Activist claims abuse in Chinese detention center

Human rights activist Kim Young-hwan, center, speaks during a news conference at the Community Chest of Korea building in Seoul, Wednesday. Kim returned to Seoul last Friday after being detained in China for 114 days. At right is Rep. Ha Tae-kyung of the ruling Saenuri Party. (Photo : The Korea Times/Bae Woo-han>

Kim Young-hwan, a human rights activist who was freed last week after 114 days of detention in China, testified Wednesday that the Chinese authorities violated his human rights.

Speaking at a news conference held in Seoul, the 49-year-old activist said the Korean government was aware of this, adding he addressed this briefly during an interview with a Korean consul.

According to Kim, the government is working on a plan to demand China offer an apology and take appropriate measures over the alleged human rights abuses.

Kim said he was not allowed to sleep at night, was malnourished and was forced to do hard labor for 13 hours every day at the Chinese detention center in the northeastern city of Dandong.

“During the first two months, a dumpling that had no filling was served as a meal. I ate only half of it due to severe stomachaches because of the highly stressful situation there,” he said.

In the early 2000s, Kim underwent surgery after cancer was detected in his stomach.

“Harsh treatment by the Chinese authorities was the hardest part that I had to endure there. I had thought hard how I could disclose the appalling human rights condition in China to the outside world,” he said.

The activist said he decided not to campaign for this, as the government is preparing appropriate measures to protest against China.

Kim is one of the four South Korean human rights activists who were freed last week after being arrested by the Chinese authorities in the northeastern city of Dalian in late March on suspicions of being a threat to national security and espionage.

“I lost nearly 10 kilograms while I was there. Later I was ordered to move to a different detention center where living conditions were much better and stayed there for nearly one month before I was released.”

Kim stated that the Chinese authorities forced him to agree to two conditions to be freed.

The conditions read Kim admits that he violated the Chinese law and he wouldn’t disclose the abuses he had undergone during the 114 days at the two different detention centers.

Kim refused the conditions.

He declined to confirm whether or not the terms “abuses or harsh treatment” that he used indicated torture, saying he would let the government follow up on this.

But Choi Hong-jae, his fellow activist who served as a moderator of the news conference, said he would take abuse to include torture.

Choi first raised the suspicion that the Chinese authorities violated the South Koreans’ human rights in May in a phone interview with The Korea Times.

At that time, he claimed Kim could have been tortured, citing Kim’s remarks made during the first interview with a South Korean consul in April.

Asked if there were any human rights violations, Kim was quoted by the consul as having said that he was discouraged to answer this because the Chinese police were present there.

On Wednesday, Choi told reporters that the three others were unable to attend the news conference as their health was extremely poor while they were held in China.

“One of the four activists said he was not allowed to lie down for nearly one month after being arrested as the Chinese authorities didn’t let him sleep,” he said.

Yu Sae-hee, chairman of the North Korean Democracy and Human Rights, and Rep. Ha Tae-kyung of the ruling Saenuri Party attended the news conference.

Ha, a human rights activist-turned-lawmaker, speculated the Chinese authorities could have targeted the South Korean activists who helped North Korean refugees in the northeastern region of China.

“I understand that China is very sensitive to North Korean refugees and therefore the country wants South Korea to take some measures against human rights activists working for refugees there,” he said. “My speculation is that China would have wanted to crack down on Korean activists to send a stern message to discourage them.” <The Korea Times/Kang Hyun-kyung>

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