Liaocheng City police seized poet Lu Yang on May 1. For the next two weeks, police subjected him to forced disappearance. On May 13, police notified his family that Lu Yang had been criminally detained on suspicion of “inciting subversion” for comments made online.
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Shanghai police seized lawyer and former professor Zhang Xuezhong from his home in the early morning of May 11. Two days prior to being detained, Zhang had written an open letter to all the delegates of the National People’s Congress.
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By Frances Eve | The Chinese government has treated Huang Qi and Pu Wenqing with utter disregard for their human rights and human dignity. It should take a first step to right the wrong by granting this dying woman her wish and let her see her son.
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Chinese police persecuted two HRDs for their online speech. Hunan activist Liu Yanli received a four-year prison sentence on April 22 and former prisoner of conscience Xie Wenfei was criminally detained on April 29.
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Chinese authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Chen Jieren and his family members and associates, who have been prosecuted over Chen’s exercise of his right to free expression. A Hunan court handed Chen a 15-year prison sentence on April 30 in apparent punishment for his political speech.
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Chinese police intimidated and harassed potential plaintiffs in litigation against Wuhan and Hubei governments for failure to release vital information about the novel coronavirus in a timely manner, which resulted in deaths and damages.
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The Chengdu City Lawyers’ Association, a state-run agency, handed out a “professional reprimand” to discipline human rights lawyer Lu Siwei (卢思位) on April 24, 2020.
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Beijing Filmmaker Forcibly Disappeared on “Inciting Subversion” Likely for Making Documentary about Xu Zhiyong; Hubei Woman Arrested After Neighborhood Protest Against Price Hikes in Lockdown; Hong Kong Police Arrest 15 Democracy Leaders in Connection to 2019 Protests
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The Chinese government must investigate allegations of torture and the death in detention of human rights activist Wang Meiyu and hold the perpetrators criminally accountable
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By Frances Eve | The government’s battle for Hong Kong is also being fought in mainland cities. China is working overtime to threaten and detain mainlanders from sharing and commenting on the protests in Hong Kong for fear of what it may spark back home.
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Zhang Zhiru 张治儒 (released) Criminal charge: Gathering a crowd to disrupt social order Length of Punishment: Three years, suspended for four years Court: Shenzhen Bao’an District Court Trial Date: April 24, 2020 Sentencing Date: April 24, 2020 Dates of Detention/Arrest: January 20, 2019 (detention); February 26, 2019 (formal arrest); May 7, 2020 (read more…)
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Twitter Becomes Chinese Government’s Double Weapon: Punishing Dissent and Propagating Disinformation
May 11, 2020 Comments Off on Twitter Becomes Chinese Government’s Double Weapon: Punishing Dissent and Propagating DisinformationBy Frances Eve | Former journalist Zhang Jialong faces trial on May 13. He has been charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for sending fewer than 200 tweets. Meanwhile, the Chinese government freely uses Twitter for its propaganda and disinformation.
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