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13 December 2022
Forty-nine groups from Taiwan and abroad issued a joint statement on Thursday urging the Chinese government to respect free speech, media liberty and freedom of assembly, and cease using force and unwarranted searches against peaceful protesters.
Beijing should honor the spirit of its constitution — namely Articles 35, 40 and 41 — and abide by the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, given its UN membership, the groups said.
As a signatory of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Beijing should respect the privacy, speech and public gathering liberties and refrain from using force to dispel assemblies, the statement said.
The groups also urged Beijing to ensure that its police officers comply with the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.
The statement said the growing Blank Paper Movement across China — sparked by a blaze in Urumqi, in which the victims’ deaths were largely blamed on Beijing’s movement restrictions — was a predictable response to a government going too far in restricting freedoms.
That type of uprising is inevitable in an authoritative country ruled with a heavy hand, it added.
While local governments were attempting to de-escalate protests by discontinuing enforcement of some COVID-19 policies, there are now unverified reports that Beijing is making efforts to root out and arrest some of the protesters, it said.
The statement said that police in China have warned lawyers to refrain from defending any protesters, while confiscating electronic devices from people to extract and delete information such as chats and photos from the protests.
The groups demanded that Beijing stop all arrests of peaceful demonstrators; desist from monitoring, harassing or torturing people; and cease stifling journalists and civilians who report on such gatherings.
China should make known the crimes of which those detained are accused, and ensure that their families have been notified, that their fundamental rights are guaranteed and that they are allowed to select their own lawyers for representation, it said.
The groups urged the international community to hold China accountable for its treatment of citizens and condemn blatant contraventions of human rights. #
Source: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2022/12/11/2003790533
