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RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN RIGHTS
E-Newsletter
Vol.2 No.40
October 3, 2000
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Religious Perspectives on Human Rights is now available online at: http://www.rghr.net
Religious Perspectives on Human Rights is a weekly e-newsletter issued by Buddhist, Muslim, Catholic and Christian Groups on Human Rights, initiated by the Asian Human Rights Commission.
1)
Right to Silence : For the first time the right to silence is
recognized by law in a small province in China - a comment by
Wong Kai Shing
On 7 September 2000, there was a small news item in Nanfang
Weekend, a Chinese newspaper, reporting that in early August, the
People's Procuratorate of the Shuncheng district of the Fushun
city of the Liaoning province promulgated the "Rule on Zero
Statement when Prosecutor Handling Cases." According to this
rule, criminal suspects are allowed to keep silent during
interrogation by prosecutors. This is the first time in China
that the right to silence is recognized in a law, though it is
only a rule of a district procuratorate. This event is
significant as it signifies a growing recognition of the rights
of criminal suspects.
In the past one year, there appeared in some Chinese law
journals, magazines and newspapers a number of articles
discussing the importance of the right to silence and supporting
its introduction in China. It was reported that in August, a
group of Shanghai lawyers was pressing for a change in the law to
give criminal suspects the right to silence during questioning,
resembling the "Miranda rule" in the United States,
which obliges the police to read suspects their rights, provide
for the right against self-incrimination and for suspects to be
represented by a lawyer after their arrest. One of the lawyers of
this group said that this practice would protect human rights and
help improve the fairness and openness of the judicial process.
Those people who support the introduction of the right to
silence in China gave the following reasons. First, it can
further realize the principle of presumed innocence which
has been recognized in the Criminal Procedure Law since its
revision in 1996 and stipulated in the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights signed by China in 1998. Second, it
can reduce the use of torture to extract confessions from
criminal suspects. Third, it can reduce cases of unjust charge.
In the present practice, confession is often the key evidence to
convict a person in China. This has created two problems. One is
the use of torture to extract confession. The second problem is
the inadequate efforts and skills in finding out other evidence
apart from those in relation to the confessions of suspects.
Consequently, it happened that many cases were charged or
convicted unjustly. With the right to silence, the police and the
procuratorate have to make more thorough investigation than the
past. This will help to improve the quality of investigation and
reduce unjust charges.
Now people are watching how the so-called "zero statement
rule" is put into practice by the people's procuratorate of
the Shuncheng district. The police of the Shuncheng district does
not adopt this rule yet. There may have other districts or cities
followed to introduce their own "zero statement rules."
We should try to encourage such kind of development that promotes
the rights of the criminal suspects in China.
2)
The Future Vision of CI : Rose Wu who succeeds Kwok Nai-wang as
the new Director outlines her vision for the Christian Institute
of Hong Kong
As the new director, I want to first offer some thoughts about
my future vision of the institute. I hope that this attempt will
draw more creative feedback and comments from all of you. The
objective of the Hong Kong Christian Institute (HKCI) is to
gather concerned Christians together and enable them to make a
continuing contribution to Hong Kong and the Church in Hong Kong.
We believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not an abstract
idea. Through Jesus' Incarnation, the Gospel has become a reality
in human history. It continues to bring justice and
reconciliation to all of God's Creation. The mission of the
Church is therefore not for itself, but for the world and the
community. In order to understand God's compassion for the poor,
Christians must stand from the perspectives of the marginalized
people and seek to discern God's will in our world.
Structurally, HKCI is an ecumenical Christian community which
was formed by a group of individual Christians with the same goal
and vision. Because we are not directly under the structure of
the institutional Church, it gives us more space and freedom to
exercise our prophetic role in society. However, CI's mission to
the world does not attempt to replace the responsibility of the
Church, but to demonstrate an alternative model or example of
Christian witness in order to move the Church to take a more
active role in Hong Kong's process of social change.
In facing the silent and apolitical environment of Hong Kong's
institutional Church, I propose, first of all, that CI continue
to speak with a prophetic voice by forming a special watchdog
group which will be composed of people with different types of
expertise. Based on our commitment to justice and peace, we will
speak up on political and controversial issues which affect the
well-being of Hong Kong's people, particularly those who are
marginalized and powerless. In addition to organizing social
actions, we will send articles to secular and Christian
newspapers.
