Slide Show | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

Ji Sizun Named 2019 Recipient of Cao Shunli Memorial Award for Human Rights Defenders

March 14, 2019 Comments Off

Human rights defender Ji Sizun (纪斯尊) is the winner of the fifth Cao Shunli Memorial Award for Human Rights Defenders. The decision to give this award to Mr. Ji recognizes the long-standing “barefoot lawyer” for his contribution in promoting legal rights and education at the grassroots level in China.

5 Years After Death in Custody of Cao Shunli, HRDs in China Continue to Face Same Pattern of Abuse

March 6, 2019 Comments Off

The Chinese government has taken no steps to investigate and prosecute any official responsible for the deadly reprisal against Cao Shunli for her cooperation with the United Nations, after she died five years ago on March 14, 2014.

CHRD releases “Defending Rights in a ‘No Rights Zone'”: Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China (2018)

February 21, 2019 Comments Off

Chinese human rights defenders made remarkable strides in promoting and protecting human rights under hostile conditions in drastically shrunken civic space, says CHRD in its 2018 annual report.

China: Release Liu Feiyue and Decriminalize Human Rights Activism

January 29, 2019 Comments Off

A Chinese court sentenced Liu Feiyue, director of the NGO Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch, to 5 years in prison on “inciting subversion of state power” charge today, following an August trial.

Free Wang Quanzhang: Prison Sentence a Gross Injustice & Blatant Political Persecution of a Human Rights Lawyer

January 28, 2019 Comments Off

The Chinese government must release Wang Quanzhang immediately and unconditionally, end the harassment of his family, compensate Wang and his family for the harm done to them.

China: Release Huang Qi, Respect Right to Fair Trial

January 14, 2019 Comments Off

Mianyang City Intermediate Court held a secret trial of HRD Huang Qi, who is seriously ill, on two charges related to “state secrets” in violation of Huang’s right to freedom of expression.

Chinese Government Puts Human Rights Defenders on Trial During Holiday Season to Hide Rights Abuses

January 8, 2019 Comments Off

Chinese authorities put a number of HRDs on trial over the holiday season, including journalists Sun Lin and Ding Lingjie, lawyer Wang Quanzhang, and activists Zhen Jianghua and Zhang Kun.

Travesty of Justice: Free Rights Lawyer Wang Quanzhang Now

December 26, 2018 Comments Off

Short of immediate and unconditional release, there will be no justice for Wang Quanzhang, who has been subjected to 3.5 years’ secret detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and now, a close-door trial in Tianjin on December 26, which ended without a verdict being announced.

Pre-Christmas Crackdown on Christians as China Escalates Religious Persecution

December 20, 2018 Comments Off

Chengdu authorities shut down the Early Rain Covenant Church and detained over a hundred church members and their pastor, Wang Yi, during a raid beginning December 9, in one of the largest crackdowns on underground Christian churches since new regulations went into effect.

Stand Up for All the Rights and Freedoms without Discrimination

December 10, 2018 Comments Off

The values and principles underpinning the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, endorsed by member states of the United Nations seventy years ago, on December 10, is under intensified assault today.

China: Immediately and Unconditionally Release Huang Qi & Ensure Access to Prompt Medical Care for all Detained Human Rights Defenders

November 5, 2018 Comments Off

Chinese authorities must immediately and unconditionally release citizen journalist and human rights activist Huang Qi, a group of 14 NGOs said.

Hold Chinese Government Accountable for Reprisals Against Human Rights Defenders Cooperating with UN – Aggressive Moves Target Activists and NGOs in China & Abroad

November 1, 2018 Comments Off

In China and abroad, the Chinese government regularly uses tactics of intimidation and reprisals against individuals and groups that seek to engage with the United Nations, a serious problem that UN Member States must address at China’s third UPR on November 6.