- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 28, 2021
- Event Description
Nearly every main voice of dissent in Hong Kong is now in jail or exile, after Hong Kong police charged 47 pro-democracy campaigners and politicians with conspiracy to commit subversion. All face life in prison if convicted.
The group comprises most of the 55 people arrested last month, over primary polls held last year, in a dawn raid that marked the single biggest operation conducted under the controversial and draconian national security law.
On Sunday, the police force said all but eight had been charged with a single count, and would be detained ahead of court mentions on Monday morning.
The European Union’s office in Hong Kong said the charges made clear that “legitimate political pluralism will no longer be tolerated in Hong Kong”, and called for the immediate release of the detainees. Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International accused authorities of using the national security law to silence critics, called for all charges to be dropped.
Those arrested include young campaigners, activists, and local councillors, as well as established politicians such as Claudia Mo, Eddie Chu Hoi-dick and Ray Chan. The activist and former politician Joshua Wong is already in jail, serving 13 months on protest-related charges.
The mass charge had been feared since the individuals were told on Friday to report to police a month earlier than previously instructed. Many began making preparations on the expectation they would be charged and denied bail, including spending time with family, arranging care for their pets, and buying comfortable clothes for prison.
Local media reported the Democratic party legislators James To and Roy Kwong, and the American lawyer John Clancey, were among the eight not charged on Sunday. Clancey told reporters his bail was extended to 4 May, and said Hong Kong was increasingly like living in a detention centre, “with the freedoms and rights of people being constrained more and more”. Speaking outside the police station before going inside, Jimmy Sham, a key organiser of the 2019 protests, said they would remain strong and continue fighting. “Democracy is never a gift from heaven. It must be earned by many with strong will,” he said. “We can tell the whole world, under the most painful system, Hon
Many of those charged left messages to their supporters on social media.
The charge is the first for Claudia Mo, 64, a former journalist and outspoken pro-democracy legislator who resigned with colleagues in protest last year. “I maybe physically feeble, but I’m mentally sturdy,” she wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
“No worries. We all love Hong Kong yah.”
Chu said he was grateful to the people of Hong Kong for the opportunity to contribute, and was “deeply honoured” to be charged over their common ideals.
The former legislator Kwok Ka-ki said: “Prisons can isolate us, but they cannot stop us from connecting with each other and taking care of each other; chains can lock our bodies but can’t hold our minds and souls!
“Stay calm and carry on. This too shall pass! Remember: it is not hope to hold on, it is persistence to have hope!”
The charges stem from unofficial primaries held last year by the pan-democrat camp in an attempt to find the strongest candidates to run in Hong Kong’s election and win a majority in the legislative council. The mass protest movement of 2019 and the brutal crackdown by authorities had driven greater support towards the pro-democracy side of politics, and in district council elections in late 2019 they won the vast majority of seats. More than 600,000 Hongkongers turned out to vote in the polls.
But at the time of the arrests, the Hong Kong security secretary, John Lee, told local media those arrested had aimed to “paralyse” the city’s government with their plan to win the election and block legislation. He referred to an earlier published editorial by the organiser of the primaries, the legal scholar Benny Tai, as evidence of a premeditated and “vicious” plan to “sink Hong Kong into an abyss”.
In an earlier social media post on Sunday, Tai wrote: “My chance of bail won’t be too great.”
The election was ultimately postponed for a year, ostensibly because of the pandemic. Since that time, the Beijing and Hong Kong governments have introduced numerous new impediments to opposition candidates winning, or even running in the elections. Last week, they announced rules requiring all politicians and candidates pledge an oath of loyalty to the rule of the Chinese Communist party and swear not to act against the government, or face disqualification.
Officials said the new laws would ensure that only “patriots” could govern Hong Kong, with one spelling out that patriotism meant loyalty to the Communist party.
The laws are the latest efforts by authorities to wipe out dissent in Hong Kong, using the sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing last June, with the blessing of the Hong Kong government. At least 99 people have been arrested under the law so far, which is broadly defined to outlaw acts of subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorism.
- Impact of Event
- 47
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to political participation
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 2, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 23, 2021
- Event Description
A court in Hong Kong on Tuesday denied an application for bail from jailed democracy activists Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam pending their appeal against their sentence on charges related to "illegal assembly" during a mass siege of police headquarters on June 21, 2019.
Chow, who looked thinner and paler than in previous court appearances, wiped away tears in court as High Court judge Andrew Chan said he would be referring the case to the Court of Appeal, effectively denying the application for bail.
Some supporters shouted out encouragement to Chow, while Lam made the five-finger gesture of the 2019 pro-democracy movement representing five demands made by protesters, including fully democratic elections, an amnesty for jailed protesters, and accountability for police violence.
The hearing was also attended by outspoken Cardinal Joseph Zen. Police officers cordoned off the area around the court entrance with traffic barriers, and journalists weren't allowed to get close enough to take photos.
Lawyers for Lam and Chow later said the pair will both serve out their sentences, with Lam due to be released in April and Chow in June.
Chow, 24, was sentenced to seven months' imprisonment in Dec. 2 after pleading guilty to charges relating to "illegal assembly."
She was taken after sentencing to the medium-security Lo Wu Correctional Institution near the border with mainland China, but was later transferred to the Tai Lam Women's Correctional Institution, a Category A facility.
Category A prisoners, of whom there are only a few hundred in a city of seven million, are often people who have been convicted of murder or drug trafficking.
Fellow activist and former 2014 student leader Joshua Wong, who co-founded the now-disbanded political party Demosisto with Chow, is also believed to have been placed in Category A.
Fellow activists Joshua Wong, 24, and Lam, 26, were jailed for 13-and-a-half-months and seven months respectively by the West Kowloon District Court on Dec. 2, 2020.
All three defendants pleaded guilty to charges of "inciting others to take part in an illegal assembly" and "taking part in an illegal assembly," and their sentences were reduced in recognition of the guilty plea.
Oaths of allegiance
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong authorities are gearing up to require sitting members of the District Council to take an oath of allegiance to Hong Kong.
Secretary for mainland and constitutional affairs Eric Tsang said politicians whose oaths were deemed "insincere" would be stripped of their seats on the council.
Pro-democracy candidates swept to a landslide victory in the last District Council elections in November 2019, which came after several months of mass protest over Hong Kong's vanishing freedoms.
"The law will fulfill the constitutional responsibility of the government," Tsang said.
"You cannot say that you are patriotic but you do not love the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party or you do not respect it - this does not make sense," Tsang added. "Patriotism is holistic love."
The move came a day after a top ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official in charge of Hong Kong said that only patriots should be allowed to hold public office.
Under the draft legislation, any district councilor who fails the loyalty test will be sent to court for formal disqualification, and banned from taking part in elections for five years.
Mass disqualifications
Political commentators have warned that the authorities are gearing up for the mass disqualification of opposition politicians from the council, who currently hold nearly 90 percent of seats.
Tsang said four district councilors -- Lester Shum, Tiffany Yuen, Fergus Leung, and Tat Cheng -- have already been earmarked for disqualification.
“The returning officers at the time have already concluded that the four do not genuinely uphold the Basic Law. So theoretically speaking, they won’t be qualified to stay on as district councillors," Tsang told reporters in comments reported by government broadcaster RTHK.
A recent poll by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI) found that several different measures of freedom in Hong Kong were at their lowest level since the handover.
Academic freedom, freedom of association, and freedom of movement all dropped to their lowest ebb in a survey carried out in early February 2021, while press freedom and freedom of speech also returned low scores.
HKPORI deputy chief executive Chung Kim-wah said the freedom of movement figure reflects people's concerns over growing entry and exit controls at Hong Kong's borders, particularly after China said it would no longer recognize the British National Overseas (BNO) passport.
"First they were talking about countermeasures and non-recognition, and then we had the announcement that the BNO wouldn't be accepted as a travel document any more," Chung told RFA. "There were also rumors that there would be restrictions on people trying to leave."
"Our survey conducted at the beginning of this month reflects people's feelings on the BNO [issue]," he said.
Following the imposition of the national security law in Hong Kong, the U.K. launched an immigration scheme for BNO passport-holders that offers a potential pathway to work, study, and eventual citizenship to around five million of Hong Kong's seven million residents, drawing Beijing's ire.
Crackdown on dissent, opposition
The CCP imposed the draconian National Security Law for Hong Kong on the city from July 1, 2020, ushering in a crackdown on peaceful dissent and political opposition.
The law was described as "one of the greatest threats to human rights and the rule of law in Hong Kong since the 1997 handover" by legal experts at Georgetown University's Asian Law Center.
The report found that the authorities "have made vigorous use of the [law] over the past seven months, with over 100 arrests by the newly-created national security department in the Hong Kong police force."
"The vast majority of initial ... arrests would not be considered national security cases in other liberal constitutional jurisdictions," the report said.
It said there are "serious concerns" that the law is being used to suppress the basic political rights of Hong Kong residents.
"Prosecution of individuals for exercising their rights to free expression, association, or assembly ... violate Hong Kong and Beijing’s commitments under international human rights law," it said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Feb 27, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 18, 2021
- Event Description
Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have hauled in a rights activist for questioning after he started a signature campaign in support of mass popular protests against the military coup in Myanmar.
State security police in Guangdong's Huizhou city summoned activist Xiao Yuhui for repeated interrogations starting Feb. 18 and continuing into this week, RFA has learned.
The summons came after Xiao posted to a number of groups on the social media app WeChat condemning the Myanmar military coup.
"Xiao Yuhui was summoned to the police station ... he was there about half an hour [that time]," a person familiar with the matter who declined to be named told RFA.
"He's back home now, but the state security police have him in their sights, and they call him in at random," the person said.
Xiao, who was interrogated by police from the Luoxi district police station in Guangzhou, Hengli district police station in Dongguan, and Huizhou municipal police department, is now being pressured to remain in or near his home.
While in Huizhou city, some 30 kilometers away from his home in Hengli district, on Monday night, Xiao received repeated phone calls from officers at his local Yuantongqiao police station asking him to report to them.
Xiao made the trip home, eventually arriving in the early hours of Tuesday, where he was forced to write the guarantee before being released.
Dissident Wang Aizhong, who is based in Guangdong's provincial capital, Guangzhou, said she had heard similar news of Xiao.
"It was about supporting the people of Myanmar [against the coup]," Wang said. "I didn't see it personally."
Targeted before
She said Xiao has been targeted by state security police before.
"He was detained and held under criminal detention for several months at one point, so he's no stranger to being asked to 'drink tea'," she said, in a slang reference to being summoned by state security police.
Xiao, who was called back in by police on Tuesday morning, declined to comment when contacted by RFA following his release.
"Sorry, it's not convenient right now," he said, using a phrase often used by activists to indicate pressure from the authorities.
Rights activists said a number of WeChat users across China, including Qingyuan, Shenzhen, Jieyang, and other Guangdong cities, have been treated similarly since Feb. 18, for adding their names to Xiao's signature campaign.
A friend of Xiao's who asked to remain anonymous said the authorities had responded very quickly to Xiao's posts.
"He posted to the group calling for solidarity with Myanmar and the protests against the military coup," the friend said. "He got the call [from police] ... within hours [of posting]."
Xiao's earlier detention was linked to his online support for the Hong Kong protest movement.
He was detained by Guangdong police alongside an unnamed woman after he retweeted a WeChat on May 27, 2020 referring to an online letter-writing campaign by Hong Kong's pro-democracy newspaper the Apple Daily, in opposition to the national security law.
The draconian law was imposed on the city on July 1, 2020, and outlaws sedition, subversion, foreign interference, and activities supporting independence for Hong Kong.
It is currently being enforced by a newly established state security branch of the Hong Kong police, alongside a branch of China's feared state security police.
The woman was subsequently released on bail pending trial, but Xiao was held under criminal detention at the Huicheng district police station in Huizhou.
A veteran activist, Xiao has also previously helped vulnerable groups to defend their rights, as well as families targeted by family planning officials under the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s "one-child" policy.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: pro-democracy defender arrested for joining an online petition demanding democracy in Hong Kong
- Date added
- Feb 27, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 6, 2021
- Event Description
Chinese authorities should account for the death of a Tibetan tour guide serving a 21-year sentence for reporting protests in his native region seven years ago, Human Rights Watch said today.
Kunchok Jinpa, 51, died in a hospital in Lhasa in the Tibetan Autonomous Region on February 6, 2021, less than three months after being transferred there from prison without his family's knowledge. Local sources said he had suffered a brain hemorrhage and was paralyzed.
“Kunchok Jinpa’s death is yet another grim case of a wrongfully imprisoned Tibetan dying from mistreatment,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “Chinese authorities responsible for arbitrary detention, torture or ill-treatment, and the death of people in their custody should be held accountable.”
There had been no news of Kunchok Jinpa’s whereabouts since his detention in 2013. New information indicates that the authorities detained Kunchok Jinpa on November 8, 2013, providing his family no information on his whereabouts, and later convicted him of leaking state secrets for passing information to foreign media about local environmental and other protests in his region. His 21-year sentence is unparalleled for such an offense, and no information about his trial or conviction had been publicly available outside China until now.
The authorities moved him from a prison – believed to be the regional prison at Nyetang [Ch.: Nidang], near Lhasa – to a hospital in that city in November 2020. His family learned on January 29 that he was to undergo emergency treatment. Several then went to give blood at the hospital, but were unable to see him. He died in the hospital on February 6.
Kunchok Jinpa was a resident of Village No. 5 in Chaktse (Ch: Qiaze) township in Driru, a county in Nagchu prefecture (now municipality), about 300 kilometers north of Lhasa, the regional capital. He was one among reportedly hundreds of Tibetans from Driru detained after a series of peaceful protests in October 2013 against official demands that villagers fly Chinese flags from every house.
He is believed to have provided information via social media or directly to Tibetan media outside China about a protest in May 2013 against planned mining on a sacred mountain, Naklha Dzamba, together with the names of those detained for involvement in the protest.
People from his area, now in exile, reported that in his final communication on his WeChat micro-blogging account in April 2013, he wrote: “I am now at the bank of a river. There are many people behind me watching me, and I am sure to be arrested. Even if they arrest me, I am not afraid, even if they kill me, I have no regrets. But from now on, I will not be able to give reports. If there is no word from me, that means I have been arrested.”
United Nations standards adopted by the UN General Assembly set out that all death-in-custody cases should be subjected to “prompt, impartial and effective investigations into the circumstances and causes” of the death.
As the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions has noted, since there is a presumption of state responsibility due to the custodial setting, and the government’s obligation to ensure and respect the right to life, the government has to affirmatively provide evidence to rebut the presumption of state responsibility. Absent proof that it is not responsible, the government has an obligation to provide reparations to the family of the deceased.
The Chinese government also has rules dealing with deaths in custody. These require the police to “immediately conduct” an investigation into the cause of death by viewing and preserving the surveillance video of the detention cell, and questioning fellow detainees, doctors, and guards, among other measures.
Kunchok Jinpa, whose father’s name is Sonam Wangden and mother’s name is Pelha, had become a monk as a child at the Gom Gonsar monastery (Choekor Jampaling) in Driru. In October 1989, he traveled via Nepal to India, where he studied for about 18 months at the Changchubling monastery in Dehra Dun, the seat in exile of the Drikung Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.
From April 1991 until his graduation in 1996, he studied as a layman at a school run by the Tibetan exile community at Suja in Himachal Pradesh. He undertook further studies at the elite Higher Tibetan Studies Institute in Varanasi, and became proficient in English and Hindi, as well as Chinese and Tibetan.
He returned to Tibet in about 1998 and took up work as a tour guide. According to a close associate, he was well regarded in his community for his stress on the importance of economic development and education. He made several return visits to India, including a final visit in 2012, when he attended the Kalachakra ceremony given by the exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, in Bodh Gaya.
During the crackdown by security forces on the 2013 protests in Driru, there were reports of firing on unarmed protesters, mass arrests, dozens sentenced on political charges of up to 18 years, and several deaths in custody. Human Rights Watch recently received information that more than 1,325 local people were detained at that time, of whom about 670 were eventually sentenced and imprisoned, although this cannot be confirmed.
Since Kunchok Jinpa’s arrest and imprisonment, little information about the situation in Driru has been available outside China. On February 4, the exile newspaper Tibet Express, based in India, reported for the first time that another Tibetan from Driru, Namdak, about 34, from Meri village in the Tsala area, had been sentenced to 13 years in around July 2013 for assisting Tibetans trying to travel to India. Chinese authorities have not allowed Namdak any visitors for the past two years, reportedly because he is suffering from a contagious disease, and his present condition is not known.
The newspaper also said that up to seven other Tibetans were given 13-year prison sentences in related cases at that time, but their names, ages, and the charges against them remain unknown.
In August 2020, Lhamo, a mother of three from the same locality, died from injuries inflicted in custody there. She had been detained along with her cousin Tenzin Tharpa, apparently accused of sending money to relatives in India.
A collective statement from UN human rights experts in June underlined the need for an independent investigation of the range of human rights violations by the Chinese government. They expressed grave concern over China’s failures to respect human rights and abide by its international obligations, and recommended the establishment of an impartial and independent UN mechanism to monitor and report on abuses “in view of the urgency of the situations” in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet.
“For decades Chinese officials have gotten away with detaining people without basis and mistreating them, including to near death,” Richardson said. “Those officials cannot be relied on to investigate these violations, so there is an urgent need for an independent, international investigation by UN human rights experts.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Death, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Right to life
- HRD
- Minority rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Feb 23, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 5, 2021
- Event Description
Police from the eastern Chinese province of Shandong have detained a prominent women's rights activist in Beijing, detaining her thousands of miles away from her home, after she accepted a prize on behalf of jailed dissident Xu Zhiyong.
Li Qiaochu was taken away by police from Shandong's Linyi county after they requested a meeting with her in Beijing's Haidian district, according to a post to her Twitter account on Feb. 5.
The call came after Li accepted the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write award on behalf of her partner, the jailed dissident Xu Zhiyong, and hours after she had tweeted her reaction to learning that Xu had been tortured in prison.
Li is currently being held in the police-run Linyi Detention Center, the writers' group PEN America said in a statement on its website, adding that she was detained on suspicion of "subversion of state power."
"This is an appalling escalation in the attempt to silence and punish Li Qiaochu for continuing to speak out about Xu’s case and about her own treatment at the hands of state security services," the group's CEO Suzanne Nossel said.
"It may also represent an attempt to increase the pressure on Xu himself by targeting his loved ones."
Nossel described Li as a "woman of tremendous courage and conviction."
"She is being treated like a criminal for refusing to relent as her partner is detained and abused ... we call for her immediate release, and we insist the police stop pursuing these spurious charges," she said.
In December, police forced Li into house arrest and threatened to detain her if she kept speaking out about Xu’s case, according to PEN America.
Li was detained in February 2020 and released on bail on June 19, 2020 after being detained incommunicado under "residential surveillance at a designated location.
Amnesty International said at the time that she was herself at risk of torture.
Help for women, workers
Li worked to find accommodation for thousands of migrant workers forcibly evicted from their homes by authorities in Beijing during a bitterly cold winter in 2017.
She also played an active role in China's #MeToo movement, collating and publishing reports online of sexual harassment and abuse.
After the pandemic struck, Li joined a volunteer team that handed out free masks to sanitation workers in Beijing, and helped pregnant women in quarantine areas to find doctors.
She also worked to support victims of domestic violence, which saw a nationwide spike after hundreds of millions of people were placed under draconian quarantine lockdowns in central China.
Li was summoned by police and held for questioning for 24 hours on Dec. 31 as part of a nationwide operation targeting a group of activists who met in the southeastern port city of Xiamen on Dec. 13.
Xu Zhiyong, who founded the New Citizens' Movement, is also being held by state security police on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power" after he called on President Xi Jinping to resign.
Xu, who had already served jail time for his spearheading of the New Citizens' Movement anti-corruption campaign, penned an open letter to Xi while in hiding following an earlier meeting in Xiamen, calling on him to step down.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Feb 10, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 29, 2021
- Event Description
Authorities in Beijing have demolished the studio of artist Wang Peng in a move he says is likely linked to a planned exhibit featuring the late Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang, who tried to warn the world about the coronavirus pandemic.
A demolition team arrived outside Wang's studio in Beijing's Pinggu district on Friday morning, escorted by police officers, disturbing the family.
"They have demolished my house during a pandemic," he told RFA. "The district mayor said the demolition order came from higher up, from Beijing [municipal government]."
"I was about to pray ... when these police officers suddenly burst in like gangsters and started shoving me around, and they stopped my wife, son, and friends from shooting video," he said.
Wang said he thought the order was likely linked to his plans to hold an exhibit about Li Wenliang, the Wuhan doctor who died of COVID-19 after been warned off speaking out about the extent of the initial outbreak in his city.
"The state security police said I was an 'unstable factor,' so they are doing various things to target me," he said. "The background to this is Li Wenliang."
Wang said the state security police had found out about the planned exhibit, and called to warn him not to proceed.
"They said I would be bringing China into disrepute," Wang said. "Now they have demolished [my studio], because they said it was an illegal structure."
"The political situation is getting to the point of madness," he said.
The demolition came after Wang received a demolition notice on Jan. 23 from the the Xinggu sub-district of Pinggu district government.
It informed him that he would receive no compensation, and would have to have the debris left behind by the demolition gang removed at his own expense.
Repeated calls to the Xingguo subdistrict offices and the Pinggu district government rang unanswered during office hours on Friday.
Political retaliation
Beijing-based rights activist Ni Yulan, who has been hounded from several rented homes by the authorities for helping evictees lodge complaints with the government, said the demolition of Wang's studio was a form of political retaliation for his activism.
She said Wang had already angered the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with earlier artworks hitting out at its family planning policies.
"The forced demolition was directly related to the concerns he raised about family planning," Ni said.
"Otherwise, why didn't they say anything when he built the place; why did they take so long to look into it?"
Wang's recent work has included installations and a book referencing the violence employed by government family planning officials to stay within birth quotas.
He built the studio with two million yuan of his savings on land leased from the local village committee in 2008. The lease runs until 2028.
In 2014, Beijing state security police evicted Wang and his family from their home in Beijing's Songzhuang Artists' Village.
Li Wenliang was among a group of eight doctors who first sounded the alarm on Dec. 30 about the emergence of a mystery virus in Wuhan that seemed similar to SARS.
The authorities detained and questioned eight of the doctors on Jan. 3, including Li Wenliang, who later died of the virus, accusing them of "rumor-mongering."
One year after Li's death authorities in the central province of Hubei are keeping his family under tight surveillance and restrictions.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to housing, Right to property
- HRD
- Artist
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Feb 10, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 9, 2021
- Event Description
A Chinese businesswoman was sentenced to three years’ jail on Tuesday, according to her supporters, after she spoke out in defence of dissident law professor Xu Zhangrun , who has openly criticised the Communist Party and President Xi Jinping . Geng Xiaonan , 46, and her husband Qin Zhen, as well as employees of her private publishing company, stood trial at the Haidian District People’s Court in Beijing after the couple were detained in September and investigated for “illegal business operations”.
There was a heavy police presence outside the court and supporters said they were barred from entering. Friends including Xu and activists Ji Feng and Yan Zhengxue were stopped by the authorities from leaving their homes to attend the hearing.
The trial was broadcast live by the Haidian court but footage was taken down from its website after it was viewed more than 80,000 times and it did not release a statement on the case.
After asking the court to disregard her legal defence, Geng pleaded guilty to charges including conducting illegal business activities, according to a video of the trial that was captured and posted online.
In pleading guilty, Geng asked the court for leniency in the cases of her husband and staff, saying they had been “forced to carry out orders from their boss”. She also contradicted her legal defence and claimed to have been “the sole proprietor and decision maker” of the publishing company since 2001.
“I would really appreciate it if the court would be lenient on them and target all of the sentencing burden on me alone,” Geng said.
She also asked the court to consider giving her a lighter sentence on humanitarian grounds since she is the only child of, and supports, her disabled war veteran father who lives alone.
Qin, Geng’s husband, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison, suspended for three years.
A number of Geng’s supporters, including prominent liberal intellectual Guo Yuhua, went to the Haidian court but were blocked from entering. Witnesses said more than a dozen police vehicles were parked outside the court, and Geng’s lawyers had been warned not to speak to the media. Dissident Ji said he had been told by state security personnel on Monday evening to stay at home the next day. “Two officers came to my house in the morning and stopped me from leaving. The same thing happened to Xu Zhangrun ,” Ji said by phone.
He said Geng had been indicted over illegal business activities involving 200,000 copies of mostly cookery books for which the full publishing rights had not been obtained.
“‘Illegal business activities’ is just an alternative charge to ‘inciting state subversion’ when it comes to entrepreneurs who are critical of China’s political ecology,” Ji said. “The purpose is to intimidate, silence and cut off all social networks they have with political dissidents in a bid to isolate them.”
Geng, who is also an art curator and film producer, was detained, along with her husband, two months after she had spoken out in support of Xu. He had been detained by police for “patronising prostitutes” during a trip which Geng organised for a group of academics including Xu to the southwestern city of Chengdu last year.
Xu, who has since been released but cannot leave Beijing, denies the charges and has hired lawyers to clear his name. After he was detained, Xu was sacked by Tsinghua University in Beijing where he had taught law for 20 years. The university also accused Xu of publishing articles since mid-2018 that “seriously violated” its code of conduct. Xu, 57, has written a series of articles criticising the authorities in recent years, taking aim at Communist Party leaders over the decision to remove the two-term limit on the presidency – allowing Xi to remain as president after 2023 – and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist, Family of HRD, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: outspoken publisher, her husband detained
- Date added
- Feb 10, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 7, 2021
- Event Description
Yesterday, national security officers of the Hong Kong Police Force arrested Wan on four charges of “doing an act with a seditious intention,” a criminal offense under the territory’s colonial-era sedition law, according to news reports.
Wan, who broadcasts under the name “Giggs,” hosts a show on the internet radio channel D100 that reports and comments on political issues in mainland China and Hong Kong, including on the arrest of Apple Daily newspaper founder Jimmy Lai. D100 is an independent station that has about 510,000 followers on its YouTube channel and about 59,000 followers on its Facebook page.
If convicted of sedition, Wan could face a fine of up to $5,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$644) and up to two years in jail for a first offense, and up to three years in jail for subsequent offenses, according to Hong Kong’s Crimes Ordinance.
“Hong Kong authorities’ use of sedition charges against radio host Wan Yiu-sing amounts to a government assault on press freedom and freedom of speech,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “Wan should be freed with all charges dropped, and the government should halt its ridiculous efforts to block political criticism by journalists.”
The charges stem from comments Wan made on four shows between August and October 2020, which police allege had an intent to incite hatred or contempt towards the People’s Republic of China and the Hong Kong government, and to instigate Hong Kongers to illegally seek changes to the city’s lawful orders, according to news reports.
The Hong Kong Police Force did not immediately respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.
Wan felt unwell in police custody last night and has been hospitalized, according to reports. He was originally scheduled to attend a court hearing today, but it has been adjourned to February 11, according to those reports.
Journalists in Hong Kong have faced increasing repression and harassment since the passage of the new national security law on July 1, 2020, as CPJ has documented. On December 11, Hong Kong authorities charged Lai with foreign collusion under that law.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Feb 9, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 21, 2021
- Event Description
Public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) terminated journalist Nabela Qoser’s three-year civil service contract, citing an ongoing investigation into her reporting as justification. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), condemn the political interference in RTHK and calls for the journalist to be fully reinstated.
The 35-year-old program officer for RTHK regularly aimed hard-hitting questions to Hong Kong Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, and other government officials in the live-streamed press conferences during the months-long pro-democracy protests in 2019. Her work, particularly, also drew the ire of pro-government supporters.
RTHK later launched an investigation into Qoser’s conduct after receiving complaints but cleared her of any wrongdoing. However, the public broadcaster reopened a probe into Qoser’s case in September 2020, and her probation period as a civil servant was extended by 120 days until the end of January 2021.
On January 21, Qoser was informed by RTHK that her civil service contract was being terminated, and she was offered a three-month short-term contract instead. Qoser has already completed her three-year probationary services.
On January 28, more than 60 RTHK employees protested outside the public broadcaster’s headquarters against the unfair treatment of their colleague. Qoser later accepted the short-term contract.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment, Censorship
- Rights Concerned
- Media freedom, Offline, Right to work
- HRD
- Media Worker, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Feb 9, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 2, 2021
- Event Description
Authorities in the central Chinese province of Henan have struck off a human rights lawyer after he tried to represent one of the 12 Hong Kong protesters detained by the China Coast Guard as they tried to flee to the democratic island of Taiwan.
Ren Quanniu received a notice from the Henan provincial bureau of judicial affairs on Tuesday informing him that his license to practice had been revoked on the grounds that he "used a cult to undermine the law" in November 2018.
The letter said Ren had "seriously damaged the image of the legal profession" after he defended a member of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, which has been designated an "evil cult" by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Ren said he didn't believe the reason stated in the letter was the main factor behind the decision, however.
"One factor was my involvement in the Hong Kong 12 case, which was much deeper [than in the other case]," he told RFA on Tuesday. "The other was [my defense of citizen journalist] Zhang Zhan."
"I gave a lot of media interviews about those two cases, so I think they are more likely to have been the main reasons," Ren said.
Authorities in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan have already suspended the license of fellow rights attorney Lu Siwei, citing his public comments on the case of the 12 Hong Kong activists detained at sea in August 2020.
'Inappropriate remarks'
Judicial authorities in Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu moved on Jan. 4 to strike Lu off, alleging that he made "inappropriate remarks" in public about the case, thereby "breaking Chinese law and professional guidelines for lawyers."
None of the attorneys hired by the families of the 12 detainees was allowed to see their clients, who had lawyers appointed for them by the local government instead.
Ren also defended Zhang Zhan, who was sentenced to four years' imprisonment in December 2020 for posting reports from Wuhan during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the city.
She was found guilty of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge frequently used to target critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), on the basis that she had published "false information" about the pandemic on social media sites.
Ren had given media interviews detailing her physical condition as she engaged in a hunger strike in protest at her treatment.
No regrets
Ren, who is now effectively barred from working as a lawyer in China, said he has no regrets, however.
"I think that rights lawyers in mainland China should stand with the people of Hong Kong, even if it means that they wind up losing their licenses," Ren said. "Hong Kong people have always been at the forefront of Chinese people's hopes for their own society."
"So many paid a heavy price and were arrested, and the [authorities'] persecution [of activists] has been pretty serious," he said. "I had no hesitation [in taking the case] and felt we should do our best to help them."
Hong Kong rights lawyer Albert Ho, who heads the Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, said the suspension of Lu and Ren's licenses are the latest in a long litany of actions taken by the CCP against human rights lawyers in China, starting with a nationwide police operation in July 2015.
"If lawyers have no protection for their own rights, then how can they defend their clients' rights?" Ho said. "How does one defend disadvantaged groups who have no legal knowledge at all?"
"Things are moving towards a state of lawlessness [in China], slowly inching back towards the Cultural Revolution," he said, in a reference to an era of political violence and social turmoil from 1966 to 1976 under late supreme leader Mao Zedong and the Gang of Four.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to work
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Feb 3, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 16, 2021
- Event Description
On January 16, 10 minutes prior to boarding a high-speed train (D2655) to visit the parents of Lawyer Chang Weiping (their client), two human rights lawyers Chen Keyun and Xie Yang disappeared. Recently, Lawyer Chang's parents had demonstrated against Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials' secretive imprisonment and torture of their son.
At 11:15 am, January 16 (Beijing time), human rights lawyer Xie Yang texted his location to Chen Guiqiu, his wife: Xi’an North Station. At approximately 10 pm, when Ms. Chen phoned both Lawyer Xie and Lawyer Chen, the calls did not go through. She also phoned Mr. Xiang Xianhong a security agent in charge of Lawyer Chang’s case but he did not answer her call. Around 11 pm, Ms. Chen phoned three other security agents in Changsha, Hunan Province (Mr. Li Kewei, Mr. Li Yang, and Mr. Peng Jinsong). Although the phone calls got through to these lawyers in charge of Lawyer Xie Yang’s case, none of them answered.
Ms. Chen did not receive any information about Lawyer Xie until 6 am January 17. At that time, she learned that Lawyer Xie and Lawyer Chen Keyun had been missing for more than 22 hours.
ChinaAid strongly urges Shaanxi police: “Conform to China’s rule of law and the United Nation’s articles concerning human rights. Stop blatantly infringing on the personal rights of Lawyer Xie Yang and Lawyer Chen Keyun.
Hunan rights lawyer Xie Yang, who recently tried to visit Baoji to support Chang's family, told RFA: "We found out from Chang Weiping's wife that his parents are now under close surveillance, and that the authorities have installed CCTV cameras at the door [of their home]."
Xie said he boarded a high-speed train to Baoji along with fellow lawyer Chen Keyun, but was intercepted by state security police at the provincial capital, Xi'an, where he needed to change trains.
"No sooner had I gotten off the train than I ran into a bunch of people," Xie told RFA in a recent interview. "They claimed it was to do with the pandemic, because my health code didn't scan properly, and that I should cooperate with their investigation."
"But those people didn't look like pandemic prevention types to me; they were state security police from [the provincial capital of] Xi'an," he said. "I told them that they knew perfectly well who I was, and that I knew perfectly well who they were."
The police forced Xie and Chen to leave the high-speed rail station, confiscated their phones and ID cards, and took them to a hotel, where they were held in separate rooms.
They were told they wouldn't be allowed to continue to Baoji, and stability maintenance personnel, or "interceptors," from their hometowns of Changsha and Guangzhou were summoned to escort them back home again.
On returning to Changsha, Xie was placed under house arrest.
"They don't want this information to reach the outside world," Xie said. "There have been rumors going around that [Chang Weiping's parents] have now been detained, but ... nobody can get anywhere near [their home]."
"They are so worried that we will expose the truth," he said. "Maybe they are also worried that we might encourage more supporters to gather."
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Restrictions on Movement, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to privacy
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: prominent lawyer arrested, held incommunicado
- Date added
- Feb 1, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 28, 2021
- Event Description
Rights groups and activists at home and abroad Friday denounced China for barring a prominent Chinese democracy and rights activist from leaving for the United States to care for his cancer-stricken wife.
They called the action “inhuman” and said China is a “fascist” state because the activist, Guo Feixiong, is a free man and the communist government has no right to restrict his travel.
Guo launched a hunger strike Thursday to protest after he was stopped at the Shanghai airport.
“I now begin my hunger strike indefinitely at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The customs have officially barred me from leaving the country on suspicion of endangering national security. I urge all the Chinese people and governments around the world to help me,” Guo wrote in a short message to VOA Thursday night, saying that he was being seized by two police officers at customs.
A brutal action
“What a brutal action by the state police and the customs,” he added.
Guo, 54, has since been unreachable, with his whereabouts unknown.
The public security bureau in Shanghai said Friday that it is unable to handle VOA’s inquiry as it is uncertain which unit made the arrest.
Prior to his departure from Guangzhou in south China’s Guangdong province, Guo told VOA he is determined to join his wife, who is in the U.S. and about to begin months of chemotherapy after her cancerous colon tumors were removed during surgery earlier this month.
“I will only stop my hunger strike the minute I’m allowed to board the plane. My life will apparently hang in the hands of the state police if you’re unable to reach me at my cellphone [later]… The [police’s] move is extremely inhuman, and they have to be held legally and morally responsible for my hunger strike,” Guo told VOA a day before his planned flights Thursday.
According to Guo, local police in Guangzhou had warned him on Tuesday about attempting to travel to the U.S. They said that his travel plan was vetoed at the last minute by their higher-ups in the Ministry of Public Security, even though Guo has legally obtained all necessary travel permits from local authorities, including proof of a negative COVID-19 test. The ministry also threatened to send police to intercept him if he made it to the airport in Shanghai on Thursday, he added.
Some kind of agreement
The local police, in addition, demanded that Guo fly to his birthplace in Hubei province and talk with public security officers there to reach “some kind of agreement” – a request Guo said he flatly rejected.
It is widely speculated among Chinese rights lawyers and activists, many of whom are not free to speak, that Chinese authorities want to hold Guo hostage and keep him quiet.
“The police have absolutely no rights to deprive Guo of his freedom to travel. This is outrageous. What harm can dissidents, who travel overseas, do to endanger the regime?” a rights activist surnamed Lee told VOA on condition of anonymity.
Guo, whose real name is Yang Maodong, has been an active rights defender and political dissident since 2005. He had served a total of 11 years in prison on charges such as “picking quarrels and provoking” and “assembling a crowd to disturb order at public places.”
He was last freed from jail in late 2019 after having served a six-year sentence for his participation in a protest against the Guangzhou government’s censorship of a local liberal-leaning publication – the Southern Weekly.
However, Guo remains an outspoken dissident, who has called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to launch political reforms, abide by the country’s constitution and ensure press freedom, while urging the Chinese government to deepen its cooperation with the U.S.
To avoid China’s alleged political persecution, Guo’s wife, Zhang Qing, and their two children fled to the U.S. in 2009 and have been granted political asylum there.
A group of more than 100 dissidents, led by former Tiananmen Square movement leader Wang Dan, signed a petition in support of Guo.
They said, in a press statement, that “given Guo is a free man, China has no rights to keep him from visiting his family overseas whether it is from the legal, human rights or humanitarian perspectives. China’s inhuman move has proved again that its regime is increasingly fascist.”
“We called on western governments to help Guo facilitate his trip through diplomatic avenues,” the statement read.
In particular, Wu’er Kaixi, another Tiananmen student leader who also signed the petition, called on U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration to extend a helping hand to Guo.
Calls on U.S. to take action
“President Biden has and [Secretary of State] Mr. [Antony] Blinken has also strongly reiterated their stance against China, based on values, … We want to see action following [their] very well-said statement. And we want to see action to help Guo Feixiong and that action will ratify those statements,” Wu’er told VOA.
