News | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

Hong Kong Authorities Must End Excessive Use of Force, Protect Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Expression

June 13, 2019 Comments Off

Hong Kong authorities must stop using excessive force against unarmed and largely peaceful demonstrators and ensure protection of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression. Journalists must be able to freely report on the demonstrations and police actions.

Open Letter from 68 NGOs Regarding Proposed Changes To Hong Kong’s Extradition Law

June 7, 2019 Comments Off

CHRD joined 64 other NGOs to send a joint letter to Hong Kong’s government calling for it to withdraw proposed amendments to the city’s extradition laws. The proposed changes to allow for extradition to mainland China will put at risk anyone in the territory of Hong Kong who has carried (read more…)

China Detains a Former Prisoner of Conscience in Hospital

June 6, 2019 Comments Off

Chinese authorities are accused of subjecting human rights defender Ji Sizun to torture by denying him adequate medical treatment in prison and now under extrajudicial detention inside a hospital. His family fears for his life.

30-Year Censorship and No Accountability for Tiananmen: Here Lies the Hope

June 4, 2019 Comments Off

By Renee Xia By one important measure, the Chinese government’s 30-year campaign to enforce amnesia around the Tiananmen massacre has failed and will continue to fail. Despite China’s rising global influence and status as an economic superpower, its control of state media outlets and high-tech cyber censorship and surveillance, it (read more…)

Suppression Ahead of 30th Anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre

May 30, 2019 Comments Off

On the eve of the 30thanniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre, Chinese authorities took into custody activists and netizens to silence any expression or thwart any action aimed at commemorating the victims and mark the anniversary. So far, we have documented 10 individuals either detained or forced into disappearance in connection (read more…)

China’s Ethnic Cleansing Met with US Inaction under Global Magnitsky Law

May 26, 2019 Comments Off

By Renee Xia & Frances Eve, The US Administration is squandering an opportunity to hold the Chinese government accountable for its atrocities in the Xinjiang region under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. Of grave concern is the lack of targeted sanctions created by this law against the type (read more…)

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

By Frances Eve, 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.”

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…)

Ji Sizun Named 2019 Recipient of Cao Shunli Memorial Award for Human Rights Defenders

March 14, 2019 Comments Off

Human rights defender Ji Sizun (纪斯尊) is the winner of the fifth Cao Shunli Memorial Award for Human Rights Defenders. The decision to give this award to Mr. Ji recognizes the long-standing “barefoot lawyer” for his contribution in promoting legal rights and education at the grassroots level in China.

5 Years After Death in Custody of Cao Shunli, HRDs in China Continue to Face Same Pattern of Abuse

March 6, 2019 Comments Off

The Chinese government has taken no steps to investigate and prosecute any official responsible for the deadly reprisal against Cao Shunli for her cooperation with the United Nations, after she died five years ago on March 14, 2014.