January 10, 2017
On December 23, 2016, President Obama signed into law “The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act” (NDAA 2017, section 1261-1265). The law authorizes the U.S. president to levy sanctions against foreign nationals who engage in the following acts: significant corruption, extrajudicial killings, torture, violation of international human rights covenants, and persecution of those who expose government corruption or seek to defend internationally recognized human rights.
The mechanisms it provides to the president to carry out such sanctions include prohibiting or revoking U.S. entry visas or other entry documentation; freezing and prohibiting U.S. property transactions of an individual if such property and property interests are in the United States, come within the United States, or are in or come within the control of a U.S. person or entity.
The absence of democratic election, rule of law, and checks and balances, breeds corruption. As a result, power and money work hand in hand to pillage the people and society.
The Chinese communist regime is unrestrained in violating China’s own law and internationally recognized human rights standards. Its barbaric attack on civil society actors is widely known; forced disappearances, torture in custody, illegal and arbitrary detention, and use of severe prison terms have become routine.
While the regime acts at will to violate its own laws or alter them as it sees fit, it has also established an extralegal apparatus dedicated to human rights persecution, systematically targeting rights defenders.
The Chinese Communist regime uses the promise of profit to turn interest groups in China into violators of human rights — and these human rights violators in turn operate under the shelter of the regime, never punished for their transgressions.
As human rights defenders, we will use this new U.S. law, as well as similar laws that have been and will be passed in other countries, as a tool to bring sanctions against Chinese human rights violators and corrupt officials.
We hereby announce the joint establishment of the China Human Rights Accountability Center (中国人权问责中心).
The Center will conduct the following tasks:
- Collect cases, data, and evidence on Chinese human rights violators and corrupt officials;
- Write reports based on such data and evidence;
- Push the U.S. government to enforce the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, to ensure that specific and effective sanctions are taken against human rights violators;
- Promote the establishment of similar human rights accountability legislation in other democratic countries.
The work of the office will be conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Washington, D.C.
Founders (not in order of importance):
Hu Jia (胡佳), Yaxue Cao (曹雅学), Zhou Fengsuo (周锋锁), Yang Jianli (杨建利), Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚), Teng Biao (滕彪), Han Lianchao (韩连潮), Bob Fu (傅希秋), Fang Zheng (方政), Tong Mu (童木).
(The official website is under construction. Inquiries may be sent to renquanwenze@gmail.com)
关于成立“中国人权问责中心”的声明
2016年12月23日，美国总统奥巴马签署了全球马格尼茨基人权问责法(The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act) (《2017财政年度国防授权法》第 1261-1265节)，该法案正式成为美国法律。
该法律授权美国总统对犯有下列恶行的外国人进行制裁：有重大腐败行为；法外杀人；酷刑；违反国际公认人权、对人权倡导者或曝光不法政府官员的人进行迫害。
该法律授权美国总统通过拒绝签证、取消已有签证，冻结在美财产、禁止在美交易财产的方式对人权侵害者以及腐败官员进行制裁。
由于民主选举的缺位、法治不存在、新闻自由和公民社会被压制、监督与平衡机制缺乏，当下中国贪腐遍地，由上至下权钱勾结，搜刮人民，掠夺社会。
中共政权无视中国法律，无视国际公认人权标准，肆无忌惮地侵害人权，疯狂攻击公民社会，强迫失踪、酷刑、非法拘禁、任意羁押成为家常便饭。越来越多的公民因为倡导基本人权而遭到骚扰、迫害、和重刑惩罚。
中共政权不但恣意违反或修改自己的法律，而且在法律之外建立了系统性的反人类、反人权的迫害体系，有组织地对人权捍卫者进行迫害。
中共政权使用利益收买的方式驱使各种既得利益者成为人权施害者，这些人权施害者在中国的保护伞下不会受到任何惩罚。
作为人权捍卫者，我们将使用“全球马格尼茨基人权问责法”以及更多国家类似的法律所提供的工具，推动对中国的人权施害者和贪腐者进行制裁和惩罚。
我们在此郑重声明，共同发起成立“中国人权问责中心”。本中心将致力于：
- 系统搜集中国人权侵害者和贪腐者的案例、数据和证据；
- 撰写关于人权侵害者和贪腐者的报告；
- 持续推动美国政府实施全球马格尼茨基人权问责法，对人权侵害者施以有效惩罚；
- 推动世界各民主国家建立类似的人权问责法案。
本中心的常设工作地将设在美国旧金山湾区和华盛顿DC。
发起人（排名不分先后）：
胡佳、曹雅学、周锋锁、杨建利、陈光诚、滕彪、韩连潮、傅希秋、方政、童木
2017年1月10日
I encourage you to make the funding of this center as transparent as possible and to decline any funding that may encourage the appearance of being state-sponsored. It may not make much difference but it might help you to rebut the inevitable accusations of being ‘foreign hostile forces’ and thus possibly increase the effectiveness of your work.
We are just getting started. The ‘foreign hostile forces’ – whoever they are – are getting too much credit for hard work done by average citizens trying to do some good 🙂
Dear friends,
Thank you so much for this moving, inspiring and exciting initiative. I strongly support it, of course.
Alain Bouc Groupe Chine de la Ligue des droits de l’Homme
>
[…] line on rights issues. Prominent Chinese activists including Hu Jia, Chen Guangcheng, and Teng Biao established the China Human Rights Accountability Center earlier this month. The group aims to promote the use of recent U.S. legislation to sanction […]
[…] Upon the Establishment of ‘China Human Rights Accountability Center’ January 10, 2017 （ https://chinachange.org/2017/01/09/a-joint-statement-upon-the-establishment-of-china-human-rights-ac… […]
[…] line on rights issues. Prominent Chinese activists including Hu Jia, Chen Guangcheng, and Teng Biao established the China Human Rights Accountability Center earlier this month. The group aims to promote the use of recent U.S. legislation to sanction […]
[…] China Human Rights Accountability Center is formed in January 2017 by a group of mostly U. S.-based Chinese activists to promote and assist the implementation of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. […]
[…] is just the latest call for the act’s application to Chinese rights abusers. The China Human Rights Accountability Center, one of the groups behind the letter, was founded in January by activists including Yaxue Cao, Chen […]
[…] calling for sanctions against individuals from 15 different countries. In January 2017, several prominent Chinese activists formed a new group, the China Human Rights Accountability Center, to promote the use of Magnitsky sanctions against […]
[…] calling for sanctions against individuals from 15 different countries. In January 2017, several prominent Chinese activists formed a new group, the China Human Rights Accountability Center, to promote the use of Magnitsky sanctions against […]
[…] and academics that advocates for the rule of law in China. From the U.S., Teng co-founded the China Human Rights Accountability Center alongside rights defenders such as Zhou Fengsuo and Chen Guangcheng following the passage of the […]
[…] A Joint Statement Upon the Establishment of ‘China Human Rights Accountability Center’ […]