Reports by Undy Sui Jan. 4, 2000 ---

Mainland China’s repression of the Tibetans took a turn for the worse last year with arbitrary detentions, torture and forced abortions, a human rights group said Monday.

A 140-page report by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) documented the systematic violation of religious freedom, racial discrimination and the abuse of women and children’s rights in Tibet throughout 1999.

In the year that marked the 50^th anniversary of Communist Party rule in China, authorities tightened security and surveillance in all major places in Tibet to prevent dissent, the center’s annual report on violations in Tibet said.

The worst incident came when communist Chinese police fired in the air to disperse more than 3,000 Tibetans holding a peaceful demonstration urging the release of a renowned religious teacher, the report added.

At least 80 Tibetans were arrested and an unknown number were injured following the demonstration in October in Kandze, the group said.

Last year, TCHRD also learned of 10 torture-related deaths, six of them occurred in 1999.

“There is an urgent need for increased pressure from foreign governments if Tibetans hope to gain their fundamental freedoms and human rights,” the group said.

Freedom of expression was nonexistent. In 1999, 115 Tibetans were arrested for peacefully expressing their beliefs, the group said.

Among the prisoners is the 10-year-old 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet chosen by the Dalai Lama, who remains under house arrest with his whereabouts unknown, the group said.

Disappearances also continued. In 1999 the group received information on 16 new cases of enforced disappearances.

Torture remained prevalent in detention centers and prisons with the most common methods being beatings, electric shocks, attacks by dogs, painful shackling, forced labor, prolonged periods of solitary confinement, deprivation of food and sleep and denial of medical care, the report said.

Religious persecution also intensified last year with the communist Chinese government launching a three-year “atheism” campaign alleging Buddhism was alien to Tibet.

In Taiwan, people want to achieve the best human rights…

Taiwanese people lack of a notion of human rights in our education system and far more contribute to promote adequacy in the human rights policy. That includes as follow,

Propose amendments of relevant laws and the constitution respecting human rights.

Shape the human rights policy of the country.

Advocate human rights education and study outside formal curriculum. They may include on the job training for the judicial branch, police, prison guards, and other civil servants.

Investigate cases that may be liable for the violation of human rights, and proceed judicial actions, if need be.