Excerpted from Canwest News Service:
Human Rights in China (HRIC) said Thursday that amidst all the dos and don'ts listed in the legal guidelines, a major concern is one prohibiting "carrying out of China documents or other materials that are classified as state secrets."
The New York-based group claims this is a catch-all phrase that could be used to entrap ordinary visitors. It warned: "The state secrets laws and regulations are extremely broad and provide for retroactive classification, such that everything can potentially be classified as a state secret."
In recent years, the Chinese government has classified as "state secrets" such commonplace information as the number of workers laid off by state-owned enterprises and the data on water and solid waste pollution in cities, it said.
HRIC also warned that if you get caught with so-called "state secrets" in your possession, finding a lawyer in China to defend you could be difficult.
It noted that many of the "human rights" lawyers who bravely and publicly offered to defend Tibetans jailed during the Lhasa riots in March are now having major problems getting their law licences renewed by the government.
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For more information on this issue:
- HRIC Campaign:
Incorporating Responsibility 2008 Take Action Campaign - HRIC Press Advisory:
Legal Guidelines for Foreigners—Olympic Traps for Foreigners? - HRIC Statement:
Chinese Authorities Abuse Licensing System to Harass Rights Defenders - HRIC Press Release:
HRIC Deplores Intimidation of Rights Activists Ahead of U.S.-China Talks on Human Rights - HRIC Statement:
Chinese Authorities Target Lawyers Offering Legal Assistance to Tibetans - HRIC Press Advisory:
Chinese Lawyers Offer Legal Help to Detained Tibetans - HRIC Press Statement:
Five-Year Sentence of Olympics Critic Not Human Rights Progress - HRIC Press Advisory:
Petitioners Face Ongoing Abuse - HRIC Trends Bulletin:
Olympics and The Rule of Law: Lawyers in China - China Rights Forum No. 4, 2007:
The Real Situation in Pre-Olympics China - Teng Biao and Hu Jia give their views about the situation on the ground in the countdown to the Olympics.