In the Press - Chinese Human Rights DefendersChinese Human Rights Defenders

China harasses independent candidates for low-level offices

November 18, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Associated Press on November 15, 2016 BEIJING — Liu Huizhen, a petite, soft-spoken farmer’s daughter who wants to serve her community, might seem an unlikely threat to China’s all-powerful Communist Party. Yet, as Chinese vote Tuesday for low-level representatives, authorities have responded to Liu’s bid as an independent (read more…)

Les avocats chinois mis hors la loi

November 1, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Liberation on October 30, 2016 «C’est une opération politique de très grande ampleur. Le pouvoir chinois a sans doute estimé que nous étions devenus trop nuisibles. Ces nouvelles régulations sont un instrument pour nous supprimer.»L’homme qui se confie dans ce petit square de Pékin et dont il (read more…)

Rights Groups Slam China’s Record Ahead of U.N. Council Vote

October 27, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on October 26, 2016 Prominent rights activists and campaigners have called on democratic members of the United Nations to block China’s re-election on Friday for another two-year term on its Human Rights Council. The New York-based Human Rights Watch cited China as a current council (read more…)

Wife of detained Chinese human rights lawyer tries to sue lawyer appointed by authorities

October 27, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Hong Kong Free Press on October 24, 2016 A Tianjin court held a hearing on Friday to decide whether the wife of a detained human rights lawyer will be able to sue a government-appointed lawyer representing her husband. Yuan Shanshan, the wife of Xie Yanyi, who was detained as part of (read more…)

How the party’s absolute power undermines its efforts to strengthen China’s rule of law

October 20, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by SCMP on October 19, 2016 When their decades-long efforts failed to stamp out rampant corruption even among anti-graft investigators and get law enforcers to actually abide by the law, China’s communist leadership should have understood that behind such crises lies not a failure of governance but rather the (read more…)

Still no answers a year after bookseller Gui Minhai’s disappearance

October 19, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Hong Kong Free Press on October 17, 2016 A year after publisher Gui Minhai disappeared from his holiday home in Thailand only to reappear in custody in mainland China, Swedish authorities say they are continuing to work towards a solution. Gui was a co-owner of Causeway Bay Books and (read more…)

China verurteilt Bürgerrechtsanwalt zu zwölf Jahren Haft

October 5, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Spiegel Online on September 22, 2016 Die größte Verfolgungswelle seit Jahren in China dauert fort: Ein Gericht in Peking hat den Bürgerrechtsanwalt Xia Lin zu zwölf Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt. Der 46-Jährige ist wegen Betrugs schuldig gesprochen worden, teilte sein Anwalt Wang Zhenyu mit. Menschenrechtler kritisierten das Urteil: Xia (read more…)

Chinese lawyers sign petition against ‘draconian’ new rules preventing them from ‘pressuring’ court

October 5, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Hong Kong Free Press on October 5, 2016 110 lawyers have signed a petition calling upon China to rescind amendments to its Administrative Measures for Law Firms, a measure rumoured to be rolling out on November 1, according to Canyu, a Chinese human rights website. The amendments will mean that law firms cannot (read more…)

Chinese Lawyers Who Highlight Abuse of Clients To Lose Jobs Under New Rules

October 5, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on October 3, 2016 Rights activists and lawyers have hit out at new regulations brought in by the ruling Chinese Communist Party placing further restrictions on lawyers’ ability to protest abuses of judicial power. An amended set of the Ministry of Justice’s “Administrative Measures for Law (read more…)

Rule by Law or Power? Lawyer’s Conviction Stirs Online Debate in China

October 5, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by Voice of America on September 23, 2016 A harsh 12-year sentence handed down Thursday by a Chinese court against prominent civil rights lawyer Xia Lin is stirring a heated debate online about the rule of law in China, and whether the case shows an abuse of legal procedure. (read more…)

China’s Human Rights Plan: A ‘Triumph of Form over Substance’

October 5, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by The News Lens on September 30, 2016 The announcement of China’s new human rights action plan has not impressed some in the international community who say the country has a record of failing to deliver on its commitments to key civil and political rights. China’s State Council Information Office (read more…)

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s lawyer sentenced to 12 years for fraud

September 25, 2016 Comments Off

Originally published by CNN on September 24, 2016 (CNN)A lawyer for the renowned Chinese artist and government critic Ai Weiwei was sentenced to 12 years jail on Thursday, in a case his supporters say was politically motivated. Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court found Xia Lin guilty of almost 10 million (read more…)