The former Tiananmen activist, who now lives in Taipei, said that many in Taiwan are also “outraged” about China’s disapproval of Guo’s travel – a move he said “was against the minds and hearts of all mankind.”
Several other rights groups, including the Hong Kong-based China Human Rights Lawyers Concerned Group, the U.S.-based Human Rights Lawyers of China and the Taipei-based New School for Democracy, all denounced China’s restriction on Guo’s ability to travel freely.
The restriction “is inhuman and it is also a reprisal to legal activists in China,” Du Song of the Hong Kong-based rights group said in a written reply to VOA, urging China to quickly reverse its decision.
In a press statement, the U.S.-based rights group expressed concern over Guo’s health.
“We’re deeply concerned about his health and life after he has staged another indefinite hunger strike. Guo was once on hunger strike in 2014 for a long time, which had taken a toll on his physical condition… We urge all relevant bodies [in China] to reconsider and soon greenlight his trip to take care of his wife in the U.S.” its statement read.
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment, Restrictions on Movement, Travel Restriction
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Feb 1, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 28, 2021
- Event Description
Authorities in the eastern province of Shandong are preparing to revoke the license of a rights lawyer who was hired to defend fellow rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang, as the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues a nationwide clampdown on the legal profession.
Xi Xiangdong, who had been hired to represent Wang after his detention as part of a crackdown on the profession starting in July 2015, was notified by the Shandong provincial department of justice on Thursday that it will likely revoke his license to practise.
Wang told RFA that the authorities were likely retaliating after Xi spoke out against the mistreatment of his client Chi Shengang, an entrepreneur accused of involvement in organized crime.
"Lawyers like Xi Xiangdong tend to stick to the law when it comes to how lawyers should act, so they are likely anger some people, and suffer retaliation for that," Wang said.
He said the authorities are likely taking issue with Xi's attempts to do his job properly.
"If lawyers [like Xi] try to argue their case in court using reason, they see it as a failure to obey the judge," Wang said. "This gives them the excuse they need to retaliate against the lawyer."
According to the authorities, Xi had repeatedly ignored directions from the judge in the case, repeatedly interrupted judges and prosecutors and interfered with court proceedings.
Repeated calls to Xi's phone rang unanswered on Thursday.
"Everything [in the Chinese justice system] works to the detriment of detainees and defendants," Wang said. "Lawyers are forced to toe the line politically, and they have nowhere to turn for help, and can only rely on public opinion."
"In some cases, this means that they will disclose details of cases," he said.
'The courage to expose and criticize'
Henan-based rights lawyer Ren Quanniu, who also faces the loss of his license to practice, said he supported Xi's actions, because he was speaking out in his client's interest.
"Real lawyers have the courage to expose and criticize [the authorities]," Ren said. "You can't say they should remain silent if their clients are being treated illegally, or are in some kind of danger."
He said he fears the authorities will continue to revoke lawyers' licenses as a way of forcing them into compliance.
"Inside sources say that [the CCP] wants to deal with any lawyers who dare to speak out in public," Ren said. "[Xi] won't be the last to be warned, punished or lose his license ... we may be seeing a new purge."
Xi has the right to file an application for a disciplinary hearing, although such a hearing is unlikely to make much difference to the final outcome, according to rights lawyers.
Xi was initially hired by Wang Quanzhang's wife Li Wenzu to represent her husband following his disappearance in July 2015.
But he was later forced to drop the case after the ministry of justice threatened him with arrest.
Earlier this month, authorities in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan suspended the license of rights attorney Lu Siwei at a disciplinary hearing, citing his public comments on the case of the 12 Hong Kong activists detained at sea in August 2020.
Judicial authorities in Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu moved on Jan. 4 to strike Lu off, alleging that he made "inappropriate remarks" in public about the case, thereby "breaking Chinese law and professional guidelines for lawyers."
Ren, who was hired to represent one of the Hong Kong 12 but denied access to his client along with the rest of the attorneys hired by the families, will have his disciplinary hearing on Friday.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to work
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 29, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 13, 2021
- Event Description
Authorities in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan on Wednesday suspended the license of rights attorney Lu Siwei at a disciplinary hearing, citing his public comments on the case of the 12 Hong Kong activists detained at sea in August 2020.
Judicial authorities in Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu moved on Jan. 4 to strike Lu off, alleging that he made "inappropriate remarks" in public about the case, thereby "breaking Chinese law and professional guidelines for lawyers."
Faced with the loss of his license to practice law, Lu opted for a full hearing. He was dragged into the building by police officers on Wednesday as he showed up at the Sichuan provincial department of justice in Chengdu.
"Lawyer Lu Siwei was escorted to the justice department directly from his home in his wife's car," a lawyer at the scene, who asked to remain anonymous, told RFA on Wednesday.
"He wasn't allowed contact with anyone else, and was taken straight inside the building. His two lawyers were intercepted -- one of them got to go inside after a struggle," the lawyer said.
Xie Yanyi, who represented Lu at the hearing, dismissed the evidence brought by officials against Lu at the hearing.
"The allegations made by the investigators during the hearing over Lu Siwei's so-called violations of law and discipline were entirely fictitious; they didn't hold water," Xie told RFA.
He said the hearing had ended with the suspension of Lu's license.
"The Sichuan department of justice made no attempt to investigate the allegations, and just issued a notice of suspension of [Lu's] license without bothering to verify the details," Xie said. "It should at least have conducted a preliminary investigation."
'Illegal persecution'
He said the conduct of the hearing was tantamount to persecution.
"Everyone inside the room were insiders; this was basically a behind-closed-doors hearing," he said. "The whole process was illegal right from the start."
"Rushing to an administrative punishment in such a way ... is essentially illegal persecution," Xie said.
Consular staff sent by foreign diplomatic missions, including those of Canada, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom and the United States, were also denied entry to the hearing, which was then held behind closed doors.
The lawyer said there was a strong police presence outside the building, with checkpoints at either end of the street.
"The Department of Justice has set up police checkpoints at both ends of the road," the lawyer said. "I also saw a large police vehicle outside and seven or eight smaller ones."
"There are actually not as many police officers in uniform as plainclothes ... [the plainclothes officers] are guarding the place very tightly by following people and coming forward [when they approach the building]."
Fellow rights attorney Ren Quanniu, who also faces the loss of his lawyer's license for defending another of the Hong Kong 12, Xu Yan, wife of rights attorney Yu Wensheng, were taken away by police, the lawyer said.
"There was a standoff between them and the intercepting police officers," the lawyer said. "Some people who had gotten involved in a more intense altercation were taken straight to the local police station."
"Initially, the police denied them water, but they are saying that they have now been given lunch," the lawyer said.
Large-scale purge of lawyers since 2015
Lu and Ren both received notification around New Year that their licenses were being reviewed by their local judicial affairs bureaus because they had "posted inappropriate remarks" online.
Lu, who was never allowed to visit his client Quinn Moon in Yantian Detention Center in Shenzhen, despite being hired by her family, was particularly vocal in the months following the initial detention of the 12 protesters aged 16 to 33 by the China Coast Guard on Aug. 23, repeatedly commenting about his attempts to gain access to his client, to no avail.
In a Dec. 31 notice sent to Ren, who was hired by the family of Wong Wai-yin but similarly prevented from carrying out his instructions, judicial authorities in the central province of Henan, said his license was also under review for "violating Chinese law and professional guidelines for lawyers."
Ren's hearing will be held on Jan. 19.
On Dec. 31, 2020, a court in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong handed down jail terms of up to three years to 10 of the 12 Hong Kong protesters detained on Aug. 23 as they tried to flee a national security crackdown in the city, on charges linked to "illegally crossing a border."
The Yantian District People's Court in Guangdong's Shenzhen city sentenced Ren's client Tang Kai-yin to three years' imprisonment for "organizing others to cross a border illegally," while fellow activist Quinn Moon -- Lu's client -- was jailed for two years on the same charge.
Fellow defendants Cheng Tsz-ho, Cheung Chun-fu, Li Tsz-yin, Andy Li, Wong Wai-yin, Kok Tsz-Lun, Jim Man-him, and Cheung Ming-jyu were each jailed for seven months each for "illegally crossing a border" and fined 10,000 yuan each.
The remaining two detainees -- Liu Tsz-man and Hoang Lam-fuk -- were sent back to Hong Kong after the authorities said they wouldn't pursue charges against them, as they were under 18 at the time of their detention.
All 12 detainees were consistently denied access to defense attorneys hired by their families and allocated government-approved attorneys to represent them at a trial that was effectively held behind closed doors.
Since beginning a nationwide crackdown in July 2015, authorities in provinces and cities across China have conducted large-scale purges of lawyers deemed not to be toeing the party line, with hundreds losing their licenses in Hunan alone in September 2020.
On January 4, Attorney Ren Quanniu received a notice from Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials, employed by Henan’s department of justice, informing him that the government had revoked his license to practice law in China. Lawyer Ren believes this ruling relates to the cases of “12 Hong Kongers,” and imprisoned “Shanghai Lawyer Zhang Zhan."
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment, Denial Fair Trial
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial, Right to work
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 15, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 7, 2021
- Event Description
On Jan. 7, the Pizhou Municipal People's Court in the eastern province of Jiangsu jailed journalist Li Xinde for five years after finding him guilty of "illegal business activity."
Li’s son Li Chao was handed a one-year jail term at the same time.
'A very dangerous business'
Li was first detained by police in October 2019 and placed in "residential surveillance at a designated location (RSDL)," not long after he published a claim that a court in Tianjin had wrongfully convicted a businessman.
Li, an investigative reporter, founded and ran the China Public Watchdog Network, which had a focus on exposing corrupt officials.
Beijing-based rights lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan commented via Twitter: "To speak out on behalf of those suffering injustice in today's society, and to monitor the agencies wielding state power, is a very dangerous business."
Zhang Yu, who heads the writers' group Independent Chinese PEN, said charges of "illegal business activity" are often brought against peaceful critics of the CCP.
"The main charge used to suppress freedom of speech in China is incitement to subvert state power, but they have to show in what part of their speech or writing they did that," Zhang told RFA.
"They may use illegal business activity if what they said was particularly sensitive, or if they can't really find evidence to support [subversion] charges in what they said or wrote," Zhang said. "It has nothing to do with [the defendant] actually having conducted illegal business activity."
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 15, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 8, 2021
- Event Description
Former Chinese journalist and renowned critic of internet censorship Zhang Jialong was sentenced to 18 months in prison on January 8 for his remarks on social media that were allegedly aimed at "spreading false information and provoking trouble". The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the assault on freedom of speech and calls on Chinese authorities to overturn the verdict and release Zhang immediately.
The 32-year-old former journalist with Caijing, a Beijing-based magazine, and Tencent was found guilty of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a broadly defined charge often levelled by the authorities against those who are critical of the Chinese government.
Zhang was jailed for 18 months, his wife Shao Yuan said after being notified by Zhang’s lawyer on January 8.
Zhang was arrested at his residence in Guiyang, Guizho Province on August 12, 2019 and has been held in police custody ever since. The authorities later accused him of spreading false information defaming the Chinese Communist Party on Twitter.
His Twitter posts related to human rights issues and internet freedoms in China.
Zhang has been detained since August and is therefore expected to be released on February 12. Nevertheless, Zhang reportedly vowed to appeal against the ruling.
Zhang has been targeted by the Chinese authorities for several years. In February 2014, hemade headlines after asking the then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to help “tear down this great firewall that blocks the Internet” during their meeting in Beijing.
He later published an op-ed in the global magazine Foreign Policy, calling on the U.S. government to deny visas to those involved in building and maintaining the Chinese great firewall of censorship. He was subsequently fired from Tencent.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 15, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 13, 2020
- Event Description
On 26 December 2020, one of Yu Wensheng's defence lawyers received the Jiangsu Provincial Higher People's Court's appeal decision upholding the original verdict and sentence against the human rights defender. The appeal decision was reached before the defence lawyers had the opportunity to submit their defence statement to the court and before they were able to make copies of and review all the case files.
The appeal decision was dated 13 December 2020, but when Xu Yan, Yu Wensheng's wife, phoned the Court on 16 December, a court official told her that the Court had yet to reach a decision.
It is not yet clear when, or if, Yu Wensheng, who is currently detained at the Xuzhou Detention Centre, will be transferred to a prison. Detention centre officials have rejected Xu Yan's requests to visit him, on the pretext of COVID-19 regulations. Xu Yan has requested the authorities to; allow family visitation as soon as possible, transfer him back to Beijing where she and their child live, and guarantee him access to adequate treatment for medical conditions affecting his right hand and his teeth.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 15, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 6, 2021
- Event Description
The Hong Kong police served four media organisations with court warrants requiring the handing in of internal documents related to July's primary elections on January 6. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA), expressed concern about the chilling effect that such acts will have on the press and called on Hong Kong authorities to stop harassing journalists and media organisations.
On January 6, the Hong Kong police’s national security department turned up at the offices of online news outlets StandNews and InMedia, as well as media group Next Digital and its subsidiary newspaper Apple Daily with court orders. The media organisations were reportedly asked to hand in information about the pro-democracy camp’s primary elections held in July 2020 within seven days.
The police did not search the newsrooms.
Steve Li Kwai-Wah, a senior superintendent at the National Security Division, said during a press conference on January 6 that the authorities were not seeking to obtain journalistic materials. According to Li, the police were asking the media outlets to provide assistance in the investigation.
Both Apple Daily and StandNews said they would be seeking legal advice on the matter. Editor-in-chief of StandNews Chung Pui-kuen also said he was asked not to disclose details about the court order.
This came hours after the Hong Kong authorities arrested 53 pro-democracy leaders for their involvement in the primaries last year, including former lawmakers, district councillors, activists, and scholars. The authorities said the unofficial vote to choose opposition candidates for the city’s now postponed Legislative Council elections was part of a plan to “overthrow” the government.Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, a journalist-turned-politician who used to work with StandNews and the BBC, was one of the detainees.
According to Ho’s Facebook admin, the police searched Ho’s residence and took away business cards and electronic devices she had used when working for the BBC. Ho was released on bail late on January 7.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security, Right to privacy
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 15, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 14, 2020
- Event Description
On 14 December 2020, Chang Weiping's parents held a protest in front of the Gaoxin branch of the Baoji Municipal Public Security Bureau, seeking his release and raising concerns about the risk of torture in detention. After the protest, both parents were summoned for interrogation several times. A CCTV camera was installed outside their home in Fengxiang county to monitor their movement and any visitors. Their mobile phones have since been confiscated and they are under de facto incommunicado house arrest.
One of Chang Weiping's brothers-in-law and his father-in-law also had their mobile phones confiscated. Chang Weiping's older sister was prohibited from visiting her father. Chen Zijuan, Chang Weiping's wife, has not been able to contact her father-in-law for over two weeks.
On 6 January 2021, Chen Zijuan submitted a complaint to the Baoji Municipal Procuratorate against local public security officials who visited her in Shenzhen eight times between 22 October 2020, the day Chang Weiping was detained, and 23 December 2020. The officials warned her not to conduct public advocacy for her husband. They also pressured her to delete her social media posts on Weibo about her husband's situation. The officials said she would lose her job if she defied their demands.
The two human rights lawyers who were initially hired to assist Chang Weiping had to withdraw from the case due to intense pressure from the authorities. Two new lawyers who took over the case said they could not give any media interviews due to official pressure. The new lawyers' first attempt to meet Chang Weiping was not successful. In a statement issued on 16 December 2020, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders said the withdrawal of Chang Weiping's first lawyers was "telling of the gravity and scale of the situation faced by human rights defenders and lawyers in China.”
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Restrictions on Movement, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Family of HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: prominent lawyer arrested, held incommunicado
- Date added
- Jan 15, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 6, 2021
- Event Description
The Hong Kong government should not file charges against the 53 pro-democracy politicians arbitrarily arrested on January 6, 2021, Human Rights Watch said today. All were arrested for “subversion” under Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law (NSL), which the Chinese government imposed on June 30, 2020.
The 53 men and women arrested span the spectrum of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. They include veteran politicians and activists, such as Leung “Long Hair” Kwok-hung and Claudio Mo, and newcomers who joined the movement during the 2019 protests. The latter include Jeffrey Andrews, a social worker serving the city’s ethnic minority community, and Lee Chi Yung, a disability rights advocate. Many represent a broad cross-section of grassroots society long excluded from the city’s governance.
“Hong Kong authorities’ claims that discussing candidates and advocating for government action is somehow subversive is ludicrous,” said Maya Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It’s increasingly clear that Beijing’s commitment to Hong Kong’s ‘high degree of autonomy’ isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”
Hong Kong police said that a public opinion poll conducted in July 2020 regarding pro-democracy candidates for an upcoming Legislative Council (LegCo) election constituted “subversion.” They said those arrested violated article 22 of the National Security Law, which states that anyone who “organizes, plans, commits or participates” in “seriously interfering, disrupting or undermining” the performance of the Hong Kong or central government bodies are subject to a penalty of up to life in prison for “principal offenders.” Among the 53 arrested, police said, six were organizers.
The legal definitions of “subversion” and other NSL crimes are overly broad and vague, and can include the peaceful exercise of human rights, enshrined in Hong Kong’s de facto constitution, the Basic Law. These rights are also protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is incorporated into Hong Kong’s legal framework via the Basic Law and expressed in the Bill of Rights Ordinance.
All but one of those arrested are being released on bail. Charges have yet to be brought against the 53, though they have to surrender their passports as a condition of bail. The prosecution said that Wu Chi-wai, former chairman of the Democratic Party, has kept one of his passports even though he was ordered to surrender his travel documents as part of bail conditions in an earlier case. Wu remains detained.
In addition, the police have frozen HK$1.6 million (US$206,000) in connection with the poll and delivered court warrants to four news organizations that require them to hand over information to the police for investigation. Hong Kong police should release Wu immediately, lift all bail conditions, and return everyone’s travel documents, Human Rights Watch said.
Since the Chinese government imposed the National Security Law in June, the authorities have intimidated and arbitrarily arrested pro-democracy activists, and encouraged people to report on one another to remove pro-democracy figures from key sectors of society, including education, the media, and civil service.
Beijing and the Hong Kong government have also accelerated their assault on the previously semi-democratic LegCo. Since 2016, they have disqualified pro-democracy activists from running for seats or unseated them after they were elected. Following the passage of the National Security Law, the Hong Kong government delayed the September 2020 LegCo elections for a year. Beijing then expelled four pro-democracy members of the legislature, leading other pro-democracy legislators to resign in protest. The arrests of the 53 politicians appears part of Beijing’s increasing actions to exert full control over the LegCo, Human Rights Watch said.
Concerned governments, including the United Kingdom, European Union countries, and the incoming Biden administration in the United States, should press for appointment of a United Nations special mandate holder to monitor and report on Hong Kong’s human rights developments, Human Rights Watch said. They should also impose coordinated targeted sanctions on officials responsible for violating the human rights of people in Hong Kong. Legislators around the world should express solidarity with their Hong Kong counterparts.
“Governments should urgently take concerted and concrete actions to ensure that Beijing pays a price for its escalating abusive behavior,” Wang said. “Standing with Hong Kong’s democrats needs to be more than a rhetorical commitment.”
- Impact of Event
- 53
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security, Right to political participation
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist, Public Servant, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 15, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 12, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in Qinghai province in northwestern China last month detained a Tibetan woman known for her online advocacy of democracy and the rule of law, holding her for 10 days before releasing her under continuing surveillance, Tibetan sources say.
Tsering Tso, who had drawn police attention with her postings on the social media platform WeChat, was taken into custody at her home in the provincial capital Xining on Nov. 12 and brought by 10 officers to a detention center in Trika (in Chinese, Guide) county, an India-based Tibetan rights group said this week.
“In addition to surviving only on steamed buns and boiled water during her detention, she was subjected to ill-treatment and intimidation,” the Tibetan Centre For Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) said, adding that detaining officers had hoped to pressure her to give up her advocacy work.
“By detaining people like Tsering Tso, the Chinese government is violating the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China has signed and agreed to abide by. However, China is inflicting many other policies on Tibetans in Tibet that violate international laws,” TCHRD researcher Tenzin Dawa said.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is one of some 60 rights instruments under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948.
With the approach of the annual UN Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, estimates of political prisoners in Tibet range from more than 500 in U.S. Congressional reports to more than 2,000 in a database kept by the TCHRD.
“Tibetan political prisoners endure harsh prison conditions, including torture, deprivation of food and sleep, and long periods in isolation cells,” said the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet, which notes that “opaque” Chinese record keeping makes it hard to determine how many are being held.
“In the current political climate imposed by Chinese authorities, even the most mild expressions of Tibetan cultural or religious identity can be punished by torture and arrest,” says the ICT.
One of the most famous prisoners of conscience is Tibet’s Panchen Lama, who vanished into Chinese custody as a young boy 25 years ago and has not been heard from since.
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was recognized on May 14, 1995 at the age of six as the 11th Panchen Lama, the reincarnation of his predecessor, the 10th Panchen Lama.
The recognition by exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama angered Chinese authorities, who promptly took the boy and his family into custody and then installed another boy, Gyaincain Norbu, as their own candidate in his place.
The ranks of Tibet’s political prisoners include numerous monks, scholars, educators, and artists.
Beaten by police
Tsering Tso had also served a period of detention in 2017 after petitioning for the rights of Tibetans to apply for passports, during which she was physically assaulted by a security officer named Jamga who kicked her in the head, face, chest, and abdomen, leaving her hospitalized for her injuries, TCHRD said.
Police officers in November gave no reason for her detention following a trip she made to Thailand, Tso told RFA’s Mandarin Service in an interview.
“There were no concrete reasons for my arrest,” Tso said, adding, “But while I was returning from Thailand, I had a feeling they would arrest me, and I think they had already planned this from the beginning.”
“Finally, on Nov. 2, I was accused of violating the law by sending two message on WeChat related to issues of ‘stability,’ and I was detained for 10 days. I have no idea how my postings might have threatened stability,” Tso said.
A Nov. 13 announcement by the Trika county Public Security Bureau said that Tso had been charged with disseminating discussions of “provocative issues” on social media, adding that she would be fined and held in administrative detention for 10 days.
Tsering Tso had regularly written on topics like democracy and the rule of law on her social media platforms, Dawa told RFA in an interview. “But the Chinese government has always threatened people who speak up about these things.”
Reached for comment on Monday, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said, “We continue to press the [People’s Republic of China] to respect the freedom of speech and beliefs of its own people, and in particular those who seek to protect Tibet’s unique religion, language, and culture.”
Tibetan researcher held
A Tibetan researcher at Tibet University in Tibet’s regional capital Lhasa has meanwhile also been detained, with no word given as to his whereabouts since he was taken into custody in June, RFA has learned.
Kunsang Gyaltsen, a student in his late 20s from Qinghai’s Mangra (Chinese, Guinan) county, is thought to have been arrested for circulating booklets containing unauthorized views of Tibet’s political history, a Tibetan living in exile told RFA, citing sources in the region.
“Chinese authorities have concealed all information about him, and despite numerous attempts by family members to learn where he is being held, there has been no response from authorities at all,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Pema Gyal, an analyst at TCHRD, confirmed the account of Gyaltsen’s arrest and disappearance, adding that information about his current status is unavailable “because his parents have been denied access to him.”
A formerly independent nation, Tibet was taken over and incorporated into China by force nearly 70 years ago, following which Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled into exile in India, and Beijing maintains a tight grip on Tibet and on Tibetan-populated regions of western Chinese provinces.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to health, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to privacy
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 8, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 3, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in the central province of Hunan have detained a prominent rights activist after he helped to publicize the story of Dong Yaoqiong, a woman sent to a psychiatric hospital for splashing ink on a poster of ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping in a Twitter livestream.
Ou Biaofeng was taken away from his home in Hunan's Zhuzhou city by officers of the Lusong district police department on Dec. 3, who held him under administrative detention for 15 days for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble."
"Four state security police came to our home without prior notice and took him away," his wife Wei Xinxin told RFA. "The fact that he was taken away so suddenly makes me quite worried, because it is a bit different from previous times."
Ou's friend Chen Siming said Ou's detention was linked to his public support for Dong.
"This is an open secret, and the police and state security police know that," Chen said.
"He was very concerned about [Dong's recent video] and has been in contact with Dong Yaoqiong on Twitter since then," he said.
Following her release from the psychiatric hospital, Dong posted a video on Twitter on Nov. 30 saying angrily that she had no mental illness and complaining of being held under long-term surveillance after her release.
Chen said the authorities likely blame Ou for international news coverage of the video, which broke Dong's public silence following her release.
"[Ou Biaofeng] was the only channel of communication between Dong and the rest of the world," he said. "Dong would never have gotten that much publicity without him."
"She also mentions Ou Biaofeng in the video."
Chen said Ou also has a track record of speaking out on human rights issues, and had been warned by the state security police that he risked a jail term over the cumulative effect of his activities.
A Changsha-based friend of Ou's who gave only the nickname Rosemary said that Ou remained in detention at the end of the 15-day sentence, and that police have been questioning his friends and fellow activists since his detention, suggesting that they may be building a case against him.
"I know of three or four people [who have been questioned]," Rosemary said. "He was held under 15 days' administrative detention, but the stability maintenance system kicked into place in other provinces, across the whole country ... and people were warned not to follow the case or speak out in support of him."
"We are worried this 15-day administrative detention is just a pretext [ahead of a criminal case]," she said. "[Other activists] have also had their administrative detentions converted into criminal detention."
On Tuesday, defense lawyer Zhang Lei was denied permission to meet with Ou, who is being held at the Zhuzhou Detention Center.
"When I was in detention, my friends could meet with me twice a week," Chen, who accompanied the lawyer, told RFA. "Now the detention center is saying that all meetings are suspended due to the pandemic."
"Not even lawyers are being allowed to meet with detainees," he said. "I am pretty worried, given what just happened."
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 8, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 15, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities put on trial Ge Zhihui, a human rights defender with disabilities, on December 15, 2020. Ms. Ge is an advocate for social and economic rights, who had been disabled by a demolition team while resisting the forced eviction of her family from their home. At her December 15 trial at the Beijing Fengtai District Court, she faced the charge of “picking quarrels & provoking trouble.” The prosecution’s case against her included the claims that Ms. Ge had showed support for persecuted human rights defender Cao Shunli, protested against officials who were interfering in a village election, and posted critical comments online. Except for her lawyer, nobody was allowed into the courtroom, not even her family members. The court did not announce a verdict. Police detained Ms. Ge in July 2019 and she has since languished at the Fengtai District Detention Facility. China ratified the international Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008, The UN’s disability rights and social, economic and cultural rights treaty bodies are both currently conducting reviews of China’s implementation of the treaties.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 8, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 16, 2020
- Event Description
Chinese journalist and filmmaker Du Bin has been detained by authorities for allegedly “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” on December 16. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) calls on the Chinese government to release Du immediately and respect Chinese citizens’ right to freedom of expression.
Du, 48, is a Chinese documentary filmmaker and journalist who has previously worked for The New York Times as a freelance photographer. According to Du’s sister Du Jirong, Du was arrested and detained by Beijing police on December 16 over vague allegations he was ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’.
The journalist’s detention may have been linked to his recent writing, including a book on the rule of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin scheduled for publication in 2021. According to South China Morning Post, Du has been under scrutiny from the Chinese Communist Party for writing and editing a number of politically sensitive books, such as a documentation of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989.
The police have recently summoned Du for questioning on multiple occasions, during which he was asked to delete sensitive contents on his Twitter account, according to Weiquanwang, a website tracking detentions and persecution of activists and dissidents in China, as well as Voice of America. Authorities have also inquired about his book projects, the reports said.
Violations of press freedom and journalists’ rights have increased in China in recent years as authorities continue to expand their control over the media. A number of citizen journalists were detained for their coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in China during 2020, while about a dozen foreign journalists have been expelled, partly due to the ongoing tension between the United States and China.
Last week, the IFJ documented the arrest of Haze Fan, a staff member who has been at the Bloomberg News Beijing bureau since 2017, on suspicion of taking part in activities endangering national security. In August, Cheng Lei, a Chinese-born Australian journalist who had worked in the English service of the state run television CGTN, was detained by the Chinese government for the same accusation leveled against Fan.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist, Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 8, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 8, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong police on Tuesday arrested eight activists in connection with a July protest, the latest in a widening crackdown on dissent in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Local media reported that those arrested included former legislators Wu Chi-wei, Eddie Chu and “Longhair” Leung Kwok-hung, along with Civil Human Rights Front’s (CHRF's) Figo Chan, among others.
The police accused them of “inciting, organizing and taking part in an unauthorized assembly,” referring to the July 1 demonstrations in which thousands defied a protest ban and rallied on the streets against the national security law imposed on the city by Beijing the day before.
Speaking to reporters after he was released on bail, Figo of the pro-democracy CHRF said Hong Kong authorities are oppressing dissidents by filing unreasonable charges.
“I strongly condemn the Hong Kong government for continuously suppressing Hong Kong citizens,” he said.
Since pro-democracy protests erupted in Hong Kong in 2019, the city’s police force has been at the forefront of Beijing’s efforts to eliminate the demonstrations.
According to a survey published by Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute on Tuesday, the police now rank last in public approval among Hong Kong's "disciplinary forces," which include first responders, correctional officers, People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison troops, anti-corruption investigators, and customs and immigration officials.
“The Police Force attains a rating of 40.3 marks, with 34% of the sample giving zero mark and continues to be the lowest among the nine disciplinary forces,” the organization said.
Chan Ka Lok, an associate professor and director of the Comparative Governance and Public Policy Research Center at Hong Kong Baptist University, said the low ratings were due to police abuse of power, and the force’s unwillingness to establish an independent investigation committee to assess police performance in handling the pro-democracy movement since 2019.
Tuesday’s arrests were carried out hours after the United States sanctioned another 14 Chinese officials over China’s move last month to expel four pro-democracy lawmakers from Hong Kong’s legislature. When asked whether there is any correlation, Chan told VOA that “the police's approach is a replay of ‘hostage diplomacy’ in the Cold War era.”
Since Monday, more than a dozen Hong Kong citizens have been arrested for their roles in pro-democracy demonstrations. Chan said these arrests resemble the mass arrests often used by the Chinese police force in the mainland and will turn Hong Kong into a place ruled by fear.
New pro-Beijing party
Meanwhile, a group of mainland-born, pro-establishment executives working in Hong Kong have founded a new political party in a bid to influence local government policies.
The Bauhinia Party was founded in May by three powerful executives: Li Shan, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and director of Credit Suisse Group AG; Huang Qiuzhi, chairman of CMMB Vision Holdings Limited; and Chen Jianwen, chairman of Bonjour Holdings Limited. Li and Wong were born in mainland China and later became Hong Kong residents.
According the Hong Kong Companies Registry, a government department that registers local and foreign companies, the party seeks to “promote a democratic political system best suited to Hong Kong based on the rule of law and civil liberty with the realization of universal suffrage as guaranteed by the Basic Law, so as to safeguard Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability.”
But Hong Kong commentator Stephen Shiu said the creation of the party shows Beijing is no longer satisfied with old pro-establishment forces and hopes a new party representing new immigrants from the mainland can help restrain “extremist forces” in the legislature.
Other analysts say that Beijing wants to put its own people into Hong Kong’s political arena.
They argue that to Beijing, even its closest ally, the New People’s Party, is still seen as a local party rather than one formed by its own people.
- Impact of Event
- 8
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 8, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 3, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai has been arrested and charged with fraud.
The 73-year-old Lai appeared in a Hong Kong courtroom Thursday along with two other executives of his Next Digital company and was accused of violating terms of the company’s lease of its office space. He was denied bail and his case has been adjourned until next April.
Lai was arrested at his home in August and charged with suspicion of colluding with a foreign country under the city’s new national security law imposed by China. Hours after his arrest, more than 100 police officers raided the headquarters of Lai’s Next Digital company, which publishes the newspaper Apple Daily. The newspaper livestreamed the raid on its website, showing officers roaming the newsroom as they rummaged through reporters’ files, while Lai was led through the newsroom in handcuffs.
He was one of at least 10 people arrested that day, including at least one of Lai’s sons.
Lai is already in legal jeopardy for his pro-democracy activism. He was one of 15 activists arrested earlier this year and hit with seven charges, including organizing and participating in unauthorized assemblies and inciting others to take part in an unauthorized assembly.
Lai’s arrest Thursday comes a day after three young Hong Kong pro-democracy activists -- 24-year-old Joshua Wong, 23-year-old Agnes Chow and 26-year-old Ivan Lam -- received jail sentences between seven and 13 1/2 months in connection with a protest outside the city’s police headquarters in June 2019.
Lai is one of the highest-profile Hong Kongers targeted by the new security law since it went into effect in July. Under the law, anyone in Hong Kong believed to be carrying out terrorism, separatism, subversion of state power or collusion with foreign forces could be tried and face life in prison if convicted.
The new law was imposed by Beijing in response to the massive and often violent pro-democracy demonstrations that engulfed the financial hub in the last half of last year, and is the cornerstone of its increasing grip on the city, which was granted an unusual amount of freedoms when Britain handed over control in 1997.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 8, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 28, 2020
- Event Description
A court in Shanghai, China on Monday sentenced former lawyer and citizen journalist Zhang Zhan to four years in prison for her reporting on the coronavirus outbreak, a harsh sentence that legal scholars say is aimed at having a chilling effect on Chinese rights activists.
Zhang, 37, was one of several citizen journalists who covered the initial outbreak in China’s central city of Wuhan. Their coverage painted a far more serious picture of conditions than the government’s official narrative of the spreading infection. Her reports included examples of the harassment of families of victims who were seeking accountability, according to human rights advocates.
Zhang was detained by authorities in May and accused of spreading false information, giving interviews to foreign media, disrupting public order and "maliciously manipulating" the outbreak. She went missing in Wuhan on May 14, according to media reports, and a day later turned up under arrest in Shanghai, more than 640 kilometers away. In court, she was formally charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” an accusation frequently used against Chinese activists.
Zhang’s lawyer, Zhang Keke, told VOA that Zhang Zhan has been on a hunger strike for nearly five months. She appeared in court in a wheelchair, all but refusing to speak — apparently using silence as a form of protest.
“The only thing she said is that citizens have the right to freedom of speech, and they have no right to question her,” Zhang Keke said.
According to the defense lawyer, the prosecutor during the trial accused Zhang of publishing so-called "problematic remarks" on China’s social media platforms including Weibo and WeChat. Yet the prosecution failed to provide any posts or videos as evidence.
“She didn’t fabricate any reports, nor has she created any harm to the society,” Zhang Keke said, adding that Zhang will likely appeal the verdict.
A Chinese human rights lawyer who asked to remain anonymous told VOA that the four-year sentence is extremely harsh. “Picking quarrels and provoking trouble usually leads to a fixed-term imprisonment of no more than five years. For first time offense, the sentence is usually one year,” he said, adding that Zhang’s harsh sentence was aimed at instilling fear among citizen journalists and civil rights lawyers.
Rights groups also condemned the ruling. Cédric Alviani, East Asia bureau head of the Paris-based media freedom group Reporters Without Borders, (RSF), called on the international community to increase pressure on the Chinese government until Beijing releases Zhang and other detained press freedom activists in China. “Zhang Zhan was only serving the public interest by reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak, so, she should never have been detained, not to mention, received a four-year prison sentence. This trial is actually a parody of justice,” Alviani told VOA.
The United Nations’ human rights office said in a tweet on Monday that it was troubled by the four-year sentence. “We raised her case with the authorities throughout 2020 as an example of the excessive clampdown on freedom of expression linked to #COVID19 & continue to call for her release,” the office said.
China has been accused of covering up the initial outbreak of the coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease and silencing whistleblowers, including the late Dr. Li Wenliang, and citizen journalists Fang Bing, Chen Qiushi, Li Zehua and Zhang Zhan, for exposing information that authorities did not approve for release. Dr. Li died of COVID-19 after Beijing silenced his attempts to warn the world about the coronavirus.
China has fiercely denied these accusations and said the country has been highly successful in containing the virus, compared to Western countries including the United States.
According to a survey by the Committee to Protect Journalists, China was the world’s leading jailer of journalists in 2020, with at least 47 people behind bars.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: missing lawyer-turned-citizen journalist is detained, formally indicted on vague charges (Update)
- Date added
- Jan 8, 2021
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 26, 2020
- Event Description
At 2 pm on November 26, political police officer Guo (last name) asked human rights activist Li Qiaochu to meet him in Beijing Haidian District. Instead of engaging in a typical, approximately hour-long session complying with a police officer’s request to meet to address a concern, officials detained Ms. Li overnight. The next day, November 27, however, authorities conditionally released Ms. Li to her parents.
For Ms. Li’s release and for her to avoid imprisonment at that time, police told her parents that they had to sign a guarantee Ms. Li would no longer communicate on the internet. Otherwise, authorities warned, they would imprison her. In addition, upon Ms. Li’s release, police confiscated her computer and cell phone.
Earlier this year, on February 2, police detained human rights defender Xu Zhiyong, On February 16, officials also detained 29-year-old Ms. Li, Mr. Xu’s girlfriend, one of the initiators of the New Citizens’ Movement. Authorities continued to detain Mr. Xu but released Ms. Li on bail soon after her arrest.
After her release, Ms. Li appealed for Mr. Xu‘s release. Her efforts, however, merited ongoing threats of detainment and obligatory meetings with Gua and other officers. In fall/winter 2017, Ms. Li, also a researcher of labor issues, had accompanied volunteers to gather information and share data with heavily affected communities following an incident where the “low-end population” of migrant workers in the Beijing district had been driven out. There, the group assisted workers who had lost their jobs and housing.
In 2018, Ms. Li actively participated in the “MeToo” movement against gender violence, supporting the movement on platforms such as Twitter. She often stood in solidarity with various prisoners of conscience and their families.
In June 2019, doctors diagnosed Ms. Li with depression and advised her that she needed long-term medication. Nevertheless, she continued to participate in activities as usual.
