In the Press | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

Meet China’s RoboCop: the robot police officer who doesn’t tire – or second-guess commands

May 21, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by South China Morning Post on May 5, 2016 China is developing a robotic security officer that can sniff out bombs, grab suspects with a mechanical clamp and deliver a jolt of electricity to neutralise threats. The military researchers behind the project say it will start patrolling public areas such (read more…)

China Just Earned Its Worst Ever Score in an Annual Global Press Freedom Survey

May 21, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Time on April 28, 2016 Censorship is intense, and more journalists are jailed in China than in any other country On April 19, Chinese President Xi addressed a forum on cybersecurity. He said officials should “heed public opinions” online and display “greater tolerance and patience” of “well-intentioned” criticism (read more…)

China court jails pro-democracy activists: lawyer

May 10, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by AFP on May 10, 2016 A Chinese court has jailed two activists for taking part in small-scale pro-democracy protests after detaining them for nearly three years, their lawyer said on Tuesday. Yuan Bing and Yuan Xiaohua were jailed for four years and three-and-a-half years respectively, on charges including (read more…)

China Officially Jails Two Rights Activists After Three Years of Unofficial Detention

May 9, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on May 9, 2016 A court in the central Chinese province of Hubei on Monday handed jail terms of four and three-and-a-half years to two members of the anti-graft New Citizens’ Movement following a lengthy pretrial detention, lawyers for the men told RFA. Yuan Fengchu, (read more…)

China Passes Law Tightening Controls on Foreign Nonprofits

May 6, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by The Associated Press on April 28, 2016 BEIJING — China passed a law Thursday tightening controls over foreign non-governmental organizations by subjecting them to close police supervision, a move officials say will help the groups but critics charge is the latest attempt by authorities to clamp down on (read more…)

China Passes Law Bringing Foreign NGOs Under Police Control

May 6, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on April 28, 2016 In a move rights activists say is aimed at “strangling” the country’s embattled civil society, China’s parliament on Thursday approved a new law that will require overseas rights groups and other nongovernmental organizations to submit to police control. The standing committee (read more…)

Meet China’s RoboCop: the robot police officer who doesn’t tire – or second-guess commands

May 5, 2016 Comments Off

Chinese rights activist Yu Shiwen goes on hunger strike over Tiananmen detention

May 5, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by International Business Times on May 5, 2016 Chinese rights activist Yu Shiwen, who has been under detention for the last two years for organising the 25th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest, has gone on hunger strike inside the prison. Yu, known as the last of the (read more…)

China Passes Foreign NGO Law Amid National Security Push

April 29, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by The Diplomat on April 29, 2016 Earlier this month, China celebrated “national security education day” – a large part of which involved reminding Chinese citizens to be on the lookout for foreign threats, whether in the form of actual spies or just nefarious foreign influences. Against this backdrop, (read more…)

Profile: President Xi Jinping

April 29, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by The National on April 2, 2016 WHAT’S THE STORY? AN anonymous letter calling on the president of China to resign has switched a spotlight on his increasing intolerance of dissent. Already drawing criticism for his restrictive policies on free speech, President Xi Jinping’s response to the letter is (read more…)

Tribunal chino condena a cárcel a 4 activistas por apoyar protestas Hong Kong

April 29, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Terra on April 8, 2016 Un tribunal del sur de China condenó hoy a cárcel a cuatro activistas por su apoyo a la conocida como la “revolución de los paraguas”, las históricas protestas prodemocracia que se vivieron en Hong Kong a finales de 2014 y que pusieron en (read more…)

Court in China’s Guangdong Tries Another Online Commentator For Subversion

April 29, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on April 22, 2016 Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Friday tried the latest in a string of next-generation rights activists for subversion after he posted a number of political essays online. Chen Qitang, better known by his pseudonym Tian Li, stood (read more…)