{ "id": "R43964", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43964", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 445679, "date": "2015-09-17", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T18:21:59.890801", "title": "Human Rights in China and U.S. Policy: Issues for the 114th Congress", "summary": "This report examines human rights issues in the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC), including ongoing rights abuses, and legal developments. Major events of the past two years include a clampdown on political dissent and civil society and an escalation of violence in Xinjiang, which many experts attribute at least in part to repressive government policies. Some observers view the closing of the \u201cRe-education Through Labor\u201d penal system as a potentially positive development, although many PRC citizens still are subject to various forms of extra-legal detention. Other, ongoing human rights problems in China include the following: arbitrary use of state security laws against political dissidents; torture of persons in custody; persecution of unsanctioned religious activity; state controls on expression and the flow of information; coercive family planning practices; and mistreatment of North Korean refugees. Tibetans, Uighur Muslims, and Falun Gong adherents continue to receive especially harsh treatment from authorities. For additional information, including policy recommendations, see CRS Report R41007, Understanding China\u2019s Political System; the Congressional-Executive Commission on China\u2019s Annual Report 2014; the U.S. Department of State\u2019s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014; and other resources cited below.\nHuman rights conditions in China reflect contradictory trends. In recent years, the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has implemented some reforms that may help to reduce some human rights abuses, while rejecting concepts related to universal values, individual rights, and constitutional democracy. In 2014, the CCP announced some measures aimed at reducing government influence over the courts, particularly at the local level. However, the Party leadership has not fundamentally altered the institutions that permit the Party and its policies to remain above the law. Xi Jinping, who became General Secretary of the CCP in 2012, has carried out a crackdown on dissent and activism that has surprised many observers for its scope and severity, including the detentions and arrests of hundreds of government critics, human rights lawyers, well-known bloggers, investigative journalists, outspoken academics, civil society leaders, and ethnic minorities. Indictments for state security crimes, which often are political in nature, rose in 2013 to 1,384 cases, the highest level since the Tibetan unrest of 2008. The government has imposed growing restrictions on Chinese microblogging and mobile text services, which have become important sources of news for many Chinese people and platforms for public opinion. During the past several months, the Chinese government has passed or considered new laws that appear to do the following: strengthen the role of the state security apparatus in overseeing a wide range of social activities, including those of foreign non-governmental organizations; place additional restrictions on defense lawyers; and authorize greater governmental controls over the Internet.\nThe PRC government\u2019s aim of maintaining social stability gradually has become more complicated, according to many observers. Chinese society has become more diverse and individuals and groups have become more assertive regarding their interests. PRC citizens have become increasingly aware of their legal rights, while emerging networks of lawyers, journalists, and activists have advanced the causes of many aggrieved individuals and groups. Public protests are frequent and widespread, although they predominantly are focused on local or economic issues rather than national political ones. Economic, social, and demographic changes and other factors have fueled labor unrest. The Internet has made it impossible for the government to restrict information as fully as before. \nMany experts and policymakers have sharply disagreed over the best policy approaches and methods to apply toward human rights issues in China. The United States Congress has been at the forefront of U.S. human rights policy toward China, and has formed the legislative pillars of that policy. Possible approaches range from supporting incremental progress and promoting human rights through bilateral and international engagement to conditioning the further development of bilateral ties on improvements in human rights in China. Congress and the executive branch have developed an array of policy tools aimed at promoting democracy and human rights in China, including the following: open censure of China; quiet diplomacy; congressional hearings; U.S. support for rule of law and civil society programs in the PRC; support for dissidents and pro-democracy groups in China and the United States; sanctions; coordinating international pressure; bilateral dialogue; Internet freedom efforts; and public diplomacy.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43964", "sha1": "ff93b388ce59916edf4cad6086b03afa6f997ce8", "filename": "files/20150917_R43964_ff93b388ce59916edf4cad6086b03afa6f997ce8.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43964", "sha1": "ccffa5b94cfe20bd579bf73028b3139f5282c8d7", "filename": "files/20150917_R43964_ccffa5b94cfe20bd579bf73028b3139f5282c8d7.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 278, "name": "China, Taiwan, and Mongolia" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc819366/", "id": "R43964_2015Mar24", "date": "2015-03-24", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Human Rights in China and U.S. Policy: Issues for the 114th Congress", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150324_R43964_8405663712b2a834aa34cf43f9beff7edef5cdef.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150324_R43964_8405663712b2a834aa34cf43f9beff7edef5cdef.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Asian Affairs", "Constitutional Questions", "Economic Policy", "Foreign Affairs", "Intelligence and National Security", "National Defense" ] }