Engnews December 2008

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RFA News: ?Two-Faced? Portrait of China?s Paramount Leader Deng Xiaopeng

by Sarah Jackson-Han

Two-Faced Portrait of Chinas Paramount Leader Deng Xiaopeng HONG KONG, Dec. 29, 2008A former top aide to late ousted Chinese Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang has written a stinging attack on Deng Xiaoping, who is credited with launching China on the path to economic reform 30 years ago this month, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports. Bao Tong, under house arrest at his Beijing home since completing a seven-year prison term in the wake of the 1989 pro-democracy movement, published his personal reminiscences of Deng in six parts to mark the 30th anniversary of Chinas reforms. Dengs two-sidedness was like a pendulum, wrote Bao, whose voice is never heard publicly now in China, and whose essay was published in response to a wave of official eulogies for Deng and the economic reforms he permitted to take root. One minute he wanted reforms, the next he was resolutely upholding the four basic principles of socialism: One minute he wanted to escape from a political dead end, the next he had returned to it, Bao said in his essay, broadcast on RFAs Mandarin service. If he had been in primary school, his teacher would have suggested he spend a little time studying logic. If he were an ordinary person, he would have been the subject of ridicule, or of patient explanations. Saving the Party Deng, according to Bao, believed himself a man with single mission: to save not China, nor its people, but the Communist Party. People are often bemused by his inconsistency, he said. But Dengs own sense of himself was in good shape. He thought he was doing fine, because he was set apart from ordinary people. Bao said that while Deng tried to present himself as a son of the people, the Chinese people were a rather distant and hazy phenomenon for this leader who lived his life in the corridors of power, completely absorbed in its workings. He was the embodiment of the Party; he carried its spirit, Bao wrote. Louis XIV said Letat, cest moi. Well, Deng was the Party. Deng, according to Bao, knew very well that the only system that would prevent a recurrence of the Cultural Revolution was a democratic one; but he resolutely opposed the separation of powers to preserve the Partys monopoly on power." He would occasionally speak some high-flown talk of democracy, but that was just to keep up his image as a man of the people, to win the affection of the people on behalf of the Party, but the charade was never to become a reality, Bao wrote. Behind his apparent double-sidedness was a single-mindedness that was pure Party spirit, a clear guiding principle that ran through the apparent confusion. Far from being a liberal-minded reformer, Deng wasnt interested in economics, nor did he understand how markets worked, Bao said. Instead, he saw a way to breathe life into the floundering Communist Party in the wake of the turmoil of the Mao era, and took it. Bao said Deng never intended to allow liberalism to flourish in China. A lot of observers seem to think that free economic competition will naturally bring democratic politics in its train; that economic reforms will not just call for but will inevitably push forward political reform. But Deng Xiaoping made his calculations on a different abacus, Bao wrote. The price of reform The price of economic reforms was the sacrifice of any hope for future political reform. I believe that this was Dengs bottom line, and to cross it was to walk the path of liberalism, and the road to chaos; it was no less than treason. Bao said the fall of reformers Hu Yaobang and his former political mentor Zhao Ziyang, who died in January 2005, was inevitable given Dengs focus on maintaining Party rule. Hus death sparked demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989, which led to the military crackdown and Zhaos ouster. Original essay broadcast on RFAs Mandarin service. Director: Jennifer Chou. Translated and written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han. Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org ##### Sarah Jackson-Han Media Relations Director Radio Free Asia jacksonhans(a)rfa.org 202 907 4613

