In the Press | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

At Least Nine Rights Activists ‘Secretly Detained’ in China’s Suzhou

March 30, 2017 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on March 24, 2017 Authorities in the eastern China province of Jiangsu are holding several rights activists under “residential surveillance” in an unknown location following a secret crackdown in Suzhou city that began last September, rights activists said. Several of the detainees had been protesting in supporting (read more…)

Detained activist wins China rights award

March 30, 2017 Comments Off

Originally published by UCA News on March 16, 2017 A detained activist, who has been in pre-trial detention for more than two years, received a prestigious human rights award March 14 from a coalition of Chinese human rights groups. Su Changlan, 45, is the third recipient of the Cao Shunli Memorial Award (read more…)

Detained Chinese Feminist Wins New Human Rights Honor

March 30, 2017 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on March 14, 2017 Detained activist Su Changlan, who has been in pre-trial detention for more than two years, on Tuesday received a prestigious human rights award from a coalition of Chinese human rights groups. Su, 45, is the third recipient of the Cao Shunli Memorial Award (read more…)

Defending human rights deemed bigger political offense under Xi

March 30, 2017 Comments Off

Originally published by Nikkei Asian Review on February 16, 2017 HONG KONG — China is growing less tolerant of basic human rights under the reign of President Xi Jinping. The Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, or CHRD, warned that a crackdown on human rights activists is intensifying, with the government increasingly (read more…)

China Sees Rising Number of Rights Activists Charged With Political ‘Crimes’

March 30, 2017 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on February 16, 2017 The number of people detained and otherwise persecuted by the ruling Chinese Communist Party for “political crimes” rose last year, as the administration of President Xi Jinping brought a draconian suite of new laws limit people’s right to freedom of expression, association (read more…)

Report: China targeting human rights defenders as national security threats

March 30, 2017 Comments Off

Originally published by Jurist on February 16, 2017 [JURIST] The Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) [advocacy website] released its annual report [text, PDF] on Thursday, highlighting intensified crackdowns on human rights defenders in China. According to the CHRD report, human rights activities are being criminalized as “‘political’ threats to ‘national security.’” (read more…)

Torture accusations as EU ambassador raises case of Chinese lawyer Xie Yang

March 30, 2017 Comments Off

Originally published by HKFP on January 25, 2017 The EU ambassador to Beijing said Wednesday that Europe was concerned about the case of detained Chinese lawyer Xie Yang, who rights groups say has been tortured by police. Chinese President Xi Jinping has overseen a tightening of controls on civil society since assuming (read more…)

China’s Rebel Villagers Sent to Jail With No Option to Appeal

March 30, 2017 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on January 24, 2017 Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have sent nine residents of the rebel village of Wukan to prison to begin serving sentences ranging from two to 10 years for their involvement in resistance to an armed police raid, without giving (read more…)

Detained Chinese Rights Lawyer Files Complaint Over Torture in Detention

March 30, 2017 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on January 24, 2017 A rights group on Tuesday called for the immediate release of detained Chinese rights lawyer Xie Yang, detailing his lawyers’ reports of his torture in a police-run detention center in the central province of Hunan. Xie was subjected to confinement in a (read more…)

Punches, Kicks and the ‘Dangling Chair’: Detainee Tells of Torture in China

March 30, 2017 Comments Off

Originally published by The New York Times on January 20, 2017 BEIJING — Perched unsteadily on a stack of plastic stools in an isolated room, Xie Yang, a Chinese lawyer, was encircled day and night by interrogators who blew smoke in his face, punched and kicked him, and threatened to turn him into (read more…)

China to Try Tiananmen Protest Veteran After Months of Delay: Lawyer

January 23, 2017 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on December 23, 2016 Chen Yunfei, a veteran rights activist in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan who was detained after visiting the grave of a Tiananmen massacre victim in 2015, will stand trial on Dec. 26 on public order charges following repeated delays (read more…)

In China, a Nobel Peace Prize winner remains behind bars

December 12, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Nikkei Asian Review on December 11, 2016 HONG KONG — Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Saturday received his Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end a civil war that had raged for more than half a century. The medal and honor was conferred to him in person (read more…)