Zhou Decai

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zhou Decai (Chinese: 周德 才; Pinyin: Zhōu Décái; born March 21, 1965 ) is a civil rights activist and democracy activist from the Gushi District of Henan Province in the People's Republic of China . Initially a farmer, Zhou later became a businessman who had been actively campaigning for civil rights since the late 1980s . As a young activist, Zhou tried to mobilize some protests against excessive taxes imposed on citizens in his hometown, for which he was detained for several months. Zhou successfully stopped property developers and local authorities from grabbing land, and formed a union for tobacco workers who had been fired without compensation. After unsuccessful attempts to rouse his fellow citizens to protest, Zhou retired to southern Guangdong Province and started working as a migrant worker. However, Zhou continued to write political essays calling for multi-party democracy . In 2002 he tried to organize a pro-democracy demonstration on Tiananmen Square . In the years leading up to his arrest, Zhou became increasingly dissatisfied with the authorities, posting videos of officials involved in illegal activities and giving interviews criticizing the Chinese Communist Party.

Candidate 2011

In 2011, Zhou wanted to run as an independent political candidate in the election of the local National People's Congress . However, although the Chinese Constitution allows all citizens over the age of 18 to vote and stand for local elections, these positions are usually held by candidates from the Chinese Communist Party . Individuals attempting to qualify as independent or self-appointed candidates are sometimes faced with adverse consequences, such as prison terms. According to Radio Free Asia , Chinese authorities said there was "no such thing" as independent political candidates. Nonetheless, Zhou is one of the growing numbers of grassroots rights activists who stand and vote as independent candidates in local elections. According to the Wall Street Journal , 30 activists, scholars and bloggers announced in June that they would be running for the People's Congress. Many of these candidates have a large following through their blogs, such as Li Chengpeng with over 7 million.

The head of the World and China Institute Li Fan, a Beijing-based private group to monitor elections, told Reuters that there were many more people who themselves stand for election than before. “There are two reasons for this,” said Li, “the social grievances have gotten worse, which is why people want to become congress delegates to enforce their rights. Second, there is the role of social media. Blogs play a big part in this. ”Independent candidates this year reported that they were facing difficulties formally positing, including police harassment, bureaucratic sabotage and intimidation of voters who want to vote for the candidates.

Arrest and conviction

Zhou Decai was arrested by the Henan Province authorities on February 28, 2012, and formally charged on March 10, on the grounds of "gathering a crowd to disturb social order." The US-based Congressional Executive Commission on China calls Zhou a political prisoner. Before he was arrested, Zhou planned to travel to Beijing to attend a labor rights seminar. While he was detained in the Gushi Detention Center, Zhou went on a hunger strike . A private hearing was held in June, and on September 3, 2012, Zhou was sentenced to five years in prison by the Gushi County People's Court. His wife, Liu Baoqin, was reportedly barred from attending the trial and was later beaten by unknown men. Liu told Radio Free Asia that she believed her husband's verdict was retaliatory because her husband campaigned for farmers whose land had been confiscated for project development.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kevin J. O'Brien, Li Lianjiang, Rightful Resistance in Rural China ( Memento of the original dated November 30, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Cambridge University Press, p. 108, 2006, accessed November 18, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.langtoninfo.com
  2. ↑ Zhou Decai , Chinese Human Rights Defenders, August 10, 2012, accessed November 18, 2016
  3. ↑ a b Chris Buckley, Insight: China activists challenge power with election push , Reuters, September 21, 2011, accessed November 18, 2016
  4. ^ A b Russell Leigh Moses, Will Independent Candidates Light a Fire Under Beijing , The Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2011, accessed November 18, 2016
  5. ↑ a b c Grace Kei Lai-see, Activist Jailed for Five Years , Radio Free Asia, September 6, 2012, accessed November 18, 2016
  6. ↑ Political Prisoner Database: Zhou Decai , Congressional-Executive Commission on China, October 11, 2016, accessed November 18, 2016
  7. ↑ China Human Rights Briefing , Amnesty International UK, March 27-22. April 2012, accessed November 18, 2016
  8. ↑ Henan Activist Zhou Decai on Hunger Strike in Detention (河南 固始 维权 人士 周德 才 在 看守所 中 绝食), (Chinese) May 17, 2012, accessed November 18, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Zhou Decai
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 周德 才 (Chinese); Zhōu Décái (Pinyin)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Chinese civil rights activist and democracy activist
DATE OF BIRTH March 21, 1965