From the start of December 2019, authorities stationed public safety personnel at her house. They have also surveilled her routes to and from work.
In the past, due to Ms. Li’s human rights activism, police regularly harassed her, Now, also due to Ms. Li’s past human rights activism, police continue to monitor her, violating her privacy and civil rights.
Now, in addition to police harassing and monitoring Ms. Li and violating her rights, she lives with the threat officials will imprison her if she communicates online.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Censorship, Intimidation and Threats, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Labour rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Dec 7, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 29, 2020
- Event Description
Sunday, November 30, Justice Bureau authorities phoned Beijing Lawyer Wang Yu informing her that the Chinese Government had revoked her license to practice law. Lawyer Wang had defended human rights activist Yu Wensheng, arrested in January 2018, currently imprisoned in Jiangsu, China. Since authorities sieged Mr. Yu, they have not only denied his wife’s visitation rights, they have revoked his rights to communicate with others, and have turned down requests for him to obtain dental treatment. Lawyer Wang has provided support and stood by Ms. Xu Yan, Mr. Yu’s wife, who has continued to fight for her husband’s rights during his detention.
On November 29, the day authorities revoked Lawyer Wang’s license, she and her husband, Lawyer Bao Longjun, joined with several other human rights lawyers, including Xie Yanyi, Wen Donghai, and Cheng Hai, to host a modest event to advocate for Mr. Yu. The support group petitioned the High People’s Court of Jiangsu to open trials on Mr. Yu’s case and allow his wife to visit him in prison.
As the first human rights lawyer arrested in the "709 incident,"* and because Lawyer Wang has helped Ms. Xu fight for Mr. Yu's rights, as well as helped many others defend their rights, she contravened the Chinese Communist Party CCP authorities’ taboo.
China typically resorts to implementing a series of suppressions toward human rights activists for example, lawyers face deliberate obstacles when representing human rights cases. In severe situations, they face the risk of police detaining them. If detained, the lawyer’s legal counsel also faces the risk of detainment for representing dissenting cases. Lawyer Wang’s case depicts this scenario.
In 2015, China’s President Xi Jinping initiated an action plan to weaken nascent human rights movements. CCP authorities apprehended Lawyer Wang in accordance with this plan. Authorities also arrested Lawyer Li Yuhan, Wang’s lawyer, currently serving her sentence in Liaoning, Shengyang. While defending Lawyer Li, Li Boguang, the lawyer who represented her, suddenly died in Jiangsu, Nanjing.
During the process of defending others, the four related lawyers suffered a series of persecutions. In January of 2016, authorities arrested Lawyer Wang, charging her for state subversion. After her imprisonment at a detention center in Tianjin, authorities released Lawyer Wang in July 2016.
As a lawyer’s livelihood depends on practicing law, revoking his or her license to practice law significantly impacts the survival of the individuals’ and his or her families’ survival. The CCP's current practice of revoking licenses of lawyers who defend human rights blatantly deprives them of their right to survive. CCP authorities also revoked the license to practice law for Lawyer Wang’s husband for representing human rights cases.
Human rights lawyer Chen Jiangang, exiled to America, said: “Both the husband and wife, have been deprived of their way out. Xi Jinping is the number one murderer, the chief CCP oppressor of human rights. Xi Jinping’s era does not allow for real lawyers.”
Lawyer Wang did not violate any laws or regulations during her time practicing law. Governing judicial organs forcibly revoked her license to practice law, against her own will. According to article 49 of “Lawyers’ Law of the People’s Republic of China,” the provincial judicial administration can revoke the lawyer’s license only if the circumstances of violation were severe.
For the first trial of a person accused of a crime, due process should define the Justice Bureau’s legitimacy and rationality. Only after confirmation can officials instruct the second deviation. Therefore, the punitive measures authorities imposed on Lawyer Wang violated her constitutional and legal rights, a serious crime.
The CCP perceives the human rights movement as a threat to its regime. Therefore, those like Lawyer Wang, who help wrongly accused and imprisoned rights defenders, as well as their defense lawyers, may also be wrongfully imprisoned. The authorities’ approach aims to put human rights activists in a situation where they’re isolated and without aid. Their ultimate goal? To shake the will of human rights workers.
In her work to help and defend human rights activists, as Lawyer Wang did not violate the law, the CCP’s punishment, revoking her license to practice law lacked justification. *Denotes the large-scale unified arrest in July of 2015 when CCP officials sieged more than 300 Chinese human rights defenders.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to work
- HRD
- Lawyer, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Dec 7, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 26, 2020
- Event Description
On 26 November 2020, the Linyi Municipal Public Security Bureau in Shandong province once again rejected the request of the lawyer of human rights defender Ding Jiaxi to meet his client. The Public Security Bureau said that, as Ding Jiaxi is facing national security charges, allowing him access to legal counsel would "impede the investigation" or result in the "leaking of State secrets".
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: eight pro-democracy defenders interrogated, detained for joining a liberal meeting, China: pro-democracy defender investigated, put under de facto house arrest (Update)
- Date added
- Dec 7, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 2, 2020
- Event Description
Fears are growing over the health and well-being of rights lawyer Chang Weiping, who is currently in detention on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power" in the northern Chinese province of Shaanxi, his family says after being allowed to visit him.
Shaanxi authorities allowed the Nov. 25 meeting after Chang's family and lawyers lodged official complaints about his incommunicado detention under "residential surveillance at a designated location (RSDL)" following his description of his torture during an earlier period in detention.
Chang's visit with father Chang Shuanming took place at a police station in Shaanxi's Baoji city, a source close to the family told RFA on Wednesday.
During the 10-minute visit, Chang appeared significantly thinner than before, and spoke slowly, the source said. He was also concerned that his wife might give interviews.
"From his father's description, he was exhausted, ... his eyes were red, and he spoke as if he was reciting something by heart," the source said. "His reactions were also slow, suggesting that he has probably been tortured."
There were also signs that the second detention was taking a psychological toll. As his father left, Chang shouted out to him, saying he no longer wished to live, the source said.
"His father said that when they came to say goodbye, Chang shouted out with all his strength that he didn't want to live any more," the source said.
Family threatened by police
Baoji police had pursued Chang's wife all the way to her place of work in the southern city of Shenzhen to put pressure on her not to speak out about his case, the source said.
"His father is a veteran member of the [ruling Chinese Communist] Party, and [Chang's] wife works in Shenzhen," the source said. "They even went to Shenzhen to find his wife and her employer, to threaten her and stop her speaking up on behalf of her husband."
"They have done everything in their power to threaten the family, making it harder for them to talk to the outside world about their grievances," he said, adding that the visit was also likely allowed in a bid to limit negative publicity.
Sources said two lawyers previously hired to represent Chang have now dropped the case under intense police pressure.
Repeated calls to Chang Shuanming's cell phone rang unanswered on Wednesday.
Tortured in detention
Qi An, a researcher with the London-based rights group Amnesty International, said Chang had already made a video describing his torture at the hands of the authorities during an earlier 10-day period of RSDL in January 2020.
"In the video, he mentions that he was put in a tiger chair," Qi said. "Human rights experts including the United Nations have said that RSDL in itself is a violation of human rights."
"Suspects in RSDL aren't allowed to see family or a lawyer, making it hard to verify whether someone has been tortured," Qi said.
The aim of the torture appears to be to extract a "confession" and guilty plea from suspects, Qi said.
"Many people say after they are released from RSDL that the authorities wanted them to plead guilty or provide some information," Qi said. "Of course, we don't know what information the authorities may want from Chang Weiping, but there is an operation to crack down on any of the rights activists or lawyers who took part in the Xiamen gathering."
Chang was taken away from his home by police in Baoji city in China's northern province of Shaanxi, on Oct. 22, on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power."
The arrest came six days after he posted a video on YouTube sharing details of his torture.
Chang's January detention came after rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi and activists Zhang Zhongshun and Dai Zhenya were detained following a meeting with New Citizens' Movement founder Xu Zhiyong, who was himself later detained after publishing an open letter calling on CCP general secretary Xi Jinping to step down.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Family of HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: prominent lawyer arrested, held incommunicado
- Date added
- Dec 7, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 10, 2020
- Event Description
On November 10, 2020, Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Court convicted activist Zhang Baocheng (张宝成) of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and “promoting terrorism, extremism, and inciting execution of terrorist activities” and handed down a 3.5-year prison sentence; three years for the “picking quarrels” charge and 8 months for the terrorism charge. The sentencing hearing followed an August 18 trial. Zhang appealed against his conviction on November 16. The court convicted Zhang of using the Internet, especially Twitter, to send out or share videos and information that “smear and insult the country’s leadership, oppose the Communist Party, split the state, harm ethnic unity and insult judicial organs.” One type of post cited included Zhang raising awareness of the plight of imprisoned activist Huang Qi’s elderly mother Pu Wenqing. Zhang was convicted of sending 1 video about East Turkestan (Xinjiang) which authorities said touched on “violent terrorism and extremism.” Beijing police initially seized Zhang on May 28, 2019, ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre. He was not granted access to his lawyers until October 2019. Zhang Baocheng is currently being detained at Beijing No. 3 Detention Center and is expected to be released in November 2022.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Nov 28, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 20, 2020
- Event Description
Activist Zhou Weilin (周维林) went on trial on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” on November 20, 2020 in a closed-door hearing at Feidong County Court in Anhui Province. Guards blocked the entrance to the courthouse and lawyers Liang Xiaojun (梁小军) and Wu Li (吴莉) had to be escorted inside by the trial judge. The court refused to allow Zhou’s supporters inside to observe or testify in his defence. Zhou and his lawyers were allowed to speak during the trial. The hearing ended without a sentence being pronounced. The charges against Zhou are related to his comments on Twitter and for writing articles for the human rights website Rights Defence Network (维权网). Police initially detained Zhou on March 12, 2020 and he has been held at Feidong County Detention Center.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Nov 28, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 21, 2020
- Event Description
Wan Yiu-sing, an internet radio reporter and his wife were arrested this morning on suspicion of money laundering and financing of secessionist activities. The news was reported by the couple's lawyer and a note on Wan's Facebook page, familiarly called "Giggs". His secretary was also arrested for money laundering.
"Giggs" (in the photo) hosts a program on the D100 channel, in which he often addressed issues related to last year’s pro-democracy demonstrations. In February he also opened a fundraiser to help young people from Hong Kong who go to Taiwan to study.
Police believe this money is used to finance young people who fled Hong Kong because they are involved in secession activities, punishable under the new security law, wanted by Beijing for the territory. The law prohibits and punishes acts and activities of secession, subversion, terrorism and collaboration with foreign forces that endanger national security.
According to the special national security police, those arrested used part of these funds to send them to organizations engaged in secessionist activities.
Requested by various media to give more details, political commissioner Chris Tang said he could not reveal more details, given that the investigation is still ongoing.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Family of HRD, Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Nov 28, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 23, 2020
- Event Description
Democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam on Monday pleaded guilty to public order charges in a Hong Kong court hearing, before being held in police custody pending a sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 2.
Wong, 24, admitted organizing an illegal assembly, while Chow pleaded guilty to taking part in an illegal assembly, while all three pleaded guilty to inciting people to attend an illegal gathering, charges which carry maximum jail terms of three years.
"Hang in there, everyone, keep going!" Wong told the court, before being taken away by correctional service officers.
Lam raised his hand, palm and fingers splayed to signify the five demands of last year's protest movement, while Chow made no response to the decision to hold the three in custody pending sentencing.
Dozens of supporters chanted "Release Joshua Wong! Release Agnes Chow! Release Ivan Lam" outside the court building, as well as repeating the five demands of the protest movement, which include fully democratic elections and accountability for widespread police violence.
The three were formerly leaders of the political party Demosisto, which disbanded just before the ruling Chinese Communist Party imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong on July 1, banning peaceful criticism of the authorities.
Wong had earlier told reporters that he wouldn't be surprised if the three were placed behind bars following the hearing at West Kowloon Magistrate's Court.
He said 23 activists, journalist, and democratic politicians had been arrested as the crackdown on peaceful dissent gathered pace.
Many arrests and raids have come after their targets were denounced in the pro-China media or by Chinese officials.
Defense lawyers called on the court to take into account the youth of the defendants and the fact that Chow, who, unlike Wong and Lam has never served time in jail before, had no prior convictions.
Magistrate Lily Wong said she would rule out a community service sentence for Lam due to his previous convictions.
Expected to be jailed
Joshua Wong, who was out on bail before the hearing, had earlier told reporters the trio had decided to plead guilty to avoid interrogation and investigation.
"But it also means that the three of us could be remanded in custody immediately," he said, calling on Hongkongers to support each other.
"We will want to call on the people of Hong Kong at this difficult time of white terror and persecution under the national security law ... to support each other through this low point in the pro-democracy movement," he said.
Chow said she felt "uneasy" at the thought of going to jail for the first time.
"It's entirely likely that I may be in jail for the first time in my life, and I have a lot of anxiety about what the future will bring," she said.
"But never forget that there are brothers, sisters, and friends who have suffered far worse than us," she said, calling for greater public pressure on China over the 12 Hongkongers currently detained by Chinese police after trying to flee to democratic Taiwan by speedboat.
Lam said he had made mental preparation for being remanded in police custody pending sentencing.
"Our case ... shows that the legitimacy of the Hong Kong police force has been blown to smithereens," Lam said. "Was the siege of police headquarters a crime, or was it necessary to achieve justice and fight for democracy?"
"I believe that the people of Hong Kong know the answer to that already," he said. "We have no regrets, and we will keep up the struggle."
The case against Wong relied on public comments he made on June 21, 2019, ahead of a mass protest over police violence that resulted in the siege of police headquarters in Wanchai, as well as a message on his phone detailing the timing and arrangements for the protest.
On the day in question, crowds of mostly young people wearing black converged on immigration and tax headquarters in Wanchai, sparking temporary shutdowns of the offices, before gathering in their thousands outside police headquarters to call for the release of those already arrested, and to demand an apology for police violence against unarmed protesters the previous week.
Some activists barricaded a vehicle gate in the barbed-wire wall of the fortress-like compound, prevented police vans from getting in or out, and taped up CCTV cameras to avoid being identified. Others blocked nearby highways with makeshift walls, cones, and traffic barriers, taking over several major traffic routes.
Police in uniform lined up inside the glass atrium of their own headquarters, with officers watching warily as the crowd chanted "Release them! Release them!" and "Apologize! Apologize!" on the street outside, where someone had taped a large poster to the building that read "Struggle to the bitter end."
The crowd also chanted: "Retract the designation of rioting! Stop arresting citizens!"
London-based rights group Amnesty International had earlier condemned police violence during protests on June 12 as violating international law, after evaluating video footage of the clashes.
Wong joined the June 21 protest just three days after his release from an earlier jail sentence related to the 2014 Occupy Central pro-democracy movement.
'Poisoned judicial system'
The U.S.-based Hong Kong Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC) condemned the decision to remand Wong, Chow, and Lam in custody pending sentencing.
“We condemn Magistrate Lily Wong’s decision today to jail Wong, Chow, and Lam while awaiting sentencing for exercising their rights to protest," the group's managing director Samuel Chu said in a statement.
"Make no mistake, when they pled guilty in court today, it was not a judgment on them, but rather a judgment against a poisoned Hong Kong judiciary system no longer independent or capable of rendering justice," Chu said.
Since the beginning of November, Hong Kong authorities have arrested a public radio show producer, pro-democracy lawmakers, a primary school teacher, owners of small businesses who have expressed support for the protest, [among others], the HKDC said, calling for the trio to be released immediately.
"We cannot remain silent or surrender to the terror," it said.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: pro-democracy leader arrested for participating in an allegedly unauthorised assembly in 2019
- Date added
- Nov 28, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 3, 2020
- Event Description
Police in Hong Kong arrested a producer Tuesday who made a documentary for government broadcaster RTHK about a July 21, 2019, mob attack on train passengers in Yuen Long.
Bao Choy, who worked on an investigative documentary showing how police were present as baton-wielding men in white T-shirts began to gather in Yuen Long ahead of the bloody attack on passengers and passers-by, was arrested at her home, RTHK reported.
Police carried out a search of Choy's home in Mei Foo, and she was taken away by officers at about 3.30 p.m., the report said.
She was arrested on suspicion of road traffic violations relating to vehicle registration searches used in the program. Her arrest has prompted fears that she is being targeted for political reasons. She was released on bail after about six hours of questioning, RTHK reported.
The Hong Kong Connection TV documentary titled “7.21 Who Owns the Truth?” showed clips from surveillance cameras at shops in Yuen Long and interviewed people who were identified in the footage.
Its airing forced police to admit they already had a presence in the town but did nothing to prevent the attack following initial denials.
Thirty-nine minutes elapsed between the first emergency calls to the final arrival of police at the Yuen Long MTR station, where dozens of people already were injured and many needed hospital treatment.
RTHK’s director of broadcasting Leung Ka-wing said the station was "afraid" and "worried" by Choy’s arrest, but would not alter its editorial policies.
“We are afraid. We are worried ... we better say we are worried, whether we can continue the way we produce accurate news as before,” Leung told reporters.
“We always stick to our principles. It’s very clear in the charter, as well as the producer guidelines,” he said.
'Extreme shock and outrage'
At least eight media organizations, including the Hong Kong Journalists Association, the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association and the RTHK staff union issued a joint statement Tuesday expressing “extreme shock and outrage” at Choy’s arrest.
The groups called on the police to make public the details of the case and justification for the arrest, and to release Choy immediately and unconditionally.
“We think this is unreasonable and a complete blow to freedom of the press,” HKJA chairperson Chris Yeung said. “There will be an immediate chilling effect, because the reporter has been working with many media, including media of different backgrounds.”
He said even the pro-China Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po newspapers had conducted such investigations.
“If you are facing a prosecution because of a (car registration search) you may not dare to continue, and you may need to wait for legal issues to be clarified before proceeding,” he said.
Council Front lawmaker and former journalist Claudia Mo said it is extremely common practice for Hong Kong journalists to use car registration searches as part of their investigations.
"This is obviously a blow to freedom of the press,” Mo told RFA. “I myself have made just such a license plate query for H.K. $45 … after someone followed me in a car.”
“This is directed at RTHK, one hundred percent,” she said.
Civic Party leader Alvin Yeung agreed.
“If this isn’t retaliation, then what is?” he told journalists.
Assault on press freedom
In a statement, Britain-based rights group Hong Kong Watch strongly condemned Choy’s arrest.
The group’s policy director, Johnny Patterson, said Choy’s arrest was “nothing less than an outright assault on press freedom.”
“The police have failed to hold the perpetrators of the Yuen Long attack to account. For the victims, there has still been no justice,” he said. “Instead, they have chosen to arrest a journalist whose only crime is reminding the world of that fact.”
Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting, who was injured in the Yuen Long attack, praised Choy’s professionalism, saying she had "asked all the right questions.”
"I do think that the police operation will inevitably create a chilling effect that those journalists who dare to report any wrongdoings of the government officials or the pro-establishment camp have been facing great pressure, and I urge them to stand firm and report the truth ... without fear or favor,” Lam said in comments quoted by RTHK.
Pro-government lawmaker Junius Ho, who was filmed shaking hands with white-clad men in Yuen Long on the night of the attack, July 21, last year, said journalists should not break the law while doing their jobs.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Artist, Media Worker, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Nov 5, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 27, 2020
- Event Description
On October 27, Lin Qilei, attorney for Li Yuhan, a female human rights lawyer in her 60’s, announced that the supreme people’s court has rescheduled Li’s case for November 30. Li, who has been detained for more than three years at Shengyang No. 1 Detention Center, suffers multiple health concerns, including hypothyroidism, ischemic heart disease, and stomach problems, requiring daily medications. After a fall in 2018 which led to spinal damages, Li now has to walk with a crutch.
Authorities initially indicted Li for provoking troubles and picking quarrels, but later, added fraud to her charges. As evidence regarding her case has not proved to be sufficient, however, the court has repeatedly delayed hearing her case, blocking her release. After authorities transferred Li’s case to Shengyang Municipal Heping People’s Court on April 8, 2018, the court decided to host the trial on June 8, 2019, now scheduled for November 30. With no verdict after more than three years, supporters suspect officials have targeted and repressed her “simple" case.
During Li’s detention, police have hired the female cell head and other prisoners to torture daily her. Tactics include:
Forcing her to take cold showers. Rationing her food to half of portions other prisoners receive. Placing her vegetable/s and fruit on the restroom floor to prevent her from eating it. Giving her the previous day’s vegetable/s and fruit after other prisoners intentionally urinated on them; Prohibiting her family members from depositing money into her prison account.
After his last meeting with Li, Attorney Lin also announced that court officials have not addressed his nor Li’s application for bail and compulsory change. Li believes that authorities fabricated charges against her to persecute and suppress her previous work safeguarding other people’s rights.
The judicial department asked Li to write the “confession and acceptance of penalty” letter in exchange for her release, but she refused to compromise her stance. Attorney Lin relayed greetings and concerns from others to Li Yuhan, hoping that she can remain upbeat and able to confront conceivable challenges.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment, Torture
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Nov 1, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 22, 2020
- Event Description
The Observatory has been informed by the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) about the arbitrary and incommunicado detention of Mr. Chang Weiping, a prominent human rights lawyer known for taking on sensitive human rights cases and filling lawsuits against companies for discrimination in the workplace against women, LGBTQ+ persons, and individuals affected by HIV/AIDs.
According to the information received, on October 22, 2020, Mr. Chang Weiping was arrested at his home in Fengxiang County, Shaanxi Province, by police officers from Baoji City. Later the same day, Mr. Chang Weiping’s wife received a phone call from a police officer who informed her that her husband had been placed under “residential surveillance in a designated location” (RSDL), a form of enforced disappearance[1].
On October 26, 2020, the Baoji City Public Security Bureau denied two separate requests presented by Mr. Chang Weiping’s lawyers to meet with their client. Furthermore, one of the lawyers was informed that Mr. Chang Weiping was suspected of “subversion of State power” and that the case involved “State secrets”. At the time of publication of this Urgent Appeal, Mr. Chang Weiping had not been formally charged and his whereabouts remained unknown.
Six days before his arrest, on October 16, 2020, Mr. Chang Weiping published a video statement on social media denouncing the physical and psychological torture he had been subjected to while in detention in January 2020, including being tied to a “tiger chair”[2].
On January 12, 2020, Mr. Chang Weiping, was arbitrarily arrested by Shaanxi police and placed under RSDL in an unknown location on charges of “subversion of State power” (Article 105(1) of China’s Criminal Law), in connection to a private meeting organised by academics, human rights lawyers and activists in December 2019 in Xiamen, Fujian Province, to discuss the situation of the rule of law and human rights in China.
On January 13, Mr. Chang Weiping’s license to practice law was cancelled. Previously, in October 2018, the Baoji City Judicial Bureau had suspended his law license in retaliation for his human rights work.
On January 21, Mr. Chang Weiping was released on bail pending trial. Nonetheless, he was requested to leave his city of residence and was confined to his family home in Baoji, where he remained under strict police scrutiny, including daily phone calls and weekly meetings with the police. Furthermore, he was prevented from being reunited with his family.
The Observatory expresses its utmost concern over the arbitrary arrest and detention of Mr. Chang Weiping as it seems to be only aimed at punishing him for his legitimate human rights activities and urges the Chinese authorities to immediately disclose his whereabouts and unconditionally release him and all other human rights defenders, including labour rights defenders, arbitrarily detained in the country.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Nov 1, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 28, 2020
- Event Description
A teenage Hong Kong activist was charged on Thursday with secession, the first public political figure to be prosecuted under a sweeping new national security law Beijing imposed on the city.
Tony Chung, 19, appeared in court charged with secession, money laundering and conspiring to publish seditious content, two days after he was arrested in a Hong Kong coffee shop opposite the US consulate.
Chung is a former member of Student Localism, a small group that advocated Hong Kong's independence from China.
The group disbanded its Hong Kong network shortly before Beijing blanketed the city in its new security law in late June but it has kept its international chapters going.
The legislation outlawed a host of new crimes, including expressing political views such as advocating independence or greater autonomy for Hong Kong.
Chung and three other members of Student Localism were first arrested by a newly created national security police unit in July on suspicion of inciting secession via social media posts.
However, Chung was arrested again on Tuesday morning by plainclothes police just metres away from the US consulate.
A little-known group calling itself Friends of Hong Kong put out a statement shortly afterwards saying it had been trying to arrange for Chung to enter the US consulate that day and apply for asylum.
Chung was held by police until his appearance in court on Thursday morning. He was denied bail.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 31, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 4, 2020
- Event Description
Chinese authorities in the northern region of Inner Mongolia have arrested a human rights lawyer after he refused to send his child to school amid regionwide protests against plans to end Mongolian-medium education.
Police in Inner Mongolia's Tongliao city are have formally arrested Hu Baolong on charges of "leaking state secrets overseas," ethnic Mongolian scholar Khubis, who currently lives in Japan, told RFA on Wednesday.
He said he last had contact with Hu on Sept. 4.
"Hu Baolong protested because his kid was starting primary school this year," Khubis said. "As a father, he was protesting against [the ruling Chinese Communist Party's] 'bilingual education' policy."
"I was told that he was arrested for giving information to foreigners," he said. "But all his messages were on WeChat and were about regular stuff that most people know about."
Khubis said that, last time they spoke, he and Hu had avoided talking about the massive political resistance to plans to end Mongolian-medium education in the region's schools.
"We talked about everyday life; there was nothing secret or sensitive," Khubis said. "I think they are targeting him for taking part in the resistance movement among parents in Tongliao."
Class boycotts and street protests
Nomin, an ethnic Mongolian and former colleague of Hu's now living in the U.S., said she had tried to contact Hu's sister.
"I asked [his sister] if he had been detained and she said yes, he had," she said.
"The Tongliao authorities told some local parents that they detained [Hu] to encourage the local parents to settle down," Nomin said. "This was a couple of weeks ago."
"I learned via a group chat that Hu is being prosecuted and has been formally arrested."
Plans to end the use of the Mongolian language in the region's ethnic Mongolian schools have sparked weeks of class boycotts, street protests, and a region-wide crackdown by riot squads and state security police in the region, in a process described by ethnic Mongolians as "cultural genocide."
Since the start of the new semester, schools that previously offered Mongolian-medium teaching will start using Mandarin Chinese instead, phasing out any Mongolian-language teaching materials, according to local residents and overseas activists who spoke to RFA.
As well as Hu, the authorities have detained a further eight people on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," in connection with the schools protests.
Nine deaths so far
According to the New York-based Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC), at least nine people have died and thousands have been detained as the authorities launched a region-wide crackdown on the protest movement, which organized region-wide class boycotts and street protests in response to the policy change.
An estimated 300,000 students have boycotted class across Inner Mongolia since the end of August, with the authorities claiming the policy is a move towards "bilingual education."
Ethnic Mongolians in the region say it is a form of cultural genocide aimed at cutting off their remaining connection to their culture and heritage.
In several areas, the authorities dispatched SWAT teams, plainclothes state security police, and volunteers to strong-arm families into sending their children back to school, SMHRIC reported.
Parents who failed to enroll their children in school were threatened with having them expelled, while hundreds of ethnic Mongolians were forced to resign from public office after they resisted the changes to the curriculum, which were kept under wraps until the start of the new semester at the end of August.
Hu Baolong is the the founder of Tongliao's Menggali law firm, which mostly provides legal services for ethnic Mongolians, especially members of traditional herding communities.
The authorities had earlier imposed a travel ban on him after he represented a client in a politically sensitive legal case, and Hu was prevented from crossing the border into the neighboring country of Mongolia by border guards at Erenhot in 2010, on the grounds that his leaving would "endanger national security."
According to ethnic Mongolian Tara, Hu was also a veteran of the 1989 pro-democracy movement in China.
"He took part in the student movement in 1989, then went on to found his own law firm in Tongliao," Tara said. "He is a dissident, and advocate for freedom, and has been targeted all along; this time he explained the bilingual education policy to everyone in a WeChat group."
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 20, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 1, 2020
- Event Description
Activist Meng Xiaodong (孟晓东) stood trial at Sui County Court in Shangqiu City on charges of “picking quarrels ” and “obstruction of credit card management” on October 1. The prosecution also accused him of “insulting others” on Twitter for his comments about former state leader Mao Zedong. He pled not guilty and his lawyers defended his innocence. No members of the public were allowed into the courthouse. The hearing ended without a verdict being pronounced. Since 2010, Meng has been active in defending local farmers’ land rights. On September 6, 2019, police from Sui County took Meng away from his home, first detaining him on suspicion of “picking quarrels” and later adding the allegations of “obstruction of credit card management” and “insulting others” on Twitter.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Land rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 7, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 29, 2020
- Event Description
Zhongwei City police in Ningxia arrested several volunteers at a wildlife conservation group on numerous charges on September 29. Police announced Li Genshan (李根山), Zhang Baoqi (张保其), Niu Haobao (牛海波) and 8 unnamed individuals of the Zhongwei Mongolian Gazelle Patrol Team had been arrested for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, “extortion and bribery” & “illegal hunting.” The group used to chase poachers in the desert at night and shortly before being detained, had reportedly accused local forest police of sheltering poachers. Police seized Li, Zhang and Niu on September 9, 2020 and criminally detained them the next day for “picking quarrels,” “extortion and blackmail,” and “robbery.” On September 11, 2020, the police announced on its Weibo account that they arrested 6 more individuals but did not disclose any details. According to other volunteers of their group, three of the six detainees were from the group. By the end of September, 12 individuals remain in custody and two had been released on bail. Zhang’s son Zhang Hai applied for bail but the police rejected the application. In 2019, Li Genshan exposed that a paper manufacturer had been illegally discharging sewage in the Tengger Desert in Inner Mongolia for years, resulting in an investigation from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
- Impact of Event
- 12
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 7, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 27, 2020
- Event Description
An ongoing investigation into a hard-hitting journalist with Hong Kong's government broadcaster RTHK will have a "chilling effect" on the city's news organizations, the Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA) warned on Monday.
The RTHK Programme Staff Union said on Sunday it had received news that the station management will reopen a probe into the work performance of TV presenter Nabela Qoser, whose questions of chief executive Carrie Lam in the wake of a July 31 attack by armed thugs on train passengers in Yuen Long prompted Lam and other top officials to walk out of a news conference.
The union described the broadcaster’s decisions to reopen the investigation into complaints against Qoser and extend her probationary period by 120 days as "political persecution," RTHK reported.
Qoser, a Hong Kong-born journalist of Pakistani descent, asked Lam where she was on the night of the attack, which went on for nearly 40 minutes before police showed up at the scene, demanding: "How could you sleep last night?"
"The Hong Kong Journalists Association is concerned about [the reopening of the investigation ], and worries that journalists who raise pointed questions will be subjected to suppression in their workplaces," the HKJA said in a statement on its Facebook page.
"[This] will eventually create a chilling effect," it said.
RTHK staff, as civil servants, are required to submit to at least performance appraisals over a three-year probationary period, but the process doesn't include public complaints.
Qoser's probationary period had been due to end, but has been extended pending the renewed investigation, the staff union said on its Facebook page.
"The sudden re-opening of the investigation and the extension of the probationary period are not only unfair to Qoser; they also undermine the entire civil service appraisal system," the HKJA said.
"If journalists are subjected to criticism, suppression, or political censorship just for doing their jobs ... they will no longer be able to speak up against injustice," the group said.
RTHK union members staged a protest outside the station's headquarters on Monday as a new advisory board convened in the wake of complaints of anti-government bias against the organization met.
'A form of political suppression'
Union president Chiu Sin-yan said the reinvestigation of Qoser seemed to be politically motivated.
"We tend to believe that this is a form of political suppression," Chiu said. "This investigation was previously closed ... so if it can be reopened indefinitely, we think the intention behind this is self-evident."
Chiu said the reasons given by RTHK director of broadcasting Leung Ka-wing during a meeting on were insufficient.
HKJA chairman Chris Yeung said the move will likely have a further chilling effect on the city's journalists.
"It is worrying because if news organizations cave in to political pressure from the authorities and put pressure on journalists, even if they dress it up as non-renewal of a contract or ... sacking for other reasons, this ... will have a chilling effect on the whole industry," Yeung said.
A warning to others
Bruce Lui, senior journalism lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University said the singling out of Qoser is intended as a warning to all journalists.
"Is this to be the fate of journalists or media organizations seen as less obedient by the government?" Lui said. "I'm sure many will be wondering if they should be less outspoken ... and not do anything wrong."
As China imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong on June 30, Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of Beijing's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, and Lam both hit out at some media organizations for "smearing" the authorities in their criticisms of government and police.
The law stipulates that the media should be "subject to better supervision, management, publicity, and education," Lui said.
"So it is not surprising that the authorities have targeted the media with various actions," he said.
Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting wrote to RTHK on Monday saying that there was no new information that would justify a reinvestigation of Qoser's performance.
He told its reporters: "I strongly urge the senior management of RTHK to uphold the freedom of expression, freedom of the press and editorial autonomy, and to try to defend their professional reporters and journalists and let them to perform their duties professionally and independently."
But Lam Tai-fai, chairman of the RTHK advisory board, declined to comment on the move when asked by journalists on Monday.
"I am not in a good position to comment (on) the employment situation," Lam said. "Whether it’s fair or not fair, it’s not my job and also I cannot make a comment with my limited knowledge in this area."
No support for police, government
The reinvestigation into Qoser's work comes after broadcasting regulator the Communications Authority issued a warning to RTHK following public complaints that its TV show Pentaprism hadn't upheld a wide enough range of views, namely those in support of police and government.
Qoser, a Hong Kong Baptist University graduate, has previously worked at TVB and Ming Pao, and has been subjected to online racist abuse, according to Hong Kong's Equal Opportunities Commission.
RTHK is a fully funded department of the Hong Kong government, but has been criticized by pro-China politicians and officials for alleged anti-government bias.
In May 2020, it axed a top satirical show that poked fun at police denials of violence against pro-democracy protesters, and apologized, after the Communications Authority issued a warning to the station for "denigrating and insulting" the police in a February episode of the show.
The decision to reinvestigate Qoser's performance comes after the city's police force said it would no longer recognize credentials issued by the HKJA, as was previously the case, saying it would now decide which media organizations were legitimate.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Media freedom, Offline, Right to work
- HRD
- Media Worker, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 7, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 2, 2020
- Event Description
A court in Shanghai recently handed down a secret sentence of three years' imprisonment to detained rights activist Chen Jianfang, a Chinese rights website reported.
"We learned on Oct. 2, 2020 that Shanghai human rights defender Chen Jianfang has been sentenced to three years' imprisonment for incitement to subvert state power," the Weiquanwang rights website reported, citing lawyer Liu Shihui.
"Chen Jianfang is currently being held in the Shanghai Detention Center. The authorities have so far not allowed her to meet with a defense attorney," the report said.
The sentence will run until Feb. 18, 2022, it said.
Chen, 49, a Shanghai-based housing activist was recently named as a recipient of the 4th Cao Shunli Memorial Award for Human Rights Defenders by Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch, Human Rights Campaign in China, and the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network.
The news of her secret sentencing came after her indictment by the state prosecutor on Aug. 30, and the transfer of her case to the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court.
Chen's appointed defense lawyer Wu Li told RFA on Monday that she had been repeatedly denied permission to meet with her client.
"After she instructed us, she applied to the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate Court, but it didn't approve her request, so we were never able to read the case files," Wu said. "Later, we requested information from the court about where she was being held, but they didn't tell us."
"I later learned that she is in the Shanghai No. 1 Detention Center, so I made an appointment, but they canceled it," Wu said. "The reason they gave was ridiculous: that only one meeting was permitted for each stage in the case."
Wu said unconfirmed reports suggest that Chen's family may have been forced to revoke her lawyer's instruction under pressure from the authorities.
Cao Shunli as model
Gu Guoping, a friend of Chen's, said her detention came after she penned an essay paying tribute rights activist Cao Shunli on the fifth anniversary of her death in police custody on March 14, 2014.
Gu said the charges could also be linked to the way in which the news of the Cao Shunli award was made public.
"She inadvertently disclosed the contact details of the chairman of the U.N. Human Rights Council to petitioners, and they also inadvertently leaked the news [of her award]," Gu said. "Then the authorities stopped her from going to Switzerland [to receive the award]."
Chen has been held incommunicado for more than six months on subversion charges, putting her at high risk of torture and other ill-treatment, rights groups say.
Chen was detained on March 20 alongside her husband, and the couple 'disappeared' for several months. Chen was formally arrested on suspicion of "subversion of state power" on May 22, while her husband was released on bail on April 3.
Her incommunicado detention was the subject of an appeal from four United Nations human rights experts to the Chinese government in August.
Chen, 49, who hails from a rural community, began defending land and housing rights after her family lost land to government-backed developers.
Her work has highlighted the widespread mass evictions behind Shanghai's skyscrapers and high-speed railways, key elements in China's development showcase that mask widespread abuses of residents' rights.
She has referred to Cao Shunli as "my spiritual teacher, from whom I learned some of the highest ideals."
"My own rights defense work is indivisible from what she taught me," Chen wrote to RFA at the time of the award.
Chen's sentencing comes at a time of worsening rights abuses under President Xi Jinping, who now looks set to rule indefinitely.
Cao was detained on Sept. 14, 2013, as she was boarding a flight to Geneva, where she was to attend a session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, where she hoped to participate in drafting China’s human rights action plans and reports for its U.N. human rights reviews.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 7, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 30, 2020
- Event Description
A court in Hong Kong on Wednesday extended a travel ban on pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong in connection with an "illegal" protest last year, and for defying a government ban on mask-wearing in public.
The Eastern Magistrate's Court granted bail applications from Wong and co-defendant Koo Sze-yiu, who face charges of "taking part in an illegal assembly" on Oct. 5, 2019, before adjourning until Dec. 18.
But while it lifted a travel ban linked to bail for Koo, it extended the ban on Wong leaving Hong Kong.
