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During the Commission's 2010 reporting year, authorities continued to relax certain hukou restrictions consistent with earlier reform efforts.\20\ Several high-level officials acknowledged and publicized the need for hukou reforms.\21\ The Development Research Center of the State Council published an essay that advocated for a more inclusive approach to hukou reform in order to achieve ``substantive equality of rights.'' \22\ The efficacy of these policies remains unclear.\23\ The government and the Communist Party exercised strict control over public debate on hukou reforms during this reporting year. Authorities retracted a joint editorial published by 13 newspapers that decried the hukou system as corrupt and in need of speedy reforms. One of the editorial's co-authors, a deputy editor at one of the newspapers, was forced to resign.\24\ Significant Household Registration (Hukou) Policies and Regulatory Developments in 2010 GUANGZHOU MUNICIPALITY In May 2010, the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau in Guangdong province directed district- and county-level Party committees and governments to gradually transform its hukou system into one that will identify residents as holders of Guangzhou's residential hukou.\25\ The impact of the reform remains unclear. One key issue associated with the reform is the interpretation of its language. A noted hukou scholar interpreting similar reforms has argued that the impact of a unified residential hukou system is negligible on migrant workers. This is because the reform can be interpreted to include only a small percentage of rural hukou holders who are already eligible for social benefits,\26\ rendering the reform efforts pro forma at best. According to one source, the Guangzhou experiment is likely to have a limited impact on its large migrant population.\27\ CHONGQING MUNICIPALITY In July 2010, Chongqing municipality initiated gradual voluntary hukou reforms aimed at increasing the percentage of urban hukou holders in the municipality.\28\ By 2020, the reform efforts are intended to gradually turn at least 10 million rural hukou holders into urban hukou holders, thus potentially allowing them greater access to social services in exchange for their land allocations.\29\ An unusual feature of the reform allows rural hukou holders to retain their land contracting and use rights (cheng bao), among other provisions, for up to three years after transitioning to urban hukou status.\30\ It is unclear whether rural hukou holders can choose to retain their land rights and their rural hukou status at the end of the three-year transition period should they wish to do so. If successful, the Chongqing hukou reforms could significantly remedy a shortage of urban land for construction and development in the municipality.\31\ THE JOINT EDITORIAL ON HUKOU REFORM On March 1, 2010, 13 mainland newspapers published a joint editorial four days before the annual meetings of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference convened in Beijing.\32\ The joint editorial demanded a clear timetable for hukou reforms, stating that freedom of movement is ``an inseparable part of human rights and personal freedom.'' \33\ Furthermore, it decried the hukou system as a breeding ground for corruption and urged the delegates to abolish the system.\34\ Just one day after its publication, the editorial was removed from many Web sites and the deputy editor of one of the newspapers was forced to resign.\35\ Freedom of Movement There can be little doubt that there is greater freedom of movement for those Chinese citizens who shun political engagement outside of government-approved parameters. Unlike 30 years ago, there are many opportunities for travel. Yet, Chinese rights defenders and advocates who venture beyond government-sanctioned parameters face frequent restrictions on their liberty of movement. The Chinese government continues to impose restrictions on Chinese citizens' liberty of movement that contravene international standards.\36\ CHINESE CITIZENS BARRED FROM ENTERING AND LEAVING MAINLAND CHINA Chinese authorities arbitrarily barred rights defenders, advocates, and critics from entering and leaving China. China's Passport Law delineates the legal framework for regulating travel abroad. While providing some procedural safeguards, the law provides no mechanism for redress. Article 2 of the Passport Law requires Chinese citizens to have a valid passport to enter China while Article 13 gives officials the discretion to refuse the issuance of a passport where ``the competent organs of the State Council believe that [the applicant's] leaving China will do harm to the state security or result in serious losses to the benefits of the state.'' \37\ With respect to entering China, authorities refuse to renew the passports of rights advocates and subsequently cite passport expiration as grounds to prevent entry. Such arbitrary practices appear to contravene the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.\38\ There are numerous cases of concern. The following is a representative sample: Between June 7, 2009, and February 12, 2010, on at least eight separate occasions, the Chinese government prevented Feng Zhenghu, a Shanghai-based human rights advocate and Chinese citizen, from returning to China after a temporary visit to Japan. He spent at least 90 days at Narita Airport, Tokyo's main airport, before he was allowed to reenter mainland China.\39\ Since Feng's return to Shanghai in mid- February, the Chinese government has subjected him to an array of control measures including surveillance, confiscation of property, detention, and home confinement due to his intended publication of 12 instances of injustice to coincide with the Shanghai 2010 World Expo.\40\ During the week of March 22, 2010, Chinese professor Cui Weiping was banned from leaving China to travel to the United States, where she planned to attend an academic conference hosted by the Association for Asian Studies in Philadelphia and to give lectures at Harvard University and other schools.