Focus Campaigns | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

Individuals Affected by July 9 Crackdown on Rights Lawyers

July 13, 2015 Comments Off

Massive police operations targeting human right lawyers and coordinated by the Ministry of Public Security began on July 9 across China. The following is a list of detentions, including “residential surveillance” in unknown locations, disappearances (police custody in unknown location for more than 24 hours), and those released after summons (read more…)

[CHRB] End Persecution of Participants in 1989 Pro-democracy Movement for Their Ongoing Activism

June 3, 2015 Comments Off

On the 26th anniversary of the Chinese government’s bloody suppression of the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations, scores of individuals who took part in the movement are detained or in prison today for their continuing efforts to promote human rights and democratic reforms. Several activists and lawyers seized last year for marking (read more…)

Su Changlan (苏昌兰)

May 5, 2015 Comments Off

Guangzhou police seized housing and women’s rights activist, Su Changlan (苏昌兰), after she expressed support for the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong that began in late September 2014. She was originally summoned for “creating a disturbance,” but police criminally detained her the next day on a more serious charge, “inciting (read more…)

Yu Shiwen (于世文)

February 16, 2015 Comments Off

Yu Shiwen (于世文) and his wife, Chen Wei (陈卫), were disappeared on May 23, 2014, until May 28, when their family received a notice saying both of them had been criminally detained on charges of “gathering a crowd to disrupt order of a public place.” The charges apparently stem from (read more…)

Tie Liu (铁流)

January 30, 2015 Comments Off

On February 25, the Sichuan court convicting Tie Liu of “illegal business activity” but issuing a suspended sentence in a case fraught with rights abuses. The trial at the Qingyang District People’s Court in Chengdu lasted for about one hour, and the court sentenced Liu to two-and-a-half years in prison, (read more…)

Gao Yu (高瑜)

December 2, 2014 Comments Off

Gao Yu 高瑜 (released on medical parole) *Previously under medical watch Crime: Illegally disseminating state secrets overseas Length of Punishment: Seven years Court: Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court Trial Date: November 21, 2014 Sentencing Date: April 17, 2015 Dates of Detention/Arrest: April 24, 2014 (detained); May 30, 2014 (arrested); November (read more…)

Individuals Detained in Mainland China for Supporting Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Protests

October 19, 2014 Comments Off

A number of Chinese citizens have faced reprisals for supporting the Hong Kong protests for universal suffrage, which began in September 2014. The occupation of several areas in the territory, including parts of its financial and political center, has inspired many Chinese on the mainland. To date, CHRD has documented (read more…)

Cao Shunli (曹顺利) & Her Legacy

April 21, 2014 Comments Off

Activist Cao Shunli’s death on March 14, 2014, showed the lengths that China’s leaders are willing to go to suppress civil society voices. Cao Shunli unwaveringly pursued the goal to make use of international human rights mechanisms to improve rights conditions in China. As she said: “In China, those involved (read more…)

Liu Jiacai (刘家财)

November 5, 2014 Comments Off

Hubei-based democracy activist Liu Jiacai (刘家财) was administratively detained for “disrupting public order” for 10 days in August 2013, but on the day of his release, police criminally detained Liu on suspicion of the more serious criminal charge of “inciting subversion.” Prior to his detention, Liu had posted and shared (read more…)

Huang Wenxun (黄文勋)

June 30, 2020 Comments Off

From Guangdong Province, Huang Wenxun was arrested in Hubei while on an “advocacy tour” called “Enlightening China,” which was intended to encourage citizen activism and spread democratic ideas and rule of law. The tour, initiated by Huang, began in April 2013 and had stopped at nine cities before arriving at (read more…)

Pu Zhiqiang (浦志强)

June 13, 2014 Comments Off

Pu Zhiqiang is a prominent human rights lawyer and partner at the Huayi Law Firm in Beijing. Police seized Pu on May 4, 2014, after he had attended a private event the previous day commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre. Pu was arrested just as the legal limit for holding him (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…)