Alerts & Statements - Chinese Human Rights DefendersChinese Human Rights Defenders

Political Prisoner Yang Maodong’s Health Deteriorating, Family Seek Urgent Action to Save His Life

April 29, 2016 Comments Off

The health of imprisoned activist Yang Maodong (杨茂东) has worsened to the point where his life may be in danger without prompt and proper medical treatment, according to his sister. Her alarming observations come less than a month after CHRD sent an update to UN human rights experts about Yang’s (read more…)

China: Repeal Overseas NGO Law & Protect Freedom of Association

April 28, 2016 Comments Off

CHRD denounces the Chinese government’s adoption of a law governing overseas NGOs that will have a profoundly detrimental impact on China’s civil society. The law passed China’s rubber-stamp legislature on April 28 despite critical international responses to the most recent draft. The adopted version appears to retain the previous draft’s (read more…)

Jia Lingmin Named 2016 Recipient of Cao Shunli Memorial Award

March 14, 2016 Comments Off

Imprisoned activist Jia Lingmin (贾灵敏) is the winner of the second Cao Shunli Memorial Award for Human Rights Defenders for her contributions in promoting human rights at the grassroots level. Three mainland Chinese NGOs, which launched the award in 2015 to honor the memory of late activist Cao Shunli (曹顺利), (read more…)

China: Forced TV Confessions Violate Principle of Presumed Innocence Before Trial, Constitute Cruel & Degrading Punishment

March 12, 2016 Comments Off

CHRD calls on Chinese authorities to stop “trying” criminal suspects in the “court of public opinion” by broadcasting their “confessions” on state TV, as the practice violates Chinese law and international human rights norms. The “confessors” have not been granted due process rights, and are essentially seen as “guilty” by (read more…)

Help Free Chinese Women HRDs on International Women’s Day

March 8, 2016 Comments Off

Join CHRD’s campaign calling for the release of Chinese women human rights defenders who remain detained and imprisoned on this year’s International Women’s Day. They have been subjected to government retaliation for their defense of women’s rights, housing and land rights, rule of law, and the exercise of their rights (read more…)

“Too Risky to Call Ourselves Defenders”: Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China (2015)

February 16, 2016 Comments Off

In 2015, Chinese authorities’ persecution of human rights defenders followed a trajectory of increasing severity that has become a hallmark of President Xi Jinping’s leadership, says CHRD in its annual report, “Too Risky to Call Ourselves Defenders”: 2015 Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China. Government (read more…)

China Imprisons 3 Rights Defenders More Than A Year After UN Called for Their Release

January 29, 2016 Comments Off

CHRD condemns the imprisonment of Guangdong lawyer Tang Jingling (唐荆陵) and activists Wang Qingying (王清营) and Yuan Xinting (袁新亭), who were convicted on January 29 on trumped-up charges of “inciting subversion of state power” and sentenced to to five years, two-and-a-half years, and three-and-a-half years in prison, respectively. The verdict (read more…)

Politically Charged Arrests in China Escalate Persecution of Rights Lawyers

January 14, 2016 Comments Off

CHRD condemns the actions of Chinese authorities who this week formally arrested 11 lawyers, paralegals, and activists on serious charges, politicizing Chinese lawyers’ efforts to protect human rights. CHRD sees the new arrests as indication of a drastic escalation of President Xi Jinping’s campaign against human rights lawyers. Since July (read more…)

Verdict against Human Rights Lawyer Pu Zhiqiang A Travesty of Justice

December 22, 2015 Comments Off

CHRD condemns the guilty verdict, with a suspended three-year sentence, handed down to prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang (浦志强) by the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court today. The ruling makes a mockery of the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “rule of the country with law” and China’s criminal justice (read more…)

Free Pu Zhiqiang: Staunch Defender of Free Speech in China Faces Trial for 7 Posts on Weibo

December 10, 2015 Comments Off

Human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang (浦志强), well-known in China as a staunch defender of free speech, will be tried in Beijing on December 14, 2015, according to his lawyers. The charismatic Pu, 50, has been detained for over 19 months without trial, and is accused of “picking quarrels and instigating (read more…)

Join CHRD’s “Free 10 by 12/10” Campaign in Run-up to International Human Rights Day

December 1, 2015 Comments Off

To mark this year’s International Human Rights Day, we invite you to join CHRD’s “Free 10 by 12/10” Campaign for the release of 10 human rights defenders who have been detained or imprisoned in China. Each day from December 1 through to Human Rights Day on December 10, we will (read more…)

Unaccountability at Root of Persistent Torture in China

November 10, 2015 Comments Off

The Chinese government has systematically failed to prevent torture, hold torturers accountable, and respect the rights of torture victims, a report by CHRD and a coalition of Chinese human rights defenders finds. Torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment remain persistent and widespread in China. Authorities often ignore (read more…)