CHINA SUPPRESSES CIVIL RIGHTS, NGO GROUPS DURING ANNUAL SESSION|中國兩會期間 NGO人士控訴遭打壓

The Chinese government has grown increasingly sensitive now that the so-called Two Sessions have begun. As rumors spread of even stricter monitoring in Xinjiang, people involved in civil groups and NGOs are complaining of increased suppression. Chinese women's rights activist Ye Haiyan says that over a thousand posts on her four blogs have been permanently banned by authorities in late May. She believes this may have to do with a post criticizing the judge for light sentence in a sexual assault case of a teacher. ==YE HAIYAN Womens' Rights Activist== They never told me what rule I had violated. They deleted that post, but none of my other posts violated anything. Why delete all of them? Ye is the first prominent advocate for the rights of sex workers in China, where sex work remains illegal. She has been blackmailed, arrested, and followed for her work in NGOs advocating for sex workers and people with AIDS, forcing her to constantly relocate across China. Now, she is working on a series of traditional "ladies' portraits" with sex workers as models. But before the Two Sessions began, Ye said, officials showed up demanding that she leave her studio in a Beijing suburb. ==YE HAIYAN Womens' Rights Activist== After more and more people have been imprisoned, our space for free speech is shrinking. Chinese activists say that it is no secret that authorities round them up as threats for "management" each year before the Two Sessions. Chinese NGOs estimate that over 100 people have been arrested last year for exercising free speech. They include Huang Qi, who started a website critical of the government for human rights violations, and Liu Feiyao. ==HUANG WENHAI Director 'We the Workers'== By 2015, truly private NGOs have effectively ceased to exist. Hundreds of activists, lawyers, legal assistants, and law firm staff have been placed into custody by police since July 2015. Eight of them remain behind bars a year and a half later, and 26 were granted bail only months after being arrested. Amnesty International researchers say that advocates for women's rights, labor rights, and environmental protection have been particularly targeted over the past two years. Even foreign NGOs are strictly monitored based on Chinese law. Civil groups find it next to impossible to receive funding. Translated by JOHN CHEN 中國兩會開議的敏感時間，除了傳出當局嚴密監控新疆，還有民權團體跟非正府組織活躍人士，控訴遭到打壓 中國女權人士葉海燕，表示自己的四個部落格、一千多篇文章，在二月下旬就遭到有關單位永久封禁。葉海燕說可能跟自己一篇貼文，批評性侵女學童的教師判刑太輕有關。 ==中國女權人士 葉海燕== 他也沒有明確告訴我 是什麼樣違規 你把這篇文章刪了 但是我其他文章不違反規定呀 為什麼你把我所有的文章都刪除了 葉海燕是在性交易非法的中國，第一位挺身而出的性工作者，她也因為參加非政府組織，為性工作者以及愛滋患者爭取權益。遭到恐嚇羈押追蹤，被迫在中國各地逃亡。現在她當起藝術家拿毛筆畫仕女圖，用的模特兒全是性工作者。但兩會召開前，葉海燕說又有官員找上她，要她離開位在北京郊區的工作室。 ==中國女權人士 葉海燕== 越來越多的人走進監獄之後 我們的言論空間就越來越小了 中國異議人士表示，每年兩會召開之前，當局就會把他們視為威脅的危險人物，集中管理早就不是秘密。中國非政府組織估計從去年開始，陸續有上百人因為行使言論自由的權利，遭到公安逮捕。包括成立網站批評時政，指控當局違反人權的黃琦，以及劉飛躍。 ==凶年之畔紀錄片導演 黃文海== 民間的NGO組織實際上到2015年以後 它們已經不存在了 另外從2015年7月以來，有好幾百名維權人士、律師、律師助理跟事務所工作人員陸續遭到公安單位羈押，目前還有8人被關超過一年半。另外有26人被羈押幾個月後才交保。國際特赦組織中國研究人員表示，這兩年中國被掃蕩的對象，大多是女權人士、勞工以及環保運動成員。就連國外的NGO團體，也受限中國立法，受到公安的嚴密監控，一般民間社團想取得資金，則是難上加難。 記者 陳秋玫 報導