英国政府于7月15日发布了2015年上半年的《人权与民主报告》，其中关于中国的部分指出：

中国经济增长和社会开支已经扩展到了健康、教育等其它《经济社会文化权利国际公约》涉及的权益，但是关于公民及政治权益的限制仍在。

中国的法制改革已经使一些人能够获得法律支援，但是对言论自由以及其他很多中国宪法规定的权利的限制仍旧存在。很多律师仍旧被阻止代表他们委托人的权益，尽管法律允许。良好的治理和真正的法治都是社会繁荣稳定不能缺少的因素。我们将继续与中国在这些话题上进行沟通。

最近中国出台的新的法律法规（涉及国家安全、反恐、在华开展工作的外国非政府组织等）的范围有些模糊。很重要的一点是，这些法律法规需要澄清一下，是否会对在华合法工作并为中国发展做出贡献的个人与组织造成损害。

以下是英语原文：

The period from 1 January to 30 June saw continuing restrictions on civil and political rights, especially around sensitive periods, such as the 26th anniversary of the clearance of the Tiananmen Square protests on 4 June. Proposed legislation on national security, counter-terrorism and the regulation of foreign NGOs could tighten space for peaceful expression, especially online. The domestic reform programme continued to address social problems, such as corruption, that have accompanied China’s rapid economic growth. Alongside ongoing poverty alleviation measures, relaxation of the “hukou” household registration system announced by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in March continued to improve people’s access to social welfare such as housing, education and healthcare.

Reforms to the court system continued. Establishing rule of law and governing through the constitution were important themes at the joint plenary sessions of China’s top legislative and consultative bodies, the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee, in March. The ministries responsible for the justice system have adopted ambitious action plans. These provide a blueprint for improving the professionalism of judges and prosecutors, addressing miscarriages of justice, and widening public understanding and participation in legal processes. Reforms also circumscribed to some degree the role of the Political and Legal Committees.

In addition to reforms to the petition system, the space for using civil litigation to tackle grievances expanded. The Environmental Protection Law came into effect on 1 January, making it easier to file lawsuits against polluters; the first case was accepted in Shandong Province in March. And a court heard what is believed to be the first gay workplace discrimination lawsuit in January.

Restrictions on freedom of expression and the media continued. A Communist Party of China (CPC) statement in June required all media outlets to “resolutely safeguard the power of the Party.” Outlets must report “honestly”, but in line with the CPC’s position. The government extended its powers to monitor online activities. In January, Virtual Private Network (VPN) internet services allowing access to blocked websites were disrupted. China’s state news agency Xinhua announced in January that Chinese websites had deleted one billion online posts in 2014 as part of part of government-led efforts to “cleanse the web” of undesirable content, including “rumours”. The Ministry of Public Security’s Internet Police Inspection and Enforcement Unit was launched on 1 June. The unit will patrol social media platforms by searching for “illegal and harmful information”. Currently, it focuses on bigger cities and those with a high proportion of ethnic minority groups. Restrictions on commemorations of the June 1989 Tiananmen Square protests were evident during May and June. References to the anniversary were blocked online, and searches related to the date returned no results.

Human rights defenders (HRDs) continued to face harassment, restrictions on their activities, and routine denial of due process. Some HRDs continued to spend long periods in detention awaiting trial, and there were reports of irregularities in trial procedures, and torture and inadequate access to medical attention in detention. Human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, after his detention in May 2014, continued to be held awaiting trial in Beijing for inciting ethnic hatred and “picking quarrels and provoking incidents”. Journalist, Gao Yu, was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment on 17 April for “leaking state secrets”. The case raised questions about due process that were difficult to answer because the trial was conducted behind closed doors. The UK fully supported an EU statement calling for a review of Gao’s case. There were ongoing concerns about the health of Pu and Gao. HRDs remained vulnerable to surveillance and extrajudicial punishment even when not subject to legal sanctions approved by a court. The ethnic Mongolian HRD Hada wrote to the UN in March detailing ongoing restrictions on his freedom following his release in December 2014, after 19 years in prison.