15 years, 9 months

RFA News: Media Ban on China's Charter Activists

by Sarah Jackson-Han

Media Ban on China's Charter Activists HONG KONG-China's powerful Central Propaganda Department has ordered a crackdown on Chinese media workers who signed a document which called this month for sweeping political reforms, a management executive at a state-run media organization said, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports. The message was given orally by the department, which is charged by the ruling Communist Party with ensuring that China's media toe the Party line, the executive said. It was aimed at anyone who had signed Charter 08, a document published online in early December, sparking a flurry of interrogations, police searches, and detentions. "It wasn't as if there was a written order issued by the Central Propaganda Department. Nowadays the Central Propaganda Department rarely issues written orders. Instructions are conveyed orally," the executive told RFA's Mandarin service. He said media outlets had been barred from interviewing anyone who signed the charter and from carrying articles penned by signatories. Some journalists had received visits or phone calls warning them "not to go to extremes," he added. Charter 08, signed by more than 300 prominent scholars, writers, and rights activists around the country, called for concerned Chinese citizens to rally to bring about change, citing an increasing loss of control by the ruling Communist Party and heightened hostility between the authorities and ordinary people. It called for a genuine use of the Constitution and institutions that uphold the rule of law, democratic reforms, and human rights, warning of disaster amid growing social tensions if change is not implemented soon. Several of the Charter's signatories were detained, their homes searched, or they were questioned and placed under surveillance even before the document had been published online. One journalist at a state-run media organization who signed Charter 08 also said he had received a phone call from his boss, telling him not to bother submitting any more articles. He said the reason given was his involvement with the Charter. Beijing-based rights activist Zhou Guoqiang, himself a signatory, said the authorities want to force Chinese journalists to show where their loyalties lie. "The policy is meant to intimidate those who have not yet signed the Charter," Zhou said. "It's like saying, you make the choice: either sign or carry on writing." Along with professional journalists and editors, the decision will likely affect scholars and academics who contribute to the media. Xu Youyu, a researcher with the Institute of Philosophy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said he had signed the Charter. "Recently a magazine asked me to write articles for a column," Xu said. "When I asked for approval from my superiors I was told that I couldn't do it." "But I can't say for certain if it was because I had signed the Charter," Xu added. Slap at government The Charter hit out at China's government for "clinging" to an authoritarian political way of life. "It has caused an unbroken chain of human rights disasters and social crises, held back the development of the Chinese people, and hindered the progress of human civilization," it said. A former reporter with state-run China Central Television (CCTV) surnamed Li said the government was trying to strong-arm the media. "Not allowing them to publish articles after they signed the Charter, such is the behavior of thugs," Li said. "The ideas advocated in Charter 08 are the kind of things that a government should endeavor to achieve." Meanwhile, Zan Aizong, former reporter with China Ocean News, said he doubted Beijing would be able to exert total control. "More than 300 people signed the Charter initially. And so many more people have subsequently expressed support for it. Numerous articles have been written about it. It's impossible for them to have total control," Zan said. Many writers and academics were among the Charter signatories detained and questioned earlier this month. They included constitutional scholar Zhang Zuhua and Beijing-based independent writer Liu Xiaobo. Deputy chairman of the writers' group Independent Chinese PEN Jiang Qisheng was interrogated by police for two hours after he signed Charter 08, and Hangzhou-based scholar Wen Kejian was also questioned. The Beijing home of writer Yu Jie, in the United States at the time, was also surrounded by police around the time that the Charter was published. Original reporting in Mandarin by Qiao Long. Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han. Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org #####

