Commentary | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

Cao Shunli died five years ago. She stood up to China on human rights, and so must we

May 22, 2019 Comments Off

By Frances Eve, Deputy Director of Research Originally published in The Guardian on March 14, 2019 Five years ago today, Chinese activist Cao Shunli died in a Beijing hospital surrounded by police. Her ordeal began in September 2013, when she tried to fly to Geneva to attend a session of the (read more…)

China is committing ethnic cleansing in Xinjiang – it’s time for the world to stand up

May 22, 2019 Comments Off

By Frances Eve, Deputy Director of Research Originally published in The Guardian on November 3, 2018 Now is the time to act on China’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang. China’s efforts to destroy the ethnic Uighur identity through mass internment camps and militarised surveillance must be raised loudly and clearly condemned during a UN human rights (read more…)

The US withdrawal from the UNHRC is perfect for Xi Jinping and China

May 22, 2019 Comments Off

Quitting the UNHRC won’t make it disappear. It opens a leadership vacancy that China is happy to fill. The Trump administration has stepped back to allow China the space to dominate the council unchallenged and advance its agenda to redefine human rights after the “China model.”

Human rights issues ignored during BRICS summit in China

September 25, 2017 Comments Off

By Frances Eve, Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) and Cathal Gilbert, World Alliance for Citizen Participation, CIVICUS Originally published by IFEX on September 7, 2017 From 3-5 September, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met at the ninth BRICS summit. The venue was Xiamen (read more…)

China Is Risking the Lives of Political Prisoners by Denying Them Medical Care

September 11, 2017 Comments Off

Dozens of political detainees and prisoners have reported being deprived of adequate medical treatment. Deliberately depriving prisoners of medical care is a life-threatening form of torture, and appears to be commonly used against political prisoners on China.

China: Bringing Down The House

October 1, 2016 Comments Off

China’s central government has made the construction of more affordable urban housing an official goal, but in China and elsewhere, creating affordable housing should not come at the expense of human rights.

Risky prospects: Engagement of Chinese human rights defenders with the Human Rights Council

June 1, 2016 Comments Off

For many Chinese human rights defenders and independent non-governmental organizations, difficulties and risks associated with engaging the Human Rights Council, including threat of Chinese government reprisals, outweigh the benefits. But there are meaningful actions the Council can take to improve access and to prevent and respond to reprisals.

Guest Post: The Repression of Human Rights Defenders in China

March 1, 2015 Comments Off

A prominent pro-bono lawyer disappeared into police custody in Beijing last November. The family of Xia Lin, a man known for defending death penalty cases and environmental activists, has received no information about him for more than three months.

The Plight of China’s Rights Lawyers

January 20, 2015 Comments Off

As 2014 came to a close, at least seven prominent Chinese human rights lawyers rang in the New Year from a jail cell. Under President Xi Jinping, the year was one of the worst in recent memory for China’s embattled civil society.

The Dark Side of the Boom: As China’s Economy Grows, Evictions and Land Grabs Rise With It

January 1, 2015 Comments Off

The booming construction and development industry in China has brought about a devastating side effect: violent episodes of land appropriation, housing evictions, and demolitions that typically victimize the poorest citizens, especially in urban areas.

China: Detained to Death

May 20, 2014 Comments Off

The detention of activists by the Chinese government is well known, but there is relatively little discussion about medical treatment in detention facilities. This issue is crucial for understanding what happened to Cao Shunli, a legal rights activist who died in custody in March 2014.