Is the information in the PPD reliable and up-to-date?
Reliable up-to-date information about Chinese political prisoners is not easy to acquire. The Chinese government does not routinely provide accurate information about political prisoners. Moreover, Chinese citizens who attempt to provide information about such imprisonment to people or organizations outside China risk being accused of espionage or illegally disclosing state secrets. If Chinese citizens are convicted of these types of charges, they are sentenced to long periods in prison. By necessity, therefore, much of the prisoner information in the PPD is unofficial. Unofficial information may be incomplete, flawed, or contradictory, and sometimes represents informed guesswork. The Commission cannot guarantee all information in the PPD is completely up-to-date or accurate. We try in good faith to provide credible and accurate information. To do this, we regularly revise, correct, and add information to individual prisoner records.
Reliable up-to-date information about Chinese political prisoners is not easy to acquire. The Chinese government generally does not provide information on such prisoners through government and official media and asserts that there are no political prisoners in China. When the Chinese government chooses to provide information about a political prisoner, the information reflects Chinese government and Communist Party perspectives on human rights and the rule of law. Chinese citizens who attempt to provide information about such imprisonment to people or organizations outside China risk being accused of espionage or illegally disclosing state secrets. If Chinese citizens are convicted of such charges, courts may sentence them to lengthy periods of imprisonment.
