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China: The Torture of Human Beings Introduction

Torture was something that existed only in ancient times. Of course, it was established long ago that this practice was not only primitive, but impractical. Prisoners would confess to anything if enough pain was provided. Burning, water dungeons, beatings, freezing, electrical shock are persuasive methods that shouldn’t be administered upon other humans. Modern China uses all of these things and more. Disregarding the fact that torture is a violation of human rights, this malpractice creates a society filled with fear, gives false confessions, and alienates other countries. In this era of enlightenment, torture should be something that should only exist in the dark ages. As sentient beings, humans should not be treated as animals. Surely, torture, as a violation of human rights, should be eliminated? Using this kind of method to control crime would create a country of fear, and not allow voices to be heard. To progress, different views must be learned.

Background of the Issue

“Wang Jianguo, a 43-year-old medical company salesman, died on Aug 8 [2008] after investigators from the Nanchang police bureau of Jiangxi province interrogated him about the deaths of six patients at a city hospital” ("Two Officers Walk in Torture Killing") The victim had no evidence to prove his guilt. The officers were merely “interrogating” the suspect. The funny thing is, even though the two policemen were caught, they were allowed to walk free. Sometimes, the torture goes too far, and results in death. This recent killing proves that torture is still very much alive in China, and that something needs to be done. Justice has always the faced the problem of obtaining the truth from suspects. Bribery, threats, verbal interrogation have all come into play. But the most controversial of methods to extract confessions is the practice of torture. Not limited to China, torture used to be a common method to obtain information. Thumbscrews, the rack, the iron maiden, are all famous examples of torture in the past. China on the other hand, still lives in the past. Electric shocks, brutal beatings, and exposure are just some of the methods China uses on what it deems as criminals. Why would China still employ such crude tactics? The answer lies within the phrase “guilty until proven innocent.” Is it better to let a guilty man go than punishing one hundred innocents? According to China’s policies, it is much better to punish one hundred innocents to catch one guilty criminal. A Spanish communist, Dolores Ibarruri, said that for communism, it is better to kill one hundred innocents than to let one guilty person go. This relates to communism because punishing many people to catch one criminal is for the common good. It is better for society to lose some people, but be saved from a criminal than let a criminal run free in the streets. In addition to China’s belief in punishing innocents to catch a criminal, China has other reasons for torture. First of all, China relies on confessions to prove a crime. The gathering of evidence is not emphasized as much as the western world. Because confessions are relied on, oftentimes the police use torture to extract confessions from suspects. Also, China lacks the power to protect suspects under torture. There is no right to silence, and no right for the legal counsel to be present during interrogation. Without any human rights to protect the citizens, the practice of torture would of course flourish. Although there are laws that make torture illegal, there aren’t enough supervision mechanisms to complain. There are no independent bodies to complain against the police for unjust behavior. The court doesn’t even play any role in supervising the police that are investigating a case. (Wong). Indeed, China has many causes for the problem of torture. The government of China, which controls many things of Chinese society, also controls the institution of torture to an extent. The entire system is supported because of the government’s harsh measures towards criminals. The policemen themselves allow their responsibility to diffuse, absolving them of any “guilt”. This would allow them to torture suspects with impunity. According to Phillip Zimbardo, this would be a prime example of the Lucifer effect. The Lucifer effect defines the psychological pathway from good to evil. With the Lucifer effect in play, the policemen wouldn’t feel guilty for torturing the prisoners, and government could seemingly outlaw torture, but in fact secretly support it. It is a perfect environment for the growth of torture. Torture is integrated into the Chinese system of justice. Even in the Cultural Revolution, imprisonment and torture was utilized to control the population. Nien Chieng, author of Life and Death in Shanghai, describes six and a half years of torture just so the Red Guard could obtain a false confession. Torturing criminals in China was around for a long time. From the dynastic period of China, to the PRC, torture has been used as a means to obtain confessions. For example, a practice called slow slicing, where slivers of flesh are cut off until the victim dies, was used from the years 900 A.D.-1905A.D. ("Slow slicing."). This just shows that torture was around for a long time. Now, China does have laws against torture, but they are ineffectual. Article 43 of criminal procedure law says that prosecution of crime by torture is strictly forbidden. ("Shadow Report on the Anti-Torture Situation in China.") If a new solution to torture is not found, there will be consequences for the continuation of torture in china.