Protesters and supporters gathered outside the courtroom, chanting: "Go Joshua Wong!" as dozens of uniformed police officers stood by, while a pro-China group showed up to shout insults and call for Wong's bail application to be denied.
Koo, who has stage IV cancer requiring chemotherapy and multiple surgeries, said public rallies don't need to seek the approval of the authorities before going ahead.
Wong, who faces a number of protest-related charges in separate cases, said he had no intention of giving up his activism.He said the extended travel ban was likely aimed at ensuring he can't promote the cause of the Hong Kong protesters overseas, as fellow activist Nathan Law has done.
"The prosecution once more applied for me to be prevented from leaving Hong Kong," he said. "The government wants to create a chilling effect under the guise of a criminal trial."
"By bringing case after case against me, they have succeeded in preventing me from leaving Hong Kong, to make it much harder for me to talk about Hong Kong's resistance movement to the rest of the world," he said.
"But what I have to put up with is nothing compared to the charges [faced by many others] of rioting, assault and conspiracy, not to mention the 12 Hongkongers [detained] in Shenzhen," Wong said.
He called on Hongkongers to remember the 12 detainees in Hong Kong, whose speedboat was seized by the China Coast Guard as they tried to flee to the democratic island of Taiwan.
March application turned down
Hong Kong police last week turned down an application to hold a protest march on China's Oct. 1 National Day public holiday, to call for the release of the 12 detainees.
"I believe that Hongkongers will use different methods, today, tomorrow, and in the future, to express their concern for them," Wong said.
Wong, 23, was arrested on Sept. 24 as he reported to Central Police Station in connection with another ongoing protest-related case.
He has already served several months' of prison time in connection with last year's anti-extradition and pro-democracy protests and the 2014 Occupy Central movement.
He continues to face six charges in three separate cases, including "inciting others to participate in an illegal assembly," "organizing an illegal assembly," and violating an emergency law banning masks in public.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment, Travel Restriction
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Online, Right to fair trial
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 7, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 22, 2020
- Event Description
Chinese authorities should immediately quash the 18-year sentence against a property tycoon and outspoken critic of President Xi Jinping, Human Rights Watch said today.
On September 22, 2020, a Beijing court announced on its website that Ren Zhiqiang had been convicted of taking bribes and embezzling public funds. He was also fined 4.2 million yuan (US$620,000).
“The corruption charges against Ren Zhiqiang are a thin cover for President Xi Jinping’s intolerance of dissent,” said Yaqiu Wang, China researcher. “The 18-year sentence handed down to a Communist Party member and member of the economic elite shows the grim environment for speech in China.”
Ren, 69, is the former chairman of Huayuan, a state-owned real estate group. He was born into a political family – his father was a deputy commerce minister. He rose to public prominence after garnering 38 million followers on the Chinese social media site Weibo. Known as “The Cannon,” Ren often used the platform to express views critical of authorities, and to urge the Communist Party to improve its governance of the country.
In March, the Beijing police detained Ren after he criticized the Chinese government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. In an online essay, Ren wrote that “People’s lives are harmed by both the virus and the serious ills of the system.” While he did not mention Xi by name, he suggested Xi was a “clown stripped naked who insisted on continuing being emperor.”
In July, the Beijing Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Chinese Communist Party’s abusive internal investigation agency, announced that Ren had been expelled from the Party and would be prosecuted on corruption charges. The commission did not make public where Ren was being held, and it is unclear what, if any, access he had to family members or lawyers of his choice.
The case highlights serious due process concerns and the absence of credible, publicly available information to substantiate the charges against Ren. The trial, held on September 9 at the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Court, was secret. Neither the court nor Chinese state media released any information regarding the proceedings. Ren’s friends said that he was represented by a government-appointed lawyer, but it is unclear whether he had requested his own lawyer. The court said Ren had confessed to all charges and would not appeal.
The authorities’ treatment of Ren in detention is unknown, but as Human Rights Watch documented in a 2016 report, abuses against detainees in corruption cases are common. They include prolonged sleep deprivation, being forced into stress positions for extended periods, deprivation of water and food, and severe beatings. Detainees are also subject to solitary and incommunicado detention in unofficial detention facilities. After “confessing” to corruption, suspects are typically brought into the criminal justice system, convicted, and sentenced to often lengthy prison terms.
In February 2016, Ren was banished from social media in China after he criticized Xi for calling on the Chinese media to “serve the Party” in a speech. The authorities publicly censured Ren and put him on a one-year probation from the Party.
“Ren’s sham trial may put him in prison for the rest of his life,” Wang said. “A failure to immediately release Ren would show the world that China’s legal system is a tool for settling political scores, not delivering justice.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 25, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 24, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong police arrested prominent democracy activist Joshua Wong on Thursday for participating in an unauthorised assembly in October 2019 and violating the city's anti-mask law, according to a post on his official Twitter account.
Wong's latest arrest adds to several unlawful assembly charges or suspected offences he and other activists are facing related to last year's pro-democracy protests, which prompted Beijing to impose a sweeping national security law on June 30.
Hong Kong police confirmed they arrested two men, aged 23 and 74, on Thursday for illegal assembly on Oct 5, 2019.
The arrest of Wong, aged 23, comes around 6 weeks after media tycoon Jimmy Lai was detained on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces.
Wong had been a frequent visitor to Washington where he appealed to the U.S. Congress to support Hong Kong's democracy movement and counter Beijing's tightening grip over the global financial hub. His visits drew the wrath of Beijing, which says he is a "black hand" of foreign forces.
Wong disbanded his pro-democracy group Demosisto in June, just hours after China's parliament passed national security law for Hong Kong, bypassing the city's local legislature, a move widely criticised by Western governments.
His long-time colleague, Agnes Chow, and two other activists were also among 10 people police arrested in August on suspicion of violating the new law.
The new law punishes anything China considers as subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with up to life in prison.
Wong was just 17 years old when he became the face of the 2014 student-led Umbrella Movement democracy protests, but he was not a leading figure of the often violent unrest that shook the semi-autonomous former British colony last year.
An anti-mask law was introduced last year in a bid to help police identify the protesters they suspected of committing crimes and it is facing a challenge in court. In the meantime, the Hong Kong government has made face masks mandatory in most circumstances due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The European Union on Thursday criticised the arrest of the prominent activist, saying it was "troubling" and undermined trust in China.
"The arrest of Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong on 24 September is the latest in a troubling series of arrests of pro-democracy activists since the summer," an EU spokesperson said, calling for "very careful scrutiny" by the judiciary.
"Developments in Hong Kong call into question China's will to uphold its international commitments, undermine trust and impact EU-China relations."
The EU has repeatedly voiced concern at the new Hong Kong security law, which critics say erodes important freedoms in the city.
Last week senior EU leaders pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping over the situation in Hong Kong at a video summit, saying democratic rights in the city must be preserved.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 25, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 9, 2020
- Event Description
Beijing police seized publisher Geng Xiaonan (耿潇男) and her husband Qin Zhen (秦真) on September 9. Both have been criminally detained on suspicion of “illegal business activity” and are being held at Haidian District Detention Center. Geng had alerted the world to the July detention of then-Tsinghua University professor and outspoken critic of Xi Jinping, Xu Zhangrun (许章润). Geng had organized the trip which Xu attended and which police later accused him of “soliciting prostitutes” while on. She has also tried to raise awareness of the ongoing enforced disappearance of citizen journalist Chen Qiushi (陈秋实), who reported from Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been missing in police custody since February 6. Authorities recently began an investigation into her and her husband’s publishing company, Ruiya Books (北京瑞雅文化传播有限公司), in what appears to be retaliation for her speaking out.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Family of HRD, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 17, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Aug 26, 2020
- Event Description
Hubei activist and blogger Liu Yanli (刘艳丽), 45, lost her appeal against the 4-year prison sentence handed down in violation of her right to freedom of expression. Jingmen City Intermediate People’s Court upheld the original conviction and sentence on August 26, 2020. Liu had been convicted and sentenced on April 24, 2020 by Dongbao District Court in Jingmen City for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. Liu Yanli was formerly an employee at a bank in Jingmen City, Hubei province and a blogger. In recent years, she has repeatedly posted comments online calling for support for the army veterans who fought during the Anti-Japan (Second World) War. She also called for disclosure of officials’ assets. She established over 160 WeChat groups to raise awareness about social justice issues.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 17, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 5, 2020
- Event Description
On June 5, 2020, the People’s Court of Heshigten Banner of Southern (Inner) Mongolia tried two Mongolian activists, Mr. Tsogjil and Mr. Haschuluu, who organized local Mongolian herders to protest the government’s illegal appropriation of their grazing land. Jail sentences of eight months and four months were handed down to Tsogjil and Haschuluu respectively for “rallying the public to petition the government, obstructing official business, videotaping and posting untrue stories, and transferring edited video footage to foreign organizations.”
“Defendant Tsogjil, male, born on March 4, 1979” and “defendant Haschuluu, male, born on October 23, 1978” were sentenced for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” according to the criminal verdict issued by the Heshigten Banner People’s Court.
“Criminal tools used: one long banner and one cellular phone that were already confiscated,” the verdict added.
“They are totally innocent,” Mr. O. Sechenbaatar, who himself was released from a year of house arrest recently after being detained for two weeks for supporting the protest in the neighboring Ongniuud Banner, said in an audio statement. “What they did was nothing but to legally file complaints about the local government’s illegal land grab and stage protests to urge the local Public Security Bureau to release detained herders and activists including myself.”
Under the Chinese authorities’ “bail pending trial” for over a year, the two activists were deprived of their basic rights to mobility and communication after being released from their initial detention last year.
“The trial was carried out pretty much behind a closed door,” O. Sechenbaatar told the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center. “The crimes they were accused of committing were rallying people to demand the release of detained herders; inviting Ms. Yanjindulam (also knowns as Naranhuaar), a herder's leader, to join the protest; posting protest video footage on WeChat and sending information to foreign hostile forces.”
Tsogjil, a native of Heshigten Banner, had actively been advocating Southern Mongolians’ rights to use their native language; access their land, water, and other resources; and maintain national identity. He founded and managed at least five discussion groups with a total membership of nearly 2,500 Mongolian herders and grassroots activists on China’s only available social media outlet WeChat.
Before his arrest in April 2019, Tsogjil rallied the Mongolian herders for the release of the detained writer O. Sechenbaatar in one of his WeChat discussion groups called “Language, Livestock, and National Boundary.” “I ask our fellow herders from each and every village to gather in front of the banner government tomorrow to demand the immediate release of O. Sechenbaatar,” he wrote.
“O. Sechenbaatar went to jail for defending our land and rights. We all must wake up and take up the fight to protect our homeland,” Tsogjil said in the discussion group. “The authorities can arrest one of us, a few of us, but cannot arrest all of us.”
“Haschuluu was accused of committing similar crimes, including his involvement in last year’s public protest in front of the banner government and demanding my release,” O. Sechenbaatar said.
“What is truly revealing is the family members of the two were told by the court that the decision was handed down from the above. This means the government is above the law, and the law is a tool for the government officials to punish those who protest the government’s abuse of power,” O. Sechenbaatar added.
According to online discussions posted by local herders from Heshigten Banner, Haschuluu lived with his 80-year-old mother who is left without anyone's care after his trial despite her poor health.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 17, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 6, 2020
- Event Description
An opposition activist was arrested in Hong Kong on Sunday (Sep 6) by a new police squad for "uttering seditious words", hours before a rally against a controversial security law.
The arrest of Tam Tak-chi, vice president of radical democratic party People Power, is the latest detention of a high profile democracy supporter in the financial hub and came on the morning Hongkongers had been due to vote in a general election, delayed because of the coronavirus.
An unauthorised protest in opposition to a new law that gives authorities sweeping powers - as well as the poll's postponement and a Beijing-backed COVID-19 testing programme - had more than 10,000 online subscribers.
Tam, a former radio presenter known "Fast Beat", was arrested at his home in north east Hong Kong by police officers from the national security squad, although he was not detained under the new law, police said.
"The gentleman we arrested this morning was arrested for uttering seditious words under the Crimes Ordinance's section ten," senior superintendent Li Kwai-wah said, referring to legislation enacted in the British colonial era to clamp down anti-government expressions.
According to Li, Tam was held for using words that "brought into hatred and contempt of the government and raised discontent and disaffection among Hong Kong people" in speeches made across Hong Kong this summer.
Li said the national security police was leading the arrest because at the initial stage of investigation the force suspected Tam of committing "incitement to secession" in article 21 of the national security law.
"But after collection of evidence and consulting the Department of Justice, we decided that it is more suitable to use the Crimes Ordinance," Li said.
Since the national security law was passed in Beijing and implemented in Hong Kong on Jun 30, 21 people, including pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai and prominent activist Agnes Chow, have been arrested for allegations of "incitement to secession", "collusion with foreign forces" and "terrorism acts".
Hong Kong's administration insists the law has not impinged on the rights to freedom of speech and assembly guaranteed to the territory when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Yet certain opinions and expressions in previously free-wheeling Hong Kong have become illegal, and activists have spoken of a deep chilling effect that has seen books yanked from libraries and publishers rush to amend their titles.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 16, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Aug 20, 2020
- Event Description
Chongqing City suffered the biggest flood in 40 years. On August 20, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang inspected the disaster-stricken area in Chongqing. It was reported that at least 11 Chongqing activists had been arrested, with their personal freedom restricted.
As of the morning of Aug 21st, many activists had been missing. At noon on August 20, Chongqing human rights activists Chen Mingyu, Tan Junrong, Liu Gaosheng, He Chaozheng, Zhao Liang, Cai Bangying, and He Yan were stopped by a group of people on Huangzhu Road in Liangjiang New District.
They were forced to be escorted into a car and taken to the Dazhulin Police Station of the Public Security Bureau in Liangjiang New District. They were shortly picked up and detained by the police from their resident districts. Chen Mingyu said that he was still under surveillance after returning home, and someone followed him when he went out.
- Impact of Event
- 7
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 27, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Aug 21, 2020
- Event Description
A Tibetan community leader and his nephew were arrested this weekend in Qinghai’s Tridu county after defying Chinese authorities by advising local Tibetans not to sign away their rights to grazing land, Tibetan sources said.
Bu Dokyab, 63, and his nephew Gyaltsen, 43, were taken into custody on Aug. 21 by Chinese police while eating at a restaurant in Yushu prefecture’s Tridu county and were taken to the county’s Detention Center 683, a local source told RFA’s Tibetan Service.
Authorities did not release a statement regarding the arrests of the two men, residents of Chakchok village in neighboring Chumarleb county’s Chigdril township, RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“But Tibetans living in the area suspect it had to do with their open defiance of a government order,” RFA’s source said.
“Recently, Chinese authorities held a meeting in Chumarleb to talk about confiscating the land, and Bu Dokyab during the meeting advised the people there not to give up their ownership of the land, saying that this would destroy their livelihood,” the source said.
“He said that surrendering their deeds to the land would prevent them from ever passing anything down to future generations.”
Also speaking to RFA, a second source said that Bu Dokyab had “spoken strongly” against nomads giving up their rights to their land, reminding his listeners that anyone surrendering their deed to government authorities would lose their way to make a living.
“Dokyab is a unit leader in his village and is a very generous man who often gives his help to poor nomads who are in need,” the second source said. “He even petitions the government when local government assistance to the poor does not reach them in time.”
“Because of his interventions to secure local families’ government subsidies, he has already been detained twice by the Chinese police,” the source said.
Land deeds revoked
Several counties in Qinghai have called public meetings this year regarding land rights, with officials issuing advisories and distributing documents canceling people’s ownership of their land, the source said.
“Before this, the Chinese promised that the land belonged to the local people, and that no one could interfere with their rights for 50 years.”
“But beginning this year, the land deeds have been revoked, and this has left the local Tibetans very concerned,” he said.
Development projects in Tibetan areas have led to frequent standoffs with Tibetans who accuse Chinese firms and local officials of pilfering money, improperly seizing land, and disrupting the lives of local people.
Many result in violent suppression and intense pressure on the local population to comply with the government’s wishes, with protest leaders frequently detained and charged under cover of a Chinese campaign against so-called “underworld criminal gangs” in Tibetan areas.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Land rights, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Community-based HRD, Family of HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 27, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Aug 11, 2020
- Event Description
One of Hong Kong�s most strident pro-democracy figures has been arrested and the offices of the newspaper he owns searched by police in a stark escalation by authorities enforcing a new national security law brought in by Beijing.
The raid on Apple Daily, Hong Kong�s largest pro-democracy daily paper, and arrest of Jimmy Lai and other senior executives were condemned by activists and journalists, who said they marked �the day press freedom officially died�.
Apple Daily�s publisher, Next Digital Media, said it was �furious� about the raid and arrests. It warned that press freedom was �hanging by a thread� but said its staff remained committed to defending it.
Lai, a 71-year-old media tycoon and outspoken supporter of Hong Kong�s pro-democracy movement, was arrested alongside six others including his son on Monday morning on suspicion of �collusion with foreign forces� and conspiracy to commit fraud.
In a separate incident the pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow was also arrested under the new law, her fellow activist Nathan Law said.
Hong Kong police said nine men and one woman, aged between 23 and 72, had been arrested.
Hundreds of police descended on the Apple Daily building in an unprecedented hours-long raid, which was live-streamed by dozens of the paper�s staff.
�Tell your colleagues to keep their hands off until our lawyers check the warrant,� the editor-in-chief, Ryan Law Wai-kwong, told police. Staff were ordered to produce ID. Midway through the raid a handcuffed Lai was marched through the newsroom.
Thousands watched the streams, which appeared to contradict police claims that �news materials� would not be targeted, as officers casually rifled through papers on journalists� desks. Boxes of documents were confiscated.
Later, police barred news organisations including Reuters, Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press and the public broadcaster RTHK from attending a press conference about the search.
The Hong Kong journalist association head, Chris Yeung, said the raid was �horrendous�. �I think in some third-world countries there has been this kind of press freedom suppression, I just didn�t expect it to be in Hong Kong,� he told media.
Next Digital accused police of abusing their power and authorities of �breaching press freedom through intimidation and creating an atmosphere of white fear�.
The arrest of Lai, while not unexpected, has alarmed the city, which has been on edge after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law outlawing sedition and secessionist activities, and foreign collusion.
Lai, who also holds UK citizenship, is the most high-profile figure detained under the law. If charged and convicted, he could face potential sentences of three to 10 years in prison � or up to life for an offence �of a grave nature�.
In 2019 state media labelled him one of a new �Gang of Four� conspiring against Beijing. He is already facing several charges over involvement in last year�s pro-democracy protests, and he was one of 25 people charged on Friday over attending a Tiananmen Square massacre vigil in June. Hong Kong�s security laws: what are they and why are they so controversial? Read more
A report in hawkish Chinese state media mouthpiece the Global Times labelled Lai a �modern-day traitor� and suggested he was unlikely to receive bail and would face �heavy penalties�.
Hong Kong journalists have repeatedly warned that the law would have a chilling affect on local media.
The activist and legislator Eddie Chu Hoi-dick accused the Chinese Communist party of wanting to close Apple Daily, and said Lai�s arrest was �the first step of [a] HK media blackout�.
Claudia Mo, a pro-democracy legislator and a former journalist, said she was more surprised by the raid than the arrest. �This is just so drastic and blatant,� she told the Guardian.
Keith Richburg, a veteran correspondent and now head of Hong Kong University�s media school, said the raid and arrests were outrageous. �I think you can say that is the day press freedom officially died, and it didn�t die a natural death. It was killed by Beijing and it was killed by Carrie Lam and Hong Kong police,� he said.
The police operation marked the first time the law has been used against media in Hong Kong, which has historically had a high level of press freedom. Last month the New York Times announced it was moving part of its Hong Kong bureau to South Korea.
Several outlets have complained of foreign journalist visas not being renewed. On Monday the Standard news website reported that the immigration department had established a national security unit to vet �sensitive� visa applications, including from journalists.
Chinese and Hong Kong officials had promised the security law would not impinge on the city�s civil freedoms, including its independent press. �Today�s police action upends those assurances,� the Foreign Correspondents� Club of Hong Kong said in a statement.
Benedict Rogers, a co-founder and the chair of Hong Kong Watch, said: �To arrest one of the most moderate, peaceful and internationally respected voices for democracy in Hong Kong � sends the message that no one is safe in Hong Kong unless they stay completely silent and do exactly as Xi Jinping�s brutal regime says.�
There was some speculation that the arrests were retaliation for US sanctions against senior Hong Kong officials, including Lam. The accusations against Lai have been at least partly driven by his meetings with and support from senior US figures including the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo.
In response to the US sanctions, China�s foreign ministry on Monday said that it would be placing sanctions on 11 US officials and lawmakers. A foreign ministry spokesman condemned the US for its �blatant interference� in China�s internal affairs.
On Monday afternoon the stock price of Next Digital, which is owned by Lai, rose more than 300% after some analysts reportedly said they would buy in protest against his arrest.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker, Pro-democracy activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Aug 6, 2020
- Event Description
Two dozen people in Hong Kong, including pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, have been charged with participating in an illegal assembly at a vigil on June 4 commemorating the crackdown on protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananmen square in 1989.
It was the first time the vigil had been banned in semi-autonomous Hong Kong, with police citing coronavirus restrictions on group gatherings in refusing permission for it to take place. Still, tens of thousands lit candles across the city in what was largely a peaceful event, bar a brief skirmish with riot police in one neighbourhood.
The anniversary struck an especially sensitive nerve in the former British colony this year, falling just as China prepared to introduce national security legislation later that month in response to last year's often violent pro-democracy demonstrations.
Pro-democracy activists see the new legislation as the latest attempt by Beijing to encroach on Hong Kong's freedoms.
Police said in a statement on Thursday that 24 people, including 19 men and five women, aged 23-69, had been charged with holding and knowingly taking part in an unauthorised assembly. Such a charge existed before the new security law came into force on June 30.
Wong, and at least six other activists said on their Facebook pages that they were among those charged.
"Clearly, the regime plans to stage another crackdown on the city's activists by all means," Wong said.
Wong made a court appearance on Wednesday on similar charges related to a protest last year. The verdict is expected later this year.
The new security law, which punishes anything China sees as subversion, secession, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison, has drawn strong criticism from Western countries for putting Hong Kong on a more authoritarian path.
Its supporters say it will bring stability after a year of unrest.
June 4 commemorations are banned in mainland China, but Hong Kong, which was promised certain freedoms when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, such as that of expression and assembly, traditionally held the largest vigils globally every year.
China has never provided a full account of the 1989 violence. The death toll given by officials days later was about 300, most of them soldiers, but rights groups and witnesses say thousands of people may have perished.
- Impact of Event
- 7
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 30, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong authorities have disqualified 12 pro-democracy candidates from upcoming elections, deepening political tensions in the Chinese territory.
Opposition legislators had hoped to obtain a majority in the Legislative Council (LegCo) in September's poll after Beijing's imposition of a highly controversial national security law.
Among those barred are high-profile activists Joshua Wong and Lester Shum.
The government said the candidates were not fit to run for office.
It said they could not be considered to be abiding by the constitutional duty required of lawmakers if they:
advocated for, or promoted, Hong Kong's independence solicited intervention by foreign governments in Hong Kong's affairs expressed "an objection in principle" to the imposition of the national security law by central authorities in Beijing expressed "an intention to exercise the functions of a LegCo Member by indiscriminately voting down" any legislative proposals introduced by the Hong Kong government, "so as to force the government to accede to certain political demands"
In its statement announcing the disqualifications, the government said the decision was taken in line with Hong Kong's mini-constitution - the Basic Law.
"There is no question of any political censorship, restriction of the freedom of speech or deprivation of the right to stand for elections as alleged by some members of the community," it said, adding that more disqualifications could not be ruled out.
Joshua Wong, who rose to prominence as a teenage activist during protests in 2014, said the decision showed "a total disregard for the will of Hongkongers" and "tramples upon the city's last pillar of vanishing autonomy".
The new national security law has been highly controversial in Hong Kong, a former British colony which is now part of China but was given unique freedoms in an agreement before the transfer of sovereignty.
The law was widely condemned by Western governments, but China says it is necessary to restore stability in the territory, which was hit by months of pro-democracy protests last year which often turned violent.
The opposition candidates disqualified on Thursday include four incumbent lawmakers, four district councillors - including Mr Shum - and activists Ventus Lau Wing-hong, Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam and Alvin Cheng Kam-mun, in addition to Mr Wong.
The Civic Party, one of the city's pro-democracy parties that had members among those barred, said the disqualifications "exploited the right of Hong Kong people to vote", Reuters news agency reports.
Its four disqualified members were Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok, Kwok Ka-ki and Cheng Tat-hung.
- Impact of Event
- 12
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment, Denial Fair Trial
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of association, Offline, Right to fair trial, Right to political participation
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 28, 2020
- Event Description
The University of Hong Kong�s governing body voted on Tuesday to fire an associate law professor who was convicted last year of charges related to his leading role in the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests and has remained a key figure in the city�s pro-democracy movement.
The legal scholar, Benny Tai, was convicted of public nuisance charges last year and sentenced to 16 months in prison, but he was released and remains on bail while his case is under appeal.
The university had faced widespread calls from members of the pro-Beijing establishment to dismiss Mr. Tai. But his supporters argued that dismissing him would undermine academic freedom that has already been imperiled by a new national security law imposed by Beijing.
The decision �marks the end of academic freedom in Hong Kong,� Mr. Tai said in a Facebook post. �Academic staff in education institutions in Hong Kong are no longer free to make controversial statements to the general public about politically or socially controversial matters.�
Last year the university began an investigation into Mr. Tai that led to Tuesday�s decision by the school�s council, a body dominated by members from outside the university. Arthur Li, its chair, is also an adviser to Carrie Lam, Hong Kong�s chief executive.
The university�s senate, which is comprised largely of academic staff, found earlier this month that Mr. Tai�s conduct did not warrant his removal. The council rejected that recommendation, a move that Mr. Tai�s supporters called politically motivated.
�Arthur Li has completed his political mission, and Benny Tai has become a martyr to civil disobedience,� said Joseph Chan, a political science professor at the university. �The University of Hong Kong has sacrificed its reputation and it will not be able to hold its head high in the international academic community. This day will become a major stain in the history of the University of Hong Kong that cannot be washed away.�
Lei Tsz Shing, an undergraduate representative of the university�s council, said in an opinion article on Tuesday that Mr. Tai�s termination would contradict messages that academic freedom would be maintained under the national security law.
�If the university at this moment ignores the senate�s recommendations and fires Benny Tai, it would be equivalent to declaring that academic freedom is being repressed,� he wrote on Tuesday in The Stand News, an online outlet.
The Hong Kong University Students� Union had argued that Mr. Tai should not be dismissed, calling him a model scholar who was willing to put his knowledge into action.
�He has impressed on generations of students the responsibility of a public intellectual, with his genuine care of society and unwavering pursuit of universal suffrage,� the group wrote in a statement on Facebook.
Mr. Tai was a central figure in the 2014 Umbrella Movement, calling for a protest to push for more direct democracy in Hong Kong. What he had envisioned as a sit-in of a few days was pre-empted by student demonstrators who occupied a square near government headquarters.
Thousands took to the streets after police used pepper spray and tear gas on the protesters. They occupied major roadways in the city for 79 days, but ultimately failed to change how Hong Kong chooses its leaders.
He was convicted last year of conspiracy to commit public nuisance and incitement to commit public nuisance. The judge rejected the argument made on behalf of Mr. Tai and eight other defendants that the protests were an appropriate exercise of free speech.
Shiu Ka-chun, a Legislative Council member who was one of the eight other activists convicted along with Mr. Tai last year, said he was told Monday that Hong Kong Baptist University was not renewing his contract to teach social work.
After his conviction, Mr. Tai has remained active in politics, and this year helped organize a primary vote among the pro-democracy camp to choose candidates for a legislative election in September. More than 600,000 people participated, despite government warnings the exercise might be illegal under the new national security law. The turnout was an early indication of broad support for the opposition camp.
The primary was denounced both by Hong Kong government and Beijing�s representatives in the city, who singled out Mr. Tai for vehement criticism.
�Facts have proven that Benny Tai and his like are the chief culprits for creating the chaotic situation in Hong Kong, bringing disaster to Hong Kong and harming its people,� Beijing�s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said after the primary earlier this month.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Academic freedom
- HRD
- Academic, Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 27, 2020
- Event Description
Four young activists who belonged to a disbanded pro-independence group have been arrested on secessionist charges in Hong Kong�s first crackdown on political figures after the enactment July 1 of a sweeping national security law.
Senior Superintendent Li Kwai-wah, with Hong Kong police�s newly formed National Security Department, told reporters late Wednesday that four students between the ages of 16 and 21 had been arrested under the new national security law for �organizing and inciting secession� by their advocacy of independence.
He declined to name them and their group, but the group Studentlocalism announced on social media that its former convenor, Tony Chung, 19, had been arrested Wednesday night for �inciting secession.� Activists said at least two other former group members also had been arrested about the same time.
The arrests were the most high-profile crackdown on political figures since the introduction of the new security law. Ten protesters were arrested that day on national security charges.
'Hong Kong nation'
Li accused the group of announcing online the establishment of a new group to advocate for the establishment of a �Hong Kong nation,� as well as its declaration that it would use all means to achieve this end. He also alleged that the group was trying to �unite all pro-independence groups in Hong Kong� and �incite others to join them.�
Li said mobile phones, computers and documents had been seized from the arrested activists� homes. He said the police could take DNA samples from them if necessary.
Citing clauses 36 to 38 of the national security law, Li emphasized that people also could be charged with criminal enterprises for �national security crimes� committed elsewhere in the world.
�We have jurisdiction even if the propaganda takes place abroad,� he said.
Studentlocalism announced its closure on the eve of the enactment of the national security law on July 1, but it also announced 10 days ago the establishment of its U.S. division. On its Twitter account, the group called on its supporters to join in, and it posted an online recruitment form.
Manifesto
Its manifesto on Twitter says one of its missions is to �establish a Hong Kong republic with independent sovereignty� and �awaken the will of Hong Kong�s national independence.�
Li said the arrestees were suspected of violating both Article 20 and 21 of the national security law, which criminalizes secessionist acts and incitement of others to commit such offenses.
In a video footage posted online, a plainclothes police officer, purportedly from the national security department, can be seen escorting Chung, who has his hands tied behind his back, to a vehicle.
Local media said it was the first time that officers from the police force's new national security department had made an arrest under the security legislation.
As the group disbanded June 30, Chung vowed on Twitter, �We won�t give up, we refuse to forget, one day we will witness the Hong Kong national flag on our land.�
Chung was arrested in May 2019 for damaging the national flag at the protest zone outside the legislature, before the anti-government protest movement began.
Ahead of the police briefing Wednesday night, officers expelled several journalists, saying they had not been registered with the government � even though no such restrictions had been put in place previously.
Commenting on the arrests, pro-democracy lawmaker Eddie Chu said the activists were not arrested for their actions but rather for their rhetoric on social media. �The maximum penalty is life imprisonment. Typical CCP [Chinese Communist Party] speech crime,� he said on Twitter.
Human Rights Watch researcher Maya Wang said the arrests were �a significant escalation on the part of the Hong Kong government, criminalizing those who organize political parties, and it's likely [to be] just the beginning before it moves onto pan-democratic parties.�
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 21, 2020
- Event Description
Police arrested an anti-government protester on suspicion of violating Hong Kong�s new national security law on Tuesday and dispersed dozens more who had gathered at a shopping mall to mark one year since a mob attacked protesters and passengers at a train station in Yuen Long.
Three other people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing police in the execution of their duties, while a fourth was detained for violating a court-imposed curfew.
Officers also fined 79 people for social-distancing violations in Yuen Long, and some others in Central, where another small rally took place earlier. Activists were voicing anger over a lack of progress in investigating the attack.
The anti-government protester was handcuffed and taken away from the Yoho mall in the evening after being accused of displaying a placard reading: �Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times.�
In a statement, police said he allegedly incited or abetted others to commit secession, in breach of the new law.
The government maintains the slogan amounts to a separatist call, although lawyers have cast doubt over the assertion and say the courts should decide.
Police also led away Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung, who told reporters officers accused him of being uncooperative as they tried to search his belongings.
A small group of people inside the mall chanted protest slogans, including the controversial one, and officers briefly raised a purple flag warning they could be arrested for violating the new law.
Officers rounded up dozens of journalists outside and demanded they turn off their cameras as they were searched and their press credentials were checked. The force took to social media earlier in the day to warn demonstrators of legal action if they participated in the rally, amid a worsening third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic . The attack on July 21 last year was widely caught on video. Clips show the white-clad mob armed with metal poles and rattan sticks entering the train station and begin to beat anti-government protesters and passengers seemingly at random, leaving 45 people injured .
Some activists have accused police of colluding with the attackers as officers failed to show up promptly after being alerted to the incident, although the force maintains the delay was caused by a staffing crunch.
The attack is widely regarded as a turning point in the year-long social unrest triggered by a now-withdrawn extradition bill, which pitted police and protesters against each other.
Dozens of arrests have been made over the violence, but the force�s watchdog has noted it lacks the authority to investigate the allegation officers were involved.
Police were out in force in Yuen Long in the afternoon, with officers issuing tickets to three Democratic Party lawmakers, among others, outside the MTR station for failing to observe the ban on public gatherings of more than four people.
The three lawmakers were party chairman Wu Chi-wai, vice-chairman Andrew Wan Siu-kin and Lam Cheuk-ting, who afterwards accused officers of abusing their power.
�We came in groups of four,� said Lam, a victim himself. �But when we arrived, the police ushered us together and then claimed we had breached the social-gathering regulations. If police had deployed one-tenth of the manpower last year to handle the July 21 attack, the attack might not have taken place.�
Victim Calvin So said he was returning home after a shift working as a chef that night when the mob descended upon him, leaving him with injuries to his leg and back.
�I was invited by police to give a statement once last August and then police called me two or three times later in October for some follow-up questions,� So said. �Since then, I have not heard anything from police. I can�t help thinking they are not actually serious in investigating the case.�
Earlier in the day, a handful of protesters were handed fines during a gathering at a mall in Hong Kong�s Central district to mark the anniversary.
A police spokesman said officers fined four men and two women, aged between 14 and 55, for violating social-distancing rules. Last week the government tightened the ban on public gatherings from 50 people to four in a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19 infections.
One young protester, in tears after being fined, said: �I was crying not because I was fined � But where were all these officers on July 21 last year? Now, why are there so many of them here to slap fines on young people?�
The force said it understood public concern over the violence at Yuen Long MTR station last year and stressed their New Territories North regional crime unit spared no effort in bringing the criminals to justice.
So far, 37 people, aged between 18 and 61, have been arrested over the attack, seven of whom have been charged with rioting. Police refused to comment further on the investigation, saying it was ongoing.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment, Restrictions on Movement
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Media Worker, Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 6, 2020
- Event Description
A Chinese law professor who has written essays critical of President Xi Jinping�s governance has reportedly been detained in Beijing.
Friends of Xu Zhangrun say the writer and academic was taken from his home early Monday morning by more than a dozen police officers. The New York Times, quoting his friend Geng Xiaonan, says a computer and papers were also taken from the home.
Geng says she learned from Xu�s wife that police told her Xu was accused of soliciting prostitutes during a recent visit to the southwestern city of Chengdu.
Xu Zhangrun taught law at Beijing�s prestigious Tsinghua University for several years until 2019, when he was banned from teaching and researching after publishing an essay condemning President Xi�s tightening grip on power. He had recently been placed under house arrest.
An essay he published in February blamed the culture of secrecy and deception for the spread of the novel coronavirus in China, which was first detected late last year in the central city of Wuhan before evolving into a pandemic that has sickened over 11.4 million people around the globe, killing more than 534,000.
Xu is the latest prominent figure to have been arrested this year for criticizing Xi over his handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Millionaire property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang was detained in April.
The arrests are part of President Xi�s increasing crackdown on dissenting voices in China, highlighted by the new national security law for Hong Kong that has criminalized open protest.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Administrative Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Academic freedom, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Academic
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 1, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong police arrested hundreds of people amid defiant protests on the anniversary of the city's handover to Chinese rule, and on the first day of a draconian new security law that was already having an impact on freedom of speech.
"Police arrested over 300 persons, including 10 people for suspected violation of the National Security Law," the city's police force said in a statement.
"The remaining arrestees were arrested for suspected unlawful assembly, disorder in public places, furious driving and possession of offensive weapon," it said.
A senior Chinese official said anyone arrested by the mainland�s new national security office in Hong Kong on charges of violating the new national security law for the city would be tried in the mainland, although it was unclear whether Wednesday's arrests were made by that office.
Zhang Xiaoming, executive deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, said China�s national security office in the city abides by Chinese law and that Hong Kong�s legal system cannot be expected to implement those laws.
The arrests came after crowds gathered in the shopping and entertainment districts of Wanchai and Causeway Bay in defiance of a police ban on the traditional annual protest march, and of the new ban on any expression of pro-independence sentiment.
Chanting: "Five demands, not one less! Fight for our freedom!" and "Hong Kong independence, the only solution!" the crowds faced down hundreds of police in full riot gear who were drafted into the area during the afternoon.
Police fired at individuals, one of whom was a journalist sent flying onto the pavement in footage captured by several social media accounts, with a water cannon truck that patrolled the streets of Wanchai and Causeway Bay as police raised flags declaring the gathering "illegal."
'Rule of law is dead'
A protester surnamed Loh said she had attended the protest to display a placard which read: "Loving Hong Kong is not a crime."
"The rule of law is dead, starting from today," Loh told RFA. "Now we daren't say anything."
"I grew up here, and it is already not the same place today that it was yesterday," she said. "I don't want the Hong Kong I knew to die, and there is no crime in my loving it."
A protester surnamed Leung said the national security law, which contains sweeping and vaguely worded bans on speech as well as action, including speech critical of the authorities or promoting independence, showed that the ruling Chinese Communist Party had abandoned all pretense over Hong Kong's promised freedoms and was taking over.
