4. Cases concerning the exercise of the freedom of association, including trade union (art. 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 35 of the Chinese constitution, although the freedom of trade union is not guaranteed under Chinese law)
Li Wenming and Guo Baosheng, 28 and 25, were sentenced in May 1997 to three and a half years' imprisonment for "conspiring to subvert the government" and two years' deprivation of political rights. Li Wenming is due to be released on 11 November 1997 and Guo Baosheng on 3 December 1997. The sentence was announced six months after their conviction in a trial in November 1996. Li and Guo have been in detention since May and June 1994 respectively. Both were working in Shenzhen when Li, originally from Hunan Province, and Guo, a Qinghai native, became involved in initiatives to organize migrant workers in the area. They talked about setting up two organizations, the Federation of Hired-Hand Workers and the Joint Association of Hired Hand Workers, which they intended to register with the local civil affairs bureau. They organized a number of open air discussion groups for migrant workers at which such matters as collective bargaining and international labor rights standards were raised. They eventually set up a
"workers' night school," and offered legal advice to individuals who were having difficulties with their employers. The group also published several mimeographed newsletters containing information for migrant workers. Other charges in the indictment against the two men involved their discussing the political situation with friends, and circulating dissident writings, including essays by Wei Jingsheng. The procuracy also emphasized their group's foreign connections, which appear to have consisted of receiving some visitors from labor-related groups in Hong Kong and at least one press interview. (Sources: Human Rights in China - New York)
Abbreviations:
- NPC: National People's Congress
- PSB: Public Security Bureau
- RTL: Reeducation Through Labor
Sources: Human Rights in China - New York