\41\ Cui's travel ban is likely related to a series of Twitter messages she posted about Liu Xiaobo's 11-year prison sentence and to her comments commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen protests.\42\ On at least two separate occasions, Chinese authorities prevented poet, writer, and musician Liao Yiwu from leaving China. Liao was imprisoned for four years for reciting his poem ``Massacre'' about the Tiananmen protests.\43\ In October 2009, authorities banned Liao from going to the Frankfurt Book Fair, where China was the ``honored guest.'' \44\ On March 2, 2010, Liao was again banned from attending Germany's largest literary festival, Lit.Cologne. Authorities removed him from a plane en route to Germany and placed him under house confinement.\45\ In April 2010, the Chinese government banned Ilham Tohti, a prominent Uyghur economist, from traveling to Turkey to attend an academic conference.\46\ Ilham Tohti is a professor at Minzu University of China who also writes an online blog addressing Uyghur social issues.\47\ Chinese authorities warned Ilham Tohti against attending the conference and took him on a ``vacation'' days before the event.\48\ The ban is one of eight instances where Ilham Tohti was prevented from traveling abroad since the July 2009 demonstrations and riots in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.\49\ At the time of the April travel ban, Ilham Tohti held a valid Chinese passport and had already received a Turkish visa to attend the conference.\50\ Macau customs officials banned ``Long Hair'' Leung Kwok-hung, a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, from entering Macau in December 2009.\51\ ``Long Hair'' Leung, along with other democracy activists, had planned to press President Hu Jintao on the issue of universal suffrage in Hong Kong while Hu was in Macau to attend commemorative ceremonies of Macau's return to China.\52\ Macau customs authorities cited Macau's Internal Security Law as grounds for Leung's ban.\53\ An outspoken lawmaker, ``Long Hair'' Leung had been prevented from entering Macau on previous occasions.\54\ HOME CONFINEMENT AND SURVEILLANCE OF CHINESE CITIZENS DURING POLITICALLY SENSITIVE PERIODS The Chinese government continued to detain, harass, and restrict the movement of political dissidents and rights defenders inside China. Restrictions on liberty of movement within China were especially prominent during politically sensitive periods. The Commission's 2010 reporting year coincided with several anniversaries and events: the Shanghai 2010 World Expo, the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (National Day), and the 21st anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen protests. The Chinese government employs a spectrum of measures to restrict the movement of dissidents, advocates, and rights defenders who act outside of approved parameters. During this reporting year, authorities used methods including surveillance, police presence outside of one's home, ``invitation'' to tea with police, forced trips during politically sensitive periods, detention, removal from one's home, reeducation through labor, and imprisonment. There are numerous cases of concern. Representative examples follow. In connection with October 1, 2009 (National Day), several dozen activists, dissidents, and rights defenders saw increased state intrusion in connection with the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Examples include the following incidents: Li Hai, a former Tiananmen protest student leader, disappeared from Beijing for 22 days in mid-September 2009 after having been ``invited'' by the police to go on a trip. Li's whereabouts remained unknown as of October 9, 2009.\55\ Domestic security protection personnel forced Qi Zhiyong to travel to an area outside of Beijing. Qi is a Beijing activist who is disabled from the 1989 Tiananmen protest.\56\ He was allowed to return to Beijing to attend to his daughter but was placed under residential surveillance and denied access to foreign media.\57\ Ding Zilin, the leader of the Tiananmen Mothers, and Liu Xia, wife of imprisoned intellectual Liu Xiaobo, received orders to leave Beijing.\58\ In connection with the 21st anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen protests in June 2010, activists, dissidents, and rights defenders saw heightened official intrusion during this period. The following list highlights the extent and methods employed: On May 28, 2010, Guiyang Public Security Bureau personnel in Guizhou province surveyed, intercepted, and detained a gathering of Guiyang Human Rights members discussing the commemoration of the 21st anniversary of the Tiananmen protests.\59\ On May 24, 2010, domestic security protection personnel warned Beijing lawyer Li Xiongbing ``not to leave his home in the coming days,'' \60\ and stationed police outside of his home.\61\ On May 26 and 28, 2010, in Xi'an city, Shaanxi province, domestic security protection personnel summoned rights defenders Yang Hai and Zhang Jiankang to ``tea'' and told them that they would be forced to travel during the Tiananmen protest anniversary period.\62\ Several supporters of Internet writer Chen Yang went missing. Their whereabouts remained unknown as of June 7. In 2009, Chen was ordered to serve reeducation through labor for his Twitter messages mobilizing others to commemorate the anniversary of the Tiananmen protests.