In the Press | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

China thinks it can arbitrarily detain anyone. It is time for change

January 12, 2019 Comments Off

Originally published by The Guardian on January 4, 2019 Canada’s foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, has called China’s detention of Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor a “worrying precedent” but for many China watchers it is all too familiar. It reminds us of the detentions of other foreign citizens, such as Canadian (read more…)

China Jails Three Activists For Video ‘Mocking’ President Xi Jinping

January 12, 2019 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on January 8, 2019 Authorities in the Chinese capital have sentenced citizen journalist Ding Lingjie and two petitioners to jail for making a video ‘mocking’ President Xi Jinping during a holiday season crackdown on dissent.Ding was tried alongside petitioners Li Xuehui and Wang Fengxian by the Shijingshan (read more…)

Kanji: The Uighurs remain forgotten in debates over human rights in China

January 12, 2019 Comments Off

Originally published by Ottawa Citizen on January 8, 2019 In detaining Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor as alleged threats to “national security” in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, China provided an exemplary demonstration of one of the most transparent and hackneyed tricks in the authoritarian repertoire: (read more…)

Beijing furthers campaign to ‘Sinicize’ ethnic Muslims with new law

January 12, 2019 Comments Off

Originally published by AFP on January 6, 2019 In the latest push in an aggressive campaign to “Sinicize” Muslims in China, Beijing on Saturday reportedly passed a law dictating the way Islam can be practised in the country. The Global Times, China’s most popular English paper, reported that following a (read more…)

‘My husband is innocent’: Wife of detained Chinese lawyer barred from trial

January 6, 2019 Comments Off

Originally published by The Guardian on December 26, 2018 Li Wenzu was blocked by police officers from leaving her apartment complex to attend the trial of her husband Wang Quanzhang It was a little after 5am on Boxing Day when Li Wenzu tried to leave her apartment to attend her (read more…)

Prominent Chinese rights lawyer missing for three years goes on trial

January 6, 2019 Comments Off

Originally published by Reuters on December 26, 2018 Chinese police locked down a courthouse on Wednesday for the trial of a prominent rights lawyer who is accused of subversion of state power and whose case has attracted widespread concern in Western countries. Wang Quanzhang, who took on sensitive cases such (read more…)

As China Cracks Down on Churches, Christians Declare ‘We Will Not Forfeit Our Faith’

January 6, 2019 Comments Off

Originally published by The New York Times on December 25, 2018 CHENGDU, China — For months, Gu Baoluo had been looking forward to a boisterous Christmas celebration at one of China’s best-known Protestant churches. He loved decorating trees, singing songs like “Silent Night” and watching the annual Christmas pageant recounting (read more…)

‘The last time I saw Granny Pu’: 85-year-old mother of Chinese dissident seized by police

January 6, 2019 Comments Off

Originally published by The Guardian on December 20, 2018 For the last two years, Pu Wenqing, 85, has spent most of her time writing articles about her son, Huang Qi, a long-time dissident who has been in prison for more than two years awaiting trial. She posts updates about Huang, (read more…)

China Bans Christmas Celebrations Amid Nationwide Crackdown on Churches

January 6, 2019 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on December 20, 2018 The ruling Chinese Communist Party has stepped up a nationwide crackdown on Christians, raiding and detaining pastors and members of churches in several locations as urban authorities warn against public Christmasdecorations and events.Authorities are undergoing “one of the largest crackdowns on underground Christian churches (read more…)

Why the wives of China’s persecuted human-rights lawyers shaved their heads

January 6, 2019 Comments Off

Originally published by Quartz on December 19, 2018 Among the most visible advocates of human rights in China are the wives of those languishing in prison. Four wives of human-rights lawyers shaved their heads this week to protest the government’s persecution of their husbands, who were arrested during a concerted crackdown against 300 activists (read more…)

What China’s economic miracle left behind

January 6, 2019 Comments Off

Originally published by Nikkei Asian Review on December 12, 2018 HONG KONG — In his 10,000-word essay decrying China’s increasing authoritarianism, Xu Zhangrun studiously avoided mentioning President Xi Jinping by name. But his readers — and China’s censors — did not need it spelled out for them. “After 40 years (read more…)

Chinese Media: China Is ‘Blazing a Trail of Human Rights Development’ Unlike Any Country

January 6, 2019 Comments Off

Originally published by Breitbart News on December 12, 2018 The Chinese government published a paper on Wednesday entitled “Progress in Human Rights Over the 40 Years of Reform and Opening Up in China.” As the loaded title implies, the paper is extremely flattering to China’s marvelous achievements in human rights and evidently (read more…)