Open Constitutional Initiative
Encyclopedia
The Open Constitution Initiative (OCI) , sometimes referred to in English as Gongmeng is an organization consisting of lawyers and academics in the People's Republic of China
that advocates the rule of law
and greater constitutional
protections. It was established in 2003 by Xu Zhiyong
, Teng Biao
, Yu Jiang, and Zhang Xingshui from the Peking University
Law School.
Since 2002, online
independent media
and tabloids have played an important role in political discourse within Chinese society. Many Chinese intellectuals have used the Internet
to discuss the possible evolution of Chinese politics. The OCI is a group of such intellectuals whose website contained essays about constitutional issues and the protection of citizen's rights. One notable lawyer who is part of the group is Xu Zhiyong
.
On 8 June 2004, Chinese internet authorities
shut down its web site without specifying a precise reason.
The crackdown came during a time of heightened political tension regarding the Taiwan Straits and the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
, and also during events symbolic of China's increasing international interdependence, such as the visit of the Greek
Olympian
envoy.
In 2009, the organization published a report criticising the Chinese government's
policy towards Tibet
, alleging that propaganda
is being used to mask failings in its Tibet policy, such as ethnic inequality and creating "an aristocracy of corrupt and abusive government officials". It has been regarded as a more balanced view of the situation in Tibet and has had approval circulating through discussion websites in China, though the Chinese government has yet to comment.
On July 14, 2009, the organization was fined at a stunning 1.46 million RMB. On July 17, 2009, authorities declared the organization "illegal" and shut it down. On 29 July 2009 Xu Zhiyong
has been arrested on charges of 'tax evasion' and subsequently released on bail on 23 August 2009. His administrative assistant, Zhuang Lu is reported to have disappeared, possibly held in a detention house in Beijing.
, Teng Biao
, and another doctoral student from Peking University
raised the unconstitutionality of the investigation in the Sun Zhigang case; initiated a grassroots local people’s congress primary election procedure.
” in the Constitution, submitted to the National People's Congress
; followed the Henan incident where authorities forcibly closed the HIV
/AIDS
orphanage known as “Home of Care and Love”; defended Yu Huafeng and Cheng Yizhong, the General Manager and Editor in Chief, respectively, of the Southern Metropolitan Daily; participated in representing the four innocent Chengde citizens who were sentenced, five times, to the death penalty; organized a symposium to discuss the legitimacy of the relocation of the Beijing Zoo
; followed the Beijing taxi price hike and reform of the management system; completed the Research Report on China’s Xinfang System; monitored the direct election of the Haidian District of Beijing Municipality Local People’s Congress; spoke out for the education rights of migrant children; wrote proposed legislative amendments to the Beijing Measures on the Administration of Dog Ownership.
; launched activities to promote open government information, including requesting the disclosure of three specific types of public expenditures; hosted a legal organization training workshop where legal knowledge relating to rights defence and elections was discussed; provided legal aid to Deng Yujiao, victims of "black jails
", and petitioners; launched residence committee elections and organized symposiums on Green Dam, mental disability, and many more issues; in order to guide public opinion on a path of rational development, expressed public opinion on many important issues.
Website Shutdown by the Chinese authorities
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
that advocates the rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
and greater constitutional
Constitution of the People's Republic of China
The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the highest law within the People's Republic of China. The current version was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982 with further revisions in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004. Three previous state constitutions—those of...
protections. It was established in 2003 by Xu Zhiyong
Xu Zhiyong
Xu Zhiyong is a lecturer at the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications. He was one of the founders of the NGO Open Constitution Initiative and an active rights lawyer in China who helped those underprivileged....
, Teng Biao
Teng Biao
Teng Biao is a human rights activist and lawyer in China. Teng is a lecturer at the University of Politics and Law in Beijing. He has been a vocal supporter of human rights activists such as Chen Guangcheng and Hu Jia...
, Yu Jiang, and Zhang Xingshui from the Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
Law School.
Since 2002, online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
independent media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
and tabloids have played an important role in political discourse within Chinese society. Many Chinese intellectuals have used the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
to discuss the possible evolution of Chinese politics. The OCI is a group of such intellectuals whose website contained essays about constitutional issues and the protection of citizen's rights. One notable lawyer who is part of the group is Xu Zhiyong
Xu Zhiyong
Xu Zhiyong is a lecturer at the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications. He was one of the founders of the NGO Open Constitution Initiative and an active rights lawyer in China who helped those underprivileged....
.
On 8 June 2004, Chinese internet authorities
Internet in the People's Republic of China
The first connection of the mainland of the People's Republic of China with the Internet was established on between ICA Beijing and Karlsruhe University in Germany, under the leadership of Prof. Werner Zorn and Prof. Wang Yunfeng. Since then the Internet in China has grown to host the largest base...
shut down its web site without specifying a precise reason.
The crackdown came during a time of heightened political tension regarding the Taiwan Straits and the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
, and also during events symbolic of China's increasing international interdependence, such as the visit of the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
Olympian
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
envoy.