\63\ Status of Women Introduction During the Commission's 2010 reporting year, Chinese officials continued to promote existing laws and policies that aim to protect women's rights in accordance with international human rights norms. Inconsistent interpretation, implementation, and enforcement of these laws across localities, however, limit progress on concrete protections of women's rights. Recent statistics on female representation in government show increases in women holding positions at the central, provincial, and municipal levels of government; however, female political representation at the village level remains low and may contribute to continued violations of women's land rights in rural areas. Domestic violence remained widespread, highlighting a need for national-level legislation that provides a clear definition of domestic violence and standards for prevention and punishment. Like many countries, China lacks national legislation that clearly defines sexual harassment and gives guidance on appropriate measures for prevention and punishment of offenses. Sex-selective abortion and infanticide continue, despite Chinese government regulations which aim to deter such practices, and have contributed to a severely imbalanced gender ratio, according to a 2010 UN Development Programme report. Gender discrimination with respect to wages, recruitment, and retirement age continues; however, authorities promoted women's employment and took concrete steps to eliminate gender discrimination in the workplace. Gender Equality In its domestic laws and policy initiatives \1\ and through its ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women \2\ (CEDAW), the Chinese government has committed to ensuring female representation in government on equal terms with men. According to a March 2010 Southern Daily report, factors including the costs of giving birth, family conflict, and even a woman's clothing and makeup prevent many Chinese women from breaking through the ``glass ceiling.'' \3\ Official statistics reported in March 2010 show that female representation in official positions has increased at central, provincial, and municipal levels of government,\4\ but according to the Southern Daily report, ``compared with women's political participation internationally, China's progress in this area is very limited.'' \5\ The report notes that China's international ranking with regard to female political participation dropped from 12th place in 1994 to 52nd in 2009,\6\ and that although women now make up 21.3 percent of National People's Congress representatives, this is still far short of the 30 percent standard set by the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 1990.\7\ Female political representation at the village level also remains low and may contribute to continued violations of women's land rights in rural areas. Chen Zhili, Chair of the All-China Women's Federation, reported in March 2010 that women make up over 60 percent of the rural workforce, but only just over 10 percent of village committee members.\8\ In most rural areas of China, villages have a high rate of ``self- governance'' with regard to issues such as land contracts, profit distribution from collectives, and land requisition compensation.\9\ With limited decisionmaking power in village committees, women's interests are less likely to be represented in village rules and regulations.\10\ According to a 2008 report by the non-governmental organization Women's Watch- China, ``villages deny land rights of women who married . . . in other villages and the women's sons and daughters in a variety of ways. Yet, the grassroots government often holds an equivocal attitude towards land rights disputes.'' \11\ Gender-Based Employment Discrimination Gender-based employment discrimination with respect to issues such as wages, recruitment, and retirement age remains widespread in China, despite government efforts to eliminate it and promote women's employment. The Chinese government is committed under Article 7 of the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to ensuring ``the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work,'' including ``equal pay for equal work,'' and ``equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted in his employment to an appropriate higher level, subject to no considerations other than those of seniority and competence.'' \12\ Several domestic laws also prohibit gender discrimination and promote gender equality in the workplace, but lack an enforcement mechanism, thus providing limited protection and support for those facing discrimination.\13\ Examples of reports and surveys on gender discrimination in employment from the 2010 reporting year include: According to a September 2009 All-China Women's Federation survey, over 90 percent of the female college students interviewed felt they had experienced gender discrimination in their job searches.\14\ According to a survey cited in a February 2010 Women's Watch-China report, 15 percent of the companies surveyed pay higher wages to male employees than to their female counterparts for the same work.\15\ Another survey released in March 2010 by an educational consulting firm reportedly revealed that, of the students who found jobs, males earned an average of 361 yuan (US$53) per month more than females.\16\ According to a China University of Political Science and Law survey report released in July 2010, employment discrimination occurs at a high frequency in 60.7 percent of state-operated enterprises, 43.44 percent of government agencies, and 38.61 percent of public institutions.\17\ Several job postings mentioned in a May 2010 investigative report on employment discrimination in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone revealed trends in the differences between recruitment of male and female employees. Job postings specifically recruiting women often were for lower level, administrative, or auxiliary positions, or positions that required ``a woman's meticulous and patient nature'' (for example a teacher or an accountant).\18\ Meanwhile, job postings recruiting men often were for positions at one of two extremes: either low-level positions such as security personnel, drivers, or warehouse staff, or high-level positions such as managers, engineers, and supervisors.\19\ Some job descriptions listed in the report also demonstrated an interest in female applicants' marital status, proof of birth control, and childbearing history.