China: Torture

“Wang became a prisoner of conscience on May 14, 2002, when she was taken from her workplace by police. Police gave no cause for arrest, only stating that Wang was part of the Falun Gong. In an account of Wang’s time in captivity provided by eyewitnesses and persons close to Wang in China, guards at the Masanjia Labor Camp reportedly deprived Wang of sleep, subjected her to the elements, bound and hung her, locked her in a bathroom for over a month, and physically beat her. She was also forced to perform labor, including some 300 hours in one month. On one occasion Wang was beaten and kicked by camp guards for six hours. In early 2003, two male guards, exasperated at not being able to extract a statement of “repentance” from Wang for her beliefs, tore open Wang’s shirt and shocked her breasts with high-voltage electric batons. The torture is said to have lasted for over 30 minutes.” ("Photo Evidence Tells of Grisly Torture in China”). 300 hours of labor a month equals 10 hours of labor every single day. Ignoring the labor, the physical pain of the torture methods was unimaginable. The victim eventually died of her wounds. This torture to extract a statement of “repentance” is just one example of the methods the Chinese police use to exact justice upon the populace. With these kinds of stories floating around, how could a society fully function as a whole? Only the government, who indirectly causes this treatment of detainees, can express its views. By using these tactics, the government creates a society of fear. A survey of criminal suspects by the Juvenile Crime Research magazine ended up with 47 % of inmates polled had suffered from police brutality (Macartney). With such a huge percentage of inmate population being tortured, considering only juveniles, torture is very much rampant in the judicial system of China. Not only does torture cause fear in a society, it also alienates other countries. Many countries nowadays distance themselves from China because of the way it treats its inhabitants. Manfred Nowak, the first UN rapporteur on torture allowed in China, reported that there were obstructions to his investigation in 2005, and when he finally managed to interview inmates, they appeared fearful. ("China torture 'still widespread' .") The first investigator allowed in the country, and he reports negatively. How would this appear to the rest of the world? By appearing as a menace to human rights, China belittles its own reputation in the eyes of other developed countries. It even justified the UN investigating China. By alienating countries, China becomes a metaphor for brutal treatment, and discriminate punishment. Of course, disregarding the fact that torture would create fear and alienate other countries, torture still produces fake confessions. Without a doubt, faced with unimaginable pain, and no possibility of reprieve, many suspects confess just to escape the discomfort. “In 1994, the Jingzhou Intermediate People's Court convicted She of murdering his wife and sentenced him to death. He appealed to the Higher People's Court of Hubei Province, which found the evidence insufficient and the facts unclear and sent the case back to be retried again. In June 1998, the Jingshan County People's Court in the province subsequently convicted She of murder and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. On March 28, 2005, however, She's wife, Zhang Zaiyu, suddenly returned to their village to visit her family. She was alive! This startling development prompted another retrial of the case that resulted in the Jingshan County People's Court declaring She innocent of murder charges on April 13 this year.” (Wong para. 2) False confessions would equal false information, which would in turn result in useless punishments. Torture would let innocent people, who already underwent pain, to be punished. Not only would many criminals go free, but false information could be regarded as truth. If a suspect implicates someone else in a crime, then another innocent person could be punished. With China so large, thousands of innocents could be convicted every month! Also, with every confession, the government becomes convinced that torture is still an effective method. It is a vicious cycle. As more innocents are convicted, the more convinced the police are that torture is an effective method.

Analysis

Torture in China causes many implications that affect more than just China itself. Torture affects the entire world. For example, as stated before, the torture in China would alienate other countries. The other countries consider China to be cruel for no reason, as they follow their own set of laws. China, on the other hand, is different, and this difference causes a breach between countries. China is commonly seen as a country without morals, without rights. With communism in the mix, people around the world view China with fear, and apprehension. The fact that Manfred Nowak had to investigate China proves distrust in China. Similar to China, other countries such as North Korean or Iraq also provoked investigations into their country. Being grouped alongside countries such as North Korea does not help bring China and other countries together. Alienation just puts Chinese people and other people apart. It is a disadvantage for both sides to be separated from each other. This alienation from other countries further develops social and political implications. The torture also creates a society of fear. Torturing people without any preamble would obviously result in fear spreading throughout the country. This fear would result in dumbness among the general population. Why would someone defy a government which so easily could torture you to extract a confession? This creates many problems for a country. As a conglomerate of people, a nation should have a representative viewpoint. Unfortunately, the torture, creating the dumbness, results in only one voice that is heard. The voice, of course, is the governments. This of course would be beneficial to the people within the government, as what they want comes to be. For the common people not part of the government, their voice cannot be heard. With torture on their minds, people wouldn’t dare speak out against government. All in all, however, the country is at a disadvantage. A country cannot mature if only one voice is heard. One voice is like a straight line. Many voices become an exponential curve of growth. Torture affects the world, and the government. Most importantly, however, torture affects the idea of justice. Is it justice to punish an innocent man? Not only does torture violate the basic rights of a human being, but its purpose, to extract confessions, is not accurate. Pain can cause people to say anything, if just to make it stop. Indeed, this can result in many people getting convicted based on their confessions. Being a nation that relies on confessions, China would have almost no problems with convicting a criminal that has confessed. The problem with this system is the inaccuracy of torture. The policemen who torture the suspects would receive information that could or could not be true. But since they went through torture it has to be true right? Wrong. China’s idea of justice is much different from a large part of the world. Guilty until proven innocent. China decides that innocent lives are not as important as catching a culprit. This is understandable, but the methods are completely wrong. Torture simply does not yield truth. The implication of this is the fact that China’s entire judicial system is based on lies. Because China has an unhealthy reliance on confessions, policemen work hard to provide confessions. This usually means torture. The entire judicial system of China is based on a practice that does not even yield the truth. Nobody benefits from this, not even the government. The government ineffectually investigates suspects, while innocents are convicted without any supporting evidence. With implications that are this ingrained into China, how can we fix it?


