Sydney | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

Democracy Would Confuse Chinese People’s Minds, Says Political Journal

November 3, 2013 Comments Off

Originally published by Epoch Times on October 25, 2013 A state approved Chinese political theory journal rejects Western political ideas that are taking hold in China, saying they would “confuse the people’s minds”. A recent article in the journal Qiushi Theory was critical of Western ideological trends that would “confuse the (read more…)

UN Working Group Finds China’s Psychiatric Detention of Petitioner “Arbitrary”

July 21, 2014 Comments Off

CHRD welcomes the opinion adopted by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) that the lengthy detention of Heilongjiang petitioner Xing Shiku (邢世库) in a psychiatric hospital has been “arbitrary.” In an opinion issued on May 20, the Working Group calls for Xing’s release and requests the Chinese government (read more…)

China: End Impunity for the 1989 Atrocities and Guarantee Right to Redress

June 2, 2014 Comments Off

On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre, CHRD urges the Chinese government to end the impunity for gross human rights violations during the 1989 suppression of pro-democracy protests, to stop its suppression of survivors and outspoken critics, to guarantee the victims’ right to obtain redress and (read more…)

[CHRB] Arrest of Cao Shunli Confirmed; Mysterious Death of Petitioner in Custody and More (10/24-31, 2013)

November 1, 2013 Comments Off

Detained activist Cao Shunli (曹顺利) is suffering from deteriorating health due to lack of medical attention, according to her lawyer. The 52-year-old Beijing-based activist looks very thin and needs urgent treatment for a severe liver disease. The lawyer submitted a bail request on October 31 for Cao to be released (read more…)

Activist couple put in detention for commemorating Tiananmen crackdown

May 30, 2014 Comments Off

Originally published by SCMP on May 29, 2014 Two more civil rights activists on the mainland have been placed under criminal detention ahead of the 25th anniversary next week of the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. Yu Shiwen and his wife, Chen Wei , were detained for “gathering a crowd (read more…)

Chinese Prosecutors Charge Activist with Disturbing Public Order

December 22, 2013 Comments Off

Originally published by Latin American Herald Tribune on December 20, 2013 BEIJING – The founder of a Chinese civil rights group known as the New Citizens’ Movement has been formally charged with disturbing public order and could face trial this month, rights activists said Saturday.The charges against Xu Zhiyong, whose group (read more…)

Chinese Rights Lawyer Beaten in Detention, Writer Questioned

May 29, 2014 Comments Off

Originally published by RFA on May 21, 2014 Updated at 5:00 p.m. ET on 2014-05-22Authorities in the eastern city of Hangzhou have detained and questioned an outspoken writer, while a detained rights lawyer was assaulted by police amid a widening clampdown on dissent ahead of the 25th anniversary of the (read more…)

Show Trial of Jiangxi Activists Suspended: Lawyers Demanded Releases, Calling Detentions Unlawful

October 29, 2013 Comments Off

A Chinese court had to suspend the trial of activists Liu Ping (刘萍), Wei Zhongping (魏忠平), and Li Sihua (李思华) on October 28 in Jiangxi Province after defendants and lawyers protested myriad violations of legal rights. A lawyer told CHRD that the prosecutors and the court were pushed back in (read more…)

Chinese Activist’s Trial Postponed Amid Fears for Her Health

May 29, 2014 Comments Off

Originally published by RFA on May 22, 2014 Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Thursday adjourned the trial of a woman who tried to stand as an independent election candidate amid growing fears for her health after extreme mistreatment in police custody, her lawyer and supporters said.More (read more…)

[CHRB] Violence Against Lawyers Representing Christians in Henan, Many Activists Indicted (12/12-12/18, 2013)

December 19, 2013 Comments Off

Authorities have harassed and assaulted a group of lawyers in retaliation for taking on the cases of Zhang Shaojie (张少杰), a church pastor in Henan Province who has been detained, and 23 other detained church members. The lawyers have been consistently blocked from meeting their clients, who were taken into (read more…)

China news round-up: Court to rule on Bo Xilai’s appeal, Beijing plans discounted ‘self-use’ homes

October 28, 2013 Comments Off

Originally published by SCMP on October 25, 2013 Politics Wall Street Journal Beijing’s new housing program will supply 20,000 “self-use” homes meant for the owner to live in, rather than to hold as an investment by the end of the year, another 50,000 next year. China Human Rights Defenders List of the (read more…)

China’s Media Ban on Reporting of State Secrets ‘Too Vague’

July 15, 2014 Comments Off

Originally published by RFA on July 10, 2014 Recent rules issued by China’s top media regulator to formalize a ban on the reporting of state secrets by the country’s tightly controlled media are too vague to be useful to journalists, and will instead leave them vulnerable to individual interpretations, analysts said (read more…)