News - Chinese Human Rights DefendersChinese Human Rights Defenders

Political Prisoner Yang Maodong’s Health Deteriorating, Family Seek Urgent Action to Save His Life

April 29, 2016 Comments Off

The health of imprisoned activist Yang Maodong (杨茂东) has worsened to the point where his life may be in danger without prompt and proper medical treatment, according to his sister. Her alarming observations come less than a month after CHRD sent an update to UN human rights experts about Yang’s (read more…)

China: Repeal Overseas NGO Law & Protect Freedom of Association

April 28, 2016 Comments Off

CHRD denounces the Chinese government’s adoption of a law governing overseas NGOs that will have a profoundly detrimental impact on China’s civil society. The law passed China’s rubber-stamp legislature on April 28 despite critical international responses to the most recent draft. The adopted version appears to retain the previous draft’s (read more…)

[CHRB] China Must Release 5 Activists on Trial: Cases Marred by Abuses (4/13-21/2016)

April 21, 2016 Comments Off

Four detained human rights defenders have been tried since April 15, and a fifth is facing trial on April 22. All have spent lengthy periods of time in detention without seeing a judge, including two who have been held for almost three years. The activists—Liu Shaoming, Yuan Bing, Yuan Xiaohua, (read more…)

[CHRB] What You Need to Know About Last Week’s Prison Sentences & Xi Jinping’s 2014 Crackdowns (4/1-4/12, 2016)

April 13, 2016 Comments Off

Prison sentences recently given to six human right defenders are reminders of ongoing arbitrary detentions and relentless persecution of dissent in China under Xi Jinping’s rule. The six activists were convicted on April 8 of “inciting subversion of state power” in Guangdong and Hubei, and sentenced to terms of between (read more…)

[CHRB] New Charity Law Will Further Isolate & Weaken Civil Society in China (March 21-31/2016)

March 31, 2016 Comments Off

China’s newly passed Charity Law, to be implemented on September 1, 2016, further debilitates independent non-profit groups in the country by restricting their access to domestic funding. The legislation is yet another tool the government can use to strangle NGOs in China’s emerging civil society, according to activists who spoke (read more…)

[CHRB] Forced “Switch” to Police-Appointed Lawyers Further Erodes Protections for Detained Rights Defenders (3/15-3/21, 2016)

March 21, 2016 Comments Off

A substantial number of detained lawyers and activists have supposedly “dismissed” their lawyers and “hired” other lawyers to represent them, according to police notifications over the past two months. All but one of the 11 cases that CHRD has documented are tied to the “709” crackdown targeting rights lawyers. Police (read more…)

Jia Lingmin Named 2016 Recipient of Cao Shunli Memorial Award

March 14, 2016 Comments Off

Imprisoned activist Jia Lingmin (贾灵敏) is the winner of the second Cao Shunli Memorial Award for Human Rights Defenders for her contributions in promoting human rights at the grassroots level. Three mainland Chinese NGOs, which launched the award in 2015 to honor the memory of late activist Cao Shunli (曹顺利), (read more…)

China: Forced TV Confessions Violate Principle of Presumed Innocence Before Trial, Constitute Cruel & Degrading Punishment

March 12, 2016 Comments Off

CHRD calls on Chinese authorities to stop “trying” criminal suspects in the “court of public opinion” by broadcasting their “confessions” on state TV, as the practice violates Chinese law and international human rights norms. The “confessors” have not been granted due process rights, and are essentially seen as “guilty” by (read more…)

Help Free Chinese Women HRDs on International Women’s Day

March 8, 2016 Comments Off

Join CHRD’s campaign calling for the release of Chinese women human rights defenders who remain detained and imprisoned on this year’s International Women’s Day. They have been subjected to government retaliation for their defense of women’s rights, housing and land rights, rule of law, and the exercise of their rights (read more…)

[CHRB] Activist Given 4-Year Sentence Despite Terminal Illness; Update on Persecuted Mainland Supporters of Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Protests (2/17-2/25/2016)

February 26, 2016 Comments Off

Heilongjiang activist Zhang Shuzhi (张淑芝), who is terminally ill with cancer, has been given a four-year prison sentence in retaliation against her exercising the rights to free expression and peaceful assembly. Also, by CHRD’s count, 10 mainland activists remain in custody for openly supporting the 2014 pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong (read more…)

“Too Risky to Call Ourselves Defenders”: Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China (2015)

February 16, 2016 Comments Off

In 2015, Chinese authorities’ persecution of human rights defenders followed a trajectory of increasing severity that has become a hallmark of President Xi Jinping’s leadership, says CHRD in its annual report, “Too Risky to Call Ourselves Defenders”: 2015 Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China. Government (read more…)

[CHRB] Government Reprisals: Assault, Imprisonment, Torture & Cancellation of a Lawyer’s License (1/28-2/3/2016)

February 3, 2016 Comments Off

Chinese authorities have recently taken reprisals against a host of rights defenders. Lawyer Gao Zhisheng (高智晟), who has gone online lately to express support for persecuted lawyers and activists, was manhandled and threatened by police and thugs after going to see relatives. A pair of Jilin petitioners—a man and his (read more…)