"They're not even bothering with one country, two systems any more; they are showing their true colors," Leung said. "They are imposing mainland Chinese law enforcement on Hong Kong. It's instant mainlandification."
"What does mainlandification mean? It means the loss of reasonable government, because it's the mainland we're dealing with now," he said. "The Chinese Communist Party isn't a rational entity; it's an organization of utmost evil, and it wants to make Hong Kong in its own image."
Civic Party politician Kwok Ka-ki said the law would likely also have a huge impact on the city's economy.
"Taiwanese people are already saying they will avoid Hong Kong at all costs," Kwok said. "Because someone from Taiwan would totally be targeted if they were to utter a single word against the Chinese or Hong Kong authorities, or if they were to refer to Taiwan as an independent entity."
Pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo said journalists could also soon find themselves in "dire trouble" under the new law.
"Anyone giving or disseminating any [sensitive] material or information to a journalist, and this journalist publishes information obtained in such a manner, could be in dire trouble. Both of them," said Mo, who is a former journalist herself.
"This is not the rule of law. These is not even rule by law. This is rule by decree. Free press could just be announced dead in Hong Kong," she said.
U.K. offers route to immigration
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted that the feared arrests are "already happening" under the new law, which he called a "violation of commitments that it made to the Hong Kong people and to the United Kingdom, in a UN-registered treaty � and in contravention of Hong Kongers� human rights and fundamental freedoms."
"Security forces are already rounding up Hong Kongers for daring to speak and think freely. The rule of law has been eviscerated. And as always, the Chinese Communist Party fears its own people more than anything else," he said at a news briefing Wednesday.
"The United States is deeply concerned about the law�s sweeping provisions and the safety of everyone living in the territory, including Americans," added Pompeo, who has recently unveiled visa restrictions and military trade restrictions in response to the Chinese policies in Hong Kong.
The U.K. said it would offer all those in Hong Kong with British National Overseas (BNO) status a "bespoke" immigration route, foreign minister Dominic Raab said in a statement after the security law took effect.
"The prime minister and the government are crystal clear: the United Kingdom will keep its word, we will live up to our responsibilities to the people of Hong Kong," Raab told parliament.
"I can now confirm we will proceed to honor our commitment to change the arrangements for those holding BNO status," he said, adding that those with such status would be granted five years of limited leave in Britain to work or study.
After that, they could apply for settled status and after a further 12 months with settled status, they would be able to apply for citizenship. There will be no cap on the numbers who may apply.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Restrictions on Movement
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 27, 2020
- Event Description
After releasing Liu Xianbin, authorities still watched him.
On June 27, Liu completed a 10-year prison sentence. His family received a phone call at 10:00 a.m., saying he would return home soon. Yet, he did not arrive home until 8:00 p.m. because he had to take a COVID-19 test.
State security officers and pandemic prevention personnel picked him up at 4:00 p.m. and took him home. His family had been waiting for the whole day. They were very mentally and physically exhausted.
The next day, the family saw a police vehicle outside of their apartment complex. A few state security officers sat in the car. The family thought it was odd for the officers to be monitoring the area.
A month before, government officials installed surveillance cameras around his home. They also placed cameras at the entry of the complex.
An insider said, �State security officers stay at the entry of his building and have been there the whole day. I have no clue whether Liu Xianbin is under house arrest or residential surveillance.... The practice is not normal, and it seems that Liu Xianbin is being tightly controlled.�
Liu is a supporter of democracy and human rights. He participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He has also defended prisoners of conscience.
Since 1991, Liu has spent more than 20 years in prison on various charges. His first charge was �counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement." He received this charge for his participation in the Tiananmen Square protests. He was released in 1993.
In 1998, he formed a democratic party, so he received a 13-year sentence, but he was released early in 2008.
Two years later, he was arrested on a charge of inciting subversion of state power. A local court sentenced him to 10 years in prison on March 25, 2011. They also stripped him of political rights for two years and four months.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 25, 2020
- Event Description
Police used pepper spray and arrested at least 14 people in a Hong Kong mall during a �shopping protest� on Thursday against Beijing�s impending national security law .
The suspects, nine males and five females, aged 14 to 55, were arrested for illegal assembly, police said, after protesters marched around the Yoho Mall shopping centre in Yuen Long chanting slogans, which caused customers to flee and stores to close on what was a public holiday.
Trouble flared again in the evening after two protesters who were waving a colonial flag and chanting slogans in the mall�s atrium were taken away by plain-clothes officers, sparking the anger of a small group of demonstrators nearby.
The officers then fired pepper spray to keep the group at bay. Riot police quickly arrived to provide back up and also used pepper spray.
Beijing is drafting legislation for Hong Kong, which will ban secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign and external influences to threaten national security. The controversial law, of which only a broad outline has been revealed, could be passed as early as June 30.
Among those hit with pepper spray was opposition district councillor Lam Chun. First aiders helped four people sprayed with the chemical.
The Yuen Long councillor said he was just trying to find out why the pair were taken away. �One was just chanting slogans. There were no more than 50 people [as permitted by coronavirus social-distancing rules]. We don�t even know why they were arrested,� Lam said.
�We couldn�t even ask police why they were arrested, they responded with pepper spray. That�s the situation Hongkongers are facing now.� Thursday is a public holiday in Hong Kong to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival . The demonstration started at about 1.30pm, when a man in the mall chanted slogans and displayed a banner that read �Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time�, a popular mantra at the height of last year�s anti-government protests , which were sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill .
Others watched from upper floors, and some joined in with shouts of their own. They then marched through the mall chanting slogans.
�Give me back my justice,� they yelled. �Hong Kong independence, the only way.�
Police in riot gear arrived at the mall at 2pm to break up the crowd and left soon after. But protesters later regrouped and continued with their routine.
Shortly after 3pm, plain-clothes police officers revealed their identities and stopped more than a dozen people. Some were taken away after police reinforcements arrived.
- Impact of Event
- 14
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 24, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in the central Chinese province of Hunan have secretly indicted the "Changsha Three" non-governmental organization (NGO) workers, family members and rights groups said.
Cheng Yuan, Liu Dazhi, and Wuge Jianxiong were indicted in secret for "subversion of state power" by prosecutors in Hunan's provincial capital, Changsha, on June 24.
The three were detained last year, as they worked for a non-government group called Changsha Funeng.
Cheng Yuan's wife Shi Minglei learned of the charges only after calling the Changsha Procuratorate for an update on July 10, the overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network said in an e-mail.
Shi was informed that the indictments had been issued and the case transferred to the Changsha Intermediate People's Court to await trial, it said.
The move came after the firing of six defense attorneys and the three Changsha Funeng staff in March.
"[Cheng, Liu and Wuge] have not received a single visit from their family-hired attorneys since being taken into custody on July 22, 2019 nor allowed any communication with their families," CHRD said.
They are being currently being held at the Kaifu District Detention Center in Changsha, it said.
Shi told RFA on Friday that the case against her husband and his co-defendants had been marked by procedural violations, and was akin to an extrajudicial procedure.
"This case hasn't gone through the system in the usual way at all," she said. "It is dithering about outside of the system."
"We have tried to get in touch with the judge, Zhao Zhe, and we have called his office number, but nobody ever picks up," Shi said. "When we went to the detention center, we unexpectedly ran into a government-appointed defense attorney."
Pressure to 'confess'
Authorities in China have repeatedly put pressure on political prisoners to accept government-appointed lawyers, and to achieve a more lenient sentence by "confessing" to the charges against them.
In some cases, they have issued letters "firing" the defense attorneys hired by their families.
"So I called the government-appointed lawyer, and they said that the pretrial meeting had already happened," Shi said. "I think this means that they're going to go ahead with a secret trial very soon, maybe next week."
"The so-called government lawyer had no independence to speak of," she said, adding that non-government lawyers had been reluctant to take on the case. "So I really don't expect a proper defense."
Human rights and political cases can lead to trouble for law firms and the suspension of lawyers' licenses to practice.
Changsha Funeng founder Yang Zhanqing, who is now in the U.S., said the Changsha Three were detained as part of a general crackdown on the organization.
"Cheng, Liu, and Wuge had been very low profile, and very rarely made any kind of public comment on their work," Yang said. "They even tried to minimize police harassment by doing all of their legal advocacy work in an individual capacity."
"They never spoke on behalf of Changsha Funeng."
Yang said the main reason the authorities had targeted the three men was the fact that their rights work had received overseas funding, which the ruling Chinese Communist Party regards as "collusion with hostile foreign forces," and a threat to its national security.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 24, 2020
- Event Description
Human rights lawyer Chen Jiahong (???) (aka Chen Wendan, ???), was put on trial in a closed-door hearing on �inciting subversion� charges at the Yulin City Intermediate Court, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on June 24. It�s unclear whether Mr. Chen had legal representation during the trial, as he had been pressured to fire the lawyers of his choice in March after telling one he had been mistreated in detention. The trial came more than one year after he was taken into custody. The charges against him have been linked to his online speech critical of the government, his condemnation of the abolition of presidential term limits, as well as his pro-democracy views. Mr. Chen had been held at the Yulin City Detention Center.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 24, 2020
- Event Description
The Suzhou Intermediate Court in Jiangsu Province sentenced human rights defender Ge Jueping (???) to 4.5 years in jail on �inciting subversion of state power� charges on June 24. Mr. Ge has already been subjected to a 3-year and 8-month prolonged pre-trial detention, including being put under �residential surveillance in a designated location.� His trial took place more than a year ago on May 13, 2019. Mr. Ge, who suffers from serious illnesses, including hypertension, heart palpitations, parotid gland cancer, has not received proper medical treatment at the detention center.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to health, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 21, 2020
- Event Description
China's state security police have formally arrested dissident Xu Zhiyong for subversion after he called publicly on President Xi Jinping to resign.
Xu, who has already served jail time for his spearheading of the New Citizens' Movement anti-corruption campaign, penned an open letter to Xi while in hiding following a gathering of pro-democracy activists and lawyers in December 2019, calling on him to step down.
He is currently being held incommunicado in "residential surveillance at a designated location" (RSDL) pending the completion of the investigation.
RSDL allows police to hold anyone they say is suspected of crimes linked to national security without contact with family or a lawyer for up to six months.
Xu is currently being investigated for "incitement to subvert state power by a team of state security police based in the eastern province of Shandong that has been pursuing a number of participants in December's gathering in the southeastern port city of Xiamen.
Human rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi is a co-defendant in the same case, RFA has learned.
Xu Zhiyong's sister was notified by the Shandong police on June 20 that Xu had been formally arrested, but his location remains unknown.
Xu Zhiyong's friend and independent documentary director Hua Ze meanwhile said the "meeting" was merely a gathering of friends.
"The police are treating this as if it is a big case, and claiming that there is an organization at work, but actually it was just a group of friends getting together," Hua said.
"They were just talking about how to help some of the current [detained activists'] cases, and follow up on them," she said.
Liu Jiacai, a rights activist from the Yangtze river city of Yichang who is often targeted by state security police, said he is currently safe at home after being taken out of town for the sensitive June 4 anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre.
"Xu had written a lot of articles since the start of the coronavirus pandemic," Liu said. "Anyone who attended the Xiamen gathering is now being suppressed by the authorities, and many people no longer dare to speak out."
"But Xu kept insisting on speaking up ... I feel bad that he was detained, as his friend and fellow activist," he said.
Liu said the Xiamen gathering was a meeting of like-minded friends who discussed social phenomena and China's future.
"We did not violate the Constitution or the current laws of China, but the authorities have persecuted us anyway," he said.
Fears over possible torture
Ding Jiaxi�s wife Luo Shengchun says she fears her husband, who is also being held under RDSL detention, may be being tortured.
"My sense is that he is being subjected to torture," Luo told RFA. "The people who came out [after being interrogated as part of the investigation] wouldn't talk about it; they had been silenced."
"This is clearly about framing Ding Jiaxi; they haven't been able to find any evidence of criminal behavior, but they will keep on finding excuses to keep him in detention because he refuses to plead guilty," she said.
Luo said she is certain that Ding Jiaxi will never cave in to police pressure to "confess" to the charges against him.
"This is a red line for him, because he is innocent," Luo said. "They came before to try to persuade him, and he told them they should be trying to persuade the bad guys not to do bad things, not trying to persuade the good guys not to do good things."
Writers' group PEN America, which recently honored Xu with the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, on Monday condemned Xu's formal arrest.
"Xu Zhiyong is under arrest for criticizing the government, plain and simple," PEN CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement. "By proceeding with these meritless charges of �subversion,� the government is using the law as a tool to legitimize its suppression of dissidents. But criticisms are not crimes, no matter how much Beijing insists otherwise."
She added: "We have zero confidence that Xu will receive a fair trial. We insist that the government drop these absurd and abusive criminal charges against him, and acknowledge his right to express his ideas and opinions without fear of a jail cell."
Critical flaws in proposed resolution
The news of Xu's formal arrest emerged as the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) held a brief debate in Geneva on June 22 over a draft resolution presented by China, raising "serious concerns" about the future of the Human Rights Council and, more broadly, the multilateral UN human rights system, rights groups said.
The overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network said there were "critical flaws" in the resolution, which would limit the council's ability to hold member states to account for human rights violations.
"The draft resolution, once put into effect, would codify language directly taken from Chinese Communist Party propaganda � namely, China�s promotion for a �shared community of future� modeled on its authoritarian governance at home � and its attempt to silence criticisms of rights abuses in the Human Rights Council platforms," the group said in a statement.
Xu had also penned a New Year's message to China's citizens in 2020, calling on them to think about whether they want to carry on with an authoritarian government or movement towards democratic constitutionalism, an idea that President Xi has said has no place in his vision for China.
Dozens of people linked in some way to the New Citizens' Movement group have been detained and jailed in recent years.
Xu was handed a four-year jail term in January 2014 on public order charges after staging a street protest calling for greater transparency from the country's richest and most powerful people.
Ding Jiaxi, who has previously served jail time for calling on top officials of the ruling Chinese Communist Party to reveal details of their wealth, was stopped by police at Beijing International Airport in May 2018, as he tried to board a plane to visit his wife and daughter in the U.S.
He was also among more than 300 rights attorneys, law firm staff, and associated activists detained, questioned, and subjected to surveillance and travel bans amid a nationwide crackdown since 2015.
Ding was earlier detained in April 2013 and handed a three-and-a-half year jail term a year later by Beijing's Haidian District People's Court for �gathering a crowd to disrupt public order,� after he called publicly on Chinese officials to reveal details of their wealth, as part of the New Citizens� Movement.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 19, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in Shanghai have formally arrested a lawyer-turned-citizen journalist who reported on the emerging coronavirus epidemic in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
Zhang Zhan, who lives in Shanghai but who traveled to Wuhan in early February, was taken away from Wuhan's Caiguang Hotel near Hankou railway station on the night of May 14.
She was held by police near her home in Shanghai's Pudong district on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge frequently used to target peaceful critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
Zhang was then formally arrested on that charge on June 19 on the orders of the Pudong state prosecutor, RFA has learned. She is currently being held in the Pudong Detention Center.
Repeated calls to Zhang's mother rang unanswered on Monday.
But a friend of Zhang's surnamed Zhu said she had denied the charges when she met with her defense attorney two weeks earlier.
"Zhang Zhan has been formally arrested for picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," Zhu said. "Shortly after Zhang Zhan was detained, a lawyer went to Pudong Detention Center to meet with her, and she told him she was pleading not guilty."
Zhu said Zhang's mother had received a notification of her daughter's arrest, but was too frightened to talk to journalists following heavy pressure from state security police, and hadn't publicized the arrest details.
Zhu said her friend had traveled to Wuhan after lockdown began purely to report on the situation there.
"She found a way to get into Wuhan after the city was locked down," Zhu said. "That was such a big risk to take; she has an extraordinary spirit not available to most people, to the extent that she was willing to risk arrest, and even her life."
'She is very strong-minded'
An overseas-based friend of Zhang's surnamed Lang said he was sad to learn of her arrest.
"I had been expecting it, though, because this isn't her first rodeo," he said. "She was previously detained for supporting the anti-extradition movement [in Hong Kong]."
"I am worried about her, because she is a practicing Christian with a strong tendency towards martyrdom," he said. "She is very strong-minded."
Zhang, 40, was detained by police in Shanghai in September 2019 for holding up an umbrella in solidarity with the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement on the streets of Shanghai, and demanding an end to Communist Party rule.
She was released after 65 days in detention, during which time she went on hunger strike twice.
Zhang moved to Shanghai from the northern province of Shaanxi in 2010, and formerly worked as a lawyer before official retaliation took away her license to practice.
In Zhang's last YouTube video posted on May 13, she had reported on the impact of a huge fall in passenger numbers on the livelihoods of Wuhan's taxi drivers, as well as loss of employment in the wake of the lockdown among the city's residents.
She also spoke out against the intimidation of local people by the urban management police, or chengguan, and about a sense of despair at life in China.
Thousands targeted for speaking out
The Chinese government has targeted thousands of people for speaking out about the coronavirus epidemic in the country since it began in late December in the central city of Wuhan.
After President Xi Jinping said he would lead "a people's war" on the epidemic on Jan. 20, police handled 5,111 cases of "fabricating and deliberately disseminating false and harmful information," according to a Feb. 21 statement from the ministry of public security.
Between Jan. 1 and March 26, nearly 900 internet users were penalized by police for their online speech or info-sharing about the coronavirus epidemic, across almost every province, region, and municipality in China.
Charges used to question, detain, and arrest people included "rumor-mongering," "fabricating false information," �sowing panic,� �disturbing public order,� and "breach of privacy."
Cases in which people were accused of "spreading misinformation" or "disrupting public order" accounted for more than 96 percent of cases, according to the overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network.
CHRD said on Monday it has documented "a dozen cases" of detainees or prisoners of conscience being denied access to their lawyers and families, including virtual meetings, on coronavirus grounds.
The group called on the government to stop using the pandemic as a pretext to restrict people's rights.
"In some instances, Chinese officials have stated that the suspensions are �indefinite� or until the pandemic is over, even if lockdown restrictions elsewhere have already begun to be lifted and authorities have declared that public health milestones have been met," CHRD said in a statement on its website.
Among those affected are ailing citizen journalist and rights activist Huang Qi, veteran dissident Qin Yongmin, Tibetan activist and businessman Tashi Wangchuk, and activist Chen Jianfang.
Detained lawyers Hao Jinsong and Li Yuhan have also been denied meetings with their defense lawyers, as have detained activists Liu Jinxing, Shen Liangqing, Xie Wenfei, Xu Kun, and Zhang Baocheng, CHRD said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 17, 2020
- Event Description
A Chinese court has secretly convicted and handed down a four-year jail sentence to one of China�s most outspoken human rights lawyers, Yu Wensheng, on the charge of �inciting subversion of state power�, according to his wife.
Yu�s wife, Xu Yan, told the Guardian that she was informed by phone by the prosecutor�s office in Xuzhou city in the eastern province of Jiangsu that her husband�s term was ordered in a closed door sentencing on Wednesday morning. The Xuzhou city intermediate people�s court also deprived Yu of his political rights, meaning he is barred from serving in public positions, publishing and speaking publicly, for three years.
His sentencing comes after his secret trial in May 2019, which took place without the knowledge of his family.
During Yu�s more than two years in detention, he was barred from meeting his family and the lawyers they hired, and there were widespread fears that he was tortured in custody. In April last year, the UN working group on arbitrary detention said Yu should be released.
His wife said Yu was �in a very isolated situation� as none of his relatives, including herself, or lawyers appointed by the family were present at the trial.
�He can�t accept this outcome. He would appeal,� his wife said. �I demand his unconditional release.�
As one of the staunchest government critics in the country, Yu had repeatedly weighed in on politically sensitive issues despite intensifying efforts to stifle dissent under China�s leader Xi Jinping.
Yu, 52, was picked up by police near his home in Beijing on 19 January 2018 as he walked his son to school and later charged with inciting subversion of state power. The day before, he published an online post calling for the removal of Xi and for reforms in the legal and political systems. Three months earlier, Yu also demanded Xi�s resignation in an open letter, accusing China under his rule as �marching backwards�. Yu�s legal licence was revoked shortly before he was taken away.
Yu had long been seen as a thorn in the side of the authorities. He had tried to sue authorities for failing to shield Chinese citizens from pollution and represented activists and dissidents, including Wang Quanzhang, a fellow attorney who vanished into detention in the summer of 2015 and was later sentenced to four-and-a-half-years in jail for subversion. Wang was released in early April this year but was barred from being reunited with his family for weeks.
Yu had also been detained for more than three months in 2014 after voicing his support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and was tortured in detention.
Amnesty International�s Asia-Pacific regional director, Nicholas Bequelin, said Yu�s sentencing is �nothing but political persecution dressed up as legal process�.
�The secret sentencing of yet another human rights lawyer marks a new low for what is left of the rule of law in China,� he said.
US-based rights group Chinese Human Rights Defenders said Yu joined �a long list of Chinese human rights lawyers, activists, dissidents, and journalists� convicted on national security charges for exercising and defending human rights.
�China is in the process of imposing a national security law on Hong Kong to further the suppression of free expression and assembly in the territory,� it said.
The Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group and 17 other international rights groups and individuals issued a joint statement to condemn Yu�s sentencing and urged his immediate release.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 11, 2020
- Event Description
Responding to today�s targeting of nine more activists in connection with Hong Kong�s June Fourth Tiananmen vigil, in addition to four arrests carried out yesterday, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong Man-Kei Tam said:
�The targeting of is the latest assault on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in the city. With China's Orwellian national security law coming, the Hong Kong authorities appear emboldened to ramp up repression of critical voices.
�The June Fourth vigil is a moment for people in Hong Kong to remember those killed in the Tiananmen crackdown 31 years ago, and for the authorities to use this peaceful event as a means of targeting critics is sickening.
�A year to the day after Hong Kong Police infamously targeted protesters with excessive force during mass demonstrations, the crackdown on Hong Kong�s freedoms is unrelenting.
�But as shown by those who peacefully took to the streets today to mark the 12 June anniversary, people will continue to peacefully advocate for those freedoms and will not be cowed by repression.�
Background
Between 11 and 12 June, police informed 13 individuals that they will receive a summons to appear in court in late June for �inciting� others to take part in unauthorized assemblies on 4 June.
Ten of those targeted are members of the HK Alliance, which has organized the annual vigil in Hong Kong�s Victoria Park to commemorate the Tiananmen crackdown.
Last week, Hong Kong police banned the vigil for the first time in 30 years, citing COVID-19 measures. The ban did not stop thousands from convening in the park, and even more holding smaller events elsewhere.
The 13 people targeted include the chairperson of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China (HK Alliance) Lee Cheuk-yan; vice-chairpersons Albert Ho Chun-yan and Chow Hang-tung; secretary Richard Tsoi; core members Cheung Man-kwong, Mak Hoi-wah, Andrew Wan Siu-kin, Chiu Yan-loi, Leung Yiu-chung and Leung Kam-wai; vice president of the Labour Party Steven Kwok Wing-kin; vice convenor of the NGO Civil Human Rights Front Figo Chan Ho-wun; and founder of media group Next Digital Jimmy Lai.
On the evening of 3�4 June, 1989 in Beijing�s Tiananmen Square, hundreds � possibly thousands � of people were killed when troops opened fire on students and workers who had been peacefully calling for political and economic reforms as well as an end to corruption. No one knows the exact number of fatalities since the Chinese authorities have stifled and censored discussion of the crackdown for the past three decades.
- Impact of Event
- 13
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline
- HRD
- NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 10, 2020
- Event Description
On June 10th, almost a year after the brief occupation of the Legislative Council building (LegCo) during a pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong, two journalists at the scene have been slammed with new charges of rioting which in the law carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence, but is in this case is limited to seven years due to the fact it is judged by the District Court in Hong Kong.
Ma Kai-chung, a reporter from the online media Passion Times and Wong Ka-ho, the deputy chief-editor of the City University of Hong Kong�s student journal, will both be tried in August alongside 10 protestors and were initially only charged with �illegally entering and remaining in the Legislative Council chamber�, an offense which carries a maximum 3-month prison sentence.
�These two journalists were only performing their professional duty by documenting the occupation of the Legislative Council building and should never be indicted, and especially not charged with a crime that carries a 10-year jail term�, says C�dric Alviani, Reporters Without Borders� (RSF) East Asia bureau head, who calls on the Hong Kong Secretary for Justice to �immediately drop the absurd rioting charge.�
On the night of July 1st 2019, a date that marked the 22nd anniversary of the former British colony�s handover to China, a small group of protesters stormed the Legislative Council building, whilst over half a million Hong Kong residents took to the streets protesting against a now withdrawn bill that would have allowed extradition to the mainland.
According to the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), Hong Kong�s press freedom dropped to a record low in 2019, largely as a result of police violence. RSF has raised the issue of violence against journalists in a letter last July addressed to Carrie Lam, head of the Hong Kong executive, but received only a canned response.
The Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong has fallen from 18th place in 2002 to 80th place in this year�s RSF Press Freedom Index. The People's Republic of China stagnates at the bottom of the index in 177th place out of a total of 180 countries.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 27, 2020
- Event Description
Pro-democracy Xiao Yuhui was taken away by Guangdong police after forwarding a petition addressed to President Trump.
On May 27, police in China took Xiao into custody shortly after he had passed the petition on to his friends. At least one other person was arrested after spreading the petition, but she was released on bail on May 30.
Xiao was released on May 31.
This is not the first time Xiao has been in custody. In October 2016, police detained him for owing more than 18,000 yuan in credit card fees. In June 2017, he received a nine-month sentence for suspected credit card fraud.
He also has taken part in a variety of activist activities. He attended an anti-national education rally in Hong Kong in 2012. On March 8, he planned to distribute voting cards at a subway station and was interviewed by state security. He has followed China�s family planning policy for a long time and has been forbidden from leaving the country.
The petition, titled, �One Person, One Letter to Save Hong Kong,� was first started by Hong Kong�s Apple Daily. It urged Trump to intervene on behalf of Hong Kong after Beijing pushed forward a national security law for the region.
Agreements reached between China and Britain as Hong Kong transitioned into Chinese control in 1997 required Hong Kong maintain its own judicial, legislative, and economic systems. Hong Kong also follows a partially-democratic model, in which residents are allowed to elect some of their officials. These elements permitted Hong Kong residents more freedom than people in mainland China, making it relatively safe for activists and religious people.
However, the new national security law has furthered concerns that those freedoms are being eroded. A version of the law implemented in mainland China is often used to target religious people and dissidents.
As of May 30, the , �One Person, One Letter to Save Hong Kong� petition had more than 110,000 signatures.
American policymakers have taken action on behalf of Hong Kong�s rights in the past few weeks. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared Hong Kong no longer autonomous from China, a significant move that could have trade ramifications. On May 29, Trump gave a speech, saying:
�Several of the most significant actions we are taking pertained to deeply troubling situations unfolding in Hong Kong. This week China unilaterally imposed control over Hong Kong�s security. This was a plain violation of Beijing's treaty obligations, with the United Kingdom, in the declaration of 1984 and explicit provisions of Hong Kong's Basic Law. It has 27 years to go.
The Chinese government's move against Hong Kong is the latest in a series of measures that are diminishing the city's long-standing and very proud status.
This is a tragedy for the people of Hong Kong, the people of China, and indeed the people of the world.
China claims it is protecting national security. But the truth is that Hong Kong was secure and prosperous as a free society. Beijing's decision reverses all of that. It extends the reach of China's evasive state security apparatus into what was formerly a bastion of liberty.
China's latest incursion, along with other recent developments that degraded the territory�s freedoms, makes clear that Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous to warrant the special treatment that we have afforded the territory since the hand of it.
China has replaced its promise formula of �one country, two systems� with �one country, one system.� Therefore, I am directing my administration to begin the process of eliminating policy exemptions that give Hong Kong different and special treatment.
My announcement today will affect the full range of agreements we have with Hong Kong, from our extradition treaty to our export controls on dual-use technologies and more with few exceptions.
We will be revising the State Department's travel advisory for Hong Kong to reflect the increased danger of surveillance and punishment by the Chinese state security apparatus.
We will take action to revoke Hong Kong's preferential treatment as a separate customs and travel territory from the rest of China.
The United States will also take necessary steps to sanction PRC and Hong Kong officials directly or indirectly involved in eroding Hong Kong's autonomy and so just if you take a look, smothering absolutely smothering Hong Kong's freedom.
Our actions will be strong. Our actions will be meaningful.
More than two decades ago, on a rainy night in 1997, British soldiers lowered the Union Flag and Chinese soldiers raised the Chinese flag in Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong felt simultaneously proud of their Chinese heritage and their unique Hong Kong identity.
The people of Hong Kong hoped that in the years and decades to come, China would increasingly come to resemble its most radiant and dynamic city. The rest of the world was electrified by a sense of optimism that Hong Kong was a glimpse into China's future. Not that, Hong Kong would grow into a reflection of China's past.�
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Internet freedom, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 24, 2020
- Event Description
Police in Hong Kong have fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters rallying against China's plans to impose a new security law on the territory.
Thousands of demonstrators have been marching through the city centre. Police say 120 have been arrested.
Earlier, 200 senior politicians from around the world issued a joint statement criticising China's plan.
But China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the legislation should be brought in "without the slightest delay".
China is seeking to pass a law that would ban "treason, secession, sedition and subversion" in the territory.
Activists fear it is an attempt to limit freedoms and silence Beijing's opponents.
Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam, who is seen as part of the pro-Beijing political establishment, has pledged full support for the proposed law and said the city's rights would remain unchanged.
China has dismissed concerns the legislation would harm foreign investors in Hong Kong, an important financial centre, and lashed out at "meddling" countries. How are the latest demonstrations unfolding?
Protesters gathered in the busy Causeway Bay and Wan Chai districts of the city on Sunday, chanting slogans against the government and waving banners.
Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at demonstrators, who were wearing face masks to protect against the spread of coronavirus.
The rally comes despite earlier warnings from authorities against unauthorised assembly and a ban on large public gatherings to enforce social distancing.
Some protesters threw objects such as umbrellas and water bottles at officers, and used bins and other debris to set up road blocks.
Reports say Sunday's protest followed a similar pattern to many of last year's demonstrations, many of which turned violent.
More than 8,400 people have been arrested in Hong Kong since pro-democracy protests erupted last year.
The "draft decision" - as it is known before approval by China's National People's Congress - includes an article that says Hong Kong "must improve" national security.
It adds: "When needed, relevant national security organs of the Central People's Government will set up agencies in Hong Kong to fulfil relevant duties to safeguard national security in accordance with the law."
That means China could potentially have its own law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong, alongside the city's own.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the plans, which he described as a "death knell" for the city's freedoms. The UK, Australia and Canada have also expressed their "deep concern".
Relations between Washington and Beijing are already strained over trade disputes and the coronavirus pandemic.
The US is currently considering whether to extend Hong Kong's preferential trading and investment privileges. President Trump has also weighed in, saying the US would react strongly if the law went through - without giving details.
Speaking on Sunday, Mr Wang accused countries said "some political forces in the US" were pushing the two countries "to the brink of a new Cold War".
The Chinese government argues the law is necessary to "prevent, stop and punish" protests such as those that rocked Hong Kong last year. They were sparked by a bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.
The statement was drafted by former Hong Kong Governor Christopher Patten and former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, and signed by 186 policy makers and politicians from 23 countries.
It describes Beijing's plans as a "flagrant breach" of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, under which Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
"If the international community cannot trust Beijing to keep its word when it comes to Hong Kong, people will be reluctant to take its word on other matters," the signatories wrote.
They include 17 members of the US Congress, and 44 UK MPs.
The NPC is expected to vote on the draft law at the end of its annual session, on 28 May. It will then be forwarded to the NPC's Standing Committee, China's top legislature, which is expected to finalise and enact the law by the end of June.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Restrictions on Movement, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 20, 2020
- Event Description
Human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong was harassed ahead of the convening of two of China�s governing bodies this week.
Yesterday, some of China�s top politicians met, including Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping. Afterward, the National People�s Congress convened. These two sets of meetings comprise one of China�s most major annual political events.
Before the meetings took place, officials harassed and monitored Jiang Tianyong, a human rights attorney. Jiang�s family said national security officers constructed tents so they could monitor Jiang continuously. Cameras were installed at the front door and at the intersection of roads. On Wednesday, an officer approached the door, punched it, shook the fence, and peeped inside the house.
It is not unusual for China to harass activists ahead of major events.
Jiang has previously served prison time for his work defending those targeted by the Chinese government. Even now that he has been released, officials watch him closely and have surrounded him when he has tried to go to restaurants.
He suffers from swollen legs and pain in his waist, but the officials will not let him seek medical treatment in Beijing.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats, Surveillance , Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to property
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 14, 2020
- Event Description
Wei Zhongping, an activist, has been closely monitored in the past six months since he was released and was warned by authorities about his online speech. On Thursday, May 14, he was summoned by police on the charge of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and was still detained at dusk.
Wei had dropped off meals at the home of Liu Ping, another activist, on Thursday morning and was subsequently taken to the Ludong police station in Xinyu by auxiliary police. A police officer showed the summons paper, claiming it is due to his involvement in picking quarrels and provoking trouble. He was detained until that night. The neighborhood committee had also called Wei on the phone the day of his arrest, reminding him that he should report where he goes. Liu estimated that these two occurrences are related.
Liu said, �If he was released, he would contact us immediately. We hope that it can draw others� attention because we are vulnerable. We have been closely monitored since being released, and we can not send anything we want via our cell phones. The neighborhood committee checked in on us multiple times on the excuse of caring for us, asking where we will go.�
She also said that Xinyu�s state security officers with police and leaders of the neighborhood committee came to Wei�s home a couple of weeks ago, warning him, but she didn�t know details. Earlier on, state security officers and police came to Liu�s place as well, warning her not to post anything sensitive, and her WeChat account is often blocked. Liu posted something about the coronavirus on WeChat, and as a result, she received a warning.
Wei was beaten during his last detention, leading to a broken nose and ribs. He filed complaints but never received an explanation. As a result of the abuse, he has poor health and no money for doctor appointments.
On April 28, 2013, Wei, Liu, and fellow activist Li Sihua were arrested because they held banners at the entry of the complex where Liu lives, calling for the release of detained citizens. The three became known as the �Three Xinyu Gentlemen.� On May 7, they were criminally detained by the Xinyu police on the charge of inciting subversion of state power. Later, the charge was changed to �picking quarrels and provoking trouble,� �assembling a crowd to disturb public order,� and �utilizing a cult to obstruct law enforcement.� On June 18, 2014, Wei and Liu were both sentenced to six-and-a-half years and Li to three years. Wei and Liu were released on Oct. 27, 2019.
Wei, a 57-year-old originally from Xiaogan, Hubei, used to work for a steel company in Jiangxi province. He, as an independent candidate, participated in the election of deputies to the National People�s Congress in 2006. In 2009, he met Liu during a labor dispute lawsuit and sued the Xinyu Municipal Labor Supervisory Department for administrative violation on her behalf. He also worked to repeal his steel company�s retirement system.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 14, 2020
- Event Description
Chinese authorities must immediately release journalist Zhang Zhan, drop any charges against her, and ensure that the media can cover the coronavirus pandemic without fear of arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Zhang, an independent video journalist who had been posting reports from Wuhan on Twitter and YouTube since early February, went missing in the city on May 14, one day after she published a video critical of the government�s countermeasures to contain the virus, according to news reports.
On May 15, the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau issued a notice stating that Zhang had been arrested and detained for �picking quarrels and provoking trouble,� and was being held at the Pudong Xinqu Detention Center, according to those reports.
If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison, according to the Chinese criminal code.
�China professes pride in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, but appears deathly afraid of allowing independent journalists like Zhang Zhan to freely tell the story of what is happening,� said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler, in Washington, D.C. �Chinese authorities should free Zhang immediately and allow her to continue the important work of documenting the impact of the disease.�
Since arriving in Wuhan in early February, Zhang posted videos including interviews with local business owners who were severely impacted by the pandemic, and with workers who struggled to find work in the city.
CPJ called the Wuhan Public Security Bureau for comment, but no one answered. An officer at the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau told CPJ to call the Pudong Xinqu Detention Center for information about Zhang�s arrest. CPJ called the center, but no one answered.
Video journalist Chen Quishi, who traveled to Wuhan to report on the pandemic in late January, went missing after telling his family that he planned to visit a temporary hospital on February 6, as CPJ documented at the time.
Freelance journalist Li Zehua, who also went missing in the city after posting two live-stream videos claiming that state security agents were pursuing him on February 26, reappeared two months later claiming that he was quarantined by police because he had been to �sensitive epidemic areas,� according to news reports.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Abduction/Kidnapping, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 10, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong police arrested more than 250 people in Mong Kok on Sunday night following a day of anti-government protests across the city.
A source said about 200 of those were detained on suspicion of unlawful assembly. Earlier in the day, hundreds of protesters gathered in at least 10 shopping malls to chant slogans and sing Glory to Hong Kong, the anthem of the anti-government movement .
Police said they arrested one man who had materials capable of making petrol bombs.
In the evening, a small group of protesters in the busy Mong Kok shopping district attempted to block roads by setting trash and rubbish bins on fire but were quickly dispersed by police.
Officers in riot gear then took up guard on the street, firing pepper spray on a number of occasions, including twice at reporters, and taking away several people.
Democratic Party legislator Roy Kwong Chun-yu, who turned up in Mong Kok to negotiate with police, was subdued by several officers as he crossed a street, with one pressing his knee onto the politician�s head. The party wrote on its Facebook page that Kwong was to be charged with disorderly behaviour and brought to Hung Hom Police Station. Earlier, protesters circulated messages online, urging people to gather in malls by 3pm. The shopping centres included Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui, Cityplaza in Taikoo Shing and Moko Mall in Mong Kok. Since April 26, when hundreds gathered in Cityplaza to chant slogans, Hong Kong has seen a revival of protests, which had died down because of the Covid-19 pandemic .