China is still formulating legislative measures to reduce the number of crimes subject to the death penalty and further judicial measures to strengthen the Supreme People’s Court’s (SPC) oversight over death penalty cases. On 24 April, domestic violence victim Li Yan had her death sentence for killing her husband reduced to death with a two-year reprieve following a retrial in Sichuan Province. She is now unlikely to be executed. The SPC ordered the retrial following significant interest in the case, both in China and abroad. Foreign diplomats were granted permission to observe the verdict hearing at the retrial. The case may signal a greater willingness by the judiciary to consider domestic violence as a mitigating factor in sentencing.

Reports of detentions and restrictions connected with freedom of religion or belief continued. Wenzhou Pastor Huang Yizi was convicted in March of “gathering crowds to disturb social order”, reportedly for opposing the demolition of church crosses in Zhejiang Province. In Shandong Province in May, Christians Zhao Weiliang and Cheng Hongpeng were sentenced to four and three years’ imprisonment respectively for “utilising a cult to obstruct justice”. Strict regulations governing the construction and registration of religious buildings continued to make it difficult for the growing number of religious Chinese to find places to worship lawfully.

Periodic clampdowns on civil society continued. New police powers announced in a draft law regulating foreign NGOs working in China could affect a wide range of non-profit activities and jeopardise the development of a healthy civil society. Relatively broad offences relating to public order and business practices were used on several occasions to dissuade people from peacefully expressing their views. Octogenarian writer and critic Tie Liu (aka Huang Zerong) received a suspended sentence in February for “running an illegal business”, reportedly for criticism of a CPC propaganda chief. Five female activists – Wu Rongrong, Wei Tingting, Wang Man, Zheng Churan and Li Tingting – were detained on the eve of International Women’s Day in March for planning peaceful demonstrations against sexual harassment on public transport. We welcomed their release on 13 April, but remained concerned that they were still subject to “further investigation” and surveillance. The UK was among several states to make a public statement about the cases.

The security situation in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) remained fragile with episodes of violence. For example, on 13 February, eight people died in a reported suicide bombing in Guma County, and at least 18 were killed on 23 June following a reported attack on a police checkpoint in Kashgar City. China’s wider approach in XUAR includes a combination of increased economic investment and social spending, which has accelerated since the announcement of the One Belt One Road initiative last year. It also includes a “Strike Hard” anti-terrorism campaign, which has been extended until at least the end of 2015. The Chinese government estimates that over 300 Uyghurs are fighting for Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and is concerned that some Uyghurs living in China are vulnerable to radicalisation by international Islamist groups. Reports from XUAR indicate that some violent incidents may have arisen from local grievances, including relating to restrictions on the ethnic, cultural and religious rights of Uyghurs.

There were ongoing reports of arbitrary detentions and imprisonment of Tibetan lay people and monks. Former monk Ngawang Gyaltsen was reportedly detained and subsequently disappeared in February in the Tibet Autonomous Region for challenging patriotic education. Monk Pema Dorjee was reportedly beaten by police in Karze Prefecture, Sichuan Province for shouting prayers for the Dalai Lama. Meanwhile, layman Phakpa was released early from an eleven-year prison sentence. He was originally incarcerated for his part in the 2008 Tibet protests.

A significant security presence was deployed to Tibetan areas of Sichuan and Qinghai Provinces ahead of Tibetan New Year on 19 February. Tibetans were also restricted from celebrating the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday. Tsering Dondrub was arrested in Qinghai on 20 June for posting images of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan flag on WeChat.

There were at least three reported self-immolations in the reporting period, all fatal. In early June, monks Samten Gyatso and Lobsang Tenzin, were detained for having an online discussion about Sangye Tso’s self-immolation on 27 May.

The UK continued to discuss human rights issues with China at all levels. FCO Minister for Asia, Hugo Swire, raised concerns with Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming in mid-June. Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Justice attended the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing in April, where discussions focused on the rule of law and judicial independence, raising a number of individual cases.

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