In 2009, the organization published a report criticising the Chinese government's
Government of the People's Republic of China
All power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among three bodies: the People's Republic of China, State Council, and the People's Liberation Army . This article is concerned with the formal structure of the state, its departments and their responsibilities...
policy towards Tibet
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region , Tibet or Xizang for short, also called the Xizang Autonomous Region is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China , created in 1965....
, alleging that propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
is being used to mask failings in its Tibet policy, such as ethnic inequality and creating "an aristocracy of corrupt and abusive government officials". It has been regarded as a more balanced view of the situation in Tibet and has had approval circulating through discussion websites in China, though the Chinese government has yet to comment.
On July 14, 2009, the organization was fined at a stunning 1.46 million RMB. On July 17, 2009, authorities declared the organization "illegal" and shut it down. On 29 July 2009 Xu Zhiyong
Xu Zhiyong
Xu Zhiyong is a lecturer at the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications. He was one of the founders of the NGO Open Constitution Initiative and an active rights lawyer in China who helped those underprivileged....
has been arrested on charges of 'tax evasion' and subsequently released on bail on 23 August 2009. His administrative assistant, Zhuang Lu is reported to have disappeared, possibly held in a detention house in Beijing.
2003
Xu ZhiyongXu Zhiyong
Xu Zhiyong is a lecturer at the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications. He was one of the founders of the NGO Open Constitution Initiative and an active rights lawyer in China who helped those underprivileged....
, Teng Biao
Teng Biao
Teng Biao is a human rights activist and lawyer in China. Teng is a lecturer at the University of Politics and Law in Beijing. He has been a vocal supporter of human rights activists such as Chen Guangcheng and Hu Jia...
, and another doctoral student from Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
raised the unconstitutionality of the investigation in the Sun Zhigang case; initiated a grassroots local people’s congress primary election procedure.
2004
participated in the drafting of a proposed amendment to include “human rightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
” in the Constitution, submitted to the National People's Congress
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress , abbreviated NPC , is the highest state body and the only legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The National People's Congress is held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China; with 2,987 members, it is the...
; followed the Henan incident where authorities forcibly closed the HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
orphanage known as “Home of Care and Love”; defended Yu Huafeng and Cheng Yizhong, the General Manager and Editor in Chief, respectively, of the Southern Metropolitan Daily; participated in representing the four innocent Chengde citizens who were sentenced, five times, to the death penalty; organized a symposium to discuss the legitimacy of the relocation of the Beijing Zoo
2005
conducted research on China’s petitioning (“xinfang”) system; pushed for Local People’s Congress Delegate Reception Day; researched the local people’s congress system; began writing the 2005 Report on the Development of Human Rights in China.2006
completed the 2005 Report on the Development of Human Rights in ChinaHuman Rights in China
Human Rights in China is a New York-based international, Chinese, non-governmental organization with a mission to promote international human rights and advance the institutional protection of these rights in the People's Republic of China....
; followed the Beijing taxi price hike and reform of the management system; completed the Research Report on China’s Xinfang System; monitored the direct election of the Haidian District of Beijing Municipality Local People’s Congress; spoke out for the education rights of migrant children; wrote proposed legislative amendments to the Beijing Measures on the Administration of Dog Ownership.
2007
assisted with the administrative suit on behalf of victims of the illegal brick kilns; followed the Zhongguancun demolition and relocation case; launched various citizen participation activities.2008
organized a Pro Bono Legal Aid Team to conduct public interest litigation on behalf of victims of the tainted milk scandal; promoted direct elections within the Beijing Lawyers Association.2009
released an investigative report into the causes of the 3.14 incident in TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
; launched activities to promote open government information, including requesting the disclosure of three specific types of public expenditures; hosted a legal organization training workshop where legal knowledge relating to rights defence and elections was discussed; provided legal aid to Deng Yujiao, victims of "black jails
Black jails
Black jails are a network of extralegal detention centers established by Chinese security forces across the People's Republic of China in recent years. They are used mainly to detain, without trial, petitioners , who travel to seek redress for grievances unresolved at the local level...
", and petitioners; launched residence committee elections and organized symposiums on Green Dam, mental disability, and many more issues; in order to guide public opinion on a path of rational development, expressed public opinion on many important issues.
See also
- Human rights in the People's Republic of ChinaHuman rights in the People's Republic of ChinaHuman rights in the People's Republic of China are a matter of dispute between the Chinese government, other countries, international NGOs, and dissidents inside the country. Organizations such as the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have accused the Chinese...
- Law of the People's Republic of ChinaLaw of the People's Republic of ChinaLaw of the People's Republic of China is the legal regime of the People's Republic of China, with the separate legal traditions and systems of Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau....
- Weiquan movementWeiquan movementThe Weiquan movement is a non-centralized group of lawyers, legal experts and intellectuals in the People's Republic of China who seek to protect and defend the civil rights of the citizenry through litigation and legal activism...
- Internet censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations which the censorship follows...
- Internet freedom
- Freedom of the pressFreedom of the pressFreedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
External links
- Official Website http://www.gongmeng.info
- Gongmeng's Twitter
Website Shutdown by the Chinese authorities
- Official Website Open Constitution Initiative (shut down by authority)
- Official Website Open Constitution Initiative (shut down by authority)
- OCI's Second Official Website (shut down by authority on August 5th, 2009)