Beijing imposes “forced holidays” on Chinese dissidents
The Chinese government is forcing activists and human rights defenders to leave their homes under police escort to prevent protests or interviews during politically sensitive events. A report by Safeguard Defenders documents the practice, which is effectively a form of detention that violates human rights and, since Covid-19, has become less “luxurious” due to China's economic difficulties, but no less oppressive.
Beijing (AsiaNews) – The Chinese Communist Party is organising ‘forced holidays’ for activists, dissidents and human rights lawyers. This practice is reported in a recent report published by Safeguard Defenders. Entitled ‘China Travel Magazine: Dissident Edition’, the report documents how citizens are forced to leave their homes, often under police escort, during politically sensitive events to prevent them from organising protests, writing petitions or talking to the media and foreign officials. This is a practice that the CCP prefers to formal arrest in order not to attract international criticism.
Dates considered sensitive by Beijing include 4 June, the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, or days when internal political events are held, such as the ‘two sessions’ that take place every March and the CCP National Congress, which takes place every five years. But dissidents are sent on ‘holiday’ even during international summits or visits by foreign heads of state. The destinations of these forced trips vary widely, depending on the length of the event and, more recently, the budgets of local administrations.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, these trips could also include luxury hotels, expensive meals and sightseeing tours. A human rights lawyer said that Chinese officials competed for the right to accompany him because they saw the experience as a free holiday. However, since the pandemic, due to growing economic difficulties and reduced funds for “stability”, the trips have become shorter, cheaper and often limited to city suburbs. Activist Ji Feng, for example, reported that his forced trips were limited to areas close to the city where he lives, unlike in previous years when he was taken to more distant destinations. In some cases, the Chinese authorities preferred to impose house arrest or issue simple warnings to further contain expenses.
The report documents several cases. During the CCP's national congress in October 2022, for example, publisher and activist Bao Pu and his wife were forcibly taken out of Beijing, as were 70-year-old journalist Gao Yu and lawyer Pu Zhiqiang. Gao had previously been left without medicine during her journey. Before the two sessions in 2022, Yin Dengzhen, a signatory of several petitions, and her sick husband Xiao Shujun were forced to leave Beijing. ‘If they detain me, Xiao will starve to death in Beijing,’ Yin told the Rights Protection Network.
Beijing also implements another form of detention, known as Non-Release Release (NRR), in which high-profile activists released from prison are immediately taken to a distant hotel to prevent them from speaking to the media. This practice, although presented as a ‘vacation,’ is a serious violation of human rights, Safeguard Defenders points out, contrary to the right to freedom of movement and expression, and to privacy, as enshrined in both the Chinese Constitution (Articles 35 and 37) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Articles 9, 12 and 13).
The report also raises concerns about a possible extension of these measures to Hong Kong. Although there is no evidence of forced travel that falls under the standard definition, in 2023 pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow was subjected to similar coercive action: the city's national security police escorted her to Shenzhen for a CCP propaganda tour as a condition for the return of her passport. Chow said she agreed because it was the only way to get her passport and flee Hong Kong. She now lives in exile in Canada.
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