Alerts & Statements - Chinese Human Rights DefendersChinese Human Rights Defenders

China: End Escalating Crackdown Criminalizing Peaceful Assembly and Free Expression

July 17, 2013 Comments Off

Xu Zhiyong, a leading activist pushing for constitutional democracy and rule-of-law reform, was criminally detained on suspicion of “gathering a crowd to disrupt public order” by Beijing police on July 16. With Xu’s detention and those of two other activists on July 12 in Beijing, China’s newest crackdown on freedom (read more…)

The Chinese Government Must End Reprisals Against Activists Demanding Participation in UPR

July 4, 2013 Comments Off

On July 1, Beijing public security forces swept up and detained a large number of activists who had been taking part in a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) office, as they sought a role in participating in the drafting of the country’s national human rights (read more…)

China’s New Leaders Must Confront Hard Truths on Tiananmen

May 31, 2013 Comments Off

For nearly a quarter-century, the Chinese government has maintained an impervious approach to the truth about its 1989 military suppression against pro-democracy protests. Authorities have denied responsibility for the massacre and stonewalled public reckoning of the People’s Liberation Army’s use of force that left hundreds, if not thousands, dead and (read more…)

Chinese Authorities Must Release Activists, End Escalating Crackdown on Free Expression

April 19, 2013 Comments Off

Police in China have begun detaining activists, lawyers, and ordinary citizens in an apparently coordinated crackdown triggered by advocacy aimed against official corruption and other politically sensitive issues. Authorities have seized activists in Beijing who, under the rubric of the “New Citizens Movement,” have organized a petition drive to demand (read more…)

China Cites “State Secrets” in Rejecting Civil Society Participation in Universal Periodic Review

April 2, 2013 Comments Off

The Chinese government must stop harassing and persecuting activists for requesting to participate in the Universal Periodic Review of the country’s human rights record, and instead allow members of civil society to play an important role in the process. Officials have stated that its drafting and dissemination of materials related (read more…)

In the Name of “Stability”: 2012 Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China

March 15, 2013 Comments Off

With a major change of the guard at the top echelon of China’s one-party power, 2012 was marked by authorities’ intensified attempts to thwart human rights activism but also impressive civil society campaigns that fought for rights protections. As illustrated by CHRD’s newest report, human rights defenders (HRDs) expanded their (read more…)

Rule of Law Is Key to Ending All Forms of Extralegal Detention, Including Forced Labor － CHRD Responds to News of Suspension of RTL in Yunnan Province

February 6, 2013 Comments Off

With the news that the provinces of Yunnan and Guangdong are taking steps to end the Re-education through Labor (RTL) system within their jurisdictions, CHRD strongly urges the Chinese government to follow suit at the national level, steer clear from replacing RTL with other kinds of extralegal detention, and to (read more…)

China’s Supreme Court Must Stop Execution of Li Yan, Alleged Victim of Domestic Violence

January 30, 2013 Comments Off

CHRD joins Chinese lawyers, activists and others in China’s civil society in urging the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) not to issue an execution order following the court’s approval of lower courts’ decisions to sentence to death Li Yan (李彦), an alleged victim of domestic violence. Li killed her husband only (read more…)

Human Rights Day 2012: Free Liu Xiaobo!

December 7, 2012 Comments Off

On December 10, another international Human Rights Day will be marked in China by the Chinese government’s ongoing violations of human rights. Many Chinese prisoners of conscience languish in jail, including the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Prize laureate, the dissident writer Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波), whose wife Liu Xia (刘霞) has (read more…)

Weighty Times, Aggressive Measures: China Must End Heightened Crackdown Ahead of Party Congress

November 1, 2012 Comments Off

(Chinese Human Rights Defenders – November 1, 2012) – As the 18th Chinese Communist Party Congress approaches, police and other security personnel have ramped up harsh measures against Chinese dissidents, human rights activists and petitioners, depriving them of their liberty and subjecting them to myriad abuses. Citizens have been interrogated, (read more…)

China’s Revised Draft Mental Health Law Still Permits Discrimination Against People With Disabilities

September 12, 2012 Comments Off

On August 27, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) issued a revision of the October 2011 draft Mental Health Law, which unfortunately still falls far short of complying with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

“The Darkest Corners”: Abuses of Involuntary Psychiatric Commitment in China

August 22, 2012 Comments Off

CHRD’s latest report details the grim conditions and human rights abuses faced by hundreds of thousands of people detained against their will in China’s psychiatric hospitals because they have, or are alleged to have, psychosocial disabilities. Involuntary commitment and forced medical treatment of such persons violates the Convention on the (read more…)