HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN CHINA  The Death Penalty  Criminal Justice System  One Child policy  Intolerance of Political Dissent  Denial of Religious freedom – focus on Falun Gong  Repression of Muslin Minority in Xinjiang  Tibet  Organ harvesting  Torture and ill treatment of prisoners  Workers’ rights

The Chinese Constitution(2004) states:  “The State respects and preserves Human Rights”

Legal System /The Media  Legal system – stated aim to be fair and open  Constitution states that people have freedom of speech  Internet – free exchange of information  Major media organisations are controlled by the government  Foreign owned media have to be licensed by the government  Favourable references to democracy and pro-democracy movements are effectively banned  Media is monitored by Central propaganda department (CPD)  CPD also controls official news agency ‘Xinhua’  Journalists have been arrested and some publications have been closed down  Internet – people might find out more than the govt. wants them to know. It is estimated that people monitoring the internet.

The Death Penalty  China executes more people each year than the rest of the world put together.  At least a thousand executions in China in 2006 but this figure could be nearer 8000  Applicable to 68 crimes in China including several violent crimes, such as robbery, rape and murder. It is also applicable to some non- violent crimes such as economic crimes (e.g. tax fraud and embezzlement) and drug offences where the circumstances are ‘serious’. Prisoners are executed by shooting, usually to the back of the head, and increasingly lethal injection.

Criminal Justice System  The Chinese judicial system is widely criticised by humanitarian groups.  Torture is still used to obtain confessions.  Chinese courts do not have juries and judges are mostly CCP members.

Religion  Religious freedom is guaranteed under the constitution  There are 5 government recognised religions  Falun Gong – declared illegal in 1999, CPC described it as a cult  Restricted to religious organisations that are registered with the government  Falun Gong ( a recent religious belief system) Practitioners have been arrested and tortured. Allegations that 3000 have died whilst under arrest

Tibet Chinese rule over Tibet is controversial. Human rights groups accuse the authorities of the systematic destruction of Tibetan Buddhist culture and the persecution of monks loyal to the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader who is campaigning for autonomy within China.