Solution(s)

The key to treating this institution of torture is awareness. Nothing will happen if nobody knows about what is going on in China’s prison systems. Because torture is so ingrained into China’s judicial system, small groups would have no effect upon it. It would have to be groups with a lot of power, such as the UN, that could treat this disease. One organization that tries to do something against torture, the Committee Against Torture, or CAT, of the UN tries to combat torture by reviewing reports from its state parties and deciding what to do about the violation of liberties. They also created the SPT, Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, to visit places where torture takes place. Using the power of the UN, the CAT could easily correct problems. Unfortunately, the CAT only advises and informs, and does not really do much in the stopping of torture around the world. A more lasting solution would have to be more forceful, more direct. Since the system is what is causing the torture in China, there would have to be complete revamping of the social system in order for torture to be eliminated. Either there would have to be a revolution that overthrew the government, or invasion by an outside force to topple the government. China has been utilizing the institution of torture for a very long time. They wouldn’t change it now because of a few organizations that have no real power. As normal people, however, the best thing to do is to spread awareness about torture in China, and to pressure figures of political importance, such as the president, or a governor. If enough pressure is applied, then the political figure could negotiate with China, and maybe come to a satisfactory agreement. Although doubtful that this would work, this solution is peaceful and wouldn’t cause lives to be expended over the subject of torture.

However, all these solutions seem far-fetched, or hard to reach. To aid the fight against torture, people can go to www.omct.org and help the organization against torture. Even just going to this webstite can make a difference.



Bibliography:
Print: Chieng, Nien. Life and Death in Shanghai. 1st edition. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1987. Print.

Nonprint:

"China Modern Torture Methods- Freezing and Exposing," Chinaview 20 Jan 2007. Web.24 Aug 2009. <http://chinaview.wordpress.com/2007/01/20/photo-china-modern-torture-methods-7-freezing-and-exposing/>. "China torture 'still widespread' ." BBC News. 02 Dec 2005. BBC, Web. 14 Sep 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4491026.stm.

He. Huifeng. "A Place of Torture Without Rights," South China Morning Post 21 July 2009. cNewsbank.Newsbank. Web.19 Aug 2009. http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=1299A753BB191EB0&p_docnum=2&p_queryname=4.

Macartney, Jane. "Teenagers die in jail from 'routine' police torture." Times (London, England)02 April 2009, 14 Sept 2009 . <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6018439.ece>

"Photo Evidence Tells of Grisly Torture in China." FalunInfo. 28 Oct 2005. Falun Dafa Information Center, Web. 14 Sep 2009.2009.< http://www.faluninfo.net/article/435/.>.

"Shadow Report on the Anti-Torture Situation in China." 31 Aug 2008. United Nations, Web. 11 Oct 2009. http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session4/CN/IL-CASS_CHN_UPR_S4_2009_InstituteofLaw-ChineseAcademyofSocialSciences_TheAnti-cccccTortureSituationinChina.pdf<http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session4/CN/IL-CASS_CHN_UPR_S4_2009_InstituteofLaw-ChineseAcademyofSocialSciences_TheAnti-TortureSituationinChina.pdf. >

"Slow slicing." wikipedia. 30 Sep 2009. Web. 11 Oct 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_slicing.

"Two Officers Walk in Torture Killing," China Daily 14 Aug 2009. Newsbank. Web.19 Aug 2009. <http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iwsearch/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggrccccccegated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=12A28D83E7AE0908&p_docnum=8&p_queryname=3>.http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iwsearch/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=12A28D83E7AE0908&p_docnum=8&p_queryname=3.

Wong, Kai-Shing. "The Problem of Torture in China's Criminal Justice System." Human Rights Solidarity. 30 Sept 2005. Web. 14 Sep 2009. <http://www.hrsolidarity.net/mainfile.php/2005vol15no05/2451/>.