News | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

Abuses against Petitioners Contradict Message of ‘Openness’ at Annual Session of China’s Legislature

March 18, 2009 Comments Off

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…)

China Human Rights Briefing March 1-15, 2009

March 15, 2009 Comments Off

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…)

“Soft Detention” of Yuan Weijing Continues: Journalist Beaten, Barred from Meeting

March 11, 2009 Comments Off

“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…)

Months before Tiananmen Anniversary, China Refuses Entry to Exiled Student Leader

March 10, 2009 Comments Off

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…)

Yuan Xianchen Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for “Inciting Subversion of State Power”

March 6, 2009 Comments Off

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…)

Activists Put under House Arrest as Clinton Arrives in China

March 4, 2009 Comments Off

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…)

Sichuan Activist Detained for Reporting on Protests and Clashes

March 3, 2009 Comments Off

Sichuan Activist Detained for Reporting on Protests and Clashes (Chinese Human Rights Defenders, March 3, 2009) – CHRD learned today that Xing Qingxian (幸清贤), a rights activist based in Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, has been criminally detained on suspicion of “disturbing social order” by the National Security police (read more…)

China Human Rights Briefing February 16-28, 2009

February 28, 2009 Comments Off

China Human Rights Briefing Reporting human rights development from the grassroots February 16-28, 2009 HIGHLIGHTS While US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton publicly slighted human rights issues in statements made during her first visit to China, Beijing police were hard at work behind the scenes, cracking down on both longtime (read more…)

China Human Rights Briefing February 16-28, 2009

February 28, 2009 Comments Off

Petitioner Detained and Beaten for Attempting to Appeal to Clinton

February 27, 2009 Comments Off

Petitioner Detained and Beaten for Attempting to Appeal to Clinton (Chinese Human Rights Defenders, February 27, 2009) – CHRD learned today that Wang Shixiang (王士祥), a petitioner and former business owner from Tongcheng City, Anhui Province, was beaten and detained for attempting to appeal to US Secretary of State Hillary (read more…)

Five Detained for Organizing Factory Sit-in in Chongqing; Six Injured during Workers Demonstration in Sichuan Province

February 25, 2009 Comments Off

Five Detained for Organizing Factory Sit-in in Chongqing; Six Injured during Workers Demonstration in Sichuan Province(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, February 25, 2009) – CHRD learned today that five workers at a silk factory, Tongliang County, Chongqing Municipality, have been detained for organizing a factory sit-in. The workers are representatives of (read more…)

Incarcerated Activist Denied Care, in Grave Condition

February 25, 2009 Comments Off

Incarcerated Activist Denied Care, in Grave Condition (Chinese Human Rights Defenders, February 25, 2009)- CHRD learned recently that Wang Guilan (王桂兰), an incarcerated petitioner and activist from Enshi City, Hubei Province, is in need of immediate medical attention as she suffers from a serious infection of burn wounds as well (read more…)