Audergheim, Tel: +32 (0) 2 663 30 10 / 663 30 17 / 711 14 97; Fax: + 32 (0) 2 762 99 66 /779 28 95 ; E-mail : chinaemb.be@mfa.gov.cn

Please also write to the embassies of the People's Republic of China in your respective country.

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Geneva, 20 June 2006