Seven Chinese housing rights activists honoured with prestigious international human rights award Seven Chinese housing rights activists have been named joint recipients of the 2006 Housing Rights Defender Award, for their commitment to and struggle for housing rights in China. The Housing Rights Defender Award is presented annually by the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) to an individual who has shown outstanding commitment to the realisation of housing rights for all people. For the first time since the inception of COHRE’s Housing Rights Defender Award in 2003, the award will be presented to a number of housing rights activists instead of to a single person. The joint recipients of the 2006 Housing Rights Defender Award are: Fu Xiancai; Ma Yalian; Liu Zhengyou; Huang Weizhong; Chen Xiaoming; Xu Zhengqing; and Zheng Enchong. COHRE’s Executive Director (a.i.), Jean du Plessis, said, “These seven Chinese activists have displayed exemplary commitment, courage and perseverance in their struggles for the land and housing rights of hundreds of farmers, workers and residents in China. They are inspirational examples to every person, community and organisation working for the cause of human rights around the world. The Chinese Government is notoriously oppressive towards human rights activists. Land and housing rights violations including mass forced evictions are common, while legal remedies are scarce for those seeking to assert their rights. The work of these activists - undertaken at grave personal risk to them, their families and fellow activists - has played a catalytic role in bringing to light the unjust practices of the Chinese Government. COHRE is therefore honoured to present the 2006 Housing Rights Defender Award to: Fu Xiancai; Ma Yalin; Liu Zhengyou; Huang Weizhong; Chen Xiaoming; Zu Zhengqing; and Zheng Enchong for their fearless commitment to housing rights in an environment that is hostile to such ideals.” A newly released COHRE report, Forced Evictions: Violations of Human Rights – Global Survey No. 10, reveals that over 647,000 people have been forcibly evicted from their homes in China since 2003. Furthermore, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security recently reported that the Chinese Government had requisitioned land from 40 million farmers in the past decade, at the same time admitting a 20 per cent increase in cases of illegal land seizures in the first five months of 2006. The number of public protests has increased from 74 000 in 2004 to 87 000 in 2005, in spite of ongoing cases of police intimidation, arbitrary arrest, and torture of activists. All seven activists have been subjected to ongoing intimidation, harassment and even beatings for their housing and land rights activities. For example, Fu Xiancai, who has worked for a decade to obtain appropriate compensation for 1.3 million people forced to relocate from their land and houses due to the Three Gorges Dam Project, has been severely injured and nearly lost his life, as a result of his work. Fu was struck from behind with a heavy object by an unknown person on his way home from an interrogation by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) in June 2006. The assault destroyed three vertebrae in his neck and has left him paralysed from shoulders down. He lost control of all bodily functions except his ability to speak. Just weeks previously, Fu had given an interview to German public broadcaster ARD about the Three Gorges Dam Project and the plight of the affected communities. Equally disturbing is the fact that the whereabouts of another of the Award recipients, Chen Xiaoming, is not known since he was arrested in February 2006 by police officers from Shanghai’s Luwan District PSB. Chen, who taught himself law in order to contest the government’s actions against the housing rights of the poor, was arrested for meeting with an American diplomat to discuss problems faced by evictees. Zheng Enchong, a lawyer who advised victims of forced evictions in Shanghai, had his license to practice law revoked by Shanghai City authorities in 2001, after he had argued for amendments to Article 10 of the People’s Republic of China’s Constitution in order to offer better protection to the land and housing rights of inhabitants. Despite losing his formal license, Zheng continued to assist nearly 500 people who had been forcibly evicted from their homes and/or had failed to receive adequate compensation for their evictions. Zheng was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in 2003 for advising a group of evicted Shanghai residents who were trying to bring a case alleging corruption against Zhou Zhengyi, a prominent Shanghai property developer. Upon Zheng’s release in June 2006, he was placed under de facto house arrest and continues to be subject to harassment. Meanwhile, both Huang Weizhong and Xu Zhengqing are currently serving three-year prison sentences for their activism. Ma Yalian was sentenced to 18 months in a ‘Re-Education Through Labour' (RETL) camp for publishing an article on the Internet titled “A True Record of Being Turned Away from the National Petitioners and Letters Office and the Petitioners Bureau of the National People’s Congress,” and was released in August 2005 after serving her full term. Liu Zhengyou, who was arrested in June 2006 when he tried to board a flight to Geneva, Switzerland, to attend a human rights training session, and has been subjected to repeated beatings, threats and harassment by the police. COHRE’s Du Plessis said, “The situation with respect to housing rights in China is desperate, with many millions of people having lost their homes and land over the past decade, in both cities and the rural areas. In spite of a highly oppressive environment, the seven recipients of the 2006 Housing Rights Defender Award have stood up for the rights of those affected, at great personal cost. In presenting this award to these seven people, COHRE recognises and honours their extraordinary courage, determination and dedication to the cause of housing rights.”