\20\ Mandatory retirement ages for women in China continue to be five years earlier than those for men.\21\ In June 2010, the Enforcement Investigation Group of the National People's Congress Standing Committee issued a report on its investigation of the implementation of China's Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests.\22\ According to a China Youth Daily report on the group's findings, retirement policies for female senior intellectuals and some female cadre have not been well executed in certain central and local state organs and institutions, leading women to retire too early, and impacting their economic rights and interests as well as their opportunities for promotion and development.\23\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shenzhen Women's Federation Proposes Draft Gender Equality Regulations ------------------------------------------------------------------------- In December 2009, the Shenzhen Municipal Women's Federation announced draft regulations to promote gender equality in the workplace.\24\ If adopted, the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Gender Equality Promotion Regulations (Shenzhen regulations) would be the first legislation of its kind in China to specifically focus on gender equality.\25\ According to a January report by the non-governmental organization Women's Watch-China (WWC), Shenzhen authorities have integrated the draft into the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress 2010 legislative plan.\26\ While domestic and international reports revealed some details of the Shenzhen regulations in late January 2010,\27\ the draft is still under review and not yet publicly available.\28\ Highlights of the draft include: Definition of gender discrimination. Currently, China's legislative framework for gender equality--namely the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests and the Employment Promotion Law--does not provide a definition for gender discrimination. According to the WWC report, the Shenzhen regulations would clearly define both direct and indirect gender discrimination.\29\ Compensation for pension disparity between men and women. Chinese law currently requires women to retire at age 55 and men at 60. Because women retire earlier, they typically have smaller pensions than men.\30\ Establishment of a gender budgeting system, regular gender audits, and statistical reviews. With these mechanisms in place, governments will be able to ensure that public finances are allocated more fairly based on gender,\31\ develop appropriate gender-specific facilities (such as restrooms),\32\ and analyze the status of gender equality in education and employment.\33\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shenzhen Women's Federation Proposes Draft Gender Equality Regulations-- Continued ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Establishment of a protection order system. Under the draft Shenzhen regulations, an individual would be able to apply for a protection order from the court following abuse or the threat of abuse. In addition, if an individual reports abuse to the police, police have the right to detain and charge the offender.\34\ Paternity leave. The Shenzhen regulations would provide a legislative basis for paternity leave of 30 days ``on-demand'' for fathers of newborns.\35\ If implemented, this would provide greater protection for males' rights and interests \36\ and could encourage a larger male role in the care of the newborn and mother, according to some assessments.\37\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [For more information on legal developments related to workplace discrimination, see Section II--Worker Rights.] Violence Against Women DOMESTIC VIOLENCE The amended Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests (LPWRI) and the amended Marriage Law prohibit domestic violence,\38\ and individuals charged with the crime of domestic violence are punishable under China's Criminal Law.\39\ The problem of domestic violence remains widespread, affecting nearly one-third of China's 270 million families, according to a November 2009 People's Daily report.\40\ Current national-level legal provisions regarding domestic violence leave many victims unprotected as they do not clearly define domestic violence, assign clear and concrete legal responsibilities, or outline the roles of government departments and social organizations in prevention, punishment, and treatment.\41\ During the Commission's 2010 reporting year, Chinese advocates expressed concern regarding the growing problem of domestic violence and called for national legislation on domestic violence that clarifies the aforementioned shortcomings.\42\ The Communist Party-controlled All-China Women's Federation announced on November 25, 2009, that it had drafted proposed legislation on preventing and curbing domestic violence.\43\ The proposal reportedly attempts to provide a clear definition of domestic violence, a clear assignment of government responsibility in domestic violence prevention and treatment, and ``breakthroughs in legal responsibility,'' among other improvements, according to another November 2009 People's Daily report.\44\ It remains to be seen whether this or other such drafts are entered into the legislative agenda. SEXUAL HARASSMENT Victims of sexual harassment in China face several legislative, cultural, and social obstacles in protecting their rights, despite China's international commitments and domestic legislation on this subject. The Chinese government is committed under Article 11 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to taking ``all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment,'' \45\ and introduced the concept of sexual harassment into legislation with the 2005 amendment to the LPWRI.