Research Reports | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

In the Name of “Stability”: 2012 Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China

March 15, 2013 Comments Off

With a major change of the guard at the top echelon of China’s one-party power, 2012 was marked by authorities’ intensified attempts to thwart human rights activism but also impressive civil society campaigns that fought for rights protections. As illustrated by CHRD’s newest report, human rights defenders (HRDs) expanded their (read more…)

“The Darkest Corners”: Abuses of Involuntary Psychiatric Commitment in China

August 22, 2012 Comments Off

CHRD’s latest report details the grim conditions and human rights abuses faced by hundreds of thousands of people detained against their will in China’s psychiatric hospitals because they have, or are alleged to have, psychosocial disabilities. Involuntary commitment and forced medical treatment of such persons violates the Convention on the (read more…)

“We can dig a pit and bury you alive” Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China, 2011

March 9, 2012 Comments Off

“We can dig a pit and bury you alive”[1] Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China, 2011 Please click here to read the full report. Introduction The state of human rights in China continued to deteriorate in the year 2011. As documented in this annual report (read more…)

Let there be light, let there be sincerity: the illegal house arrest of Chen Guangcheng and the unprecedented grassroots campaign to end it

November 11, 2011 Comments Off

Let there be light, let there be sincerity: the illegal house arrest of Chen Guangcheng and the unprecedented grassroots campaign to end it Chinese Human Rights Defenders November 11, 2011 Chinese citizens have launched an impressive campaign to challenge the unlawful house arrest of blind human rights activist and (read more…)

Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China 2010

March 2, 2011 Comments Off

The ongoing crackdown on activists following an online call for “Jasmine Revolution” protests is a chilling reminder that defending human rights is a perilous occupation in China. The general environment for China’s human rights defenders (HRDs) deteriorated in 2010. Through reviewing CHRD’s reporting over the past year and surveys conducted (read more…)

“I don’t have control over my own body”

December 20, 2010 Comments Off

The year 2010 marked the 30th anniversary of China’s family planning policy. In recent years, the government has introduced many exceptions to the “one-child” aspect of the policy, leading to widespread speculation about its status and its future: Are people still bound by the policy, or can they pay their (read more…)

Report on Several Issues Raised by the Chinese Government’s Response to the UN Committee Against Torture’s Recommendations for Follow-Up in 2009

August 5, 2010 Comments Off

To download this report in .pdf format, please click here. Report on Several Issues Raised by the Chinese Government’s Response to the UN Committee Against Torture’s Recommendations for Follow-Up in 2009 Introduction This submission by the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) addresses several issues raised by the Chinese (read more…)

Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China (2009)

April 25, 2010 Comments Off

Executive Summary During 2009, the environment in China grew increasingly hostile towards human rights defenders. Highlighted by the harassment of a number of well-known, relatively independent nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) focusing on human rights, and the closure of one-the Open Constitution Initiative (Gongmeng)-the already limited space for civil society was (read more…)

China Human Rights Yearbook 2009

March 24, 2010 Comments Off

China Human Rights Yearbook 2009 The year 2009 concluded on a grim note for human rights advocates in China: by sentencing dissident intellectual Liu Xiaobo to an 11-year prison term, the government signaled a harsher attitude towards those seeking to promote human rights than has been the case for some (read more…)

Thrown Out: Human Rights Abuses in China’s Breakneck Real Estate Development (February 9, 2010)

February 8, 2010 Comments Off

To download the complete report in PDF format, please click here Thrown Out: Human Rights Abuses in China’s Breakneck Real Estate Development Published on February 9, 2010 Some of the most striking images to come out of China in recent memory—a lone house perched atop a column of dirt in (read more…)

Reining in Civil Society: The Chinese government’s use of laws and regulations to persecute freedom of association

August 7, 2009 Comments Off

Reining in Civil Society: The Chinese government’s use of laws and regulations to persecute freedom of association While the Chinese government outwardly employs rhetoric about moving towards “greater rule of law”, it has become more skillful in persecuting individuals who organize outside of its control with the use of vague (read more…)

Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China (2008)

June 26, 2009 Comments Off

First posted on June 26, 2009 Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China (2008) Introduction The year 2008 was marked by a number of events in China of national and international significance, including the March protests in Tibetan areas, the Beijing Olympics, the Sichuan earthquake and (read more…)