FEER(4/4) China Considers New Rules Regarding Protests
March 27, 2002
FROM THE ARCHIVES: March 27, 2002
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
From The Far Eastern Economic Review
Police Debate Right To Protest
Labour unrest in the oil centre of Daqing and nearby city of Liaoyang comes at a time when China's police appear to be rethinking their approach to mass protests. According to Public Security Studies, the academic journal of the Ministry of Public Security, the ministry last year promulgated a new set of rules on "mass public order incidents." They hold that mass demonstrations are only a matter of public order when they break the law and endanger the public interest and citizens' legal rights. That clarification prompted Zhou Guangyang, a police official from Yibin city in Sichuan province, to argue in the June 2001 issue of the journal that the state should not interfere in the many mass protests in China that fall short of that standard. The journal's decision to publish his views suggests they have a strong measure of official backing. "Social stability is not having no mass incidents or public order incidents," Zhou wrote. In countries with the rule of law, he noted, citizens have a constitutionally protected right to demonstrate, which is a "necessary tool to achieve political balance." China's constitution, Zhou observed, guarantees the right to demonstrate. United Nations covenants China has signed allow for free expression, and even the right to strike. Thus, "according to specific situations, public security organs should appropriately relax the conditions for granting approval for applications for demonstrations," he said. "They should give citizens greater freedom to exercise their democratic rights." Zhou makes it clear, however, that police must still step in quickly to crack down on mass demonstrations that "intentionally disrupt public order, threaten public safety, and violate citizen's personal safety and the safety of public or personal property."
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UNITED STATES
American electrical engineer Fong Fuming was found guilty of illegally obtaining state secrets and giving bribes, and was sentenced to five years in jail after Washington protested at his detention. Beijing People's No.1 Intermediate Court acquitted the 67-year-old on one charge of bribery and passing state secrets to a "foreign entity." The more than two years he has spent in detention will count against the prison term.
China denied permission for a U.S. Navy destroyer to make a routine port call in Hong Kong in April because of growing tension over Washington's decision to allow Taiwan's defence minister to visit the United States. Beijing had earlier said Chinese naval ships would skip U.S. ports on a foreign tour this year.
ANDERSEN
Andersen Worldwide's affiliates in China and Hong Kong agreed to join PricewaterhouseCoopers, turning against an earlier plan to merge Andersen's non-U.S. business with KPMG LLP. If the new merger is successful, it would create a combined giant with 6,000 workers.
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HONG KONG
Conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa's profits fell in 2001 because of the economic slowdown and large provisions to cover telecoms investments. Hutchison said its net profit fell 65% to HK$12.09 billion ($1.55 billion) in 2001.
Soon after announcing its return to profitability, leading Hong Kong phone company Pacific Century CyberWorks cut 858 jobs, or 6% of its work force. Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Li cited deterioration of the Hong Kong economy and stronger competition as reasons for the job cuts. PCCW's union said the layoffs were unfair in light of PCCW's net profit of HK$1.89 billion for 2001.
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MERCHANTS BANK
China Merchants Bank launched a giant initial public offer to domestic institutional investors, planning to raise up to 10.95 billion renminbi ($1.32 billion) in the second-largest listing on mainland Chinese stockmarkets. The Shenzhen-based bank capped the price for domestic-investors-only A shares at 7.3 renminbi each or 21.47 times 2001 earnings -- the highest valuation on the primary stockmarket in four months.
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HUMAN RIGHTS
Amnesty International accused China of stepping up repression and executions of separatist Muslim Uighurs by invoking the "war on terrorism." The London-based human-rights body said several thousand people had been detained for investigation in the northwestern Xinjiang region since the September 11 attacks in the United States.
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INDONESIA
President Jiang Zemin agreed to give Indonesia $400 million in loans after a meeting on the first leg of a regional tour by Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Megawati witnessed the signing of five deals between the countries, including a partnership with Indonesia's two largest oil companies.
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PRESS FREEDOM
The popular newspaper Southern Weekend had to withdraw a planned story on a state-backed charity hit by alleged financial mismanagement. Hong Kong media reports have said money for Project Hope, which helps poor children go to school, was lost in poor investments.
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WATCHED BY President Jiang Zemin, China launched its third unmanned spacecraft -- but this time with dummy astronauts -- into orbit. Beijing plans to have manned space flights by 2005 before eventually sending a person to the moon.
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Updated March 27, 2002 5:15 p.m. EDT
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