Alerts & Statements | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

NGOs Call on Governments & Lao Authorities to Ensure the Immediate Release of Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Lu Siwei

August 1, 2023 Comments Off

(1 August 2023) Lao authorities have reportedly arrested and detained well-known Chinese human rights lawyer Lu Siwei since 28 July 2023. We are gravely concerned that he is at serious risk of forced repatriation to China where he faces the high likelihood of torture and other ill-treatment.

‘709 Crackdown 2.0’

July 10, 2023 Comments Off

A joint statement is calling for urgent global attention to the Chinese government’s new wave of repression against human rights lawyers unfolding over the past three months.

Joint Letter Urges Freeing of Activist He Fangmei’s Children

July 8, 2023 Comments Off

Their three young children have been left without parental care, and their families have been refused permission to visit them. We are deeply concerned about the safety and wellbeing of these children.

Open Letter to President Biden on Sanctioned John Lee’s Potential Entry Into the U.S.

June 30, 2023 Comments Off

Dear President Biden, We, the undersigned Hong Kong diaspora organizations and our allies, write to express grave concern about reports that the United States government is considering granting a sanctions waiver to allow John Lee, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, to enter the U.S. for (read more…)

Joint Letter to US Secretary of State on His Visit to China

June 14, 2023 Comments Off

Dear Secretary Blinken, We write on behalf of 42 nongovernmental organizations that report on and advocate for human rights in China, Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang regarding your forthcoming trip to Beijing starting on June 18. At a time when the Chinese government is committing widespread and grave human rights (read more…)

Verdict against Chang Weiping Epitomizes China’s Torture Problem

June 8, 2023 Comments Off

The Chinese government’s mishandling of Chang Weiping’s case so far has epitomized the government’s multiple failures to abide by its treaty party obligations under the international Convention against Torture and demonstrated an unwillingness to end its systematic torture in China.

34th anniversary of June 4th: Chinese State Bolsters Enforced Amnesia

June 2, 2023 Comments Off

CHRD reiterates its calls on the Chinese government to allow independent investigation of the massacre, seeking truth and justice for victims and their surviving family members, and holding criminally accountable those responsible for opening fire on unarmed civilians.

Closure of LGBT NGO Signals Disappearing Civic Space in China

May 22, 2023 Comments Off

CHRD urges the Chinese government to take seriously its human rights obligations under international law to eliminate discrimination against LGBTIQ+ individuals and protect NGOs working to promote LGBTIQ+ rights in China.

China: Immediately release detained journalists on World Press Freedom Day

May 1, 2023 Comments Off

Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, and as a new wave of detentions of media workers has emerged, CHRD calls for the immediate release of journalists and publishers.

CHRD urges the EU and EU member states to speak out for Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan

April 18, 2023 Comments Off

CHRD calls on the Chinese government to immediately release human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan, who have been criminally detained and denied access to lawyers of their choice.

Free Xu Zhiyong, Ding Jiaxi, and All Prisoners of Conscience Immediately

April 10, 2023 Comments Off

(The Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, April 10, 2023) We condemn the Chinese government’s sentencing of Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong, two of China’s most notable human rights defenders. “Their sentencing once again demonstrates the Chinese government’s hostility to peaceful advocacy of democracy and human rights, and marks a (read more…)

Winners Named for the 2023 Cao Shunli Memorial Award for Human Rights Defenders: Xu Qin and Peng Lifa

March 14, 2023 Comments Off

Human rights defenders Xu Qin and Peng Lifa are recipients of the Ninth Annual Cao Shunli Memorial Award for Human Rights Defenders. The decision recognizes Xu Qin’s long-standing civil society activism to promote protection of human rights in China, and the brave civil disobedience by Peng Lifa to spur on (read more…)