大赦國際批評他國企業出口刑具

China is not only the global manufacturing base for thousands of everyday household items, it is also the source of most of the world’s torture instruments, from spiked clubs and electric stun batons to weighted leg cuffs.

中國不僅是成千上萬種日常家居用品的全球製造基地，也是世界各地大多數刑具（從帶刺警棍、電警棍到加重腳鐐）的產地。

China’s manufacture and export of “intrinsically cruel, inhuman and degrading” law enforcement equipment has surged in the past decade, according to a report published on Tuesday by Amnesty International.

大赦國際(Amnesty International)週二發表的一份報告稱，過去10年裏，中國製造和出口的“殘忍、不人道和有辱人格性質”的執法裝備猛增。

The number of Chinese companies producing such equipment, much of it banned in the EU and condemned by the UN, has more than quadrupled to 130 in the past decade, the report said.

報告稱，生產此類裝備的中國企業數量在過去10年裏增加了3倍以上，至130家。這些裝備有很多是歐盟(EU)禁止的，並受到聯合國(UN)譴責。

Many of the worst items, including thumb cuffs and rigid restraint chairs known as “tiger benches” in Chinese, are exported to countries with poor human rights records in Africa and southeast Asia.

許多最殘忍的產品，包括拇指銬和在中文裏被稱爲“老虎凳”的剛性約束椅，遠銷人權紀錄糟糕的非洲和東南亞國家。

“This trade – which causes immense suffering – is flourishing because the Chinese authorities have done nothing to stop companies supplying these sickening devices for export or to prevent policing equipment falling into the hands of known human rights abusers,” said Patrick Wilcken, security trade and human rights researcher at Amnesty.

“這項造成巨大痛苦的貿易正在蓬勃發展，是因爲中國當局沒有采取任何措施阻止企業出口這些令人作嘔的裝備，或防止警務裝備落入已知的人權侵犯者手中，”大赦國際安保產品貿易和人權研究員帕特里克•維爾肯(Patrick Wilcken)表示。

Torture by police and law enforcement officials in China itself is well-documented and many of the items singled out by Amnesty are used extensively in the country.

中國本身的警察和執法官員動用酷刑的行爲已得到大量記載，大赦國際提到的許多刑具在中國都有廣泛使用。

Although China’s top authorities have vowed to stop the use of torture to extract confessions, the practice remains widespread.

雖然中國最高當局誓言停止刑訊逼供，但在實踐中這種做法仍相當普遍。

In its report, Amnesty said China is the only country to manufacture spiked batons, which are “specifically designed as implements of torture”.

大赦國際的報告稱，中國是製造帶刺警棍的唯一國家，這些警棍是“專爲施加酷刑而設計的工具”。

It identified seven companies that openly advertise these batons for export and said they have been used by police in Cambodia and exported to security forces in Nepal and Thailand.

報告指認了7家公開面向出口市場做廣告宣傳這些警棍的企業，並稱這些產品已被柬埔寨的警察使用，並向尼泊爾和泰國的軍警出口。

Chinese-made electric shock batons, often used to torture detainees in China’s notorious and recently abolished reform through labour detention camps, are sold to several countries in Africa, according to the report.

報告稱，在中國不久前被廢止的臭名昭著的勞教營常用來折磨在押人員的中國產電警棍，行銷非洲多個國家。

Many of the Chinese companies identified in the report are state-owned or have deep ties to the government or domestic security services.

報告指認的許多中國企業是國有企業，或是與政府或國內安全保衛部門關係很深的企業。

Amnesty also criticised the UK for hosting arms fairs in London and other parts of the country where illegal Chinese equipment is advertised.

大赦國際還批評英國在倫敦和國內其他地方舉辦讓中國企業宣傳非法裝備的軍火展覽會。

The group has documented several cases where banned equipment such as electric shock stun guns, batons and leg cuffs has been on display at these events.

該組織列舉了數個案例，說明被禁止的裝備（如電擊眩暈槍、警棍和腳鐐）曾在此類展會上展出。

“The UK government has never prosecuted any company for illegally peddling torture equipment at UK arms fairs, despite numerous repeat offences dating back over a decade,” said Oliver Sprague, Amnesty’s arms programme director.

“英國政府從未對任何在英國軍火展上非法兜售刑具的企業提起公訴，儘管過去10年裏一再出現此類違法行爲，”大赦國際軍火項目主任奧利弗•斯普拉格(Oliver Sprague)表示。

“The UK’s public rhetoric is that it has the strongest laws to ban this trade, but its actions so far have demonstrated the complete opposite. We want assurances that this is the end of the UK playing the dirty role of matchmaker between trader and torturer.”

“英國官方的公開說辭是，英國擁有禁止這項貿易的最強大法律，但迄今它的行動證明實際情況完全相反。我們希望英國保證自己不再扮演貿易商與刑訊者之間撮合者的骯髒角色。”