The protesters had earlier planned a march from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mong Kok demanding the resignation of Hong Kong�s embattled leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. But the event was postponed indefinitely after police objected on the grounds of restrictions on public gatherings to curb the spread of the virus.
In Tsim Sha Tsui, dozens of officers had been on patrol from the early afternoon. At least a dozen people were searched and two were taken to police vehicles. At about 3pm, a crowd of people, including some with placards, gathered on the steps leading to Harbour City. The crowd retreated into the mall after officers marched towards the building, but police did not initially enter the mall and protesters continued to chant slogans.
Shortly after 4pm, police entered the shopping centre, saying there was a public gathering of more than eight people inside. A few people were stopped inside as police cordoned off parts of the mall.
Among those taken away was a 12-year-old boy who claimed to be a student reporter. He was later released after police warned his mother against allowing him to take part in �illegal child labour�.
The boy said: �Police asked me twice if I was working as an illegal child worker, but I explained I was only a volunteer.�
The boy said he was volunteering for Student Depth Media, a student-run news organisation set up this February. The group also issued a statement on its Facebook page and said the boy was working for it on a voluntary basis, and labour laws did not apply. It also said a 16-year-old girl who worked for the group had been taken away by police too.
In Mong Kok, police armed with non-lethal guns also entered Moko Mall in the afternoon, and fired what was believed to be a pepper ball to disperse protesters.
One man was arrested after officers seized items including petrol, towels and several lighters after intercepting a group of protesters, the force later said on its Facebook page.
Police said they did not rule out the possibility the materials, purportedly for making petrol bombs, would be used, seriously endangering public safety.
Officers also entered other malls and told people to leave.
Earlier in the day, police asked media personnel to disperse from Tsim Sha Tsui, warning that they might be violating the ban on public gatherings of more than eight people, a restriction put in place to help halt the spread of Covid-19. A Post reporter was searched despite showing his press card.
During the search, an officer told him: �Don�t play with your phone, smartphones are fragile these days.�
Another officer filmed the journalist after he was asked to remove his mask. He was later let go.
Among the crowd at Harbour City was a family of four celebrating Mother�s Day.
The mother said she was not aware a protest was planned but it did not affect her. �I explained to my daughters what [the protesters] were trying to say,� she said.
A 19-year-old student, who did not want to be named, said he expected protests to become more frequent as the coronavirus came under control locally.
�With or without the ban, people will come out, and those who are out are prepared to be arrested,� he said.
Some shops at Harbour City closed early, but others served customers with shutters closed.
In a statement, a police spokesman said protesters had gathered in various shopping malls across the city, holding banners, shouting slogans and undermining public order.
�Police received reports from the public and entered the malls to enforce the law,� he added, noting that gatherings of more than eight people in public places were prohibited. Protests first broke out in June last year, sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill. The demonstrations later evolved into a wider anti-government movement, with clashes between radical protesters and police turning increasingly violent. With the onset of the coronavirus crisis, the campaign began losing momentum.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Restrictions on Movement
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 10, 2020
- Event Description
Human rights lawyer Zhang Xuezhong was "taken away" by authorities on Sunday after writing an open letter criticising the Chinese government's Covid-19 response, the South China Morning Post reported, citing multiple sources.
According to SCMP, the 43-year-old constitutional scholar was forcibly removed from his Shanghai home on Sunday night after posting the letter on popular social media platform WeChat. The letter was addressed to deputies of China's National People's Congress and called out the country for its lack of a modern constitution and for its stifling of social freedoms, highlighted by the pandemic.
In his letter, seen by SCMP, Zhang said that the handling of the coronavirus pandemic was emblematic of deep-rooted issues within the country's leadership.
"The outbreak and spread of the Covid-19 epidemic is a good illustration of the problem," he wrote.
"Since January 3, 2020, the [Chinese] foreign ministry had been regularly notifying the US government about the epidemic, but the disease control department was not notifying the people of [China] at the same time. Such an irresponsible attitude towards their people's safety is rare," he continued.
"There were few independent professional media to investigate and report on the outbreak, nor did medical professionals provide independent advice to the public � It only shows that the government's long-term tight control of society and people has almost completely destroyed the organisation and self-help capabilities of Chinese society."
Zhang also admonished China's treatment of Li Wenliang, a doctor and coronavirus whistleblower who tried to warn his colleagues about a potential coronavirus outbreak in December. Li was forced by Chinese authorities to sign a letter acknowledging that he was "making false comments"; he later died from the coronavirus.
"Twenty-two days before [the country's first major lockdown] in the city, Wuhan was still investigating and punishing citizens who had disclosed the epidemic, including Dr. Li Wenliang � showing how tight and arbitrary the government's suppression of society is," Zhang said.
Zhang acknowledged that his letter would spark controversy, but encouraged others to speak out.
"The best way to fight for freedom of expression is for everyone to speak as if we already have freedom of speech," he wrote in his WeChat post alongside his letter.
According to SCMP, Zhang was removed from his teaching position at East China University of Political Science and Law in 2013 because of critical statements he made about the Chinese constitution. SCMP said calls to Zhang's mobile phone and messages sent to his WeChat account went unanswered on Monday.
China is known for censoring criticism of its policies, and dissenters have been jailed or disappeared after making complaints. Chinese government censors are working in overdrive to protect the party narrative its been drilling down on the country's response to the novel coronavirus, which originated in the city of Wuhan before spreading worldwide.
Last week, The New York Times reported that the Chinese government was silencing coronavirus survivors who want answers on what went wrong with the country's early coronavirus response.
The international community has also increased pressure on China for an independent investigation into the origins of the virus, as well as the country's response to the outbreak early on. The European Commission, Sweden, Australia, and others have been calling on China for more transparency in recent weeks.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Abduction/Kidnapping
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 1, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong police used pepper spray on Friday to disperse over a hundred protesters in a shopping mall who were singing and chanting pro-democracy slogans.
The demonstrators sang the protest anthem "Glory to Hong Kong" and chanted "Glory to Hong Kong, revolution of our times" in the New Town Plaza mall in Hong Kong's New Territories.
As protesters gathered in the mall, riot police stopped and searched some and later told them to leave, saying they were violating social-distancing rules. The police then sprayed tear gas to disperse the crowd before cordoning off the atrium of the mall.
The protest was one of several that went ahead on May 1, Labor Day, despite rules that forbid public gatherings of more than four people.
Small groups of protesters also gathered near Kowloon's Mong Kok and Kwun Tong subway stations.
Organizers initially planned citywide protests but many were canceled, with the organizers urging people to support pro-democracy restaurants instead.
Friday's protests were the latest in a string of demonstrations over the past week in which protesters gathered in shopping malls. They follow the arrest of 15 pro-democracy activists and former lawmakers last Saturday.
The demonstrations are a continuation of a movement that began last June to protest an extradition bill that would have allowed detainees in Hong Kong to be transferred to mainland China. Although the bill was later withdrawn, the demonstrations continued for months before a lull starting in January as the coronavirus pandemic broke out.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Restrictions on Movement, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 30, 2020
- Event Description
Chinese authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Chen Jieren and his family members and associates, who have been prosecuted over Chen�s exercise of his right to free expression. A Chinese court handed down a 15-year prison sentence on April 30, 2020 to Chen Jieren (???) apparently to punish him for his political speech on WeChat and other social media platforms. After being sacked from various state newspapers including Southern Weekend, China Youth Daily, Beijing Daily, and People�s Daily, Chen published online commentaries and investigative reports on social media, including WeChat and Weibo channels called �Jieren Observation Viewpoint� and �Jieren Observation Heights.�
Guiyang County Court in Hunan Province convicted Chen Jieren of �picking quarrels and provoking trouble,� �extortion and blackmail,� �illegal business activity,� and �bribes� and handed down a 15-year prison sentence and 7.01 million RMB (990,000 USD) fine. The court also convicted his brother Chen Weiren (???) of �picking quarrels� and �extortion and blackmail� charges and sentenced him to four years in prison and a fine of 10,000 RMB (1,400 USD). An associate, Liu Min (??), was exempted from criminal penalties after being convicted of �picking quarrels.�
The Court statement said that Chen �used the information network to publish false or negative information, maliciously exaggerate certain mass incidents, attack and vilify the [Chinese Communist] Party and the government, judicial organs and their staff, instigate troubles, and extort public and private property.�
Hunan authorities violated Chen Jieren�s right to a fair trial. Chen and several of his family members and associates disappeared a few days after he disclosed on his social media channels alleged corruption by local CCP officials in late June-early July 2018. His detention was only confirmed on July 7. On July 16, 2018, Chenzhou City Supervisory Commission told Chen�s lawyers that Chen and his brother were under investigation by the Supervisory Commission and being held in �residential surveillance at a designated location� (RSDL). The brothers� lawyers were denied visits during the RSDL period. On November 12, 2018, Chen Jieren was criminally detained and formally arrested on November 20.
In August 2018, Chinese state media launched a smear campaign, accusing Chen of various crimes and quoted police as saying that his online speech �sabotaged the reputation of the Party and the government and damaged the government�s credibility.� State media published Chen�s �confession� while he was incommunicado in a secret detention facility under RSDL.
Chen graduated from Tsinghua University Law School and previously worked as a reporter for Chinese state newspapers. Chen was fired from China Youth Daily in 2003 for uncovering a prostitution ring involving students at Wuhan University which caused a scandal; he was demoted as editor-in-chief of China Philanthropy Times for criticising a government portal in 2006; and in 2011, sacked from his position in at People�s Daily Online�s Jiangsu Window for �too much criticism of the government.�
Chen�s heavy punishment sends a chilling signal to online independent commentators and citizen jounalists. In 2018, China�s Cyberspace Administration launched a crackdown on �self-media� and ordered hundreds of thousands of social media accounts to be deleted for spreading �politically harmful information� or �vulgar� content. Individual accounts on social media are widely used to post news stories or comments in China. Such publication venues are not registered with the government, though heavily censored, have allowed some independent reporting for at least a short period of time.
China is one of the worst countries in the world for press freedom. It was ranked #177th out of 180 on Reporters Without Border�s 2020 �World Press Freedom Index.� According to a 2019 report from the Committee to Protect Journalists, China is the 5th most censored country in the world. Both press freedom watchdogs have called for Chen Jieren�s release.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Censorship, Denial Fair Trial, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Media freedom, Online, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 29, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong independence activist Edward Leung Tin-kei has lost an appeal against his six-year jail sentence for rioting in one of the city�s busiest districts four years ago.
The Court of Appeal on Wednesday also ruled against Lo Kin-man and Wong Ka-kui, who were jailed for seven years and 3� years respectively for rioting on the same night of February 8, 2016, in Mong Kok.
In rejecting the applications, Mr Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor said the trial judge was entitled to pass punitive and deterrent sentences on the trio, whose rioting offences had an immediate and extremely serious impact on the rule of law.
�Sentencing for the offence of riot must reflect the law�s determination to maintain public order, and send a clear message to society and the public that the law does not condone the breach of public order by means of violence,� Poon said, adding that one�s personal belief could not be a mitigating factor.
Poon, chief judge of the High Court, said the offences Leung, 28, committed were extremely serious as he had witnessed how the events unfolded but chose to remain at the scene despite the escalating violence.
He said that, while the trial judge did err in assessing Leung�s liability in the unrest, his overall jail term was not manifestly excessive given the severity of the offence.
The court also dismissed the appeals by Lo and Wong against their sentences, and Lo�s separate appeal against his conviction.
Leung�s lawyers said they would study the appeal court�s judgment before determining whether to lodge a final appeal at the top court. He was expected to serve out his sentence in January 2022.
Leung was the poster boy for the city�s pro-independence movement and the former convenor of the group Hong Kong Indigenous.
He rose to prominence while running in the 2016 Legislative Council elections, but was subsequently banned from taking part for advocating Hong Kong independence, and was jailed in 2018 for his role in the riot.
Leung and Lo were both convicted of rioting during the Mong Kok unrest, which erupted on the first night of the Lunar New Year. Leung and Wong also pleaded guilty respectively to assaulting a police officer and rioting.
During the trial at the Court of First Instance, prosecutors said the riot started out as a scuffle between hawker control officers and street vendors, but quickly descended into violence, during which some 500 protesters set fires on the streets and threw bricks and other objects at police.
A jury found Leung guilty of taking part in a riot on Argyle Street, where he also attacked a traffic officer with a wooden board. The jury also found Lo guilty of rioting on Portland Street at an earlier time.
Madam Justice Anthea Pang Po-kam, who jailed the trio, said the mass unrest was �organised violence� which could not be mitigated by a person�s political aspirations.
At the appeal court, lawyers for the trio argued their sentences were excessive.
Leung�s lawyers said Pang had wrongfully taken into account various aggravating factors in her sentencing consideration, including Leung�s presence in the riot on Portland Street although he was not convicted of taking part.
But the contention was rejected by Poon and appeal justices Carlye Chu Fun-ling and Derek Pang Wai-cheong.
The judges observed that, having witnessed how protesters clashed with police on Portland Street, it was only reasonable for Leung to infer that protesters on Argyle Street would launch similar attacks on officers there, but he still chose to take part.
While accepting that the trial judge was wrong in making Leung liable to an arson incident near the scene despite his lack of involvement, the judges said Leung�s sentence was justified given he had joined a group attack against officers for no reason.
�Even if [Leung�s] motive was to protect local traditions and culture, this could not lessen his culpability for rioting and unjustified use of serious violence on a police officer,� Poon said as he explained the ruling on behalf of the court.
The disturbance in Mong Kok saw 91 people, aged 14 to 70, arrested for rioting, taking part in an unlawful assembly, assaulting police officers or other offences. Of those, 64 were charged and 33 convicted.
Leung still had some supporters while in prison. Last year, he made an emotional appeal from behind bars, urging Hong Kong protesters �not to be dominated by hatred� amid the escalating unrest triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 29, 2020
- Event Description
Meanwhile, police detained activist Xie Wenfei on April 29 on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."
Xie is a veteran rights activist in China's Hunan province. He recently has criticized the detention of three young volunteers who archived censored information about COVID-19 online, and questioned the disappearance in Wuhan of citizen journalists Chen Qiushi and Fang Bing. He also signed an online petition to honor the COVID-19 whistleblower Dr. Li Wenliang.
"This is not the first arrest," his brother Xie Qiufeng told VOA. "The police didn't tell me anything specific. I think it's about what he had posted on WeChat again."
Born in 1977, Xie Yunfei is a veteran activist who has been detained many times for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly over the years. He previously served a 4.5-year prison sentence for supporting the 2014 Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong.
Xie's friend Ou Biaofeng, who is also an activist, told VOA that he's not surprised about Xie's arrest.
Ou said that in recent years, the government has severely reduced the space for civil liberties by rounding up rights lawyers, labor activists and citizen journalists. He added that anyone who expresses a slightly different opinion online will have their account blocked immediately.
"The pro-democracy movement in China has entered a freezing winter because of the crackdown," he said. "The pressure is just enormous. Also, for the past year or two, there's been less and less support of civil movements. It's quite sad."
The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders ranked China near the bottom of its 2020 press freedom index. The group said President Xi is tightening control over news and information and trying to export the country's oppressive surveillance systems.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to information, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 24, 2020
- Event Description
The Chengdu City Lawyers� Association, a state-run agency, handed out a �professional reprimand� to discipline human rights lawyer Lu Siwei (???) on April 24, 2020. The Discipline Oversight Committee of the Association said in a written document that lawyer Lu violated the rules by representing another human rights lawyer, Chen Jiahong, based in Guangxi region, who has been detained and charged with �inciting subversion of state power.� The written reprimand will stay on lawyer Lu�s record, which may affect him during the annual review of his qualifications for keeping his lawyer�s license.
Lawyer Chen Jiahong was detained in April 2019, soon after he had posted a video on social media in which he criticized the Chinese Communist Party and President Xi Jinping, and called for China to move towards a more democratic and constitutional government. His lawyer Lu Siwei had tried to visit him but was blocked until a meeting was finally granted in December 2019. During the meeting, Chen disclosed that he had been subjected to deprivation of sleep, poor quality food, and other forms of mistreatment for refusing to admit guilt under coercion. On March 12, 2020, a Guangxi court notified lawyer Lu that Chen had �dismissed� him. Detaining outspoken lawyers and administratively penalizing these lawyers� lawyers have become routine practice in China. It violates international human rights standard on the right to a fair trial and interferes in the independence of lawyers.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Access to justice, Denial effective remedy
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Suspected state
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Non-state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 22, 2020
- Event Description
On April 22, 2020, Dongbao District Court in Jingmen City convicted activist Liu Yanli (???) of �picking quarrels and provoking trouble� and sentenced her to four years in prison. Hubei police had criminally detained the activist on the �picking quarrels� charges on November 22, 2018 for �insulting and attacking the Chinese Communist Party� by criticizing former and current state leaders, including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Xi Jinping. She was tried on January 31, 2019 and sentenced over a year later on April 22, 2020. She is currently detained at Jingmen City Detention Center. Liu, 44, has been active on her Qzone and WeChat account making comments on democracy and politics since September 2009. Police repeatedly harassed her for her online speech. On September 26, 2016, she was criminally detained for eight months on suspicion of �libel� after she posted and reposted over 10 messages about Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Xi Jinping on her WeChat Moments. On May 25, 2018, she was placed under �residential surveillance� for six months for �libel�.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, Pro-democracy activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 21, 2020
- Event Description
Family members of Huang Qi, a human rights activist who was re-sentenced to prison for leaking state secrets last year, have been blocked from visiting him on the grounds of the epidemic. Huang�s mother, Pu Wenqing, was also denied a phone call with her son by prison officials.
A friend of Huang Qi's mother, Pu Wenqing, said on Wednesday, April 22 that yesterday, Pu Wenqing called the prison section chief Mr. Yang of Bazhong prison and was told that Huang Qi was serving a sentence in Area Four of the prison, which is for the old, weak and disabled. Due to the epidemic situation, no visit is allowed now. In addition, Pu Wenqing asked for a phone call with his son, but the prison authority said it would have to wait for the leader's approval, and didn't tell her about Huang Qi�s health. He is seriously ill and his family is very worried about his condition.
The friend said, "Pu Wenqing is worried about her son. She hopes she can go to see Huang Qi, or he can make a phone call. And only after speaking with her son on the phone will she stop worrying and feel relieved. She is worried about her son."
Considering Pu is over 80 years old and in poor health, she should be allowed to talk on the phone with her son. After the epidemic is over, visitation should also be permitted.
On July 29, 2019, Huang Qi was sentenced by the Mianyang Intermediate Court to 12 years for intentionally disclosing state secrets and illegally providing state secrets abroad, with four years of deprivation of political rights. He was held in detention for more than two years before being sentenced, during which he was tortured and forced to confess.
Before the latest arrest, Huang Qi, who set up the website "6.4 net" in 1999, has been jailed two times for his speech. In May 2003, he was sentenced by the Chengdu Intermediate Court for five years for inciting subversion of the state power. He was also sentenced by the Wuhou District Court of Chengdu City for three years for the crime of �illegally holding state secrets� in November 2009.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial
- Rights Concerned
- Denial effective remedy, Right to health
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 18, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong police have arrested 15 high-profile democracy activists on charges of illegal assembly.
The arrests took place just hours after China�s top representative office in the semi-autonomous city declared it is not bound by Hong Kong�s constitutional restrictions that bar Chinese government from interfering in local affairs.
Police arrested prominent figures, including the media tycoon Jimmy Lai and 81-year-old Martin Lee, the founder of the Democratic party and a senior barrister, in the biggest crackdown on the pro-democracy movement since the sometimes violent anti-government protests that have rocked the former British colony since June last year.
The 15 people arrested allegedly organised and took part in unlawful assemblies and police do not rule out that more will be arrested, Supt Lam Wing-Ho said.
Also among the detained were the barrister Margaret Ng, lawyer Albert Ho, labour rights activist Lee Cheuk-yan, former legislators Leung Kwok-hung and Au Nok-hin, and younger activists such as Figo Chan, the vice-convener of the Civil Human Rights Front, which organised several mass protests approved by police last year.
The 15 were accused of joining three unapproved protests on 18 August, 1 October and 20 October last year, local media reported.
Pro-democracy lawmakers say the arrests are an attempt to silence the movement after Chinese officials told Hong Kong to enact national security legislation. Claudia Mo said Beijing was also trying to �terrorise Hong Kong opposition� ahead of the legislative council election in September.
The veteran China watcher, Johnny Lau, said Beijing is trying to hit hard at Hong Kong while the world is busy dealing with Covid-19.
�In Xi Jinping�s eyes this is an opportunity to shuffle the cards and to assert its narrative,� he said. �If the foreign countries turn a blind eye and fail to rein in [China�s power], they would also suffer.�
The arrests came just hours after China�s liaison office asserted in a strongly-worded statement that it and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) � China�s top bodies overseeing the city�s affairs � are �authorised by the central authorities to handle Hong Kong affairs.�
Earlier this week, the liason office�s chief, Luo Huining, called for controversial national security laws to be urgently passed as accusations of overreach by Beijing into the city�s legislative council and judiciary escalate.
Hong Kong was promised a �high degree of autonomy� for at least 50 years after China resumed control in 1997, under the Sino-British joint declaration. The city�s post-handover mini-constitution, the Basic Law, bars the mainland Chinese government from interfering in Hong Kong affairs, and article 22 states that no department under the Chinese central and local governments �may interfere in the affairs which the Hong Kong special administrative region administers on its own in accordance with this law.�
But the liaison office statement, published late on Friday, asserts that �a high degree of autonomy is not complete autonomy.� It stresses that Hong Kong�s right to self-rule is �authorised by the central government.�
The statement argues that the liaison office and the HKMAO �are not what is referred to in article 22 of the Basic Law, or what is commonly understood to be �departments under the central people�s government�.� It adds that the offices derive their authority both from China�s constitution and the Basic Law.
This week, pro-democracy lawmakers accused the Chinese government of �blatant intervention� and violation of article 22 of the Basic Law after the HKMAO said some lawmakers were guilty of misconduct in public office for delaying bills, failing to appoint a House committee chairman and paralysing the legislature by filibustering.
The liaison office statement said people who made such allegations were distorting the Basic Law and misleading public opinion, adding that �loyalty to the country is a necessary requirement� for lawmakers.
China law expert Prof Jerome Cohen at the New York University descibed China�s statement is �astounding and incendiary�. Test and trace: lessons from Hong Kong on avoiding a coronavirus lockdown Read more
�If taken seriously, it collapses the whole one country, two systems edifice that was constructed over so many years since the joint declaration,� he said.
Prof Michael Davis, a global fellow at the Wilson Center and former law professor at the University of Hong Kong, said China�s aggressive language would �result in further pushback� from Hong Kong society, which has already experienced its most severe political crisis.
�The danger is that Hong Kong�s autonomy will be squandered and this has implications for all countries that have relied on the promises made to Hong Kong,� he said. �This fear that Hong Kong�s autonomy will be lost, along with it the rule of law, is what has driven the many protests in Hong Kong and international concern.�
Alvin Cheung, a legal scholar specialising in Hong Kong issues at New York University, said: �[The fact that] Beijing is not even pretending to keep up appearances heralds a dark new stage in Hong Kong�s post-1997 development � It suggests repression will intensify further.�
A Foreign & Commonwealth Office spokesperson said in a statement that the UK government was concerned about the arrests and stressed that the right to peaceful protest was �protected in both the joint declaration and the Basic Law�.
�It is essential that any protests are conducted peacefully, and that the authorities avoid actions that inflame tensions. The authorities should focus on rebuilding trust through a process of meaningful political dialogue,� the statement said.
Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, said while the world�s attention is focused on the covid-19 epidemic, Beijing has taken �yet another step towards burying one-country, two-system� and the arrests show that �Beijing is determined to throttle Hong Kong�.
He said the liaison office�s claim that it is not bound by the basic law is �a reckless argument which shows that Xi Jinping is determined to abandon the policies pursued by his predecessors, even at the cost of destroying Hong Kong�s way of life�.
�It should be rejected immediately by all those governments and parliaments around the world who know the importance of safe-guarding the high degree of autonomy which is guaranteed by the Basic Law.�
Lee, often dubbed the �Father of Democracy� in Hong Kong and a drafter of the Basic Law, said after he was released on bail that he had �no regrets� and felt �proud to walk the road of democracy with the outstanding youths in Hong Kong�.
- Impact of Event
- 15
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Online, Right to political participation, Right to Protest, Right to self-determination
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist, WHRD, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 17, 2020
- Event Description
On 17 April 2020, the Cangshan District Court in Fuzhou city, Fujian province found human rightsdefenders Lin Lanying (???), Lin Yingqiang (???), and Tang Zhaoxing (???) guilty of�picking quarrel and provoking trouble�. Lin Yingqiang and Tang Zhaoxing were both sentenced tothree years in prison whilst Lin Lanying was sentenced to one year and ten months. He Zongwang(???), a human rights defender who was detained along with the three in September 2018, wastried separately and sentenced in August 2019.Lin Lanying is a long time petitioner and woman human rights defender in Fuxhou, focusingprimarily on actions to support prosecuted or imprisoned human rights defenders. Lin Yingqiang isa petitioner and land rights defender in Fuzhou. Since 2004, he has initiated and participated inadvocacy and public protests to support local farmers who have had their land appropriated by theauthorities without adequate compensation. Tan Zhaoxing is a petitioner and human rightsdefender in Fuzhou and has participated in advocacy and public actions to support and raiseawareness about the persecution of local political activists and human rights defenders. HeZongwang is a petitioner and human rights defender in Fuqing city, Fujian province. Heparticipated in advocacy and public protests, including those aimed at raising awareness of socialinjustice and persecution of human rights defenders. Both Lin Yingqiang and He Zongwang havebeen previously detained for their works as human rights defenders. On the morning of 12 September 2018, a group of more than 30 local human rights defendersgathered in front of the Fuzhou No. 1 Detention Centre to welcome the release of imprisonedhuman rights defender Yan Xingsheng (???). They gave flowers to him, took group photos, andset off firecrackers which is a traditional practice aimed at warding off negative energy and oftenused for the occasion of prison release. As the group of defenders began to disperse, they werecorralled and detained by police officers waiting nearby. Over the course of a month, most of thedetained human rights defenders were released, except for Lin Lanying, Lin Yingqian, TangZhaoxing and He Zongwang.Lin Lanying, Lin Yingqiang and Tang Zhaoxing were initially criminally detained on the charge of�gathering a crowd to disrupt public order� and later formally arrested on the charge of �pickingquarrel and provoking trouble�, a vague public order offence often used to prosecute human rightsdefenders and peaceful protesters in recent years. They were tried on 22 November 2019. HeZongwang was prosecuted separately and tried by a different court in Fuzhou for �picking quarreland provoking trouble� and �fabricating and intentionally disseminating false information�. He wassentenced on 30 August 2019 to four years in prison.In the official verdict issued on 17 April 2020, the Cangshan Court wrote that the three defenders,joined by other petitioners, had engaged in seven public assemblies in 2018 in front of courts,detention centres, and convention centres while international conferences were being held. Duringthe trial in November 2019, the lawyers defending the three defenders argued that the prosecutor�sassertion that these actions had �stirred up disturbances� and �seriously disturbed public order�was not backed up by the �evidence� they presented, including video footage of some of theprotests in question. The defence lawyers argued that the prosecution of their clients was a reprisalagainst their peaceful activism. Front Line Defenders condemns the court verdicts given on 30 August 2019 and 17 April 2020,and the sentencing of Lin Lanying, Lin Yingqiang, Tang Zhaoxing and He Zongwang to prison, as itbelieves that they are a direct reprisal against their legitimate human rights work, and the exerciseof their freedom of assembly and of expression, which are guaranteed by the Chinese Constitution.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Denial effective remedy, Offline, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Land rights defender, Pro-democracy activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 17, 2020
- Event Description
Three Chinese volunteers who helped to publish censored Covid-19 articles on Github, the world�s largest open-source website, have been detained by police at an unknown location, according to a source close to them.
The trio � Cai Wei, his girlfriend, a woman surnamed Tang, and Chen Mei � were contributors to a crowd-sourced project known as Terminus2049 that began in 2018 and collected articles that had been removed from mainstream media outlets and social media.
Microsoft-owned Github lets programmers collaborate on code, but has increasingly become a haven for Chinese activists who want to circumvent the Great Firewall to publish censored content.
There are other archives on GitHub that collect coronavirus-related articles and personal accounts found on mainstream and social media, and some of these projects say they hope to keep a record to help people better �understand the epidemic and the people affected by it�.
Terminus2049 appeared to be blocked in mainland China on Saturday.
The three Beijing-based volunteers went missing on April 19, the source, who declined to give her name for fear of retaliation, told the South China Morning Post. Their families and friends then called the police, who initially denied knowledge of their whereabouts.
�About five days later, the families of Cai and Tang received official notices from the Chaoyang district bureau of the Beijing police,� the source said. �During the first few days they did not admit they took them.�
According to the notices, Cai and Tang were being kept under police surveillance at an unnamed location for �picking quarrels and provoking trouble�.
Chen�s family has not yet received any notification from the police.
�They had regular contact with their families and friends. Now that they have been taken, their families and friends are distraught beyond imagination,� the source said.
The Chaoyang police bureau could not be reached for comment.
Among the articles and personal accounts published by the project, one of the most well known is an interview with Ai Fen, a whistle-blower doctor at the Wuhan Central Hospital. The article was published by China�s People magazine in early March but was removed within hours.
Ai, who said she had been muzzled by the authorities for raising the alarm without permission at the start of the outbreak, posted an image of a diagnostic report on social network WeChat on December 30, showing that a patient had a pneumonia infection caused by a Sars-like coronavirus.
Some of the information she released was also shared by Li Wenliang, the doctor who was detained by the authorities and who later died from Covid-19.
After the removal of Ai�s article, angry members of the public published dozens of different versions on social media, using emojis, code words and different languages � even invented ones such as Elvish and Klingon � to bypass the censors.
Earlier this week, citizen journalist Li Zehua re-emerged after going missing for two weeks. He said he had been held in a quarantine centre in Wuhan before being sent to isolation in his hometown.
But the whereabouts of Chen Qiushi and Fang Bin, two other citizen journalists who disappeared in Wuhan in early February, remain unknown.
Chen, a lawyer and citizen journalist, arrived in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak in China, on the last train before the lockdown.
He also attended a protest in Hong Kong last year and posted videos of pro-democracy rallies, after which the authorities shut down his Chinese social media accounts and ordered him to return to the mainland.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to information
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 4, 2020
- Event Description
Prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang, who was jailed for four and a half years for subversion, has been released from prison but barred from reuniting with his wife and son in Beijing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
His wife, Li Wenzu, fears that the authorities are using the pandemic as an excuse to hold him under de facto house arrest indefinitely. She said Wang has been released from prison but authorities had sent him to his home town, Jinan, in the north-eastern province of Shandong (400km south of Beijing) for quarantine.
Chinese authorities have been using compulsory quarantine as a pretext to detain or restrict the movements of government critics.
�The government is continuing to restrict his personal freedoms and forcing us to be separated,� Li told the Guardian. �This behaviour is shameless, I�m absolutely opposed to this and am very angry.
�I fear the government is using the pandemic as an excuse to detain him. Would it be just 14 days as they say? I can�t trust them. So long as my husband has no freedom, I�ll continue to fight until he comes back.� Chinese human rights lawyer �totally changed man� after being jailed Read more
Wang called his wife from the prison yesterday telling her to refrain from going to meet him in prison. In a recording she posted on Twitter, Wang said he had to be quarantined �for some time� due to the pandemic. When Li, who has been frequently harassed by the authorities, angrily asked whether he was prompted to say that under duress, he said: �We�ll be back together, but there�ll be a process.�
�The Linyi prison� forced Quanzhang to �persuade� me into accepting the arrangement of sending him to Jinan. I absolutely oppose it,� Li said on Twitter: �Wang Quanzhang needs real freedom, our family needs to be reunited.�
In a practice dubbed �non-release release� by respected China law expert Jerome Cohen at the New York University, Chinese rights activists are often released from prison into de facto house arrest or enforced restriction to their native village, where they remain for years.
�What will Wang Quanzhang�s �release� on April 5 amount to?� asked Cohen in his blog.
Wang, a lawyer who had taken on politically sensitive cases and defended activists and members of the banned religious group Falun Gong, was sentenced to jail in January 2019 on the blanket charge of �subversion of state power�.
He was one of more than 300 lawyers and activists detained in a wave of crackdowns that started in July 2015. He was the last lawyer of the group to be convicted, with his trial taking place three-and-a-half years after he was taken away by the authorities.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment, Restrictions on Movement, Travel Restriction
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of movement, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Mar 27, 2020
- Event Description
Authorities in the central Chinese province of Hubei have formally arrested a woman on public order charges after she organized local people to protest against price-gouging on essential goods during the coronavirus lockdown.
Police in Hubei's Yingcheng city formally arrested Zeng Chunzhi on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble" on April 17, an overseas rights group reported.
Zeng had organized a protest in which hundreds of residents in a housing compound in Haishan district took part, the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network said in a statement on its website.
Local residents shouted slogans calling for the local neighborhood committee to be fired in the March 12 protest, after it charged them higher prices on essential goods they couldn't easily get elsewhere.
Zeng was placed under administrative detention on March 27, then held under criminal detention on April 9.
She is currently being held at Yingcheng Detention Center, CHRD said.
"The residents� protest came as small business owners in Wuhan reportedly protested outside a shopping mall on April 10 for rent relief on their shops which have been shut down due to coronavirus restrictions," it said.
Social and political tensions rose throughout the lockdowns imposed in Hubei and its provincial capital Wuhan, which were first to be hit by the coronavirus epidemic after its emergence in Wuhan.
Food prices skyrocketed as hundreds of millions were prevented from traveling or accessing supplies without official passes and permits, while aid and food donations were being commandeered or left to rot owing to corruption or a lack of delivery infrastructure, residents told RFA at the time.
In early March, residents of a housing project in Wuhan heckled vice premier Sun Chunlan with shouts of "Fake!" after being told to stay home during the official visit.
Residents complained that the neighborhood committee had failed to ensure a supply of fresh food to residents, contrary to the claims they made to Sun.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Mar 5, 2020
- Event Description
On March 5, police in Beijing detained Chen, a filmmaker who recently shot a documentary on Chinese activist and scholar Xu Zhiyong, according to an open letter written by his wife and shared on Facebook by the Southern Idiot Observation Group, a human rights group, on April 12.
Beijings Haidian Public Security Bureau is holding Chen under residential surveillance at a designated location,a form of extrajudicial detention, and he was charged with subversion of state power, according to the letter.
Detaining Chen Jiaping for filming a documentary on a subject the Chinese government doesnt like is absurd, said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJs program director, in New York. Chinese authorities should drop all charges against Chen Jiaping, release him immediately, and allow him to continue his work.
Authorities repeatedly denied Chens wifes requests to see the filmmaker and pressured her to keep quiet about the arrest, according to the letter. She published the letter on Chen�s 50th birthday on April 12, signed with �your love.� It does not include her name.
Police confiscated Chens unreleased documentary materials about Xu, who was arrested on February 15 in Guangzhou for attending a human rights activists gathering in late 2019, and told Chens wife that they worried the documentarian would continue to make mistakes,according to the letter and news reports.
When CPJ called the Haidian Public Security Bureau for comment, an officer said he was not familiar with Chens case, but said that the bureau complied with the law. He said if Chen broke the law, he would be a target for arrest.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Aug 21, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 31, 2020
- Event Description
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a nonprofit advocating for press freedom, has urged Beijing to free journalists and political commentators and stop censoring information about the novel coronavirus outbreak in China.
RSF pointed out that two citizen journalists, Chen Qiushi and Fang Bin, and two political commentators, Guo Quan and Xu Zhiyong, were arrested in early February in connection with their social media posts about the outbreak, in a statement published on Feb. 24.
“Censorship is clearly counter-productive in the fight against an epidemic and can only aggravate it or even help turn it into a pandemic,” said Cédric Alviani, the head of RSF’s East Asia bureau, in the statement.
“Only complete transparency will enable China to minimize the spread of false rumors and convince the population to follow the health and safety instructions recommended for curbing the epidemic.”
Guo, a human rights activist and a former assistant professor at Nanjing Normal University, was arrested on Jan. 31 after he posted about the coronavirus. He was then held at a detention center in Nanjing, the capital of eastern China’s Jiangsu Province, according to Radio Free Asia.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 26, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 2, 2020
- Event Description
Over the past month, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has marshalled the country’s public security apparatus to track down and detain known activists and ordinary citizens who have shared information about the coronavirus outbreak, provided on-the-ground updates from the epicenter, or reflected upon the epidemic’s implications for China’s governance model.
But parts of the regime have also gone on the offensive against its political enemies more broadly, raising new questions about where party leaders’ priorities lie during a public health crisis and how far they will go to maintain their hold on power.
Muzzling Sources of Independent Information
The disappearance of three Chinese citizen journalists who had been live-streaming updates from Wuhan has drawn international attention. The three men — businessman Fang Bin, lawyer Chen Qiushi, and former journalist Li Zehua — had separately recorded and disseminated video reports from inside the locked-down city, its hospitals, and its quarantine centers. Over the past month, all three have vanished into some form of custody, detained by police or possibly quarantined despite their reported good health.
While these cases are widely known, in part due to the men’s international contacts and the potency of their videos, there are many more like them. Media reports, updates from human rights groups, and posts on local government websites from the past month indicate that similar measures are being taken by authorities far from Wuhan. Tan Zuoren, an online activist and former political prisoner in Sichuan province, received multiple visits by police and had his account on the WeChat social media platform frozen.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Internet freedom, Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to privacy
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 26, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 12, 2020
- Event Description
The number of citizen journalists to disappear in China in the last month after reporting on COVID-19 has risen to at least three, with reports that former journalist Li Zehua was arrested on February 26. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said the disappearances are a grave concern for the international media community and urges China’s authorities to provide transparent information on their whereabouts and grant their immediate release. It also reminded of the vital need to respect the international community’s right to information.