\46\ The amended LPWRI prohibits sexual harassment and provides an avenue of recourse for victims through either administrative punishment for offenders or civil action in the people's court system, but it does not provide a clear definition of sexual harassment or specific standards and procedures for prevention and punishment.\47\ In addition, public awareness regarding sexual harassment in the workplace is generally lacking, and traditional views toward gender roles in society continue to limit momentum toward progress.\48\ Sexual harassment remains prevalent in China, and those who choose to pursue sexual harassment claims face potential social and economic risks. According to a May 2010 survey published by the Qian Qian law firm, 17.2 percent of the women surveyed reported experiencing sexual harassment from their bosses, 28.7 percent reported experiencing sexual harassment from their colleagues, and 54.1 percent expressed that they had experienced sexual harassment from people other than their bosses or colleagues, such as clients, patients, and others with whom they must interact for work purposes.\49\ According to one expert on women's rights protection in China, ``those who take action against sexual harassment offenders simply risk losing more than they will gain.'' \50\ In one such example in March 2009, a woman sued her company and the specific employer who sexually harassed her, seeking damages of 400,000 yuan (US$58,573) and a written apology. She ``won'' the lawsuit in November (the court granted her 3,000 yuan, or US$439, for psychological recovery),\51\ but the corporation had already dismissed her from her job.\52\ Observers note that she may face difficulty seeking employment elsewhere due to the significant media exposure of her case.\53\ As reported in the Commission's 2009 Annual Report, in February 2009 a study group led by three Chinese researchers submitted a draft proposal to the National People's Congress for a law aimed at preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.\54\ The proposed law would hold both the government and employers responsible for the prevention and punishment of sexual harassment offenses. The Commission has not found indicators of progress on this or similar national-level legislation during the 2010 reporting year. SEX-SELECTIVE ELIMINATION Violence and bias against women and girls continues in the form of sex-selective abortion,\55\ as well as infanticide, neglect, and abandonment of female babies and children, despite the government's legislative efforts to deter such practices.\56\ According to a UN Development Programme report released on International Women's Day 2010, Asia is currently ``missing'' nearly 100 million women due to ``discriminatory treatment in health care, nutrition access or pure neglect--or because they were never born in the first place.'' \57\ China's ``missing'' women constitute over 40 percent of that figure.\58\ In response to government-imposed birth limits and in keeping with a traditional cultural bias for sons, Chinese parents often engage in sex-selective abortion, especially rural couples whose first child is a girl.\59\ The government issued national regulations in 2003 banning prenatal gender determination and sex-selective abortion.\60\ According to experts cited in an April 2010 Xinhua report, however, ``more effective action'' may be needed to address China's skewed sex ratio.\61\ The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) published a comprehensive study in January 2010 that placed the male-female sex ratio for the infant-to-four-year-old age group in China at 123.26 males for every 100 females.\62\ Some provinces have ratios exceeding 130.\63\ The 123.26 figure is far above the global norm of roughly 103 to 105 males for every 100 females and represents growth of more than two boys per 100 girls from the 2000 census ratio.\64\ CASS estimates that, by 2020, the number of Chinese males of marriageable age will exceed the number of Chinese females of marriageable age by 30 to 40 million.\65\ According to an April 2009 British Medical Journal study, China's sex ratio has steadily increased since ultrasound technology--through which pregnant parents can determine the sex of the fetus--became available in the 1980s. The study suggests that sex-selective abortion contributes largely to the country's significantly skewed sex ratio.\66\ A March 2010 SOS Children's Village report alleged that in addition to sex-selective abortion, ``China suffers high rates of female infanticide . . . as well as widespread abandonment and human trafficking of the girl-child.'' \67\ Some scholars have expressed concern that the continued devaluation of women and the resulting skewed sex ratio may lead to continued or increased forced prostitution, forced marriages, and human trafficking.\68\ [For more information regarding China's increasingly skewed sex ratio, see Section II--Population Planning.] Human Trafficking Introduction The Chinese government took steps to combat human trafficking during the Commission's 2010 reporting year, but longstanding challenges remain. Officials in the past year continued to focus on the abduction and sale of women and children.\1\ Other pervasive forms of trafficking--including labor trafficking and trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation--did not receive as much attention from authorities. The trafficking situation in China appears to be uniquely affected by the government's one-child policy, the resulting gender imbalance, the current economic crisis, and migrant mobility, among other factors. After years of stating its intent to do so,\2\ the Chinese government voted to accede to the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (UN TIP Protocol) in December 2009,\3\ but has not yet enacted legislation to implement it fully.