News - Chinese Human Rights DefendersChinese Human Rights Defenders

[CHRB] Family Notified of Activist’s Arrest 226 Days After He Disappeared in Myanmar (5/19/2016)

May 19, 2016 Comments Off

Activist Xing Qingxian (幸清贤), who has been disappeared for over seven months after being abducted in Myanmar, was formally arrested on May 6 on suspicion of “organizing others to cross national borders.” Xing is apparently being held in Tianjin Municipal No. 2 Detention Center—the first known confirmation of his exact (read more…)

[CHRB] Inner Mongolians Detained for Exposing & Protesting Environmental Ruin, Violated Land Rights (5/13-18/2016)

May 17, 2016 Comments Off

In a string of suppressive actions since March, police have detained several Inner Mongolian activists, petitioners, and herders in retaliation for exposing or protesting industrial pollution and corruption over land rights that have threatened their livelihoods. Six individuals remain in custody, with one held incommunicado and, thus, at significant risk (read more…)

China: Investigate Alleged Torture of Detained Rights Defender Yin Xu’an

May 12, 2016 Comments Off

CHRD calls for an independent investigation into the alleged torture of human rights defender Yin Xu’an (尹旭安), who has been detained in retaliation for his rights advocacy work since July 2015. Authorities only allowed Yin his first lawyer visit this week, after holding him incommunicado for over nine months. During (read more…)

Alert: Two Activists Sentenced to Prison for Peaceful Rallies

May 9, 2016 Comments Off

Two Chinese activists have been convicted and sentenced to prison in Hubei Province on May 9, 2016. Yuan Bing received four years and Yuan Xiaohua received three years over peaceful rallies that they attended in 2013. The Chibi City People’s Court convicted them on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking (read more…)

[CHRB] Forced Psychiatric Commitment of Dissidents Continues as Police Act Above Enacted Law (4/29-5/5, 2016)

May 5, 2016 Comments Off

Forced commitment in psychiatric facilities remains a common form of retaliation and punishment by Chinese authorities against activists and government critics. The practice endures though it is apparently illegal, according to China’s first Mental Health Law, which was enacted three years ago, on May 1, 2013. Typically, government officials or (read more…)

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…)