Li Zehua, a citizen journalist in Wuhan who had been reporting about the reality of life inside Wuhan since its lockdown, had uploaded a video of being chased and arrested on February 26. He has not been heard from since then.
Li, who previously worked at China’s state broadcaster CCTV, came to Wuhan independently and uploaded a video on YouTube of him being chased. Wearing a face mask underneath a baseball cap, he recorded the video while driving. He is recorded as saying: “I’m on the road and someone, I don’t know, state security, has started chasing me. I’m driving very fast. Help me.” The final part of the video shows two men in plain clothes entering an apartment and then cuts out. According to news reports, the live stream was posted on Weibo, but later deleted. It is now posted on YouTube.
Three Chinese citizen journalists, who had live-streamed updates from the locked-down city of Wuhan, its hospitals and quarantine centres, disappeared over the past month. The IFJ issued a statement on the disappearances of businessman Fang Bin and lawyer Chen Qiushi on February 11. Freedom House said today that “all three have vanished into some form of custody, detained by police or possibly quarantined despite their reported good health”. Other than the disappearances and possible arrests of citizen journalists, the IFJ has documented reports of online media being censored, including We Tencent’s website and WeChat account which disappeared after publication of an article entitled “The 50 days of Wuhan pneumonia: Chinese people are all paying the price of the death of media”.
Taking effect from March 1, China’s authorities stated ‘content should be mainly positive, uplifting and devoid of rumours’. According to reports, the regulations also list examples of what is unacceptable – content “harming national honour and interests”, “spreading rumours, disrupting economic and social order”, “content that embodies sexual innuendo … horror and brutality, vulgarity” and “inappropriate commentary on natural disasters and major accidents”. The authorities will also hold service providers, content producers and service users accountable for such content.
Media reports, updates from human rights groups, and posts on local government websites indicate that similar measures are being taken by authorities far from Wuhan, according to Freedom House. It noted the cases In Shandong Province of prodemocracy activist Ren Ziyuan, who was sent to 15 days of administrative detention for criticizing the government’s management of the epidemic online
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 26, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 26, 2020
- Event Description
Li Zehua's apparent detention comes amid reports of a comprehensive cover-up of early research into the COVID-19 coronavirus.
State Broadcaster-Turned-Citizen Journalist Incommunicado in Virus-Hit Wuhan
A former news anchor with China's state broadcaster CCTV who quit his job to report from the front line of the coronavirus epidemic in the central province of Hubei is incommunicado, believed detained.
Li Zehua, who had quit his state-approved job at the behemoth broadcaster to dedicate himself to telling the truth about the epidemic via YouTube, went suddenly off air for the last time on Wednesday after reporting being followed.
"I'm suddenly being chased down by the state security police. The car they're driving isn't a police car," Li tells the camera after being hassled and obstructed for days by local officials and security guards as he traveled around Wuhan reporting on the epidemic, including the round-the-clock operation of crematoriums in the city.
"They're chasing me, so I can't livestream any more. I will just have to leave you with this clip," Li says. "I'm in Wuhan right now. I'm driving really fast because they're chasing me."
"I'm sure that they want to hold me in isolation. Please help me!" he says.
Later, Li returned to where he was staying, but there was a knock at the door, and he eventually allowed the people outside to come in, and the camera was abruptly turned off. He had earlier claimed that the source of the virus was the P4 laboratory of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Li saw himself as the willing successor of previous citizen journalists who have since disappeared from Wuhan after reporting on the harsh reality of the epidemic for millions of the city's residents.
Citizen journalist Fang Bin has stopped reporting since he was detained by police, while Chen Qiushi is incommunicado, believed detained.
In one of Li's early videos, he says: "If one Chen Qiushi falls, 10 million more Chen Qiushi's will stand up to take his place."
A veteran journalist surnamed Zhang said Li is 25 years old, and likely has yet to become disillusioned by journalism in China.
"He may be young ... but he has a very clear head," Zhang said. But he said he wasn't optimistic about the outcome for Li.
"Zhao Kezhi, minister for public security, has just made a speech saying that political stability must be prioritized above everything else, so I don't think that bodes well for his situation there in Wuhan," he said.
Li, a recent graduate of the Jiaotong University, resigned his job as on-air talent on CCTV-7, and starting reporting from Wuhan on Feb. 16.
Report on cover-up
A recent report by cutting-edge news organization Caixin showed that officials ordered that samples and papers linked to the discovery of COVID-19 be destroyed, citing a Wuhan Health Commission directive dated Jan. 1.
The existence and characteristics of the virus were shared with a number of public health bodies and health commissions at regional and national level.
It said Hubei hospitals, health officials, disease control centers (CDCs), and district governments all directly participated in the cover-up, ensuring that earlier findings didn't make their way into the hands of a task-force of health experts sent by the ruling Chinese Communist Party's central leadership in Beijing.
Members of the expert group told Caixin that it was the lack of precisely this lack of information that led them to conclude that the virus wasn't being transmitted from person to person.
Two reports were published on the cover-up by Caixin and sister-site Caijing, but have since been deleted.
A former Communist Party official surnamed Cao told RFA that the order to suppress the information must have come from the highest echelons of leadership for it to be so uniformly suppressed by so many departments.
President Xi Jinping has previously said that he personally directed the response to the coronavirus epidemic from its early stages.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Abduction/Kidnapping
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Suspected state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 5, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 7, 2020
- Event Description
Chen Qiushi, an outspoken Chinese lawyer and citizen journalist, has been missing since February 7, after telling family he planned to visit Wuhan’s hospitals. The IFJ urges Chinese authorities to immediately disclose the location of Chen and ensure journalists freedom of movement and safety from intimidation when reporting.
Chen Qiushi is an influential citizen journalist with more than 400,000 followers on YouTube, 250,000 followers on Twitter and 740,000 on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. The journalist travelled from Beijing to Wuhan on January 24 where he filmed and reported about the situation in Wuhan, covering the lack of resources to deal with the epidemic, the lack of capacity at hospitals, the rising death tolls and the misconduct of civil servants. Chen livestreamed interviews with patients through Weibo, allowing them to speak out about the coronavirus. Since Chen’s disappearance his Weibo account has been taken down.
Chen’s mother said her family lost contact with Chen on February 7. At 6pm that day, he told his family he would visit Feng Cang hospital in Wuhan to talk to patients with the coronavirus. Authorities are reported to have since told Chen’s family that he is being forcibly quarantined in an undisclosed location.
As a citizen journalist, Chen is known for closely following a number of cases, including the detention of citizen journalist Fang Bin and the interrogation of activist Hu Jia by Chinese authorities. Chen also travelled from Bejing to Hong Kong in August 2019 to report on the anti-government protests. Chen was quoted in Hong Kong as saying that authorities ‘advised’ him to return to China.
The IFJ said: “We are incredibly concerned by the disappearance of Chen Qiushi. Journalists, including citizen journalists, are critically needed during national emergencies in imparting stories from everyday people and providing insights that may greatly assist the public’s right to information and inform response efforts in times of crisis. The IFJ calls on Chinese authorities to immediately disclose the location of Chen, allow him contact with his family and to provide guarantees for his safety.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist, Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Suspected state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 3, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 15, 2020
- Event Description
Chinese authorities should immediately and unconditionally release a well-known anti-corruption activist who had eluded arrest after a new government crackdown on rights activists, Human Rights Watch said today. On February 15, 2020, authorities in Guangzhou apprehended Xu Zhiyong at a friend’s home where he had gone after authorities in December detained participants of a gathering on human rights in Fujian province.
Xu, 46, is one of China’s most prominent activists and human rights advocates. He was a co-founder of the now-banned legal aid center Open Constitution Initiative and the New Citizens’ Movement, a nongovernmental group advocating for civil rights.
“President Xi Jinping claims the government is ‘open’ and ‘transparent,’ but the authorities have without basis detained one of the country’s best-known anti-corruption advocates,” said Yaqiu Wang, China researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of arbitrarily detaining Xu Zhiyong and other human rights activists, the Chinse government should listen to what they have to say.”
In late December 2019, police across the country began to detain participants of a December 7 and 8 gathering in Xiamen, Fujian province, where they discussed human rights and China’s political future. On December 26, in what has become known as the 12.26 crackdown, authorities detained prominent human rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi, scholar Zhang Zhongshun, and activists Dai Zhenya and Li Yingjun. Since then, Xu had been traveling to different cities, updating his Twitter account, and criticizing the government’s authoritarian rule and its mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak.
It is unclear what charges authorities might bring against Xu. Police had accused the four men detained in December of “inciting subversion” – a crime that carries up to 15 years in prison – and placed them under “residential surveillance in a designated location,” a form of enforced disappearance in which police can hold individuals in undisclosed locations for up to six months. This places them outside the formal detention system, denying them access to legal counsel and family members, and increasing the risk of torture and ill-treatment.
Hours after the police took Xu away, his girlfriend, Li Qiaochu, a Beijing-based women’s rights and labor rights activist, also went missing. In January 2020, Beijing police searched Xu’s home, detained Li for 24 hours, and denied her adequate medicine in the detention center.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Abduction/Kidnapping
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Labour rights defender, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Suspected state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 3, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 15, 2020
- Event Description
Xu Zhiyong, a prominent Chinese legal activist, went silent over the weekend. His girlfriend, Li Qiaochu, a social activist, has gone missing.
He portrayed China’s leader, Xi Jinping, as hungry for power. He accused Mr. Xi of trying to cover up the coronavirus outbreak in central China. In one of his most daring writings, he urged Mr. Xi to resign, saying, “You’re just not smart enough.”
Then, over the weekend, Xu Zhiyong, a prominent Chinese legal activist, went silent. The authorities in the southern city of Guangzhou detained him on Saturday, according to Mr. Xu’s friends, after he spent nearly two months in hiding. His girlfriend, Li Qiaochu, a social activist, went missing on Sunday, Mr. Xu’s friends said.
The activist is the latest critic to be caught up in Mr. Xi’s far-reaching efforts to limit dissent in China. The crackdown, which has ensnared scores of activists, lawyers, journalists and intellectuals, is likely to intensify as the ruling Communist Party comes under broad attack for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, one of its biggest political challenges in years.
Mr. Xu, a 46-year-old former university lecturer, has long railed against government corruption and social injustice in China. He went into hiding in December as the police began rounding up human rights activists who met with him in the eastern city of Xiamen.
While in hiding, Mr. Xu continued to publish blunt critiques of Mr. Xi on social media, accusing him of leading a dictatorship.
He also criticized Mr. Xi’s handling of the outbreak in the central province of Hubei that has killed at least 1,770 people in China and sickened more than 70,000. In one of his last writings before he was detained, Mr. Xu mourned the death of a doctor in Wuhan whom the police had silenced after he warned about the virus.
“In their hearts,” Mr. Xu said of party leaders, “there is no right and wrong, no conscience, no bottom line, no humanity.”
Mr. Xu, a firebrand who has spent decades pushing for political reforms, has long clashed with the Chinese government.
He was sentenced to four years in prison in 2014 for “gathering a crowd to disturb public order,” a charge that stemmed from his role organizing the New Citizens Movement, a grass-roots effort against corruption and social injustice in Chinese society.
It is unclear what charges the authorities might bring against Mr. Xu. The circumstances of the disappearance of his girlfriend, Ms. Li, were also ambiguous. The police in Guangzhou did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Xu’s friends defended his actions.
“It is within the scope of freedom of speech under the Chinese Constitution,” said Hua Ze, an activist based in New Jersey and a friend of Mr. Xu who confirmed his detention.
Faced with growing public anger over the coronavirus outbreak, China’s leader has cited a need to “strengthen the guidance of public opinion,” a term that often refers to blocking independent news reporting and censoring critical comments on Chinese social media.
Many free-speech activists worry that the party, which is concerned about maintaining its control, is tightening the reins of public discourse despite a growing perception that the silencing of doctors and others who tried to raise alarms has enabled the virus to spread more widely.
Two video bloggers who attracted wide attention for their dispatches from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, have gone missing.
Yaqiu Wang, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch, an advocacy organization, said the detention of Mr. Xu showed that the authorities had no intention of loosening restrictions on speech.
“The Chinese government persists in its old ways: silencing its critics rather than listening to people who promote rights-respecting policies that actually solve problems,” she said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19, Online, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 3, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Feb 28, 2020
- Event Description
In response to today’s arrest of media tycoon Jimmy Lai and two other pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong on charges of “unlawful assembly” for their participation in largely peaceful mass protests on 31 August 2019, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong Man-Kei Tam said:
“These unjustifiable arrests are a shameless attempt to harass and silence those in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. It continues the pattern of the authorities using politically motivated charges to suppress opposition voices.
“The vast majority of people taking part in the 31 August protests were exercising their right to peaceful assembly. Peaceful protests do not require authorization and are therefore not ‘unlawful’, as the Hong Kong authorities claim.
“With the six-month anniversary of the 31 August protests due to be marked by activists this weekend, this merely appears to be the police’s way of intimidating anyone planning to take part.
“This continued assault on freedom of expression and assembly in Hong Kong only underlines the urgent need for an independent inquiry into the heavy-handed tactics used by police against protesters since last year.”
Background
On Friday police arrested founder of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily Jimmy Lai and opposition politicians Lee Cheuk-yan and Yeung Sum for “unlawful assembly”.
The Hong Kong Police had banned the protests on 31 August 2019, but hundreds of thousands of peaceful protesters took to the street defying the ban.
As the protest went on, some protesters threw bricks and petrol bombs at police. The police for the first time deployed blue dye in water cannons in response – to indiscriminately mark people for identification later. On the same evening, riot police stormed into train carriages at Prince Edward metro station and beat up passengers. Two live warning shots were also fired by the police near Causeway Bay.
The UN Human Rights Committee has repeatedly expressed concern that the application of “unlawful assembly” against Hong Kong protesters risks violating their human rights. According to police figures, from June to December 2019 the Hong Kong police banned 47 out of 537 applications for public processions or meetings.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enactment of repressive legislation and policies, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker, Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Mar 3, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 10, 2020
- Event Description
Police in eastern China told the lawyer of a civil rights activist on Friday that his client was being investigated for alleged incitement of subversion as part of a government crackdown on dissent that started late last year.
Lawyer Peng Jian, who represented Ding Jiaxi, said he was told by police in Yantai, Shandong province, that the 53-year-old activist was officially under investigation and that his request to meet Ding had been rejected.
Ding is being held under “residential surveillance” – a form of secretive detention – and is barred from contacting his family or lawyer. According to Peng, if Ding is finally charged and convicted, he could face a jail term of up to 15 years since it was his second run-in with the law in five years. The activist was sentenced to 3½ years in prison in 2014 for disrupting public order and was released in October 2016.
“He is now held for the second time in five years,” Peng said. “If he is convicted again, he may face a stiff sentence.”
Calls to Yantai police for comment were not answered.
Ding was among a number of dissidents – including Zhang Zhongshun, Dai Zhenya and Li Yingjun – who were taken away by the authorities in the last week of December after attending a private dinner for about 20 people in Xiamen, Fujian province. After the detentions, police searched the flat of Xu Zhiyong, a Beijing-based civil rights activist , and interrogated his girlfriend, Li Qiaochu, prompting him to go into hiding, Xu wrote on Twitter.
Ding was a lawyer specialising in human rights cases before he was jailed and stripped of his licence in 2014. He was also a key figure in the New Citizens’ Movement, a group that advocates working within the system for political change, including urging officials to publicly disclose their wealth.
According to Ding’s wife, Luo Shengchun, her husband has continued his activism to raise public awareness of civil rights since his release in 2016.
Luo, who lives in the United States with the couple’s two daughters, said the rejection of Peng’s request to meet his client had raised concerns that Ding might have been tortured in custody.
“He believes that democracy and freedom are the fundamental human rights of a person,” Luo said.
“I can’t understand – how can a man of such moderate ideas be accused of inciting subversion?” she said. “This shows how fragile the authority is as it cannot tolerate even the mildest, most rational and peaceful expression of civil rights.”
Neither Ding’s family members in China nor Peng have received the official documents notifying them of Ding’s detention or arrest.
Zhang and Dai are also under residential surveillance but Li’s status is not known.
Zhang, a former university lecturer in Shandong, was accused of inciting subversion after police claimed to have found 245 bullets at his home, according to his daughter Zhang Mofei.
Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, denounced the crackdown on the activists.
“If discussing the need for official transparency over a meal is now considered ‘inciting subversion of state power’, then a lot of officials should be investigated as well … To accuse them of serious crimes and deny them the basic rights to a fair trial is a powerful statement about President Xi [Jinping]’s rule,” Richardson said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment, Restrictions on Movement
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: eight pro-democracy defenders interrogated, detained for joining a liberal meeting
- Date added
- Feb 10, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jan 2, 2020
- Event Description
Hong Kong police have been accused of violating international law and making arbitrary arrests after three human rights observers were among hundreds detained en masse following a march on New Year’s Day.
But the force denied the accusation and said that no one – including journalists, first-aiders and observers – had the right to stay in a “riot”. More than a third of those intercepted by police in Causeway Bay on Wednesday were released.
Civil Rights Observer on Thursday confirmed three of its volunteers were arrested the night before and said that the move violated the Johannesburg Principles on National Security, Freedom of Expression and Access to Information, which stated monitors should not be denied access to areas when they believed a violation of human rights was being committed.
“It is the first time any of our observers have been arrested since the team was set up in 2018,” the group said. “We strongly condemn police for these indiscriminate arrests.”
Tam Man-kei, director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, also said the targeting of independent monitors was “especially disturbing” as they were essential to ensure full accountability.
On Wednesday, a march organised by the Civil Human Rights Front was cut short three hours after it started, with police citing violence in a branch of HSBC.
The violence then escalated as radical protesters spilled out into Causeway Bay, Wan Chai and Central, where they vandalised more bank branches, set fires and barricaded roads.
Later, police made mass arrests outside Sogo department store, where at one point around 70 people were seen being made to squat on the ground as they were searched and processed.
Some complained they had done nothing wrong, but were trapped after police cordoned off a sizeable area.
A total of 464 people were intercepted in Causeway Bay, of whom 287 were arrested for unlawful assembly, according to the police. The other 177 were released.
A 12-year-old primary school student and an 81-year-old citizen were among the 420 people arrested on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Eric Lai Yan-ho, deputy convenor of the front, said it was unreasonable to detain people without sufficient evidence then release them hours later.
“They were forced to kneel on the streets. It is unacceptable.”
Chief Superintendent Kwok Ka-chuen on Thursday said they had given repeated warnings for everyone to leave the scene.
“No one has the privilege to stay in a riot,” Kwok said. “You can claim to be a first-aider [or] a human rights observer. But this does not exempt you from the legal liability of taking part in a riot.”
Ng Lok-chun, senior superintendent of Hong Kong Island, denied police had made arbitrary mass arrests.
“When we had our first dispersal operation yesterday, rallygoers left. Those who came out again deliberately blocked roads,” Ng said.
Police had set up a cordon as they could not be sure whether the arrestees posed a risk to others and also to prevent any attempts to snatch arrested people away, Ng added.
Lai also attacked the force for its “unprecedented and disproportionate” decision to cut short the march, setting an “impossible” time frame of 45 minutes for the huge crowd to leave. He said it had risked a stampede.
“Many people didn’t know how to leave safely and didn’t take the trains for fear of arrest even though they only marched peacefully.”
Organisers were told at 5.30pm to call off the march, but were initially given 30 minutes – then an additional 15 minutes – to disperse the crowd.
“It was the first time a march of the scale of 1 million people was cut short,” Lai said. “With only 100-odd helpers and many people still stuck in Victoria Park, it was impossible to disband a procession like this.”
The group estimated more than 1.03 million people took part in the march, while police put the turnout at 47,000 in the procession and another 13,000 at the park.
Ng stressed police had only started advancing on Arsenal Street at 6.30pm and fired tear gas at around 7pm, which was 90 minutes after the ending time of the march.
But police had fired the first round of tear gas at protesters at around 5pm, shortly after the HSBC branch on Hennessy Road was vandalised.
In response to an incident during which a police officer forcibly removed the protective goggles of lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung and pepper-sprayed him in Causeway Bay on Wednesday night, Senior Superintendent Kelvin Kong Wing-cheung said that Hui had ignored repeated orders to get back on the pavement.
“He refused to cooperate and resisted. My colleagues issued warnings that pepper spray might be used. I don’t know if it was because he was wearing goggles, he was not afraid,” Kong said. “So my colleagues removed his goggles and used pepper spray to make the dispersal effective.”
Hui on Thursday vowed to launch legal action.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to Protest
- HRD
- NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Date added
- Feb 4, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 29, 2019
- Event Description
Chinese police have launched a nationwide operation detaining at least eight people and questioning others, following a Dec. 13 meeting of liberal-minded activists and lawyers in the southeastern province of Fujian.
Authorities in the eastern province of Shandong set up a police task force after the meeting in the Fujian port city of Xiamen, and had detained eight people in Fujian, Shandong, Beijing, Hebei, Sichuan, and Zhejiang by Jan. 1.
The overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network said a similar gathering took place one year ago in Shandong, which could explain the leading role of the Shandong police.
Rights lawyers Ding Jiaxi and Huang Zhiqiang and activists Dai Zhenya, Li Yingjun, and Zhang Zhongshun were among those detained.
Rights lawyer and university professor Liu Shuqing, 43, was detained by police in Shandong's provincial capital Jinan on Dec. 31, on suspicion of "subversion of state power."
"Police used force to kick open the door of his residence without any warning," CHRD said, adding that Liu had recently undergone cardiac surgery. Liu was allowed back home on Jan. 1, the group said.
In the eastern city of Hangzhou, veteran activists Zhu Yufu, Wu Zexi, Xin Zhongcheng, Mao Lijun, and Tang Xiaoyun were detained and interrogated for a day on Dec. 29 after they had dinner with someone who attended the Dec. 13 meeting, CHRD said.
The rights website Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch said many of the activists were detained on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power."
CHRD called on the ruling Chinese Communist Party to release all the detainees immediately, as their right to freedom of peaceful assembly is protected under international human rights treaties.
Others also held
Rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi, 52, was detained in his hometown of Beijing on Dec. 26 by Shandong police, and police searched his home and confiscated belongings without a search warrant, it said.
Ding's wife Luo Shengchun said her husband had likely attended the meeting in Xiamen.
"He said he was going to meet friends for a meal," Luo said. "I've asked all [the other families], and they all said it seems that their husbands went to Xiamen."
On the same day, university professor Zhang Zhongshun was detained on suspicion of subversion at his home in Yantai, Shandong, despite not having attended the Fujian meeting.
Xiamen-based Dai Zhenya, 46, was meanwhile detained on similar charges. He is being held under "residential surveillance at a designated location" that hasn't been disclosed, CHRD said.
Zhang's wife Yang Hongni said the family had planned to visit relatives in the United States on the Jan. 15 and had tried to get police to rescind her husband's travel ban.
"I have no news of Zhang Zhongshun," Yang said. "It's probably because he went to Xiamen."
Going to a cold place
Lin Yanping, wife of Dai Zhenya, said she was told her husband would need warm winter clothes where he was going.
"In the living room, they told us that they were from the Xiamen police department, and told us to get some very warm clothes for him, because he'd be going to a cold place for investigation," Lin said.
"A police officer told us that the [other officers] were from Shandong and that he might be taken to Shandong, allegedly for inciting subversion of state power," she said.
Lin said the family has been unable to find out any more about Dai since.
"We have no information," Lin told RFA. "We went to that police station and asked which police agency in Shandong took him away."
"They wouldn't tell us, so we are very worried now. I don't know about this Dec. 13 taskforce. I just want to know where he is," she said.
Activist Li Yingjun, a factory worker from Fujian's Zhangzhou city, was also held on the same day, while lawyer Huang Zhiqiang, 47, was detained on Dec. 29, in the eastern province of Zhejiang on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge often leveled at peaceful critics of the regime.
Meanwhile, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, police detained businessman-turned-activist Wei Xiaobing, 42, after he distributed T-shirts printed with slogans supportive of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.
No clear theme
An employee at the Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch website said the latest crackdown was unusual in that there was no clear theme connecting all of the detentions.
"In the past, they would divide the opposition into categories, so you would get waves of crackdowns on activist websites, or on lawyers, or the one-off crackdown on the New Citizens Movement," the employee said.
"This time it was very complicated."
Zhu Yufu's U.S.-based son Zhu Xi said his father is still under close surveillance by the state security police, and that the additional security will likely continue at least until after the annual parliamentary sessions in March.
"This time around it has been quite strange: I think a lot of people are very nervous," he said.
Repeated calls to the Shandong provincial police department went unanswered during office hours, while calls to the political department of the ministry of public security in Beijing were met with the sound of a fax machine.
An official who answered the phone at the political department of the Xiamen police department declined requests for an interview.
"We don't know the situation you asked about ... so you have to ask the department that is handling the case," the official said. "I can't answer you about the legal matters. You will have to ask a lawyer."
'China can't go on like this'
New Citizens' Movement founder Xu Zhiyong is currently on the run after penning a New Year's message to China's citizens, calling on them to think about whether they want to carry on with an authoritarian government or movement towards democratic constitutionalism, an idea that President Xi Jinping has said has no place in his vision for China.
"We are sadly seeing that the Chinese economy is deteriorating, while the stability maintenance regime is depleting national wealth accumulated over more than three decades, and stagnation and poverty are looming," Xu wrote.
"China cannot go on like this. Think about it, people! What kind of China do we want to leave for future generations?"
- Impact of Event
- 8
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Raid, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer, Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Related Events
- China: eight pro-democracy defenders interrogated, detained for joining a liberal meeting
- Date added
- Jan 9, 2020
- Country
- China
- Event Description
Over a dozen Chinese lawyers and activists were detained or went missing in the final days of 2019 in a crackdown on participants of a private democracy gathering, rights groups said Thursday.
The Chinese government has severely reduced the space for civil liberties since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012, rounding up rights lawyers, labour activists and even Marxists students in various sweeps.
The latest crackdown was linked to a December gathering in the east coast city of Xiamen in Fujian province, where participants discussed “democratic transition in China,” said Human Rights Watch researcher Wang Yaqiu.
The period around Christmas and New Year is traditionally when China chooses to sentence prominent dissidents in an effort to minimise international media attention, “so it is not a surprise that they chose this particular time to launch a manhunt of activists,” Wang said.
The meeting involved a small group of people “peacefully discussing politics in a private space,” she said.
Ding Jiaxi, a prominent Beijing-based disbarred lawyer previously jailed for protesting against official corruption, was among the activists known to have been detained across the country since December 26, according to China Human Rights Defenders (CHRD).
At least seven people, including Shandong-based disbarred lawyer Liu Shuqing, were released after being detained for questioning.
Other civil society figures, including pro-democracy activist Xu Zhiyong and human rights lawyer Tang Jingling, have gone missing or are currently unreachable, CHRD said.
At least two of the people detained, activists Dai Zhenya and Zhang Zhongshun, are suspected of “subverting” or “inciting subversion” of state power, a charge often used to silence dissidents in China.
The crackdown showed how the authorities have “zero tolerance of even just private discussion on issues like democracy and human rights,” Amnesty International researcher Patrick Poon said.
According to CHRD, five activists were taken in for questioning by Jinhua city police in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, on December 29, after having had dinner with someone who attended the Xiamen gathering.
Another lawyer, Lu Tingge, was held overnight for questioning on New Year’s Eve by police in the northern city of Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, CHRD said.
Police in Shandong province, whom CHRD said were heavily involved in the crackdown, as well as Jinhua and Shijiazhuang police, did not respond immediately to AFP’s requests for comment.
“This round of detentions and harassment is the continuation of the larger crackdown on civil society,” Wang said.
On December 30, a court in southwest China’s Chengdu sentenced Wang Yi, the leader of an underground Protestant church, to nine years in prison for “incitement to subvert state power.”
- Impact of Event
- 12
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Online, Right to political participation
- HRD
- Lawyer, Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 7, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 30, 2019
- Event Description
SHANGHAI : The pastor of one of China’s best-known unregistered “house” churches was sentenced to nine years in prison on Monday on charges of inciting subversion of state power, part of Beijing’s crackdown on unregistered religious groups.
Wang Yi, pastor of the Early Rain Covenant Church in the southwestern city of Chengdu, was among dozens of the church’s members and leaders detained by police in December 2018, most of whom were subsequently released.
China’s constitution guarantees religious freedom, but since President Xi Jinping took office six years ago, the government has tightened restrictions on religions seen as a challenge to the authority of the ruling Communist Party.
The government has cracked down on underground churches, both Protestant and Catholic, and has rolled out new legislation to increase oversight of religious education and practices, with harsher punishment for practices not sanctioned by authorities.
“Today’s verdict makes a mockery of China’s supposed religious freedoms,” Amnesty International China researcher Patrick Poon said in a statement.
“Wang Yi was merely practising his religion and peacefully standing up for human rights in China. This nine-year sentence is appalling and unjust.”
Chinese law requires that places of worship register and submit to government oversight, but some have declined to register, for various reasons, and are known as “house” or “underground” churches.
Wang was profiled in Beijing-based journalist Ian Johnson’s 2017 book The Souls of China, and was also among three Chinese Christians who travelled to Washington in 2006, where they met with then-president George W. Bush, asking for his support in their fight for religious freedom.
An unusually outspoken religious figure, he has openly criticised Xi and wrote in an essay before his detention that Communist Party ideology was “morally incompatible with the Christian faith”.
Quotes attributed to him on a Facebook page run by the church’s supporters’ include one that said, “the Communist Party may kill my body but it cannot kill my soul.”
Wang’s sentencing was announced in a brief statement on the website of the Chengdu court, which said he had been charged with illegally operating a business.
Wang was also deprived of his political rights for three years and 50,000 yuan ($7,160) of his personal property was confiscated as part of his sentencing, the court said.
In 2009, China sentenced Nobel Peace Prize-winning dissident Liu Xiaobo to 11 years in prison on charges of “inciting subversion of state power”. Liu, a writer and activist, died in prison in 2017 after being denied permission to go abroad for treatment of late-stage liver cancer.
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of Religion and Belief, Offline
- HRD
- Freedom of religion/belief activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 7, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 19, 2019
- Event Description
A labor rights worker, a volunteer and an intern were reported incommunicado in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Thursday, while mainland Chinese activists who took part in the Hong Kong protests were sent for "drug rehabilitation," RFA has learned.
Chen Weixiang, who worked for the Xin Huanwei group focusing on labor rights for street cleaners and sanitation workers, was detained on the afternoon of Dec. 17 by police at his home in Guangzhou, a person familiar with the situation told RFA.
Recent graduate and intern Lu Haoju was detained at the same time, the source said.
Yang Zhanqing, a friend of Chen's, said Chen was detained by officers from the Nanshitou Street police station in Guangzhou's Haizhu district.
"We don't know what the charges are or where they are being held," Yang said. "We have had no news so far."
He said a third person -- a volunteer -- linked to Xin Huanwei was also incommunicado, believed detained.
"One of my former classmates, she was involved in [Chen's] project, and she is now out of touch," Yang said. "I think they were taken away by Guangzhou police between 4-5 p.m. on Dec. 17. There were three of them."
"My guess is that they are targeting him because of Xin Huanwei, but a more direct reason could be that he recently helped some sanitation workers to stand up for their rights [with legal assistance]," Yang said.
"One instance was a case of wage arrears for sanitation workers, and another was a sanitation worker who got fired, then died, so it became a compensation case," he said. "Both of these cases touched on vested interests in local government."
No tolerance left for civil rights organizations
Chen had only recently returned to China after gaining a master's degree in the United States, Yang said.
But he said the ruling Chinese Communist Party had no tolerance left for civil rights organizations like Chen's.
"According to my experience and that of my former colleagues and people I know, any independent, privately run NGO that stands up for people's rights will be threatened and harassed with detentions and demands that it cease operating," he said.
An officer who answered the phone at the Nanshitou Street police station declined to comment, saying interviews had to be approved at district level.
"If you want an interview, you'll have to go higher up ... the Haizhu police department," the officer said.
Chen Weixiang graduated from Sun Yat-sen University School of Medicine in 2015, but was rejected from further medical training because of his labor activism.
After studying for a master's degree at Penn State University in the United States, he returned to China in August and set up services for sanitation workers, including Xin Huanwei.
'Compulsory detoxification'
Meanwhile, authorities in Guangdong's Dongguan city have detained activist Hu Haibo after he traveled to Hong Kong to support the pro-democracy movement there.
Since his return from Hong Kong, Hu was designated a "drug addict" by police and referred for "compulsory detoxification" at a rehab center last month, fellow activist Chen Yanhui told RFA.
"We are guessing that he may not have been cooperating after being admitted [to rehab] so it was changed to compulsory detoxification," Chen said. "He refused to accept their drugs and injections because he had never done drugs in the first place."
According to the Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch website, Hu could be incarcerated for up to two years under the compulsory program.
Chen said Hu's father had visited him at the center on Wednesday, but the visit was controlled and monitored at all times by police, who forced the pair to speak Mandarin rather than their native language.
"Maybe they were worried that Hu would disclose some information about life inside, because he was being treated differently from other drug addicts there," Chen said.
A Hong Kong resident who knew Hu said he had never seen any evidence of drug-taking during their time as roommates.
Reported by Wong Siu-san and Sing Man for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Qiao Long and Gao Feng for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Abduction/Kidnapping, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Labour rights
- HRD
- Labour rights defender, NGO staff
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Jan 6, 2020
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 10, 2019
- Event Description
Authorities in the Chinese capital detained and questioned a group of rights activists en route to the U.S. embassy in Beijing to participate in an event marking Human Rights Day on Tuesday, RFA has learned.
Wang Heying and a group of fellow petitioners -- people pursuing complaints against misconduct and rights violations by the ruling Chinese Communist Party -- were detained by police on the street after they registered to attend the event online, Wang said.
"This was a public event bringing friends together, an opportunity for the exchange of views," Wang said. "Everyone else got their invitations by using an invitation code they saw online, and registering with their ID. I was directly invited to participate by a friend."
But the group was stopped by a police patrol en route to the embassy, and taken to a nearby police station for questioning, she said.
"There were more than a dozen people at the police station, all of whom had previously lodged complaints against the government," Wang said.
"All petitioners have their ID cards marked with a special code, so they wouldn't be allowed through if there was an ID check. All we did was to lodge a petition ... and now we're labeled as class enemies. I don't get it."
Meanwhile, state security police in Beijing's Shijingshan district warned Xu Yan, wife of detained rights lawyer Yu Wensheng, not to go out ahead of Human Rights Day on Tuesday.
"They came to my door and told me very forcefully that I mustn't go out," Xu told RFA. "They said the restrictions would be in place for four or five days."
Xu, who recently wrote to the Global Lawyers' Forum in Guangzhou calling on overseas lawyers to call for Yu's release or speedy trial, said she was yelled at and shoved by more than a dozen people who surrounded her later, when she tried to leave her apartment.
China a 'bitterly ironic' host
State media said around 800 delegates from around the world attended the forum, which was hosted by the government-controlled All-China Lawyers' Association.
As it opened on Monday, a group of human rights lawyers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Europe and the International Bar Association penned an open letter hitting out at the ruling Chinese Communist Party's use of indiscriminate arrest and detention and the forced disappearances of millions of people with no access to legal representation or fair trials.
Guangdong-based rights attorney Sui Muqing said the forum was mostly attended by justice department officials, and that few practicing Chinese attorneys had the opportunity to participate.
"It's just for people who do as the government tells them," Sui said. "Human rights lawyers or people who are slightly critical of the regime can't attend."
He said he has also had restrictions placed on his movements until the forum closes on Tuesday.
Geng He, the U.S.-based wife of disappeared rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, called on Human Rights Day for the world to remember the nationwide crackdown on lawyers, law firms and associated activists that has seen more than 300 people detained, questioned, prevented from leaving the country or their families harassed and denied access to jobs and education since July 2015.
"In China, law firms can be shut down whenever they want, and lawyers can lose their license, or be arrested, disappeared and tortured whenever they feel like it," Geng told RFA.
"It is bitterly ironic that they are holding a lawyers' conference in such a country, and on Human Rights Day, too."
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Restrictions on Movement
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Offline, Right to liberty and security, Right to political participation
- HRD
- Lawyer, Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Dec 19, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 3, 2019
- Event Description
An outspoken former Chinese rights lawyer has been arrested on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power”, as the government continues to crack down on activists and political dissidents.
Qin Yongpei, 50, who often criticised Beijing on social media including Twitter, was arrested on Tuesday in southern China, according to an arrest notice seen by AFP.
“He dares to say anything online,” his wife, Deng Xiaoyun, said.
She said he had been accused of inciting state subversion “because it would be easiest charge to give”.
Qin “drew a lot of attention, and possibly retaliation, from the authorities for openly criticising and reporting high-level public officials”, said Doriane Lau, a researcher at Amnesty International.
Qin, who was detained last month in Nanning, in the southern region of Guangxi, often took to social media to comment on topics deemed sensitive by the Chinese Communist Party, including pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
The Chinese lawyer, who was disbarred in May last year, is also among the growing number of rights lawyers in China to be stripped of their license to practise – a method activists say effectively silences them without attracting as much attention as an arrest. The widespread disbarment of rights lawyers – at least a dozen have had their licenses cancelled or revoked since 2018, according to government documents – follows one of the largest clampdowns on China’s legal profession in the country’s recent history.
A police sweep launched on July 9, 2015 saw more than 200 Chinese human rights lawyers and activists detained or questioned in a huge operation – later dubbed the “709 crackdown”– that rights groups called “unprecedented”.