\4\ The UN TIP Protocol contains the first global definition of trafficking and obligates state parties to criminalize conduct described in the protocol. China's Criminal Law defines the trafficking of persons as ``abducting, kidnapping, buying, trafficking in, fetching, sending, or transferring a woman or child, for the purpose of selling the victim.'' \5\ This definition is narrower than that provided in the UN TIP Protocol in that it does not automatically prohibit forms of trafficking such as forced adult and child labor, commercial sex trade of minors over 14 years old, or trafficking of men.\6\ From 2008 to 2010, a number of provincial governments, central government agencies, and Communist Party organizations issued regulations, plans, or opinions to implement the Chinese government's National Plan of Action on Combating Trafficking in Women and Children (2008- 2012).\7\ In addition, some local governments established liaison offices with governments of bordering countries to facilitate cooperation in combating cross-border human trafficking. Individuals and organizations not associated with the government have also been active in the effort to combat human trafficking, but some have reported government pressure in response to their actions. Prevalence China remains a country of origin, transit, and destination for the trafficking of men, women, and children.\8\ The majority of trafficking cases are domestic; \9\ however, human traffickers continue to traffic Chinese women and children from China to other regions, such as Africa, other parts of Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America.\10\ Women and girls from countries including North Korea, Russia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Burma are also trafficked into China and forced into marriages, employment, and sexual exploitation.\11\ One May 2010 news article notes that women may currently make up approximately 80 percent of an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 North Korean refugees in China, and of these women, an estimated 90 percent become victims of trafficking.\12\ As the U.S. State Department 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report (2010 TIP Report) notes, however, a lack of reliable statistics makes it difficult to assess how many of the North Korean women in China have been trafficked.\13\ [For more information on North Korean refugees in China, see Section II--North Korean Refugees in China.] Forced labor, especially forced child labor, reportedly continues to be a pressing problem.\14\ [For more information on child labor, see Section II--Worker Rights.] According to the UN TIP Protocol, forced labor of any person under 18 years of age constitutes ``trafficking in persons.'' \15\ Factors Driving Trafficking Experts link the reported growth \16\ of trafficking in China to several political, demographic, economic, and social factors. Against the backdrop of the Chinese government's one- child policy, Chinese families' preference for sons, and the growing gender imbalance, increasing numbers of male children are trafficked for adoption,\17\ and women and girls are trafficked for forced marriages and commercial sexual exploitation.\18\ In addition, parents who cannot keep their ``out-of-plan'' children--those children born in violation of population planning policies and requirements--are vulnerable to persuasion or coercion to relinquish or sell them.\19\ Domestic and international observers link the growing trafficking market to the economic crisis,\20\ the lack of awareness and education on trafficking prevention for vulnerable women and parents,\21\ poverty and instability in bordering countries such as North Korea and Burma,\22\ a thriving international adoption market,\23\ and the growing number of migrant workers whose children experts identify as an ``at-risk'' population for abduction.\24\ Using the narrower definition of human trafficking under Chinese law, authorities reportedly convicted 2,413 defendants in trafficking cases and resolved more than 7,000 trafficking cases involving over 7,300 women and 3,400 children in 2009.\25\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Representative Human Trafficking and Abduction Cases This Year ------------------------------------------------------------------------- According to the 2010 TIP Report, in November 2009, Macau officials convicted a Macanese man of trafficking two local women to Japan in 2008 and sentenced him to over seven years in prison. This reportedly was the Macau government's first trafficking conviction under its anti-trafficking law.\26\ Also in November 2009, 12 children were injured and 1 was killed as a result of an explosion that occurred while they were making fireworks in a workshop in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to a Southern Metropolitan Daily report. The children ranged in age from 7 to 15 years old.\27\ According to a Xinhua report on the same incident, the children were all ``left behind children,'' or children whose parents worked as migrant workers away from home.\28\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Representative Human Trafficking and Abduction Cases This Year-- Continued ------------------------------------------------------------------------- According to a January 2010 China Peace Net report, officials exposed a trafficking ring in Harbin city, Heilongjiang province, in which one suspect was a doctor and the chair of the obstetrics and gynecology department at a local hospital. According to the report, the doctor ``exploited the convenience of her position'' and worked with her daughter and son-in-law to arrange the purchase of a newborn for 10,000 yuan (US$1,476) from parents at the hospital. Officials criminally detained the three suspects and, as of January 7, were still investigating the case.\29\ On March 4, 2010, Hong Kong's Wanchai District Court convicted \30\ a Filipino club owner and an employee of human trafficking.\31\ According to a report by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, they had forced two Filipina women to work as entertainers and prostitutes in their club after a relative of the women initially lured them with the promise of waitressing positions in Macau.