Activist Cao Shunli’s death on March 14, 2014, showed the lengths that China’s leaders are willing to go to suppress civil society voices. Cao Shunli unwaveringly pursued the goal to make use of international human rights mechanisms to improve rights conditions in China. As she said: “In China, those involved (read more…)
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Beijing police seized Yuan Dong along with three fellow activists, Ma Xinli (马新利), Zhang Baocheng (张宝成) and Hou Xin (侯欣) in March 2013 after they held a demonstration in Beijing’s Xidan district calling on officials to disclose their wealth. The protest was part of an anti-corruption campaign that began in (read more…)
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Li Wei, born 1971, was detained in April 2013 after taking part in demonstrations to protest the banning of Annie Zhang (张安妮), the daughter of Anhui dissident Zhang Lin (张林), from attending school. Prior to his current detention, he was actively involved in the New Citizens’ Movement, a loose network (read more…)
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Hubei-based democracy activist Liu Jiacai (刘家财) was administratively detained for “disrupting public order” for 10 days in August 2013, but on the day of his release, police criminally detained Liu on suspicion of the more serious criminal charge of “inciting subversion.” Prior to his detention, Liu had posted and shared (read more…)
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Guangzhou-based human rights lawyer Tang Jingling was criminally detained in mid-May 2014 on suspicion of “creating a disturbance.” After police seized Tang, they searched his residence and confiscated a laptop, a tablet computer, cell phones, and books. On the same day, police took into custody two other Guangzhou activists, Wang (read more…)
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Guangdong-based activist Sun Desheng (孙德胜, also known as Sun Sihuo 孙思火) was seized and criminally detained on August 13, 2013. Authorities held Sun incommunicado until they transferred him to residential surveillance. He was formally arrested that October and moved into a detention facility. His participation in several civil society campaigns (read more…)
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Prominent rights lawyer Chang Boyang (常伯阳) had his home raided and was taken away for questioning in late May 2014 after local authorities repeatedly denied his requests to visit his clients – activists who were detained for organizing a memorial event earlier that year to commemorate June Fourth as well (read more…)
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Christian pastor Zhang Shaojie, along with approximately 20 church members, was forcibly taken into custody without a warrant in November 2013. In addition to a 12-year prison sentence, the court also ordered Zhang to pay a fine of 100,000 yuan (more than US$ 16,000) after he was convicted on a (read more…)
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Ma Xinli, born in 1966, is a former bus driver who has petitioned to protect intellectual property rights for his inventions, and called for reforming China’s Patent Law. Detained previously for such activities, he was seized along with other activists in mid-March 2013, when they attempted to submit an open (read more…)
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From Guangdong Province, Huang Wenxun was arrested in Hubei while on an “advocacy tour” called “Enlightening China,” which was intended to encourage citizen activism and spread democratic ideas and rule of law. The tour, initiated by Huang, began in April 2013 and had stopped at nine cities before arriving at (read more…)
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Shanghai-based Li Huaping, born in 1966, was a successful businessman before becoming a pro-democracy activist and supporting the development of an active civil society. Li was detained in a nationwide crackdown on freedom of assembly, association, and expression that began in early 2013. He supported and participated in the New (read more…)
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Police took Anhui-based activist Zhou Weilin from his home in September 2013 without any warrant. The authorities also confiscated several of his personal belongings, including a computer, cell phone, and materials concerning human rights. In spring 2013, Zhou was put under administrative detention for protesting against violations of children’s right (read more…)
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