Dialogue Newsletter Looks at Resumption of Legal Experts Dialogue, Parole in US & Responses on June Fourth Prisoners

The cover story in the Fall 2009 issue of Dialogue discusses the impending resumption of the Legal Experts Dialogue, which US State Department officials and judges of China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) convened three times from 2003 to 2005. Dui Hua’s own inquiry to the SPC about access to sentence reduction and parole for “counterrevolutionary” prisoners spurred this high-level dialogue. Given information Dui Hua recently found in provincial-level parole regulations, this issue may be raised when the dialogue starts up again.

An article on the US parole system delves into both the history and the contemporary application of the practice. Parole policies vary widely between states, and California’s system is singled out for special analysis. An accompanying graph tracks the influence of determinate sentencing policies on parole releases since 1980.

The prisoner and research section focuses on recent official responses about June Fourth prisoners received by Dui Hua, information that has led us to reduce our estimate of individuals incarcerated for their actions during the spring of 1989. The new data bring Dui Hua and other observers that much closer to learning the fates of those still imprisoned for crimes committed during the pro-democracy demonstrations. Another piece reveals that clemency for prisoners was shown at the provincial level when the PRC celebrated its 60th anniversary. The paroles and sentence reductions issued in at least three provinces fell short of a national “special pardon” that many had hoped for, but these acts of clemency nonetheless allowed thousands of prisoners to return to free society and their families.

The foundation welcomes Mr. Michael McCune to the board of directors in News About Dui Hua, and runs down Executive Director John Kamm’s testimony on China’s human rights before the Congressional-Executive Committee on China in October and his visits with key contacts in Washington, DC. The news closes with other changes at the foundation: the move of the Hong Kong office and the departure of Flora Lee, a staff member who has been so valuable to Dui Hua’s development in many areas in the last two years.

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