15 years, 9 months

RFA News: Vietnam To Police Blogs With Random Checks, Self-Reporting

by Sarah Jackson-Han

Vietnam To Police Blogs With Random Checks, Self-Reporting Also on www.rfa.org: North Korean Prison Memoir Paints Grim Picture www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/book-11162008180959.html/extracts-1119200 8085805.html Korean Leaflet War Escalates www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/korea-12092008081506.html BANGKOK-Vietnamese authorities plan to police the content of dissident blogs through random checks and self-policing by the country's blogging community, a senior Vietnamese Internet security expert has told Radio Free Asia (RFA) "There should be a legal corridor to assure better operation of the blogs," the director of the state-run Bach Khoa Internet Security Center, Nguyen Tu Quang, told RFA's Vietnamese service. "We'll manage them by randomly checking-we don't need to control all the blogs." "When we create a legal corridor, determining what is legal and what is a violation of Vietnamese law, the blog community will detect such things on its own and will let the government know of violations," Quang said. Earlier this month, Information and Communication Deputy Minister Do Quy Doan was quoted as saying Hanoi would seek cooperation from Internet giants Google and Yahoo! to help "regulate" the country's flourishing blogging scene. The government will soon announce new rules, stressing that Weblogs should serve as personal online diaries and not organs to disseminate opinions about politics, religion, and society, senior officials were quoted as saying. The regulations aim "to create a legal base for bloggers and related agencies to tackle violations in the area of blogging," said Information and Communication Deputy Minister Do Quy Doan, according to the official Thanh Nien daily. The ministry "will contact Google and Yahoo! for cooperation in creating the best and the healthiest environment for bloggers," he added. Quang, speaking in a telephone interview, said getting help from Google and Yahoo! would be helpful but not critical. "Our effort to detect blogs will be more convenient if we can get help from the Internet companies," he said, but added: "We can detect blogs without help from Internet companies." Quang said under the draft rules being debated violators could face up to U.S. $12,000 in fines and up to 12 years of jail time. Wary of online content According to recent government figures, nearly one in four Vietnamese use the Internet. Activity in Vietnam's blogosphere has recently increased and Hanoi is becoming more wary of online content it considers politically threatening. Authorities currently block some Web sites run by overseas Vietnamese that espouse views critical of the government, and they often seek to shut down anything seen as encouraging public protest. In September, blogger Dieu Cay was jailed for 2-1/2 years on tax evasion charges after he tried to persuade people to protest at the Olympic torch ceremonies in Ho Chi Minh City last summer. Reporters Without Borders, a press freedom monitoring group, called on authorities to release the cyber-dissident, whose real name is Nguyen Hoang Hai, and said that he was being unjustly targeted because of his outspoken criticism of China's claims over disputed South China Sea islands. Vietnam's government is also extremely cautious of internal issues that could anger its northern neighbor. Abide by local laws Robert Boorstin, director of policy communications at Google, said his company hadn't been contacted with a specific request from the Vietnamese government but is aware of the plans to further regulate bloggers in the country. "We believe that blogs are an expression of a person's personal opinions, whether those opinions concern culture, art, their daily life, or politics-whatever they want to talk about. We don't censor based on the content of blogs and would not want to do so," Boorstin said. Boorstin said Google censors "a great deal less" than other search engines around the world, but he added, "If we don't abide by local laws, we will be thrown out" of certain countries. He said that Google's policy in China, where authorities restrict much of what may be accessed by netizens, is to filter results from its search engine according to local laws, but to clearly show users that results are blocked. Google also refuses to offer its email or blogging service in China because this would force the company to operate servers within the country from which authorities could request personal information about users. "That is the kind of place where we draw the line and say 'No, we're not going to venture into those kinds of services because the risk to individual freedom and the risk to our users' privacy is too great,'" Boorstin said. "We push the limits as far as we can push them without being told to pack up our bags and leave the country, because we don't want to leave countries where we're providing a service of information to people. It may not be every single piece of information that we want them to have, but much better they have access to huge new quantities of information than the other choice, which is to show them nothing at all." Original reporting by Mac Lam and Thien Gao for RFA's Vietnamese service. Vietnamese service director: Diem Nguyen. Executive producer: Susan Lavery. Written for the Web in English by Joshua Lipes and Sarah Jackson-Han. Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> . To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> #####

15 years, 10 months

RFA News: in Nanchang, Chinese Authorities Enforce Switch from Microsoft

by Sarah Jackson-Han

Chinese Authorities Enforce Switch from Microsoft Also on www.rfa.org: North Korean Prison Memoir Paints Grim Picture www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/book-11162008180959.html/extracts-1119200 8085805.html Asian Women in their own words www.rfa.org/english/news/women HONG KONG-Authorities in the southeastern Chinese city of Nanchang are requiring all local Internet cafes to replace their Microsoft Windows XP operating systems with a Chinese-made system, Red Flag Linux, officials and Internet cafe owners have told Radio Free Asia (RFA). An official with the Nanchang Cultural Discipline Team, which oversees the roughly 600 internet cafes operating in Nanchang city, said the new operating systems were mandatory. "We have already started installing the new software in all Internet cafes. All of them must have this new one," he told RFA's Mandarin service. The switch was mandated by the Nanchang Cultural Management Bureau in what it said was an effort to crack down on pirated software, local sources said. But cafe managers said the new system requires a licensing fee of 5,000 yuan (about U.S. $726), and that even legitimate, non-pirated copies of Windows XP were being replaced. "Our district cultural management authorities came and installed the new Red Flag Linux in all of our 13 Internet cafes," one cafe worker said. "It happened around Nov. 20, and we all paid the 5,000 yuan installation fee, even though we used to use legally purchased Windows XP. But I don't think this new system is as good as the old one." A new, legitimate copy of Windows XP costs around 899 yuan (about U.S. $130) in China, plus 15 yuan for shipping. Unwelcome switch Whether Nanchang authorities were enforcing an order from higher up, and whether the directive might apply elsewhere in China, wasn't immediately clear. An Internet cafe owner surnamed Chen said the switch was unwelcome."Every Internet cafe has to install the new software though none of us wants it. There's no other choice," he said. "We've been facing a number of new charges. Not long ago, the police asked us to install personal ID scanners for 3,800 yuan (U.S. $550). Now we're charged for this new software. We don't know what we will be charged for next. So I wouldn't pay, and I'm closing my business." Cafe owners complained online this week about paying licensing fees for an operating system that can be downloaded free for personal use. "How much of the charge goes to the Red Flag Linux Co. and how much to the cultural management authorities in Nanchang?" one post read. An employee at Red Flag Linux's developer, Beijing Zhongke Red Flag Software Co., confirmed that the system is free for personal use but couldn't comment on whether businesses are ever required to buy licenses. Suspected censorship Xiao Qiang, director of the China Internet Project at the University of California-Berkeley, said he saw the move to Linux as an effort to tighten censorship and step up surveillance online. "It mainly means [a] less secure and private communication environment for netizens in those Internet cafes," Xiao said. "The authorities are gaining more control." "China has a vast number of small Internet cafes, and a huge proportion of them are in a quasi-legal area. By forcing all Internet cafes to change operating systems, the authorities are making them register...and therefore all kinds of policing and surveillance software will be installed at all these large and small Internet cafes as well." Red Flag Linux was created by the Software Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1999. Financial backing came from a government-owned firm, ShangHai NewMargin Venture Capital. According to the U.S.-based Business Software Alliance, Chinese piracy accounted for almost U.S. $6.7 billion in losses in 2007, up from U.S. $5.4 billion a year earlier. Original reporting by Ding Xiao for RFA's Mandarin service. Translated by Chen Ping. Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Written and produced in English by Sarah Jackson-Han. Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org #####

15 years, 10 months

RFA News Exclusive: North Korean Prison Memoir Paints Grim Picture

by Sarah Jackson-Han

North Korean Prison Memoir Paints Grim Picture Also on www.rfa.org <http://www.rfa.org> Asian Women in their own words www.rfa.org/english/news/women <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/women> SEOUL-He's written a book about growing up in one of North Korea's most brutal prison camps, but Shin Dong Hyuk grows quiet when asked about his past. After writing Escape to the Outside World, "I thought I had rid myself of my scars-I felt uplifted, as if I'd gotten a big burden off my chest," Shin said in an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA). Even his nightmares stopped. Shin was born in 1982 in North Korea's Camp No. 14 in Kaechon, South Pyongan province, north of Pyongyang. North Korea uses guilt by association to keep the public in line, human rights groups say. Shin's father was imprisoned because his relatives had escaped to South Korea. Shin is the first North Korean known in the West to have escaped from a North Korean prison camp, and his life was spent in the grimmest of circumstances: a total-control zone, where inmates are worked to death. Read extracts below from his unprecedented memoir of growing up in one of North Korea's most brutal prison camps, translated into English for the first time: Camp Rules: The 10 Commandments 1. Do not attempt to escape. The punishment is death. 2. Never gather in groups of over three people or move around without the guard's authorization. The punishment for unauthorized movement is death. 3. Do not steal. If one steals or possesses weapons, the punishment is death. The punishment for failure to report the theft or possession of weapons is death. 4. Obey your guards. If one rebels or hits a guard, the punishment is death. 5. If you see outsiders, or suspicious-looking people, report them immediately. The punishment for abetting in the hiding of outsiders is death. 6. Keep an eye on your fellow prisoners and report inappropriate behavior without delay. One should criticize others for inappropriate behavior, and also conduct thorough self-criticism in revolutionary ideology class. 7. Fulfill your assigned duties. The punishment for rebelling against one's duties is death. 8. Men and women may not be together outside the workplace. The punishment for unauthorized physical contact between a man and a woman is death. 9. Admit and confess your wrongdoings. The punishment for disobedience and refusal to repent is death. 10. The punishment for trespassing camp laws and rules is death. Childbirth, vaccinations and medical care A couple of weeks before childbirth and about one month after, women get maternity leave. That simply means that they are assigned work that can be done from home, while looking after their babies. One month after childbirth, every mother has to return to her workplace, carrying the baby on her back. While planting rice, women have to lay their babies down by the paddy. While mothers are working, the elders also have to work. There is no child care in the camp, and this lack of care often proves lethal to the babies. I remember getting my vaccinations when I entered school in 1988. That was the first and last time I was vaccinated against infectious diseases. There was one clinic inside the camp, with one doctor, assisted by a nurse, who was a prisoner herself. Regardless of how badly hurt one may be, getting out of the camp is not an option. The doctor and nurse use a saline solution to clean wounds, and patients are asked to come back in a week. It goes without saying that the workplace supervisor's approval is needed prior to the follow-up visit to the clinic, and refusal to grant that approval is rather common. After the guards cut off my middle finger, I was taken to the clinic and given medical attention, but without any anesthesia whatsoever. Prisoners are not allowed to wear glasses inside the camp, not even those who wore glasses prior to being brought into the camp. Marriage and family inside the camp Inside the camp, there are fewer people in their 20s than before. Since they are short of young prisoners, young people inside the camp are assigned a lot of work. About 60 percent of people in their 20s are married. In my father's time, only about 30 to 40 percent of people were married. Because they need more laborers, and because young people work well, more of them are matched with a spouse and ordered to marry. There are no single women in the village. Having babies is allowed. Most married couples have one or two children, sometimes even three. It is hard to have more children, as spouses are not allowed to spend much time together. Marriage is the only dream that prisoners have. Men above 25 and women above 23 are generally eligible, and since there is no standard procedure in place, permission to marry is entirely the work supervisor's decision. Once the supervisor has decided on the names of the people who will be ordered to get married, the list of names is submitted to the camp commander, for his signature. There are only a few days in the year when people can get married: Jan.1, Feb. 16 [North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's birthday], and April 15 [birthday of North Korea's late founder, Kim Il Sung]. Pregnant women 'disappear' To be allowed to get married, people break their backs working and volunteer to perform the most dangerous of tasks. Working hard and distinguishing oneself are preconditions for the ultimate recognition, permission to establish a family. Nevertheless, diligence alone is insufficient. The successful marriage candidate has to strictly obey camp rules and regulations, and must also spy on the other prisoners, and report on their behavior. Inside the camp, the ultimate reward is marriage, and the one who has the power to make that happen is the supervisor, so he is like royalty to the prisoners. Women try to win the supervisors' favors, and they take full advantage of that, while the other prisoners have to turn a blind eye on the obvious and keep silent. If a woman becomes pregnant after having a relationship with a supervisor or a guard, one day she just vanishes. If a man and woman like each other and have a relationship without camp approval, once their secret is discovered, they both disappear without a trace. While in the camp, I knew a couple of women who got pregnant and just disappeared. No consideration is given to whether the marriage would be a good match or whether the newlyweds like one another or not. Whether they like their men or not, women have no choice but to get married, because they know that this opportunity will never come again. Summary matchmaking Many of these matches are not exactly made in heaven, and men are used to hitting their female co-workers anyway. If two co-workers are matched and ordered to marry, that kind of physical violence only gets worse. The supervisor shows up and says: "You two, you've been matched, from today on, you're married. Work hard and don't waste your time. If you slack, I'll split you up!" Until that day, the newlyweds have no idea who their spouse is going to be. I once heard a camp story about a bride and groom who didn't like each other much, or didn't feel like getting married. One asked: "Sir, would it be possible at all to postpone our marriage a little?" The supervisor replied: "Sure, if you don't feel like it, just don't do it. You ungrateful pricks can forget about marriage, I'll never let you do it!" >From that day on, regardless of how hard they worked, no mention of marriage was ever made to them. The young and the old Most children born in the camp grow up without knowing parental love or care. These children are the offspring of political offenders, treated as political offenders themselves. The camp is their microcosm, and camp life is the only life they'll ever know. Their parents don't have to teach them social skills, or how to behave in society, as they will never experience a normal social life. Instead of parental teachings, parents tell their children about camp rules and regulations, and thoroughly instruct them on how to live and work inside the camp. Children learn about camp rules and regulations even before getting to know anything about their parents. The parents are to blame for the children's having born in a political prisoner camp, and children are painfully aware of that, growing up with very little affection for their parents. In South Korea, May 5 is Children's Day, and May 8 Parents' Day. I often wonder if political prisoners in North Korean camps would even know how to honor their elders and amuse their young, if ever given this opportunity. I sometimes feel embarrassed because of my having grown up in a camp. One day, I was on the subway in Seoul. I was sitting, and an elderly gentleman was standing nearby. Another young man, probably older than me, stood up and yielded his seat to the older man. I felt deeply embarrassed that day. In the camp, there is no seniority among prisoners, and no respect for the elders. From the first day of school to the day they die, prisoners are nothing but laborers, and there is no distinction, seniority, or hierarchy among them. There is no difference between the young and the old, the sick and the healthy; they simply have to do their work, and if they fail, they are beaten and they bleed. I am sure that, somewhere inside that camp, people are still dropping dead from overwork, and are still being beaten savagely and vomiting blood. Child labor Little children under 10 are forced to work in dark coal mines, pushing heavy loads on coal carts. They never complain, and no one realizes how wrong that is, as everyone has been brainwashed, their consciousness distorted, all trained to be just one of the many laborers who spend their entire lives working. When asked to do dangerous work, they laugh, to show that they're not afraid, and when they're hurt, they cry, but no one is there for them, to listen to their laughter or crying. The guards abuse the prisoners and see them as sub-human, and even the guards' children look down on the children of prisoners, thinking of them as the offspring of traitors, traitors themselves, who do not deserve to be thought of as human beings. I would like to ask the tormenters' children: "What would you be, had you been a prisoners' child? Would that make you less of a human being?" The unthinkable escape The reason why prisoners don't resist or rebel goes beyond fear of the armed guards watching over the camp. All prisoners have been brainwashed to believe that they are in the camp for a good reason, that they have done wrong and deserve to be there, and the thought of escape hardly crosses their mind. Most prisoners, including me, believed that they were supposed to be in the camp. My escape wasn't an act of rebellion against the prison camp system; I was just tired of having to work so much, and I simply wanted to get away. Parents report on their children, children on their parents, and neighbors on the people living next door, so an uprising would be impossible. Prisoners may be upset and have gripes against their guards and supervisors, but they never go as far as to think of opposing the prison camp system itself. All they do is suffer in silence. Resistance is simply unthinkable. Extracts from "Escape to the Outside World" by Shin Dong Hyuk translated and published here with kind permission from the Data Base Center for North Korean Human Rights. Acting RFA Korean service director: Francis Huh. Translated by Grigore Scarlatoiu. Edited and produced in English by Luisetta Mudie and Sarah Jackson-Han. Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org #####

15 years, 10 months

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Engnews December 2008