(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, April 6, 2009) – Sun Wenguang (孙文广), a 75-year-old retired Shandong University professor and vocal dissident based in Jinan City, Shandong Province, was severely beaten on April 5 by a group of unidentified men on his way to the local cemetery to commemorate the life of (read more…)
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(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, April 1, 2009) – On March 28, Tan Zuoren (谭作人), an environmentalist and writer, was detained by Chengdu police on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power”, CHRD learned today. It is believed that Tan was detained for mobilizing volunteers to conduct an independent investigation of (read more…)
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(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, March 31, 2009) – This morning, Jiang Qisheng (江棋生), a former 1989 prisoner, dissident writer, and vice-chairman of Independent Chinese PEN, was taken away from his home and interrogated by police. Officers searched his home and confiscated 3 computers, bank cards, many books, notebooks, and manuscripts. (read more…)
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China Human Rights Briefing Reporting human rights development from the grassroots March 15-31, 2009 HIGHLIGHTS – As the dates of a number of sensitive anniversaries draw nearer, CHRD has observed a widening effort by authorities to control, harass, and intimidate citizens they believe pose a threat to officially mandated “harmony;” (read more…)
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(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, March 27, 2009) – CHRD learned today the story of Chen Jinxia (陈金霞, aka Chen Qingxia [陈庆霞]), a petitioner from Dailing District, Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province, who has suffered nearly two years of arbitrary detention since she was first intercepted on April 24, 2007. Over the (read more…)
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(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, March 24, 2009) – CHRD learned today that police in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, have detained four Sichuan activists and summoned (chuanhuan) more than ten in an effort to punish local human rights defenders for taking part in and reporting on two recent demonstrations. In Chongqing Municipality, (read more…)
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Abuses against Petitioners Contradict Message of ‘Openness’ at Annual Session of China’s Legislature (Chinese Human Rights Defenders, March 18, 2009) – Systematic persecution of petitioners has become an annual feature of the joint session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National People’s Political Consultative Conference (NPPCC). During this (read more…)
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China Human Rights Briefing Reporting human rights development from the grassroots March 1-15, 2009 HIGHLIGHTS All eyes were on Beijing for the first two weeks of March as the annual joint session of the National People’s Congress and the National People’s Political Consultative Conference were held. As officials made speeches (read more…)
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“Soft Detention” of Yuan Weijing Continues: Journalist Beaten, Barred from Meeting (Chinese Human Rights Defenders, March 10, 2009) –Yuan Weijing (袁伟静), the wife of imprisoned rights activist Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚), remains confined to her home and surrounded by guards. On March 8, a prominent investigative journalist and his student were (read more…)
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Months before Tiananmen Anniversary, China Refuses Entry to Exiled Student Leader (Chinese Human Rights Defenders, March 9, 2009) – Yi Danxuan (易丹轩), a former student leader in Guangzhou during the 1989 pro-democracy movement, was denied entry into China on March 7. Yi, now an American citizen, was barred from entering (read more…)
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Yuan Xianchen Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for “Inciting Subversion of State Power” (Chinese Human Rights Defenders- March 6, 2009) – Human rights activist and “barefoot lawyer” Yuan Xianchen (袁 显臣), of Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province, was found guilty on March 4 of “inciting subversion of state power” and (read more…)
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Activists Put under House Arrest as Clinton Arrives in China (Chinese Human Rights Defenders, February 21, 2009) – A number of dissidents and human rights activists, many of whom signatories to Charter 08, have been put under residential surveillance (or “soft detention” 软禁), questioned and followed by Beijing police as (read more…)
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