2 elderly Chinese women 'punished' for applying to hold protests

Wednesday 20th August, 04:40 PM JST

BEIJING —

Two women in their 70s who applied to hold protests during the Beijing Olympics have each been ordered to serve one-year terms of re-education through labor for ‘‘disturbing public order,’’ a human rights group said Wednesday, quoting one of the women’s families. Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, have been ordered to serve the punishment after they repeatedly tried to apply to hold a demonstration at one of three special ‘‘protest parks’’ in the Chinese capital over their eviction from their homes in Beijing, the U.S.-based group Human Rights in China said. The rights group, quoting Wu’s son Li Xuehui, said the sentence was ordered by Beijing’s municipal government, which has ruled that the two former neighbors will not have to serve their punishment in a labor camp but restrictions will be placed on their movements. Wu and Wang received notices saying their sentences will start from the end of July, and if they violate the terms of the ruling they will be sent to a re-education through labor camp, the rights group statement said.

Beijing’s Public Security Bureau announced earlier this week that all 77 applications it has received so far to hold protests during the Olympic Games have been turned down. The bureau said the vast majority had been ‘‘withdrawn’’ because the disputes could be solved through consultations with government departments or other bodies. Another rights group, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, said earlier this week that it knows that at least two people who applied to hold demonstrations in Beijing during the Olympics have been detained by the authorities, but it fears for the safety of others. The detained include, Ji Sizun, 58, a civil rights activist from the eastern province of Fujian who has been held by the government’s Petitions Bureau after applying to hold a protest against government corruption, the rights group said. Re-education through labor is usually enforced on those committing less serious crimes, but the practice has been widely condemned by international human rights groups because detainees can be held for up to four years without any formal charges, trial or legal hearings. Several illegal demonstrations have been held in the Chinese capital over the past three weeks to coincide with the Olympics, including protests by foreign pro-Tibetan independence activists and a small group of Christian religious campaigners from the United States. Protests have to be approved in advance by the local authorities and police in China, or they are deemed illegal. As a result, officially sanctioned demonstrations are extremely rare and are usually held in support of government policy.

Kyodo

10 Comments

geronimo2006 at 05:43 PM JST - 20th August

Good to hear basic human rights and respect for the elderly still go hand in hand in China. Who in their right mind would believe there exists such a thing as re-education through labor, for people in their 70's, who probably got ripped off by the govt. China won't get the respect it desires until it changes.
romulus3 at 08:54 PM JST - 20th August

Two women in their 70s who applied to hold protests during the Beijing Olympics have each been ordered to serve one-year terms of re-education through labor for ‘‘disturbing public order,’

oh come on China, you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. Also they are obvious pawns. They are being used by someone who does not mind exploiting the weak and elderly through some kind of loop whole in Chinese law. As if these 2 70 year old woman would really care a damn about protesting. What a bunch of rubbish.
adaydream at 09:56 PM JST - 20th August

This is a real shame. With all the advancements that China has made, and then this. It just kinda wipes out many advancements and good stuff in people minds when they read this. < :-)
AlliedForces at 11:09 PM JST - 20th August

What the world needs is for George Bush to condemn this behaivour.

He needs to give the Chinese authorities a lesson on how to become a free society. Elderly ladies are not a threat bto Chinese security.
rajakumar at 11:17 PM JST - 20th August

Not good publicity for China here by punishing 2 elderly women.

Advancement must go with more soul and more mercies.
Pukey2 at 11:55 PM JST - 20th August

This is ridiculous! That's all I can say.
OssanULTRA at 12:04 AM JST - 21st August

" Also they are obvious pawns. They are being used by someone who does not mind exploiting the weak and elderly through some kind of loop whole in Chinese law. As if these 2 70 year old woman would really care a damn about protesting. What a bunch of rubbish."

The fact that poor and elderly have been forcably moved from their homes to make way for the Beijing Olympics has in in the news on and off for about a year. I don't doubt at all that these women were evicted, lost their homes and are legally trying to seek compensation. If there is any criticism it ought to be aimed at the Chinese Government with it's absurd "You can't protest without a permit but if you apply for one you will be punished" policy. "When Beijing won their bid for the 2008 Olympics, they said it showed a new era for China, acceptance into the modern way of life, and that it would improve conditions for the Chinese people and lower human rights violations. Two million people who have lost their homes and forty thousand who have been imprisoned and beaten for staging quiet protests would have something else to say about that. An estimated two hundred thousand are still living on the streets, unable to find temporary housing and not able to stay with family." http://emphaticasterisk.com/2008/02/23/beijing-olympics-come-at-a-high-price/
SuperLib at 12:09 AM JST - 21st August

Are they called "protest parks" because the government designated them as areas where people could protest with permission?
OssanULTRA at 12:17 AM JST - 21st August

"Are they called "protest parks" because the government designated them as areas where people could protest with permission?"

They should be called "Punishment Parks" because if you apply for a permit to demonstrate there you will be punished.
tclh at 05:23 AM JST - 21st August

CCP can not afford to allow this kind of protest because if it does, the matter will soon get out of control! Over the years so many millions chinese lost their lands because of dams, commercialisation, corruption, Olympic, but guess what? tommorrow is business as usual with China. The exciting games, Bird's Nest stadium, opening cerenony,PROFITS... will guarantee that.