Fu Xiancai Fu Xiancai, is an activist who has worked tirelessly to obtain appropriate compensation for 1.3 million people forced to relocate after the commencement of the Three Gorges Dam Project in 1997. Fu wrote 50 complaints and travelled 15 times to Beijing to persuade local authorities to compensate those affected by the construction of the dam. He even took his lobbying to the international level by sending a petition signed by 650 villagers to relevant United Nations bodies in the hope that the international community would assist them in obtaining appropriate compensation. Fu and his family were subjected to repeated harassment, threats, assaults and injuries by criminal elements connected to local authorities since April 2005. Fu gave an interview to German public broadcaster ARD in May 2006 about Beijing’s failure to compensate 1.3 million people forced to relocate due to the Three Gorges Dam Project. Fu was called in for questioning a few weeks later by Wang Xiankui, squad leader of the Zigui County Public Security Bureau (PSB). Fu was questioned about the interview with Das Erste and warned that this kind of “oppositionist” view “would not have good consequences” for him and his family. Fu’s tireless efforts as a housing rights activist were halted in June 2006 when he was struck from behind with a heavy object by an unknown person on his way home from the PSB interrogation session. The attack destroyed three vertebrae in his neck and left him paralysed from shoulders down. He lost control of all bodily functions except his ability to speak. An investigation, carried out by the same PSB which questioned and harassed Fu, claimed that several nationally recognised forensic pathologists had concluded that his injuries were self-inflicted. The police reportedly told Fu not to appeal this decision. Ma Yalian Ma Yalian began her activism when she became a victim of forced eviction due to a redevelopment plan in Shanghai. Ma was sentenced to spend a year at a Re-Education Through Labour (RETL) camp in August 2001 for her repeated complaints to authorities, and open criticism of the Chinese Petitioning System. While at the camp, Ma was beaten so badly that both her legs were broken, leaving her disabled. Upon her release, Ma continued her activism and was arrested in 2004 for her role in petitioning the government to address grievances involving forced evictions. Following this incident, she published an article on the Internet titled “A True Record of Being Turned Away from the National Petitions and Letters Office and the Petitions Bureau of the National People’s Congress.” Ma’s article provided an eyewitness account of ill treatment of petitioners by police and civil servants in front of the main entrance of the Petitions Office in Beijing. As a result of this article, the Re-Education Through Labour Management Committee sentenced her to 18 months in a RETL camp for “disturbing social order and security.” Ma was released in August 2005 after serving her full term. Liu Zhengyou Liu Zhengyou has been an activist and petitioner in Hongqi Township of Zigong City since 1993. Liu has been actively petitioning on behalf of 30,000 farmers who were displaced during a landgrab by local officials in 1993 for the construction of a “New High Tech Development Zone.” The farmers, led by Liu, have continued to petition against local officials for having received neither compensation nor resettlement. Despite using every available avenue of potential redress in the past 13 years – six attempts to file lawsuits, four appeals against courts’ refusal to hear the case, and one petition to higher levels to have the refusals reviewed – the displaced farmers led by Liu have not had any success in having their grievances heard. Liu has been subject to beatings, harassment and threats by the Chinese authorities for his activism. Liu was arrested in June 2006 when he tried to board a flight to Geneva, Switzerland, to attend human rights training session offered by the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR). Huang Weizhong Huang Weizhong has represented hundreds of farmers in petitions against low levels of compensation for farmland expropriated in the villages of Chengxiang District, Putian City in 2003. Local authorities requisitioned land in 10 villages, affecting more than 10,000 farmers. The villagers were compensated at 2,900 Yuan per mu of expropriated land, and then sold it to luxury residential developers for 92,800 Yuan per mu. Huang used all available avenues including administrative review, administrative litigation and petitioning to appeal against the low levels of compensation, but was unable to find effective redress at the local provincial or Supreme courts. Huang was found guilty of “gathering crowds to disturb public order” in May 2006 after he went to Beijing to represent approximately 660 farmers on their appeals against low levels of compensation. He was sentenced to three years in prison and is currently appealing his conviction. Chen Xiaoming Chen Xiaoming became a housing rights activist when his house was expropriated in the Xuhui District of Shanghai in 1994. As a result of this, Chen quit his job and taught himself Chinese law to contest the government’s actions against the housing rights of the poor. He successfully sued the government in 1995 using Administrative Procedure Law. Chen has used his knowledge and experience to help victims of forced evictions get redress by documenting their cases, testing and building state legal procedures, writing letters to the Chinese authorities and putting government violations of people’s rights under accountability through admissive lawsuits. Chen’s current whereabouts are not known since he was arrested in February 2006 by police officers from Shanghai’s Luwan District PSB. He was arrested for meeting with an American diplomat to discuss problems faced by evictees. Xu Zhengqing Xu Zhengqing is a long time anti-government activist and petitioner for residents’ rights. Xu became a victim of forced eviction when the government expropriated his home without compensation. Xu has represented his own case and those of more than 500 other victims of forced evictions in numerous appeals and as a result, been subjected to detentions, beatings and harassment by the police. Xu was arrested in January 2005 while boarding a bus heading to Beijing. Xu and 20 other petitioners were informed by the police that the bus was broken and was asked to disembark before he could pay the fare. Xu was detained for seven months before he was sentenced to three years in prison in September 2005 for causing “serious” disruption of public order by failing to pay a bus fare and creating congestion in the corridor of a train. Zheng Enchong Zheng Enchong, is a lawyer who advised victims of forced evictions in Shanghai. Zheng had his license to practice law revoked by Shanghai City authorities in 2001 after he argued it was necessary to amend Article 10 of the People’s Republic of China’s Constitution, which stated that “The state may in the public interest take over land for its use in accordance with the law” from collective owners. Despite the loss of his license, Zheng continued to provide legal advice to nearly 500 people who had been forcibly evicted from their homes and/or had failed to receive adequate compensation for their evictions. Zheng was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in 2003 for advising a group of evicted Shanghai residents who tried to bring a case alleging corruption against Zhou Zhengyi, a prominent Shanghai property developer. Upon Zheng’s release in June 2006, he was placed under defacto house arrest and continues to be subjected to harassment.