In the Press | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

Torture ‘Entrenched’ in China Amid Rights Crackdown

December 24, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by The Washington Free Beacon on December 10, 2015 Chinese authorities continue to engage in pervasive torture of imprisoned dissidents and religious and ethnic minorities, according to a new United Nations report that coincided with International Human Rights Day and calls for Beijing to release political prisoners. The United Nations (read more…)

Jailed Chinese Rights Activist Appeals ‘Illegal’ And ‘Unjust’ Sentence

December 24, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on December 3, 2015 A prominent Chinese rights activist jailed for six years by a court in the southern city of Guangzhou last week has filed a formal appeal, saying the judgment against him is “illegal and runs counter to natural justice.” Yang Maodong, better known by his pseudonym (read more…)

Thai junta’s repatriation of refugees to China under fire globally

December 2, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by Nikkei Asian Review on November 20, 2015 BANGKOK — Thailand is drawing harsh criticism from the U.S. government, human rights organizations and others for the arrest and repatriation of two Chinese activist refugees, seen as an attempt to curry favor with the regional heavyweight. Dong Guangping and Jiang (read more…)

Torture in China: A Vicious Cycle

December 2, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by The Diplomat on November 16, 2015 Amnesty International just released its November 11 report, “No End In Sight: Torture and Forced Confessions in China,” detailing the prevalence of torture in China. Upon hearing this, Chinese Community Party fundamentalists will no doubt pitch their best tu quoque curveball, and yes, to an (read more…)

Calls Grow to Free Tortured Rights Lawyer Ahead of U.N. Review

December 2, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on November 12, 2015 Dissident rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who remains under house arrest since his release from prison in August 2014, has been denied permission by the Chinese police to see a dentist for treatment after losing teeth to torture — for reasons of ‘national security.’ Gao was prevented (read more…)

Family Demands Information After Chinese Activist Dies in Police Custody

December 2, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on November 4, 2015 A Chinese rights activist from the southern province of Guangdong has died in a police-run detention center, in what his family says are suspicious circumstances. Zhang Liumao was reported dead by authorities in the Guangzhou No. 3 Detention Center in the early (read more…)

United Nations Elects Dictators, Repressive Regimes to Rights Council

December 2, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by The Washington Free Beacon on October 30, 2015 The United Nations General Assembly has again elected repressive dictatorships and authoritarian regimes to its human rights council, eliciting rebukes from rights groups. Eighteen countries were selected on Wednesday to serve three-year terms on the council that begins in January. The Human (read more…)

Police Detain 200 Activists in Beijing for Protesting during CPC Meet

December 2, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by Latin America Herald Tribune on October 30, 2015 BEIJING – Around 200 human rights activists were detained by the police in Beijing and forcefully sent back to their respective provinces to prevent them from presenting their complaints during the ongoing annual meet of the Communist Party of China, or CPC, (read more…)

Chinese Police Slap Exit Ban on Another Son of a Human Rights Lawyer

December 2, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on October 16, 2015 As the Chinese government continues its crackdown targeting human rights lawyers, a second son of a prominent rights attorney in Beijing has been denied permission to leave the country for study purposes, his father told RFA. Liu Yuyang, 21, who is in his final year of (read more…)

China says U.S. human rights report biased

October 13, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by Reuters on October 9, 2015 A U.S. congressional commission’s criticism of China’s human rights record did not “accord with the facts”, the Chinese government said on Friday, the latest friction over a long-running thorn in relations. The U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China said on Thursday that it saw (read more…)

At U.N., China uses intimidation tactics to silence its critics

October 9, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by Reuters on October 6, 2015 GENEVA – In a café lounge at the United Nations complex in Geneva, a Tibetan fugitive was waiting his turn earlier this year to tell diplomats his story of being imprisoned and tortured back home in China. The 43-year-old Buddhist monk, Golog Jigme, (read more…)

China’s leader to address UN conference on gender equality, even as activists detained at home

October 3, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by AP on September 24, 2015 BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping will preside this weekend over a U.N. conference on gender equality, which some activists say is galling given China’s recent detentions of women’s rights activists and its history of stopping people from attending U.N. meetings to discuss such (read more…)