\32\ Domestic news sources reported at least two cases this year of parents selling their children in order to reap material benefit. In one case, an unemployed couple sold their healthy six-day-old infant son for 2,500 yuan (US$368) and then reportedly used the money to purchase a cell phone, among other items.\33\ In another case, a couple reportedly fond of gambling sold their two children for 9,000 yuan (US$1,328) and 25,800 yuan (US$3,807).\34\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Anti-Trafficking Efforts The Chinese government and civil society continued with efforts to combat human trafficking during the Commission's 2010 reporting year. In December 2009, the National People's Congress Standing Committee voted to accede to the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.\35\ The Ministry of Public Security conducted a nine-month campaign to combat the abduction and sale of women and children beginning in April 2009, using a national DNA database for matching children with parents and a Web site for increased publicity regarding the children's plight.\36\ As of September 2010, at least 6 of the 60 posted rescued children were successfully matched with their parents through these resources.\37\ In April 2010, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued the Opinion on Lawful Punishment for the Crime of Abducting and Selling Women and Children.\38\ According to the China Daily, ``[T]he guideline will speed up the investigation and filing of cases involving girls between 14 and 18 [years of age],'' a demographic that has historically fallen through the cracks in authorities' anti-trafficking efforts under current Chinese legislation.\39\ From 2008 to 2010, a number of provincial governments, central government agencies, and Communist Party organizations issued regulations, plans, or opinions to implement the Chinese government's National Plan of Action on Combating Trafficking in Women and Children (2008-2012) (National Plan of Action).\40\ In addition, some local governments in Yunnan province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region set up liaison offices with the governments of bordering countries including Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia to facilitate cooperation in the effort to combat human trafficking across borders.\41\ Local authorities, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations, took steps to improve trafficking victim protection services and care, but continued to focus such efforts only on women and children identified as victims through the government's limited definition of trafficking.\42\ According to the U.S. State Department 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report (2010 TIP Report), China has an estimated 1,400 shelters nationwide, with 5 specifically devoted to assisting ``trafficking victims.'' Shelters nationwide aided 12,000 trafficking victims in 2009.\43\ Individuals and organizations not associated with the government have also been active in the effort to combat human trafficking. While some NGOs have successfully cooperated with officials to raise public awareness and provide training and victim assistance,\44\ several media reports indicate that individuals, especially parents of trafficked children seeking to informally organize and raise awareness about trafficking cases, face government pressure including silencing of protests and petitions,\45\ official threats, home confinement,\46\ and police surveillance.\47\ Anti-Trafficking Challenges Several hurdles remain in the Chinese government's fight against human trafficking. Although the Chinese government voted to accede to the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (UN TIP Protocol) in December 2009,\48\ it has not revised current domestic legislation or the National Plan of Action to bring them into compliance with the UN TIP Protocol. Article 240 of China's Criminal Law defines the trafficking of persons as ``abducting, kidnapping, buying, trafficking in, fetching, sending, or transferring a woman or child, for the purpose of selling the victim.'' \49\ This definition does not automatically prohibit forms of trafficking such as forced adult and child labor, commercial sex trade of minors over 14 years old, or trafficking of men, which are covered under Article 3 of the UN TIP Protocol.\50\ The Chinese government's narrower definition of human trafficking has negative implications for anti-trafficking work in China, including imposing limits on the Chinese government's prosecution efforts, protection of victims, funding of programs, and victim services.\51\ Officials continue to conflate human trafficking with human smuggling and therefore treat some victims of trafficking as criminals.\52\ This is because, as noted in the 2010 TIP Report, officials consider that a victim's crossing of the border without documentation constitutes involvement in ``human smuggling,'' which, unlike human trafficking, gives less consideration to the role exploitation may have played in the border crossing. As the 2010 TIP Report noted, officials continue to fine or criminally penalize some victims of trafficking for crossing borders illegally.\53\ In addition, the Chinese government continues to deport all undocumented North Koreans as illegal ``economic migrants,'' without providing legal alternatives to repatriation for identified victims of trafficking.\54\ The U.S. State Department placed China on its Tier 2 Watch List for the sixth consecutive year in 2010,\55\ saying that, among other areas needing improvement, the Chinese government ``did not make significant efforts to investigate and prosecute labor trafficking offenses and convict offenders of labor trafficking'' and ``did not sufficiently address corruption in trafficking by government officials.'' \56\ North Korean Refugees in China Introduction During the Commission's 2010 reporting year, the Chinese government persisted in repatriating North Korean refugees to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), especially in the months before October 1, 2009, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.