中国の弾圧―理解できぬ言論封じ

May 20, 2014
EDITORIAL: What on earth is the Xi administration afraid of?
中国の弾圧―理解できぬ言論封じ

June 4 will mark the 25th anniversary of China’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, mainly students, at Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
　民主化を求める学生らが弾圧された中国の天安門事件から、来月で四半世紀になる。

Lawyers and scholars who gathered for a small meeting to commemorate the event have recently been detained one after another.
　この事件について考える小さな集まりを開いた弁護士や学者が最近、次々に拘束された。

In an unacceptable move, the administration headed by President Xi Jinping is stepping up its efforts to suppress freedom of speech and public gatherings. We strongly urge the Chinese government to release all the detainees immediately.
　言論や集会への締めつけを強める習近平（シーチンピン）政権の振るまいは、看過できない。ただちに全員を釈放するよう強く求める。

Even today, people in China are not allowed to speak about the 1989 incident in public. The Chinese government, which does everything to maintain the Communist Party’s monopoly on power, still rejects the people’s thirst for democracy, just as it did a quarter of a century ago.
　今なお中国では、あの事件を公の場で語ることができない。共産党一党支配を続ける政権は当時と同様に、民主化の要求を受け入れようとしない。

The military opened fire on the Tiananmen protesters as it tried to quash the demonstration, killing many of them. Beijing is trying to place a gag on free speech to cover up this inconvenient historical fact.
　鎮圧に乗りだした軍が国民に銃を向け、多数を殺害した。そんな不都合な歴史にふたをするための言論封じでもあろう。

Chinese intellectuals and the families of the victims have been calling on the government to reveal the truth about the incident and reassess it.
　知識人や遺族らは、真相の解明や再評価を求めてきた。

A dozen or so people gathered for a private meeting held in Beijing on May 3.
今月３日に北京で開かれた会合も、その活動の一つとして、十数人が集まった。

Among them, five central figures, including Pu Zhiqiang, a prominent civil rights lawyer, and Xu Youyu, a liberal intellectual, have apparently been detained. Contact with them has been lost since May 4.
　そのうち人権派弁護士の浦志強氏、自由主義知識人の徐友漁氏ら、中心的な５人が翌日以降連絡がつかなくなっている。

The fact that Pu and the others were rounded up immediately after the gathering indicates that security authorities had been constantly watching their movements.
　会合直後に摘発したという事実は、当局が常に浦氏らを監視していたことをものがたる。

They have been apparently charged with “creating a disturbance.” But it is hard to understand how such a small private gathering can be regarded as a “disturbance.”
　容疑は「騒ぎを引き起こした罪」だとされる。この内輪のささやかな集まりがなぜ「騒ぎ」なのか、理解に苦しむ。

For many years, Pu has been working hard to improve the human rights situation in China. Pu’s biggest achievement so far is his successful campaign for the abolition of the so-called re-education through labor system, which was announced by the Xi administration late last year.
The controversial system, commonly known as "laojiao," was used to detain people for political education through labor for long periods without an open trial.
　浦氏は長年、人権の改善に尽力してきた。最大の功績は、裁判なしに拘束、長期労働させる「労働矯正制度」を昨年末、習政権に撤廃させたことだ。

The program, which dates back to the era of Mao Tse-tung, had also been used to suppress free speech. Pu has long been calling for its abolition. This background has made his detention all the more shocking.
　毛沢東時代以来のその制度は言論弾圧にも使われ、浦氏はずっと廃止を呼びかけてきた。それだけに今回の拘束は大きな衝撃を与えている。

In addition, prominent journalist Gao Yu, a former reporter for Xinhua news agency who was once involved in the Tiananmen movement, has gone missing. Some other domestic and foreign journalists have also been detained.
　ほかにも、天安門の運動に加わった経歴のある元新華社記者の高瑜氏が行方不明になっており、別の内外の報道関係者も複数拘束されている。

Human rights groups and research institutes around the world have issued statements voicing concern about these moves.
　こうした事態に憂慮を深める声明が、世界の人権団体や研究組織から相次いでいる。

A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry has rejected the international criticism, saying that since China is a nation under the rule of law, any violation of Chinese law is punished according to the law.
　中国外務省報道官は「中国は法治国家である。中国の法律に触れれば、法によって処罰される」と反論している。

But does a country that detains people who only gathered for discussions deserve to be called a nation ruled by law?
　しかし、ただ集まって語り合っただけの人びとを捕まえるような国が法治国家の名に値するだろうか。

Beijing’s abuse of the legal system to silence dissent has only been getting worse. In April, a Chinese appellate court upheld the four-year prison sentence for prominent legal scholar and rights advocate Xu Zhiyong. He was convicted of “gathering a crowd to disturb public order.” Xu has been leading a grass-roots New Citizens’ Movement, which calls for the protection of people’s rights based on the Constitution.
　司法による言論弾圧の動きは強まるばかりだ。憲法に基づく権利を求めた「新公民運動」の主導者、許志永氏は先月、「公共の秩序を乱した罪」で懲役４年が確定した。

What on earth is the Xi administration afraid of? Its adamant determination not to allow any political organizations or dissenting voices that challenge the Communist Party’s grip on power can only be considered a sign of its lack of self-confidence.
　習政権はいったい、何を恐れているのか。共産党以外の政治組織も主張も一切認めぬ、かたくなな態度は、自信のなさを示しているとしか思えない。

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 20