In December 2009, Dui Hua received an unusual response to a request for information about Chinese prisoners. After finding published court records of the numbers of individuals sentenced for “endangering state security” in Guangdong Province in 2005 and 2006, Dui Hua asked its interlocutors if they could provide names and sentencing information for these cases. In response, Dui Hua was given a printout listing seven individuals, three of whom were formerly known to Dui Hua and four of whom were unknown. All except one had been convicted of espionage, and two had been released from prison already, apparently after sentence reductions. The next month, Dui Hua requested more facts about some of the previously unknown prisoners as part of a request for information about detainees in Guangdong. The response offered new details about medical conditions and sentence reductions received by several prisoners. Some of the response information, along with brief case backgrounds, is below:
Chan Yu-lam (Chen Yulin, 陈瑜琳), a British citizen (his citizenship is not recognized by China) sentenced to life imprisonment for espionage in 2004, has not received a new sentence reduction after his sentence was reduced in June 2009. He currently suffers from a back ailment, gouty arthritis, and high intraocular pressure.
Li Dezai (李德仔) is serving a five-year sentence in Guangdong’s Qingyuan Prison for “gathering a crowd to disturb social order.” He has not received any sentence reductions and suffers from hypertension.
Li Huanming (李焕明), sentenced to nine years in prison for inciting subversion in 2002, has not received any sentence reductions and is healthy.
Zhang Yuhui (张玉辉), a resident of Macau, is serving a 10-year sentence for “using a cult to undermine implementation of the law.” He has not received any sentence reductions and is healthy.
Wang Bingzhang (王炳章), a US permanent resident sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003 for espionage and “organizing a terrorist organization” in 2003, has received no sentence reductions. Wang suffers from varicose veins, “sudden” bradycardia, tinea, and allergic rhinitis, but his current health is stable.
Xu Zerong (徐泽荣), sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment in 2001 for “illegally providing state secrets to overseas entities” and “illegal business activity,” has not received any sentence reductions since 2008. Xu suffers from hypertension and diabetes.
Yang Maodong (杨茂东) [Guo Feixiong (郭飞雄)], serving a five-year sentence for illegal business activity, has not received any new sentence reductions and is healthy.
Li Jinzhuang (李锦壮), originally sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment for espionage, was released in September 2008, after four sentence reductions totaling four years and four months.
Gu Zhiyuan (顾智元), serving a 12-year sentence for espionage in Guangdong’s Meizhou Prison, received a 21-month sentence reduction in April 2008, and is now due for release in April 2014.
Sun Yuren (孙郁人), serving a 10-year sentence for espionage in Meizhou Prison, received a 15-month sentence reduction in March 2008, and an 11-month sentence reduction in July 2009. He is now due for release in November 2011.
In March, Dui Hua received a response about three prisoners from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Memet Sadir (买买提•沙地尔) is one of 21 Uyghurs sentenced to up to 15 years in prison in 1995 for “belonging to a counterrevolutionary separatist group.” Shirmemet Abdureshit (西尔买买提•阿不都热西提) and Ekrem Qurbantay (艾克热木•库尔班太) were both convicted of “splittism” for joining a pro-independence organization. Sadir was released at the end of his term, on December 12, 2007, after serving 14 years in Urumqi No. 4 Prison. Abdureshit is serving a 15-year sentence in Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Kuitun Prison, and his sentence is due to expire on September 23, 2013. Qurbantay is serving a 14-year sentence, also in Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Kuitun Prison, and is due for release on August 16, 2012.