2015-07-06
Five Chinese feminists detained f
or planning an anti-sexual harassment campaign and since released on “bail” have written to the United Nations in a bid to make their release unconditional.
Wu Rongrong, Li Tingting, Wei Tingting, Wang Man, and Zheng Churan were released “on bail” in April after being detained on suspicion of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble” on March 6, two days ahead of International Women’s Day.
The five women, whose detention prompted an international outcry, are still regarded as criminal suspects, and will have police restrictions in place on their movements for a year after their release.
“Tomorrow, July 7, will mark the fourth full month since our detention,” the letter, dated July 6 and addressed to U.N. Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, said.
“The abusive experience is still disturbing for us to recall.”
The women said they have struggled to rebuild their lives following their ordeal, which came amid a broader crackdown on the activities of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
“We have been under constant investigation and strict surveillance as ‘suspects,’ and as we are subject to restrictions of traveling and social activities, we cannot get back to our work in NGOs,” they wrote.
Controls on groups’ work
The crackdown is hampering the work of groups representing disadvantaged and marginalized sectors of society, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) groups, women affected by HIV, disability and poverty, and development programs for girl children, the letter said.
“The few months since March have been the most depressed period for the feminist movement in China,” the letter said, adding that the repercussions of the crackdown for international cooperation on a slew of rights issues will be huge.
“Civil society in China is currently unable to operate as a productive partner with the Chinese government and the U.N. system,” the women wrote.
“This is an unexpected and shameful setback as well as a historical mistake on the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing,” they said.
The letter also called on the U.N. to put pressure on Beijing for all bail conditions and charges against the five women to be dropped.
“The interruption of our work and the limitations on our political freedom are not just our loss,” it said. “They are also the loss of Chinese society and government.”
Wu Rongrong’s lawyer Liu Shuqing said that bail conditions attached to the women’s release require them to inform police whenever they travel away from their normal place of residence.