Secondly, CI will help build a strong civil society in Hong
Kong. CI will play a role as a catalyst to enable Hong Kong's
social movements to move toward a more inclusive and
justice-based civil society in order to break the narrow and
divisive approach and to learn how to build a community of
solidarity together.
Thirdly, CI will be an educational resource for the Christian
community in Hong Kong. In order to enable the theological
seminaries and local churches to become active agents for social
change, CI will offer a "social ministry" course for
seminarians that will include both theory and practice. Another
experiment which CI will initiate is to invite some local church
ministers who share a similar vision to send some of their lay
leaders to join a training program on social ministry, which will
again consist of both theory and practice. After the training, CI
will continue to encourage local churches to explore new
possibilities for developing their social ministry in their local
church context.
Fourthly, CI will provide a healing space for communal prayer
as well as a place to seek justice and reconciliation for the
community of Hong Kong. As a Christian community, our witness is
to bring new hope and energy to the community and enable people
to see the love and justice of God. As well as action and
reflection, we also need space and time to pray, to meditate, to
seek healing and forgiveness and to celebrate. To me, Christian
spirituality is the ultimate motivation for our social witness.
Lastly, CI will continue to be an active part of the
international ecumenical community. We will interpret the reality
of Hong Kong's situation to the international ecumenical
community and will share our Christian witness and contextual
theology with our brothers and sisters overseas. However, an
authentic relationship must be developed from a spirit of
mutuality and solidarity. Thus, CI will also function as a
resource to enhance the understanding and concern of Hong Kong's
Christian community for the current issues and involvements of
the Asian and international ecumenical movement.
3) A Prayer
for Refugees and UNHCR
On this day, Lord, we remember in our prayers the millions of
people around the world who are on the move, who have no home,
because their lives have been touched by violent conflict and
torture in their own lands-the refugees of the world. For them,
their homelands have become places filled with fear and violence.
They may be peasants or indigenous people who have dared to
defend their land; they may be workers have who merely stood up
for a decent wage and
humane working conditions; they may be politicians or academics
who have simply sought to express their views.
We especially pray today for these people, these refugees, who
have sought a safe haven here in Hong Kong. Their numbers are not
great, but their anxiety and fear are intensely felt. They miss
their homes, their families, separated from them by the threat of
violence.
We also pray today for the office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, an organization which has been given
the task by the international community to protect and care for
these people. In the past 10 years, the ranks of the refugees
have swollen, but the financial resources provided by the world's
governments have dwindled to support them, and consequently,
UNHCR has been asked to do more with less. Like the refugees, we
want to offer a special prayer for the local office of this U.N.
agency based here in Hong Kong which faces the same constraints.
We pray that resources will become available to support the work
of the local U.N. office, as well as others around the world, so
that they may do their job to defend the lives and rights of the
refugees in our midst. Amen.
4) News in Brief:
INDIA: Coalition Formed To Fight Bonded Labor Several major
Indian trade unions and social action groups have established a
permanent consultative body on the abolition of forced and bonded
labor. The group plans to submit information to the International
Labor Organization reporting system on the application
of labor standards to debt bondage and compulsory labor. The
group also pledged to form trade unions in areas where bonded
labor exists and called on the Indian government to establish a
national minimum wage. Group members expressed concern that the
forced labor may increase to meet the demands of a globalized
economy (Chennai Hindu, 27 Sep). UN Wire Philippines: Human
Rights Office Raided. We would like to inform you that the DINTEG
(Cordillera Indigenous Peoples Law Center) and CHRO (Cordillera
Human Rights Organization) office was raided for the second time
this year. We see both incidents as a manifestation of the
resurgence of a fascist state.
This brand of urban terrorism is a carry-over from the dark
days of Martial Law. Continuous harassments in the form of raids
are done to cause fear among cause-oriented groups campaigning
for the interests of the people and eventually to silence them
and cripple their operations. 26th Sept.2000 For more information
please contact: E-mail:dinteg@skyinet.net
Posted on 2000-10-03
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