Alerts & Statements - Chinese Human Rights DefendersChinese Human Rights Defenders

Activist Ni Yulan Becomes Latest Victim of “Jasmine” Crackdown

April 14, 2011 Comments Off

Former Lawyer, Handicapped from Torture, is Criminally Detained (Chinese Human Rights Defenders, April 14, 2011) Housing rights activist and former lawyer Ni Yulan (倪玉兰) has been criminally detained in Beijing for “creating a disturbance,” CHRD learned today. No information is currently available regarding the fate of her husband Dong (read more…)

Escalating Crackdown Following Call for “Jasmine Revolution” in China

March 31, 2011 Comments Off

International Community Must Take Strong and Clear Stance Condemning Rights Violations by the Chinese Government (Chinese Human Rights Defenders, March 31, 2011) – The Chinese government has criminally detained a total of 26 individuals, disappeared more than 30, and put more than 200 under soft detention since mid-February after anonymous (read more…)

Honoring Chinese Women Human Rights Defenders

March 8, 2011 Comments Off

(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, March 8, 2011) International Women’s Day presents an opportunity to recognize both the important role that women play in the Chinese rights defense (weiquan) movement as well as the persecution faced by Chinese women either as a result of their activism, their relationship to other activists, (read more…)

A Quiet Crackdown, Yet Likely the Harshest in Recent Years

February 25, 2011 Comments Off

Five Confirmed Criminally Detained in China (Chinese Human Rights Defenders, February 25, 2011) Only a few days after police began targeting human rights defenders across the country in response to anonymous calls for “Jasmine Revolution” protests, signs are emerging to indicate that the current crackdown may be one of the (read more…)

CHRD Condemns Preemptive Strike against Protests

February 21, 2011 Comments Off

Chinese Government Must Respect Freedoms of Assembly, Expression (Chinese Human Rights Defenders, February 21, 2010) – After anonymous calls for protests in support of pro-democracy movements in the Middle East and protection for human rights appeared online in the past week, Chinese officials responded with a sweeping crackdown on human (read more…)

Chinese Police Must End Enforced Disappearances of Human Rights Activists

February 18, 2011 Comments Off

(Chinese Human Rights Defenders- February 18, 2011) More than two days after police officers forced open the door to his Beijing home and dragged him away, human rights lawyer Tang Jitian (唐吉田) remains missing. Though officials have stated he is in police custody, they have failed to produce any legal (read more…)

Chinese Government Must End Persecution of Family Members of Activists

February 11, 2011 Comments Off

Beating of Chen Guangcheng, Yuan Weijing Latest in Series of Abuses (Chinese Human Rights Defenders- February 11, 2011) On February 10, CHRD learned from a reliable source that human rights defender Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚) and his wife Yuan Weijing (袁伟静) were beaten by police in their Shandong Province home. It (read more…)

U.S. Must Deliver on Promise of Making Human Rights the Guiding Principle of its China Policy

January 17, 2011 Comments Off

(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, January 17, 2011) In a speech before the United Nations last fall, President Obama emphasized that “part of the price of our own freedom is standing up for the freedom of others,” stating that “this belief will guide America’s leadership in this 21st century.” During Chinese (read more…)

Chinese Government Must Release Food Safety Activist Zhao Lianhai

December 15, 2010 Comments Off

UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Should Raise Zhao’s Case During his Mission to China (Chinese Human Rights Defenders, December 15, 2010)- On December 15, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, begins a 10-day mission to China, the first official visit to (read more…)

Charter 08 Co-Organizer Zhang Zuhua Abducted by Police ahead of Nobel Ceremony

December 9, 2010 Comments Off

(Chinese Human Rights Defenders- December 9, 2010) Zhang Zuhua (张祖桦), Beijing-based human rights and pro-democracy activist and one of the co-drafters and organizers of Charter 08, was abducted off the street this afternoon by Chinese police officers. His kidnapping comes amid a wave of disappearances and threats as the government (read more…)

China Must End Political Repression, Release Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo

December 8, 2010 Comments Off

The International Community Must Reject the Chinese Government’s Open Challenge to Universal Values, Demand Release of All Chinese Prisoners of Conscience (Chinese Human Rights Defenders, December 9, 2010) – On December 10, Human Rights Day, the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony will celebrate the dedication and personal sacrifices of 2010 laureate (read more…)

Subversion Charge against Little-Known Activist Indicates Heightened Crackdown on Dissent in China

November 22, 2010 Comments Off

(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, November 22, 2010) CHRD learned last week that Li Tie (李铁), a Wuhan City, Hubei Province-based democracy activist and online freelance writer, has been arrested on charges of “subversion of state power.” The Chinese government has in recent years primarily pursued the charge of “subversion” against (read more…)