Thursday, February 17, 2011

Dialogue, Issue 42, Winter 2011

China Emerges as Likely Issue in 2012 Elections

GOP members in the new 112th Congress are already taking a tough line on China.
Following bruising mid-term elections in which China figured in dozens of congressional races, signs are emerging that the country will be a major foreign policy issue in the 2012 elections. There will be important consequences for US-China relations as the battle over China policy coincides with a once-in-a-decade leadership change in China.  Read more >>

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Belated Justice: Exonerating the Wrongly Convicted
A basic objective of a criminal justice system rooted in rule of law is fair determination of guilt or innocence of defendants at trial. Despite this ideal, it is safe to say that every system in the world has issued incorrect convictions, with innocent people sent to prison and, in some instances, to their deaths for crimes they did not commit. When the system fails the first time, exonerations—however rare and belated—serve to clear the name of individuals who should never have been convicted in the first place. Read more >>

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 Update on Criminal Law Amendment’s Proposed Limits on Death Penalty
A look at the debate surrounding a controversial proposal to exempt individuals aged 75 and older from capital punishment in China, with views from the nation's top legislators and legal scholars.  Read more >>


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Prisoner Update: Li Jianfeng 
The Dui Hua Foundation recently received an update on the status of Li Jianfeng (李建峰), a 47-year-old labor activist and former judge from Ningde, Fujian Province. Read more >>

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Human Rights Journal Digest
Links to our latest posts on Human Right Journal blog >>

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News About Dui Hua

Kamm speaks at Harvard University
(K. Ding, The Harvard Crimson)
  • Executive Director Kamm Embarks on College Speaking Tour
  • Dui Hua Attends Universal Periodic Review
  • Executive Director Kamm Speaks out on Hong Kong Prisoners
  • Dui Hua in Media


Posted by The Dui Hua Foundation at 4:33 PM

Monday, December 27, 2010

DIALOGUE, Issue 41, Fall 2010

Reducing Death Penalty Crimes in China More Symbol Than Substance

In late August, the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee began to consider a revision to China’s Criminal Law that would significantly reduce the number of offenses eligible for the death penalty. China now allows the death penalty to be imposed for 68 crimes, 44 of which do not involve violence. Drafters of the new legislation propose removing 13 offenses from those eligible for capital punishment—a nearly 30 percent drop in the number of non-violent crimes that carry the death penalty. The proposed legislation would also prohibit the execution of offenders aged 75 or older.  Read more >>


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UN Universal Periodic Review Spotlights Human Rights Records
On November 5, the United States will face the first review of its human rights record under the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The UPR is a new mechanism, instituted in 2006, but UN efforts to monitor human rights date back almost as far as the institution’s founding. The charter establishing the United Nations was ratified in 1945. The following year, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) formed the UN Commission on Human Rights, the first international body mandated to investigate and report on human rights concerns worldwide. Read more >>

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New Research & Prisoner Information
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  • Dui Hua Conducts Program Mission in Hong Kong, Beijing
  • US Speaking Tour, UPR Representation Set for November
  • Dui Hua Sees Staff Change, Thanks Summer Interns, Volunteers
Posted by The Dui Hua Foundation at 3:47 PM

Friday, August 13, 2010

DIALOGUE, Issue 40, Summer 2010

Juvenile Justice Delegation to China Builds on Cooperative Area for Dialogue
In May, American and Chinese officials met in Washington to convene the 15th session of the long-running human rights dialogue and then again, in Beijing, for a strategic and economic dialogue. Both dialogues covered many subjects but failed to yield much by way of results. The same week as the human rights dialogue, however, a spirit of cooperation was on display when a US delegation organized by Dui Hua took part in juvenile justice exchanges in Beijing and Qingdao, Shandong Province. Read more >>
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Dui Hua Visits California Women’s Prison, Jail
In California—as nationwide—women make up about seven percent of the prison population. Because of their small numbers, the plight of female prisoners is easily overlooked. This spring, Dui Hua staff members visited two women’s detention facilities in California—Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW) in Chowchilla, California, and the women’s section of the San Francisco County Jail—to learn more about this often unnoticed population. Read more >>
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New Research & Prisoner Information
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* Dui Hua Completes Active Round of Spring, Summer Trips
* Research Manager Rosenzweig Presents on Liu Xiaobo Case at Hong Kong Conference
* Advocacy Work Boosts Media Coverage, Website Traffic
Posted by The Dui Hua Foundation at 12:51 PM

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

DIALOGUE, Issue 39, Spring 2010

Systemic Sickness: Diagnosing the Ills of Medical Parole in China

In early April, an appeal for the medical parole of Hu Jia, sentenced to 3½ years in prison in 2008 for “inciting subversion,” was rejected. It was the second refusal in less than a year to release Hu due to his deteriorating health, with his family submitting both requests. Hu suffers from cirrhosis, an incurable progressive liver disease, and his condition has worsened in prison. The appeal was made during a spell of bad health and after a growth appeared on Hu's liver. After medical tests, officials responded by stating Hu's cirrhosis didn't meet the conditions for medical parole, and he was returned to Beijing Municipal Prison to continue serving his sentence. Read more >>

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Dignified Treatment? Confronting Aging & Illness in US Prison

As discussed in this issue's lead story, China's medical parole system has served as a road to release for prisoners with chronic medical problems, perhaps most notably Chinese political prisoners with health conditions that were not actually life-threatening. Many other countries have mechanisms in place to release prisoners facing extraordinary health issues. In the United States, where healthcare costs are skyrocketing at the same time that the prison population in the country is aging, humanitarians and fiscal pragmatists across the country are joining forces to try to expand the use of policies intended to release more of the oldest, sickliest, and costliest prisoners. Read more >>

Related Article: Hospice Care Eases Death For US Inmates

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New Research & Prisoner Information
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  • Dui Hua Weathers Storms To Conduct Recent Advocacy Missions
  • Foundation Holds Event for 2010 Juvenile Justice Delegation to China
  • Dui Hua Makes Submission for First Universal Periodic Review of United State
Posted by The Dui Hua Foundation at 11:04 AM
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