Chinese Government's Blacklist of Chinese Dissidents
IFCSS
1. CHINA: ENFORCED EXILE OF DISSIDENTS, Government "Re-entry Blacklist" Revealed
Human Rights Watch/Asia Human Rights In China
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Fl. 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3309
New York, NY 10118 New York, NY 10118
Vol.7 No.1
CHINA: ENFORCED EXILE OF DISSIDENTS
Government "Re-entry Blacklist" Revealed
Introduction
The existence of confidential Chinese government blacklists barring
overseas-based pro-democracy and human rights activists from returning
to China has long been suspected by the exiled Chinese dissident community
and other concerned observers. Until now, however, no conclusive
documentary evidence confirming the operation of such a policy has ever
come to light. In this report, Human Rights Watch/Asia and Human Rights
in China provide details of a document they obtained that was issued
secretly by China's Ministry of Public Security in May 1994. The document
is titled "A List of Forty-Nine Overseas Members of Reactionary
Organizations Currently Subject to Major Control." All those named on the
list are identified by the security authorities as being subject to
government decrees currently banning them from re-entering China. The
overwhelming majority of those on the re-entry blacklist have consistently
advocated the use of peaceful means for achieving greater democracy and
human rights in China. Almost 50 percent of those listed were placed on
police "most wanted" notices after June 4, 1989, all in connection with
alleged offenses arising from their exercise of internationally recognized
rights to free speech and association during the protest movement of that
year. None of those on the blacklist is known to have committed any act
which could be construed as criminal under international law.
Prominent among those listed are a number of former political prisoners
who, in response to sustained diplomatic pressure from the United States
government over the question of China's Most Favored Nation (MFN) status,
were finally granted passports or exit permits and allowed to leave China
for temporary study or medical purposes in the U.S. Prior to August 1991,
when the majority of the banning orders were issued, China, for the most
part, had prevented such people or their relatives from leaving the country.
The banning orders, coming as public debate in the United States over
China's MFN status was increasing, indicated a policy shift that enabled
the Chinese government to achieve two objectives at once. The authorities
allowed dissidents to leave, thereby appearing to appease human rights
critics in the U.S., while at the same time, they secretly pursued a
policy of sending former political
prisoners and other dissidents into involuntary exile abroad.(1)
Others named on the re-entry blacklist had their passports canceled by
Beijing or confiscated by Chinese consular officials while still living
overseas, thereby rendering them effectively stateless.(2) None have ever
been formally notified that they are no longer permitted to return to
China; some only learned of the prohibition when they attempted to go back.
The illegality of the Chinese government's behavior in imposing these bans
is amply demonstrated by a series of United Nations documents. According
to Article 1 (paragraph 2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a
document so fundamental to the operation of the U.N. that all member states
are deemed to fully endorse it simply by virtue of their participation in
the organization, "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including
his own, and to return to his country." The principle is reinforced in
Article 12 (paragraph 4) of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (iccpr): "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the
right to enter his own country." As noted above, moreover, China's
re-entry blacklist in some cases rendered those concerned effectively
stateless, in cases where the individual's passport was canceled or
confiscated. According to Article 15 (paragraph 2) of the iccpr, "No
one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right
to change his nationality." And Article 9 of the UN Convention on the
Reduction of Statelessness (1961) stipulates: "A Contracting State may
not deprive any person or group of persons of their nationality on
racial, ethnic, religious or political grounds."(3)
The May 1994 Blacklist
Included on the re-entry blacklist are all of the principal student
leaders of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement who subsequently
escaped to the West, together with numerous leading intellectuals, writers
and former government officials who likewise played leading roles in the
movement and later arrived in the West under similar circumstances. The
full document provides details of each person's name and date of birth;
passport type (if any), together with serial number and date of
expirations and whether or not the passports have been cancelled or
confiscated; whether or not the person has been placed on a police
"wanted" list, and if so, the document's serial number; the date on which
the individual was secretly banned from re-entering China, together with
the serial number of the relevant prc Border Control Notice; whether or
not a photo of the banned person may be found on police files; and the
specific action to be taken by the border authorities if the person is
discovered trying to enter China.
(The rest of this long file is omitted. As the appendix of this file,
there is a list of all 49 individuals with Dr. Jian-li Yang being one of
them)
2. 17 PROMINENT CHINESE DISSIDENTS DEMAND THE RIGHT TO RETURN TO CHINA
HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA PRESS RELEASE
21 October 1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -MEDIA ADVISORY
Contacts:
Christine Haenn 202 544-0200 ext. 225
Xiao Qiang 212/661-2909
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1997
PRESS CONFERENCE
17 PROMINENT CHINESE DISSIDENTS LIVING IN EXILE IN THE U.S. DEMAND THE
RIGHT TO RETURN TO CHINA
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On the occasion of President Clinton's summit with
Chinese President Jiang Zemin, seventeen exiled Chinese scholars, labor
organizers and former student activists will join AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
USA, HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA and HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH at a PRESS CONFERENCE
to present to President Clinton and to President Zemin specific human
rights issues that must be addressed during the summit and then used as
measurements of progress in human rights protections in China.
WHEN:
Tuesday, October 28, 1997, 10:00 AM
WHERE:
National Press Club
Holeman Lounge
14th & F Sts., NW
Washington, DC 20045
SPEAKERS:
Liu Qing, Chairman, Human Rights in China
William F. Schultz, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA
Liu Binyan, a well known Chinese author and journalist
Tong Yi, former assistant to Wei Jingsheng
Sidney Jones, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch/Asia and
Li Lu, former student leader at Tiananmen Square who will present the
dissidents.
MODERATOR:
Xiao Qiang, Executive Director, Human Rights in China
PRESENCE BY:
17 PROMINENT CHINESE DISSIDENTS LIVING IN EXILE IN THE U.S. DEMANDING THE
RIGHT TO RETURN TO CHINA
Chen Pokong Chen Yizi Fu Shenqi Guo Luoji Hu Ping
Li Lu Liu binyan Lu Jinghua Liu Qing Tang Boqiao
Tong Yi Wang Juntao Xiao Qiang Yang Jianli Zhao Haiqing
Zhang Lin Zheng Yi
For more information about Chinese government's "Re-entry Blacklist"
click here.
HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA (HRIC)
350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3309, New York, NY 10118
tel: 212-239-4495 fax: 212-239-2561
hrichina@hrichina.org
http://www.hrichina.org
17 PROMINENT CHINESE DISSIDENTS LIVING IN EXILE IN THE U.S. DEMANDING
THE RIGHT TO RETURN TO CHINA:
(List of the 17. Details of other names omitted)
Yang Jianli, 33. Came to the United States as a student in 1982. Currently a
student at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
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Source: "IFCSS".
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