Chinese Citizen Takes Forced Eviction to UN

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Apr 30, 2010 – 3:26:59 PM
HU Yan writes her story everyday to Boxun since her first day in UN:

http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/04/201004301243.shtml

Washington, D.C. April 27, 2010. Hu Yan, a determined, young Chinese mother of an infant daughter, takes her five-year battle against forced eviction to the United Nations in New York. She will camp out across the street from the UN in a tent called “The Hidden Shanghai Expo.” Mrs. Hu also sent a letter detailing her ordeal to UN Secretary General. (See complete text of letter following this release)

Hu Yan’s struggle against the Chinese bureaucracy began five years ago when her home was demolished to make way for the 2010 Shanghai Expo, which will open on May 1st. City authorities offered no compensation or relocation assistance to her or the tens of thousands of other displaced citizens.

Her five-year battle has been a series of legal dead ends. One official from the Shanghai Expo Bureau told her to take her grievance to Beijing with a flippant note that said “Beijing is the capital of China. Beijing welcomes you.” In another note the official, Mr. Zhang, said,”You can get a passport and petition your case to the UN.” So earlier this month she came to New York, seeking justice at the UN headquarters. Last week she visited Washington D.C. With the help of the pro-democracy movement, Initiatives for China, Mrs. Hu was able to organize a protest in front of the White House.

According to Dr. Yang Jianli, Harvard Fellow and President of Initiatives for China, Mrs. Hu’s case highlights the difficulties that Chinese citizens face in the absence of the rule of law in China. “While Chinese law forbids forced evictions, the reality is that the courts in China report into the ruling communist party,” he said.

“Party officials make the rules as they see fit,” Dr. Yang said. “The ordinary citizen has no recourse. Hu Yan wants the world to know that the Shanghai Expo is built on the crushed homes of thousands of innocent families discarded as so much garbage. This is the China hidden behind the great firewall of Chinese censorship and media control.”

Hu Yan seeks reasonable compensation for the demolition of her house and the destruction of her private possessions. She will be camping out across the street from the UN building everyday between 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Hu Yan will inform the public of her schedule change ahead of time via her Twitter feed (@shanghaihuyan) and blog. Those living in the NYC area are asked to visit Hu Yan there. For those visiting New York, please show your support for Hu Yan by making the UN Square one of your destinations.

Initiatives for China asks supporters of Hu Yan to get involved as concerned citizens. Chinese citizens are urged to write letters of support to Yiabo, [email protected]

International citizens are urged to write letters of support to their preferred media and to use Facebook and Twitter to spread the word. The contacts below can be used for further information.

Chinese media, please contact Hu Yan at (646) 522-8122 or [email protected]

U.S. media, contact Jim Geheran at 202.290.1423 or [email protected]

New York based media, please contact Mr. Cao Jintao at (917) 292-7348 or [email protected].

French media, please contact Mr. Wang Longmeng at +33 (0)6 3087 8405 or [email protected].

Japanese media, please contact Mr. Liu Yanxin at +81 9063475138 or [email protected].

German media please contact Mr. Fei Liangyong at +49-911-223820 or [email protected].

For interviews to be conducted in other languages, please contact Hu Yan and kindly provide your own interpreters.

Complete Text of Hu Yan’s Letter to the UN Secretary General

Dear Honorable UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon:

My name is Yan Hu, and I come from Shanghai, China. As the Chinese government seriously violated the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in the process of hosting the 2010 World Expo by depriving me and tens of thousands of Shanghai residents of our human rights and private properties, and that I have exhausted all legal means in China, seeking justice in vain, and that I was advised by officials of the Shanghai government to petition the United Nations, I am herein appealing to you for justice.

1. Facts and Evidence. On Dec 29, 2005, my house that I inherited from my parents and
grandparents was forcibly demolished by the Shanghai government to clear space for the 2010 World Expo. My personal property was also crushed to pieces during the demolition, and my family received no compensation at all for my demolished home.

2. The Shanghai government has not only been robbing Shanghai residents of their private properties, but also has been persecuting and cracking down on those residents and their families petitioning for their rights. My husband, Bin Jiang, has been continuously defending our right to private property. The Shanghai government has been intimidating our family, tapping our phones, following us wherever we go, and has been detaining my husband under non-existent charges. My family has been living in fear.

3. The Shanghai government directed my work unit to persecute me.The company I worked for has been threatening me, deducting money from my salary and bonuses, depriving me of my right to work and promotion; I was hurt mentally and physically, and in the end, I am having serious mental problems.

4. In China, the government has blocked me from seeking justice by all legal means, and if I went to petition in Beijing, I would be subjected to more serious persecution! The Shanghai government has become an “independent kingdom”, and it does not care about the central government at all. The government asked me to petition to the United Nations. I have no choice but to come here to tell you the truth about the “Shanghai World Expo”, and to tell the international world that thousands of Shanghai residents have lost their homes to forcible demolition and are persecuted relentlessly.

5. The 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, hosted by the Chinese government, is acknowledged and supported by the United Nations; the Exhibition Hall of the United Nations at the World Expo is provided by the host free of charge. 33 international projects of the UN will be exhibited there. For this reason, I herein appeal to you, the Honorable UN Secretary General, to urge the Shanghai government to return my looted private property to me, and to stop persecuting those Shanghai residents who lost their homes to forcible demolition and relocation as a result of the 2010 World Expo, and who had no choice but to go on petitioning in vain for their private property looted by the Shanghai government!

Respectfully,

Yan Hu
Refugee of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo