The reported exploitation of collective punishment as a political instrument by the Chinese government has come under severe criticism in a recent publication by the human rights organization Safeguard Defenders (SD). The report, entitled “FAMILIES IN FEAR: Collective Punishment in 21st Century China“, was published to coincide with International Human Rights Day.
The report details how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) employs collective punishment as a tactic to “coerce confessions, frighten family members from advocacy and silence overseas critics”. The SD report alleges that the CCP increasingly applies this penalty to anyone from prisoners to infants, with punishments ranging from loss of freedom through forced disappearance, involuntary psychiatric commitment, detention and house arrest, to physical violence that can result in death.
An example outlined in the report includes the case of Dong Jianbiao, a former miner who passed away under suspicious circumstances in prison in 2022. SD argues that this was government retribution for his daughter’s public criticism of Xi Jinping, with Dong Yaoqiong having been targeted by the government for defacing a portrait of the president in 2018. Following her arrest, Yaoqiong was placed in a psychiatric institution, released in 2019, only to be readmitted the following year.
The practice of collective punishment, a form of sanction used by states to penalize an individual for an action executed by someone they are related to, is considered arbitrary and can violate international law and the Convention of the Rights of the Child.
China’s government has faced repeated condemnation for human rights breaches. This includes its reaction to protests sparked by strict restrictions on citizen freedoms throughout the pandemic and its treatment of religious minorities, with increased mosque closures documented in northern regions. China has also faced international criticism surrounding the alleged genocide against Uyghur people, with the US imposing sanctions on Chinese officials linked to alleged systematic assimilation of Tibetan children in August.
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