\1\ Beginning in July 2009, the Chinese government reportedly increased the presence of public security officials in northeastern China and repatriated more North Koreans than it had in the earlier part of 2009.\2\ The Chinese government's repatriation of North Korean refugees, or those who leave the DPRK for fear of persecution, contravenes its obligations under the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951 Convention) and its 1967 Protocol (Protocol).\3\ The Chinese government maintains that North Korean refugees in China are illegal economic migrants and not refugees.\4\ The North Korean government's imprisonment and torture of repatriated North Koreans, however, renders those North Koreans in China who did not leave the DPRK for fear of persecution ``refugees sur place'' under international law, or those who fear persecution upon return.\5\ Under the 1951 Convention and its Protocol, the Chinese government is also obligated to refrain from repatriating refugees sur place.\6\ Unlawful Repatriation In 2009, the Chinese government continued to repatriate North Korean refugees to the DPRK and stepped up its repatriation of North Korean refugees before October 1, 2009.\7\ In October 2009, one overseas news organization reported that Chinese authorities were conducting weekly visits to every house along the Chinese-North Korean border to locate North Koreans in hiding.\8\ In July 2009, Chinese authorities detained a North Korean woman who had lived in China for over 10 years while her 10-year-old son looked on, according to Radio Free Asia.\9\ In September 2009, Chinese authorities detained five North Korean defectors attempting to travel to Vietnam to seek asylum.\10\ Their current status remains unknown. In late 2009, 20 women from the same county in the DPRK were repatriated and subsequently imprisoned.\11\ In January 2010, Chinese authorities repatriated one North Korean woman two days after she entered China. Upon return to the DPRK, North Korean authorities punished her together with more than 40 repatriated refugees from the same town.\12\ In March 2010, one overseas media source reported that 50 North Korean defectors had taken refuge in South Korean diplomatic missions in China, which they were unwilling to leave for fear of being detained and repatriated to the DPRK by Chinese authorities. About 30 of the refugees had been confined to the diplomatic missions for more than one year, as the Chinese government had intentionally delayed negotiations with South Korea for their departure.\13\ The Chinese government continues to deny the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) access to North Koreans seeking asylum.\14\ Chinese authorities offer bounties to Chinese citizens who turn in North Koreans \15\ and fine,\16\ detain,\17\ or imprison those who provide the refugees with humanitarian assistance. In August 2009, the Erlianhaote City People's Court in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region sentenced Zhang Yonghu and Li Mingshun to 7 and 10 years' imprisonment, respectively, for crimes of ``human smuggling.'' Zhang and Li were assisting 61 North Korean refugees to cross the Chinese border into Mongolia to seek asylum.\18\ While the Chinese government prosecutes those who assist North Korean refugees in seeking asylum, traffickers traffic an estimated 90 percent of the North Korean women in China.\19\ [See Trafficking and Denial of Education in this section.] Punishment in North Korea North Koreans repatriated by the Chinese government face the threat of imprisonment, torture, and capital punishment in the DPRK.\20\ Under the DPRK's Penal Code, border crossers can receive sentences of up to two years' imprisonment in a labor training center.\21\ North Korean authorities assign harsher punishment, including long sentences and public execution, to repatriated North Koreans deemed to have committed ``political'' crimes, which include attempted defection, conversion to Christianity, and having had extensive contact with religious groups, South Koreans, or Americans.\22\ Many repatriated North Koreans are vulnerable to severe punishment on one of these ``political'' grounds. A significant number of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and humanitarian workers assisting North Koreans in China and helping them seek asylum are Christians, South Koreans, or Americans.\23\ In March 2008, the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) published a large-scale survey of North Koreans in China in which 99 percent of those interviewed stated that they did not want to return to the DPRK, but wanted to permanently resettle in another country.\24\ Also in March 2008, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that after Chinese authorities repatriated a group of North Koreans to the DPRK, North Korean authorities executed all 60 of them for trying to defect to South Korea.\25\ According to the PIIE survey, 67 percent of North Koreans in China suffering from severe psychological distress named ``arrest'' as the primary cause of their anxiety.\26\ Conditions in North Korean detention facilities are harsh, and torture, beatings, and inhumane treatment are common.\27\ NGOs and the UNHCR report that North Korean security officials have assaulted repatriated women carrying babies of mixed Chinese-Korean ancestry to force them to have abortions.\28\ Trafficking and Denial of Access to Education The Chinese government's policy of repatriating North Korean refugees and denying them legal status increases their vulnerability to trafficking, mistreatment, and exploitation in China. North Korean women, in particular, often fall victim to inhumane treatment and indentured servitude.\29\ One February 2009 National Geographic report estimates 75 percent of North Koreans in China are women.\30\ According to an NGO, approximately 90 percent of these North