China Human Rights Briefings | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

[Briefing] COVID-19 Arrests & Victims Threatened for Seeking Compensation; Lawyer Punished

May 1, 2020 Comments Off

Crackdown on free expression tied to COVID-19 continues as retired professor arrested for criticising CCP and three young volunteers detained for documenting censored news. Victims and families threatened for seeking compensation over government failures in handling the virus. Lawyer punished for representing another rights lawyer.

Chinese Authorities Threaten COVID-19 Victims & Families Seeking Compensation

April 30, 2020 Comments Off

Chinese police intimidated and harassed potential plaintiffs in litigation against Wuhan and Hubei governments for failure to release vital information about the novel coronavirus in a timely manner, which resulted in deaths and damages.

Retired Professor Arrested for Calling COVID-19 “CCP Virus”

April 28, 2020 Comments Off

Beijing police formally arrested retired professor Chen Zhaozhi on April 14 for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” over his online speech about the COVID-19 pandemic.

China Detains Three Youths for Documenting Censored Information about COVID-19

April 27, 2020 Comments Off

Three young volunteers of “Terminus2049” Github website documenting censored news and information about COVID-19, Chen Mei (陈玫), Cai Wei (蔡伟), and Cai’s girlfriend Xiao Tang (小唐) went missing on April 19, 2020 and later confirmed detained by Beijing police, according to their family, friends and employers.

Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Penalized for Defending Another Rights Lawyer

April 24, 2020 Comments Off

The Chengdu City Lawyers’ Association, a state-run agency, handed out a “professional reprimand” to discipline human rights lawyer Lu Siwei (卢思位) on April 24, 2020.

Reprisals against Human Rights & Democracy Activists During COVID-19, Mainland China, Hong Kong

April 22, 2020 Comments Off

Beijing Filmmaker Forcibly Disappeared on “Inciting Subversion” Likely for Making Documentary about Xu Zhiyong; Hubei Woman Arrested After Neighborhood Protest Against Price Hikes in Lockdown; Hong Kong Police Arrest 15 Democracy Leaders in Connection to 2019 Protests

China Detains Several Social Economic Rights Defenders Days After UN Rights Review Ends

March 26, 2019 Comments Off

Several human rights defenders working on socio-economic rights issues have been detained just days after the close of China’s 3rdUniversal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva on March 15 during the 40th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC). The timing of the detentions indicates that authorities waited until after the (read more…)

Chinese Government Puts Human Rights Defenders on Trial During Holiday Season to Hide Rights Abuses

January 8, 2019 Comments Off

Chinese authorities put a number of HRDs on trial over the holiday season, including journalists Sun Lin and Ding Lingjie, lawyer Wang Quanzhang, and activists Zhen Jianghua and Zhang Kun.

Pre-Christmas Crackdown on Christians as China Escalates Religious Persecution

December 20, 2018 Comments Off

Chengdu authorities shut down the Early Rain Covenant Church and detained over a hundred church members and their pastor, Wang Yi, during a raid beginning December 9, in one of the largest crackdowns on underground Christian churches since new regulations went into effect.

Professors Dismissed for Speech, Netizen Trial First for Charge on Managing Websites

October 18, 2018 Comments Off

Several Chinese professors have lost their jobs for speech they made online or in classrooms. Sichuan resident pleaded not guilty for failing to delete posts from a website he managed, the first instance of certain charges being applied. Xinjiang government has revised regional regulations to include provisions on the extra-legal (read more…)

China Human Rights Briefing: Vaccination Victims, Shenzhen Labor Strike, Churches Shut Down

September 20, 2018 Comments Off

Authorities took into custody Chinese citizens protesting the government’s mishandling of vaccine scandals. Police have also suppressed workers and students seeking labor protections in Guangdong while, elsewhere in China, shutting down house churches.

709 Defense Lawyer Li Yuhan Criminally Detained

November 1, 2017 Comments Off

Liaoning police detained human rights lawyer Li Yuhan (李昱函) on suspicion of unknown criminal charges. Li has been out of contact since October 9, since being taken away by police. She is being held in an unknown location and is at high risk torture and mistreatment.