“That authorities arrested Qin is outright political persecution,” said Sui Muqing, a Chinese lawyer who was detained during the “709 crackdown” and a friend of Qin’s.
His arrest is also “an escalation of political persecution towards lawyers”, he added. Nanning police did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Dec 19, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 6, 2019
- Event Description
A Tibetan man detained in Qinghai on charges of disturbing social order after he complained online about corrupt officials, illegal mining, and the hunting of protected wildlife was convicted on Friday following a two-day trial and handed a seven-year term in prison, a Tibetan advocacy group says.
Anya Sengdra, a resident of Kyangche township in Gade (in Chinese, Gande) county in the Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture was widely respected in his community for his campaigns, London-based Free Tibet said in a statement.
“[His] arrest and conviction fits a wider pattern of harassment of Tibetan activists and environmental defenders, which has [now] seen hundreds of arrests,” Free Tibet said, adding that roundups by Chinese police are conducted as a crackdown on so-called “criminal gangs.”
Sengdra’s work to end corruption and protect the environment “highlighted problems that the authorities should have taken seriously,” Free Tibet said. “But rather than listening, the [Chinese Communist Party] decided that A-Nya must be locked away in silence.”
Sengdra’s lawyer Lin Qilei said in a tweet following the trial that his client refused to accept the court’s verdict against him and will appeal his sentence, Free Tibet said.
Jailed before
Elected Kyangche township chief in 2014, Sengdra was later jailed for 15 months after raising questions about government corruption and served his term at hard labor, suffering damage to his health, sources told RFA in an earlier report.
Before his arrest in December 2014, Sengdra had questioned local authorities about their use of money assigned for projects in the township, one source said, adding, “He argued with them about the mismatch of funds announced by the government and what was actually spent.”
“This could have angered authorities and led to his detention,” the source said.
Development projects in Tibetan areas have led to frequent standoffs with Tibetans who accuse Chinese firms and local officials of pilfering money, improperly seizing land, and disrupting the lives of local people.
Many result in violent suppression, the detention of protest organizers, and intense pressure on the local population to comply with the government’s wishes.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Denial Fair Trial, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to fair trial, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Dec 19, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 19, 2019
- Event Description
Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung has been banned by the Hong Kong court from travelling to London to receive a human rights award from the British parliament, as he faces a charge of inciting anti-government protesters to besiege the police headquarters.
Madam Justice Esther Toh Lye-ping of the High Court on Tuesday refused Wong’s application to vary his bail conditions and lift a travel ban, citing heightened risk of absconding.
Toh said Wong did not need to be present in British parliamentary hearings and meetings in which he was invited, and could instead remain in Hong Kong to help the city return to peace.
Wong, secretary general of localist party Demosisto, was named the recipient of the Westminster Award for Human Life, Human Rights, and Human Dignity by both houses of parliament in Britain, for his “commitments to universal suffrage, human rights and free speech”.
He was the second Chinese person to receive the prize after blind mainland activist Chen Guangcheng was awarded in 2013. District council polls ban was ‘arbitrary’ decision, Joshua Wong says
Wong initially planned to leave Hong Kong next week for 20 days, during which he would attend parliamental hearings and deliver speeches in six European countries, and receive the prize in the Palace of Westminster on December 12.
But Hong Kong’s Eastern Court imposed a travel ban on Wong on August 30 after he was charged with organising, taking part in, and inciting others to take part in an unlawful assembly outside the Wan Chai police headquarters on June 21.
The lower court also refused to lift the ban earlier this month, saying Wong’s proposed trip was “not very important”.
Wong said he was disappointed with the ruling which amounted to “an extra punishment” before he was convicted by the court.
A statement by Demosisto said the court was now under immense pressure following Beijing’s criticism over its ruling on Monday that the anti-mask law was unconstitutional.
“Even in times of social turmoil, it’s really inappropriate and unnecessary for the court to step in and comment on how politicians should behave,” Wong said on Facebook.
He was charged alongside party member Agnes Chow Ting and chairman Ivan Lam Long-yin. The trio will appear in court again on December 19.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Travel Restriction
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Offline
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Dec 3, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 3, 2019
- Event Description
A pro-democracy politician and four other people were injured when a knife-wielding man attacked protesters in Hong Kong Sunday.
The assailant slashed and stabbed people at Cityplaza mall, one of several shopping centers where protesters had gathered to demand government reforms for the 22nd straight weekend.
Local media reported the attacker told his victims that Hong Kong belongs to China.
Four men and one woman were taken to hospitals, where two were in critical condition.
Among the injured was politician Andrew Chiu Ka-yin, who had part of his ear bitten off as he tried to prevent the attacker from leaving the scene.
A pro-democracy activist tweeted that his "close colleague Dr Andrew Chiu was assaulted" and his "left ear was brutally halved."
The semi-autonomous city has been mired in more than five months of massive and often times violent protests, sparked by a proposed bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. The protests have evolved into demands for full democracy for Hong Kong, an independent inquiry into possible use of excessive force by police and complete amnesty for all activists arrested during the demonstrations. Masked activists have vandalized businesses and the city subway system, and attacked police with bricks and homemade gasoline bombs.
In September, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced she would withdraw the extradition bill but that has not quelled the protests.
Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy under the "one government, two systems" arrangement established when China regained control of Hong Kong from Britain in 1997. But political activists and observers say Beijing is slowly tightening its grip on the territory and eroding its basic freedoms.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Non-state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Nov 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Nov 3, 2019
- Event Description
Two journalists were arrested as Hong Kong police stormed shopping malls on Sunday following protests.
With no large-scale demonstrations planned, some protesters called for “shopping” stunts in seven districts including Admiralty, Mong Kok, Tsuen Wan, Wong Tai Sin, Tai Po, Sha Tin and Tuen Mun.
Scuffles were most serious at Cityplaza in Tai Koo, where pro-democracy district councillor Andrew Chiu had his ear bitten off after the assailant slashed several people with a knife.
According to lawmaker Charles Mok, Chiu’s ear was reconnected after an operation: “His status is stable but we will have to see if its function will recover,” Mok said.
Most of the protests began peacefully as sit-in events at shopping malls. At Cityplaza, residents formed human chains and sang protest songs, whilst a group of masked protesters vandalised a restaurant in the mall.
At around 6pm, police stormed the mall and arrested several people. “Police warn the masked rioters to stop all destructive and illegal acts and appeal to the protestors to stay rational and calm. They should refrain from obstructing Police’s action,” the force said in a statement.
Hong Kong Law & Crime Politics & Protest Two journalists arrested as riot police storm malls around Hong Kong and deploy pepper spray 4 November 2019 13:25 Kris Cheng 5 min read
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Two journalists were arrested as Hong Kong police stormed shopping malls on Sunday following protests.
With no large-scale demonstrations planned, some protesters called for “shopping” stunts in seven districts including Admiralty, Mong Kok, Tsuen Wan, Wong Tai Sin, Tai Po, Sha Tin and Tuen Mun. cityplaza
A cityplaza guard. Photo: Stand News.
Scuffles were most serious at Cityplaza in Tai Koo, where pro-democracy district councillor Andrew Chiu had his ear bitten off after the assailant slashed several people with a knife.
According to lawmaker Charles Mok, Chiu’s ear was reconnected after an operation: “His status is stable but we will have to see if its function will recover,” Mok said. photojournalist Joey Kwok Stand News arrested
Joey Kwok, freelance photojournalist working for Stand News, being arrested. Photo: Stand News.
Most of the protests began peacefully as sit-in events at shopping malls. At Cityplaza, residents formed human chains and sang protest songs, whilst a group of masked protesters vandalised a restaurant in the mall.
At around 6pm, police stormed the mall and arrested several people. “Police warn the masked rioters to stop all destructive and illegal acts and appeal to the protestors to stay rational and calm. They should refrain from obstructing Police’s action,” the force said in a statement.
Joey Kwok, a freelance photojournalist working for Stand News, was arrested and handcuffed on suspicion of obstructing police as he was taking photos at the mall.
Stand News said Kwok was at standing at a distance from police officers and did not obstruct their work. The news outlet condemned the arrest as unreasonable and demanded his immediate release.
“He has said he was a journalist multiple times when he was arrested, but it was ignored by the police,” Stand News said.
Hong Kong has now entered into its 22nd weekend of protest and unrest, which was sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed fugitive transfers to mainland China.
A journalism student, who is a member of the Hong Kong Baptist University Students’ Union Editorial Board, was also arrested at the mall whilst covering the news.
Roland Chin, the university’s president, said in an email to students, alumni and staff members that the school was deeply concerned about the student’s well-being.
He said the head of the Department of Journalism and a lawyer have visited the police station to provide assistance. The student’s family members have been notified.
Hong Kong Law & Crime Politics & Protest Two journalists arrested as riot police storm malls around Hong Kong and deploy pepper spray 4 November 2019 13:25 Kris Cheng 5 min read
Donate
Two journalists were arrested as Hong Kong police stormed shopping malls on Sunday following protests.
With no large-scale demonstrations planned, some protesters called for “shopping” stunts in seven districts including Admiralty, Mong Kok, Tsuen Wan, Wong Tai Sin, Tai Po, Sha Tin and Tuen Mun. cityplaza
A cityplaza guard. Photo: Stand News.
Scuffles were most serious at Cityplaza in Tai Koo, where pro-democracy district councillor Andrew Chiu had his ear bitten off after the assailant slashed several people with a knife.
According to lawmaker Charles Mok, Chiu’s ear was reconnected after an operation: “His status is stable but we will have to see if its function will recover,” Mok said. photojournalist Joey Kwok Stand News arrested
Joey Kwok, freelance photojournalist working for Stand News, being arrested. Photo: Stand News.
Most of the protests began peacefully as sit-in events at shopping malls. At Cityplaza, residents formed human chains and sang protest songs, whilst a group of masked protesters vandalised a restaurant in the mall.
At around 6pm, police stormed the mall and arrested several people. “Police warn the masked rioters to stop all destructive and illegal acts and appeal to the protestors to stay rational and calm. They should refrain from obstructing Police’s action,” the force said in a statement.
Joey Kwok, a freelance photojournalist working for Stand News, was arrested and handcuffed on suspicion of obstructing police as he was taking photos at the mall.
Stand News said Kwok was at standing at a distance from police officers and did not obstruct their work. The news outlet condemned the arrest as unreasonable and demanded his immediate release. photojournalist Joey Kwok Stand News arrested
Joey Kwok, a freelance photojournalist working for Stand News, being arrested. Photo: Stand News.
“He has said he was a journalist multiple times when he was arrested, but it was ignored by the police,” Stand News said.
Hong Kong has now entered into its 22nd weekend of protest and unrest, which was sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed fugitive transfers to mainland China.
A journalism student, who is a member of the Hong Kong Baptist University Students’ Union Editorial Board, was also arrested at the mall whilst covering the news.
Roland Chin, the university’s president, said in an email to students, alumni and staff members that the school was deeply concerned about the student’s well-being.
He said the head of the Department of Journalism and a lawyer have visited the police station to provide assistance. The student’s family members have been notified.
“We are also liaising with the relevant government agencies in our effort to seek a fair and proper treatment for the other students arrested by the police over the weekend,” Chin said.
The student claimed police threatened him with rape at the San Uk Ling Holding Centre when he was arrested. “I would not commit suicide,” the student shouted, in reference to a spate of recent deaths which some in the protest movement believe to be suspicious.
Shopping mall protests
Police officers also stormed other malls. At around 1:40pm, officers took eight people away from a gathering outside Sha Tin Town Hall.
At 4pm, police stormed the New Town Plaza from the bus terminus below, arresting at least two. Some threw objects at police inside the mall, as officers pointed their rifles at people and fired pepper spray.
Similar scenes also occurred at Tai Po Mega Mall and Diamond Hill’s Plaza Hollywood. At the Mega Mall, some protesters were folding origami cranes to form protest slogans whilst others trashed a Yoshinoya branch in the mall, believing that the restaurant has sided with the government. Officers then rushed into the mall but did not make any arrests.
At around 6pm, police rushed into the Tai Po mall again, despite a commander ordering them not to do so. Apple Daily footage showed that the commander had to enter the mall and shout: “No-one enter the mall… go back and reform [team] at the bridge.”
Residents gathered again at the mall and riot police entered for the third time at around 7pm to arrest two people, prompting onlookers to throw objects at police from above. Officers fired pepper spray and pointed their rifles at them.
Tseung Kwan O incident
Meanwhile, protesters gathered in Tseung Kwan O following rumours that a police officer was getting married at the Crowne Plaza hotel. At around 1am, police fired tear gas to disperse them.
A student from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology appeared to be trying to escape the tear gas when he fell from a car park’s third floor onto the second floor. He was unconscious and rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan.
The student was in a critical condition and underwent an operation to remove haematoma from his brain. Wei Shyy, president of the university, visited the student on Monday morning at the hospital.
Chiu is running in the District Council election’s Tai Koo Shing West constituency. Kacee Ting of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong is also running.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Man, Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Media Worker, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Nov 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 29, 2019
- Event Description
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong says a decision by Hong Kong authorities to bar him from running in upcoming local elections proves "how Beijing manipulate[s] the election with political censorship and screening."
Wong posted the notice he received from an election commission officer on his Twitter page Tuesday declaring his candidacy invalid.
Wong had said last week that he was the only candidate running in the upcoming polls to be barred from taking part.
A government spokesman issued a written statement saying Wong's candidacy was invalidated because he has advocated for "self-determination" for Hong Kong.
The 23-year-old Wong, along with fellow student activists Nathan Law and Alex Chow, stormed a courtyard on the grounds of the government's headquarters in September 2014, which led to the "Umbrella Revolution" that shut down several major highways for more than two months, demanding fully free elections. The protests were launched after Beijing reneged on promises of universal suffrage by 2017, but ended without winning any concessions from the Hong Kong government.
The semi-autonomous city has been mired in nearly five months of massive and oftentimes violent protests since June, sparked by a proposed bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. The protests have evolved into demands for full democracy for Hong Kong, along with an independent inquiry into possible use of excessive force by police and complete amnesty for all activists arrested during the demonstrations. Masked activists have vandalized businesses and the city subway system, and attacked police with bricks and homemade gasoline bombs.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam warned Tuesday that city's economy could see negative economic growth this year due to the protests.
Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy under the “one government, two systems” arrangement established when China regained control of the financial hub from Britain in 1997. But political activists and observers say Beijing is slowly tightening its grip on the territory and eroding its basic freedoms.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Online, Right to political participation
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist, Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Nov 4, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 24, 2019
- Event Description
Police in southern China detained feminist activist and journalist Huang Xueqin after she returned to the mainland from Hong Kong and Taiwan, her friends said Friday.
Authorities in Guangdong province's Guangzhou city arrested Huang last Thursday on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," her friends said. The vague charge is commonly used against activists viewed as threatening by the ruling Communist Party.
The friends spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared government retribution for being publicly associated with Huang. Calls on Friday to Huang's lawyer and Guangzhou's Baiyun District Detention Center, where friends say she is detained, rang unanswered.
The friends said police harassed Huang's family after she published an essay describing her experience at a protest in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese city that has been roiled by months of anti-government demonstrations.
"Perhaps, under the powerful machine of the party state, ignorance and fear can be cultivated," Huang wrote in her essay. "But if you have personally experienced it, witnessed it, you cannot pretend to be ignorant."
In August, Guangzhou police confiscated Huang's passport and other travel documents, preventing her from pursuing a postgraduate law program at the University of Hong Kong.
Huang has been an outspoken voice in China's #MeToo movement, helping sexual assault victims highlight cases against university professors. She has worked as an independent reporter covering issues surrounding gender, equality and disadvantaged groups.
Detained, harassed
"It is unclear exactly the reasons for Huang's detention, but in recent weeks, more and more activists, writers and regular citizens in the mainland have been detained or harassed by authorities for their peacefully voicing support for the Hong Kong protests," said Yaqiu Wang, China researcher at Human Rights Watch.
"Huang's detention shows that the Chinese government has intensified the crackdown on mainland Chinese who peacefully showed solidarity with Hong Kong protesters, and that authorities are fearful that the protests in Hong Kong could inspire challenges to the government in the mainland, and any expression of ideas of freedom and democracy is a threat to their grip on power," Wang said.
The protests in Hong Kong began over the summer in response to a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to stand trial in mainland China, where critics say their legal rights would be threatened. The sometimes-violent demonstrations have since ballooned to encompass broader calls for democratic reform and an inquiry into alleged police abuse.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community), Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Administrative Harassment, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline
- HRD
- Family of HRD, Media Worker, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Nov 4, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 20, 2019
- Event Description
The Hong Kong Police Force has been obstructing the work of reporters at protests in recent months. They have even used excessive and unnecessary force. The Hong Kong Journalists Association has time and again expressed our discontent. Police has not just failed to make any improvement. They did more to obstruct the work of reporters. Yesterday, police officers targeted at journalists spraying blue dye on them. And without giving prior warning, they threw teargas canisters at a place where many reporters had gathered. HKJA again vehemently condemns Police for unreasonably obstructing the work of reporters. We demand the force to immediately stop interfering and causing injuries to reporters – and apologise to the media for their wrongdoings.
According to several press reports, police have deployed a water cannon truck to drive away protesters in Sham Shui Po on Sunday. On one occasion, officers inside the truck have twice sprayed blue dye directly to them.
Meanwhile, several journalists have been rudely treated by police officers during their reporting in Mong Kok. Some riot-police officers have shouted at reporters, pushed and drove them away. An officer had pointed his gun at reporters. Late evening, a group of riot-police officers had deliberately thrown a hand teargas canister to a group of reporters before they withdrew. The canister exploded above the heads of several reporters. Thank to their protection devices, they escaped injuries.
HKJA vehemently condemns the Police for ignoring freedom of reporting and freedom of the press when they repeatedly used unnecessary force against reporters. We reiterate that freedom of expression and press freedom are an important cornerstone of Hong Kong. Truth-finding is the sacred duty of reporters. We cannot take abuses of the use of force by the police as normal. We urge the Government to immediately correct their mistakes.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Nov 4, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 31, 2019
- Event Description
Authorities in the southwestern Chinese region of Guangxi have detained outspoken rights attorney Tan Yongpei, whose license to practice was revoked last year.
Tan was detained on Thursday by officers of the Nanning municipal police department during a raid on his Baijuying legal consultancy company.
An employee at a company occupying the same floor told RFA: "There were 10 or 20 of them. They came shortly after 5.00 p.m., just before we got off work."
"They showed their police identification and said they were from the police department and that they were looking for a lawyer surnamed Tan," he said. "Then they went in."
The employee said the officers were still on the premises when he left after 6.00 p.m. "They were forceful, but went into their offices quite politely, with somebody shooting video," he said. "They put seals on Tan's office door that said "Nanning Municipal Police Department."
The Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch website said the police hadn't produced any official documents authorizing the raid and search, however.
It said Tan had tried and failed to prevent them from carrying out the raid, which lasted around three hours, after which the police took Tan away with them.
Fellow Guangxi-based lawyer Tan Jiaji said it was hard to tell whether Tan would face criminal charges now, or simply be released after questioning.
"It's pretty hard to say right now," he said. "Anything is possible."
"He would regularly post [politically sensitive] stuff to social media, so maybe they now see him as a threat," Tan Jiaji said. "This sort of thing is happening more and more nowadays."
"I wasn't surprised at all that this happened."
'Picking quarrels and stirring up trouble'
He said the authorities can use catch-all charges like "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble" to detain people for what they post to social media.
"The whole idea of what is picking quarrels and stirring up trouble is so broad," he said. "It's perfect for those in power to use [against government critics]."
In January, Tan's China Lawyer's Club was raided by dozens of police office who said it was an illegal organization of banned lawyers.
A nationwide police operation under the administration of President Xi Jinping has targeted more than 300 lawyers, law firms, and related activists for questioning, detention, imprisonment, debarring and travel bans since it launched in July 2015.
The China Lawyers' Club was set up in Guangxi's regional capital, Nanning, by a group of former rights attorneys who lost their "business license" at the hands of local justice departments, and may no longer represent clients in court.
Formally established on Sept. 29, 2018, the club's aim was to find employment and income for dozens of experienced litigators who no longer have an income in the wake of the crackdown.
The club traded as a legal services company, and had 'signed' lawyers in a manner similar to the way sports teams sign big stars. Under current regulations, Chinese lawyers need a business license to represent clients, but not to offer legal consultancy on petitions and complaints.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Raid
- Rights Concerned
- Labour rights, Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Nov 4, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 16, 2019
- Event Description
The leader of a pro-democracy group responsible for some of the largest peaceful protest marches in Hong Kong was attacked on Wednesday, four days before another planned mass rally.
Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit, convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, was set upon by at least four non-ethnic Chinese assailants on Arran Street in Mong Kok at 7.40pm, a police source said.
The attack was the second against Sham in less than two months.
The Civil Human Rights Front said Sham had been smashed over the head with hammers and spanners but was conscious when sent to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei. He was understood to be in stable condition.
A photo of Sham following the attack showed the activist lying on the ground near a white vehicle with blood spilled around him.
Police said Sham was bleeding from his head and arms when officers found him. The suspects fled in a car which officers were pursuing, the force said. An investigation was under way.
Jimmy Sham is pictured after Wednesday’s attack. Photo: FacebookJimmy Sham is pictured after Wednesday’s attack. Photo: Facebook Jimmy Sham is pictured after Wednesday’s attack. Photo: Facebook
The leader of a pro-democracy group responsible for some of the largest peaceful protest marches in Hong Kong was attacked on Wednesday, four days before another planned mass rally.
Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit, convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, was set upon by at least four non-ethnic Chinese assailants on Arran Street in Mong Kok at 7.40pm, a police source said.
The attack was the second against Sham in less than two months.
The Civil Human Rights Front said Sham had been smashed over the head with hammers and spanners but was conscious when sent to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei. He was understood to be in stable condition.
A photo of Sham following the attack showed the activist lying on the ground near a white vehicle with blood spilled around him.
Police said Sham was bleeding from his head and arms when officers found him. The suspects fled in a car which officers were pursuing, the force said. An investigation was under way. SUBSCRIBE TO Hong Kong News Get updates direct to your inbox By registering, you agree to our T&C and Privacy Policy Government condemns attack on Hong Kong protest leader
Fellow rights front member Figo Chan said witnesses had told him onlookers tried to stop the ambush but Sham’s attackers pointed a knife at them.
Sham had been making his way to the democracy group’s annual general meeting where he was expected to discuss a march from Tsim Sha Tsui to West Kowloon railway station set for Sunday.
Chan said the march would proceed as planned.
The rights front condemned the attack, saying it would have a “chilling effect” on democracy advocates and fuel fears of “white terror” in Hong Kong. China warns US it will take ‘countermeasures’ over Hong Kong bill
The attack was not the first against Sham. He and his assistant Law Kwok-wai were in late August set upon by two people in masks wielding a baseball bat and a rod, hours after the pair were told by police that a rally they had planned for the following weekend had been banned.
Police later arrested three male suspects, including a 15-year-old boy. The youngster was charged with conspiracy to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and appeared at Kowloon City Juvenile Court. Two other suspects remain at large.
In addition to his activism, Sham is contesting a seat in Hong Kong’s district council elections set for November, at Lek Yuen in Sha Tin.
A number of Hong Kong lawmakers from the city’s pan-democratic camp were among those visiting Sham at Kwong Wah Hospital on Wednesday night, including Shiu Ka-chun, Tanya Chan, Wu Chi-wai, Ip Kin-yuen, Raphael Wong Ho-ming and “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung. Fifteen-year-old boy arrested over attack on activist Jimmy Sham and his assistant
Tanya Chan, the bloc’s convenor, condemned the attack and called it shocking. She urged police to investigate as soon as possible.
“What has Hong Kong turned into?” she asked.
Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said “the assault is clearly politically motivated”. He accused police of failing to protect opposition politicians and activists. Lam said he had been assaulted by government supporters in June but that police had not made any arrests.
Sha Tin district councillor Wong Yue-hon, who is campaigning against Sham for another term on the council in the November elections, condemned “all forms of violence” and wished Sham a speedy recovery.
“I do hope there will be a fair election and it will not be affected by this incident,” he said.
But Wong discouraged Hongkongers from attending Sunday’s rally, warning that it would descend into chaos like other protests in recent months. Election hopefuls insist use of ‘liberate’ slogan is not independence call
“I hope the government can come up with a concrete proposal to restore social order, instead of the city seeing more and more injuries,” he said.
Since August, at least nine pro-democracy figures have been attacked, including Democratic Party lawmaker Roy Kwong Chun-yu. Offices of pro-establishment politicians, meanwhile, have been trashed by radical protesters during the anti-government protests.
Ng Tak-nam, chief inspector of Mong Kok district, said the attackers, who were masked and were wearing black tops, assaulted Sham causing a 3cm (1.2-inch) wound on his forehead.
Ng condemned the violence and believed the crime was organised as the attackers had been wandering in the area for some time.
“After the attack, they jumped into a black private car and fled in the direction to Sham Shui Po,” Ng said. “Witnesses have told us the car had been driving in the area for a while. The attack was swift and the suspects wore similar clothing.”
Ng added uniformed officers were protecting Sham in hospital and they were investigating whether the case was linked to the previous attack in August.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to political participation, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist, SOGI rights defender
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Unknown
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 25, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 21, 2019
- Event Description
Sichuan Human rights lawyer Lu Siwei received a notification from Chengdu All China Lawyers Association’s Disciplinary Committee for allegedly violating rules while accepting to represent a defendant of a human rights case, and thus will be subjected to disciplinary punishment.
Lawyer Lu specializes in finance laws and criminal defense, and at the same time, took up human rights cases; he was notably among the lawyers who were set to represent one of the defendants in the June 4th Wine Bottle Case and the Pengxi County land seizure case. The disciplinary punishment issues by the Lawyers Association is likely to be associated with Lawyer Lu taking on the case of Lawyer Chen Jiahong, who has been suspected of committing “incitement to subvert state power.”
Lawyer Chen’s charge was probably based on his calligraphy piece against “the evil bureaucracy” and encouraging democracy which he created in April this year, leading to his detainment in Guangxi’s Yulin Detention Center, where Lawyer Lu visited him on 9th May. At the same time, a list of lawyers defending Lawyer Chen began circulating online, which triggered the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Justice to call for Lawyer Lu to return to Chengdu as soon as possible, and to notify the staff at his law firm not to sign any contract of authorization.
The next day (10th May), the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Justice received evidence from the Sichuan Department of Justice regarding Lawyer Lu possibly violating professional ethics and the disciplinary code, thus referring the case to the Chengdu All China Lawyers Association. On 4th June, the Lawyers Association’s Disciplinary Committee started investigating the allegations and found that Lawyer Lu violated rules when taking up a case, therefore planning on disciplinary punishment.
At 2pm on Monday, Lawyer Lu Siwei attended a hearing regarding his alleged misconduct and consequent punishment by the Chengdu All China Lawyers Association at the Chengdu Legal Aid Centre.
The disciplinary punishment is likely associated with Lawyer Lu taking on the case of Lawyer Chen Jiahong, who has been suspected of committing “incitement to subvert state power.” The Lawyers Association’s Disciplinary Committee started investigating the allegations, and found that Lawyer Lu violated rules when taking up a case, therefore planning on disciplinary punishment, in addition to not allowing Lawyer Lu to pass the annual inspection for up to three months for the same reason.
Staff from the Consulate Generals of the USA, Germany, Canada, and the UK attended the hearing, but the moderator stated a fear for his own safety after their entry, saying that there were too many people in the meeting room, and requested that the members of the audience be limited to five only. A decision regarding Lawyer Lu has yet to be made, as it will be debated by the Chengdu All China Lawyers Association’s Disciplinary Committee.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline
- HRD
- Lawyer, Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 24, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 5, 2019
- Event Description
A series of false allegations and smears have this week targeted journalists and unionists in Hong Kong known for speaking out against attacks on media. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) condemn the attacks against media workers and commends the solidarity of Hong Kong journalists in the face of such relentless attacks.
Since the “Prohibition on Face Covering”, otherwise knowns as the “anti-mask law”, was passed on October 4, media workers and their union, the Hong Kong Journalist Association (HKJA), have week endured a targeted campaign of smears and false allegations published online and in newspapers including state newspaper China Daily. The HKJA is among those strongly criticising the colonial era Emergency Regulation Ordinance that has allowed the government to ban the use of face masks – an action which jeopardises the safety not only of journalists but ordinary citizens caught up in tear gas attacks by the territory’s police.
On October 5, HKJA received a fake report claiming it “is racing against time to issue 10,000 press cards”. The false claim went viral on social media, despite HKJA’s rigorous defence and explanation of its eligibility requirements and application process for membership. Then, on October 7, Mark Pinkstone wrote in the China Daily that HKJA was “in the pocket of the NED/NDI”; a non-profit organisation funded by US Congress that invests in democratic movements worldwide. The article went on to defame HKJA chairperson, Chris Yeung alleging he attended “anti-China” meetings in the United States recently, even though the leader has not travelled to the country since 2007.
The HKJA said it deplored the “groundless and defamatory” article.
HKJA chairperson, Chris Yeung, said: “We trust your paper will take factual mistakes and unfounded allegations seriously and would take promptly action to set the record straight and make an apology for the remarks. To seek legal remedy for the damages caused to us is the last things we want.”
This week, Hong Kong Free Press reported comments by Hong Kong Executive Council member Ip Kwok-him, stating that the government “would not rule out a ban on the internet”. The IFJ strongly condemned such a move that would only further erode the right to free expression and democracy of Hong Kong.
The IFJ said: “Persistent attacks on the media this week is evidence of the continued erosion of Hong Kong’s democracy and the fragile state of press freedom. We strongly condemn the use of state media to spread defamatory and false statements about journalists and activists who are in the fight of their lives to defend Hong Kong’s press freedom. The IFJ expresses solidarity with Chris Yeung and will stand with the HKJA through these attacks.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Online Attack and Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to protect reputation
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Non-state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 24, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 29, 2019
- Event Description
The Hong Kong Journalists Association deplores the use and threat of violence towards journalists covering events in Hong Kong.
HKJA notes with grave concern, reports by Radio Television Hong Kong ( RTHK) of serious injury to a journalist covering protests in Hong Kong on Sunday 29 September 2019.
Reports have stated that the journalist, working for an Indonesian-language publication based in Hong Kong, was injured in the eye by a rubber bullet or beanbag round whilst covering demonstrations in Wanchai.
Media video footage of her receiving medical attention shows her wearing a high visibility jacket with press markings as well as press card on display. HKJA also understands that the journalist was also wearing a helmet with press markings.
We are gravely concerned by these reports of serious injury to a journalist whilst covering events in HK. We are particularly concerned by reports that the injury was caused by a rubber bullet or bean bag round and that the journalist was not in the immediate vicinity of protestors at the time of the incident, she was clearly identifiable as being a member of the press and was with a number of other journalists at the time also wearing high visibility press markings.
Police have a duty to assist the press and facilitate reporting by members of the press. It is self-evident that this means that police should not cause injury to members of the press.
The HKJA will be investigating this incident and if substantiated, will be taking action to protect the rights and safety of our members
The HKJA also expresses grave concern about recent online threats, purportedly by radical protestors, to TVB journalists if they cover events in Hong Kong from today onwards.
We deplores the use and threat of violence towards journalists covering events in Hong Kong from any source and calls on police and protestors to allow journalists to carry out their job of reporting the facts without risk of serious injury or threats of violence.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Media Worker, WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 3, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 26, 2019
- Event Description
(Hengyang, Hunan—Sept. 25, 2019) Authorities controlled human rights lawyer Xie Yang and a Chinese citizen, Chen Yanhui, this evening when they were discussing the Sept. 23 death of Wang Meiyu, a prisoner who died in the Hengyang Detention Center.
In the middle of Xie and Chen’s conversation at the Shennong Hotel in Hengyang, Hunan, six armed SWAT team members rushed in and contained them. Plainclothes police and hotel employees watched the room’s doorway, while the SWAT team members handled the staircase.
Xie’s wife, Chen Guiqiu, noted on social media that he was still being controlled as of 1:16 a.m. on Sept. 26 Beijing time. Her attempts to contact him have been unsuccessful, leading her to believe he is still being restricted by the officials.
Xie was previously taken into police custody for his human rights work on July 11, 2015, as part of a nationwide crackdown on rights attorneys known colloquially as the "709 Incident." During Xie's time in prison, he revealed that he had been tortured and that the lawyers appointed by his family were prevented from meeting him numerous times. To combat these accusations, China launched a propaganda campaign, claiming the reports were false. They also forced Xie Yang to deny his torture allegations during his trial.
Prior to his trial, Xie made a written declaration stating that he was not guilty of subversion, the charge which authorities used to imprison him, and said he would not plead guilty unless it was for the sake of his family or because of torture.
Xie was ultimately ruled "exempt from criminal penalty," a decision that means Xie should be legally free but also that the court had convicted him. He continues to be constantly monitored by the authorities.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Restrictions on Movement, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Offline
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 3, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 24, 2019
- Event Description
Hong Kong authorities should conduct a swift and credible investigation into the recent assault of an Apple Daily reporter and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Yesterday, four men dressed in black and wearing yellow helmets rushed into a restaurant in Hong Kong’s Kwun Tong district where a reporter from the pro-democracy Chinese-language newspaper Apple Daily was dining with her family, and kicked and punched the reporter and then fled the scene, according to a report by Apple Daily and other news reports.
During the assault, the attackers mentioned Jimmy Lai, founder and chair of Next Digital, which owns Apple Daily, according a report by the newspaper.
The journalist was taken to a hospital with injuries to her head and right ear, according to the newspaper, which published photos of her injuries but did not release the reporter’s name.
“If the rule of law means anything in Hong Kong, police must take swift action to apprehend not just the men who carried out this assault on an Apple Daily reporter, but anyone who planned the attack as well,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “Attacks against journalists have gone unpunished for far too long in Hong Kong.”
Apple Daily editor-in-chief Ryan Law Wai-kwong said in a statement on the newspaper’s website that the reporter was targeted for her reports and live-streams of the protests that have taken place in Hong Kong since June. The protests were originally sparked by an extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to face trial in mainland Chinese courts, as CPJ reported at the time.
The journalist’s personal information had recently been published by an anonymous website opposed to the protesters, according to a statement published on Facebook by the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
Hong Kong authorities have asked the website to remove identifying information of about 20 Apple Daily journalists, as well as more than 70 activists, student leaders, and protesters, but the website, which is registered to a Russian domain, has kept the information online, according to the South China Morning Post.
Jimmy Lai’s home was firebombed earlier this month, but no one was hurt in the incident, according to news reports.
The Hong Kong Police Force told CPJ in an email that the case is under investigation and no arrests have been made.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats, Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Media Worker, WHRD
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Suspected non-state, Unknown
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 3, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 23, 2019
- Event Description
A rights activist who called publicly for the resignation of Chinese president Xi Jinping has died in a police-run detention center in the central province of Hunan, rights groups said.
Wang Meiyu's widow received notification of her husband's death in the Hengyang Detention Center on Monday.
Wang, 38, was detained two months ago after holding up a placard in public calling on President Xi to step down, and for democratic elections in China.
"Wang Meiyu died in the detention center," his mother, who declined to give her name, told RFA. "Wang Meiyu was only 38 years old. His father passed away 20 years ago, and now my only child is dead too."
Wang's widow Cao Shuxia said Wang was initially detained on July 8, and had been in normal health when his detention began.
Then, he was reported as having died suddenly in a military hospital. Cao said Wang's body was "unrecognizable" when she went to identify it.
"He was a healthy, normal man when he went in there," she said. "Then, at 4.00 a.m. on Sept. 23, I got a call from the village [ruling Chinese Communist] Party secretary, who told me that Wang Meiyu was dead."
"I asked how he died, and he said he didn't know, and that he had been informed by his superiors," she said. "He didn't even know the time of death. Later, I found out when I called up to enquire that he had died in the emergency room of Hengyang 169 Hospital."
"When I saw his body, it was like another person; he was totally unrecognizable," Cao said. "They wouldn't let me take my cell phone in with me, and there were a lot of police officers there with us, and they stopped me from getting too close."
Solitary confinement
Cao said Wang had received two visits from a lawyer after being detained. During these meetings, the lawyer heard that he was initially held in a large cell along with dozens of other inmates.
But by the time the lawyer visited again at the end of August, Wang had been transferred to solitary confinement, she said.
She said Wang's death was a huge blow to his family, especially to his two children, the older of whom is just 11. The couple had already lost their jobs as a result of Wang's activism, she said.
"My husband didn't commit any crime: he did nothing wrong," Cao said.
An acquaintance of Wang's surnamed Chen said Wang had been campaigning for democratic elections in China, which was why he had called on President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang to resign.
"Last year, he held up a placard outside the gates of the Hengyang Normal University in Hunan, and he did it again last July, outside the Hunan provincial police department, where he was detained," Chen said.
"He was already under very tight surveillance and had no source of income, and relations with his family were already strained," he said.
The authorities had already been in touch to warn off anyone thinking of showing support to the family, or speaking out on Wang's behalf, he said. "I will likely have to go and meet with state security police tomorrow."
'Step down and enable general elections'
In November 2018, Wang wrote on the social media platform WeChat that he had been visited by five officers of the state security police from Hengyang's Zhoushi county.
"They accused me of making random comments online, calling on Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang to step down and enable general elections," Wang wrote at the time.
"They said this was attacking our national leaders and told me to ... write a letter of repentance and a guarantee [of future good behavior]."
"Morons: it never occurred to them that three days and three nights of torture with dripping water and electric batons until I was spitting blood and my soul had nearly left my body wouldn't bring about my surrender," he wrote.
"What have I done wrong? I didn't give these state security morons the time of day: eventually, they went away with their tails between their legs."
An employee who answered the phone at the Hengyang People's Liberation Army 169 Hospital declined to comment, saying she wasn't on duty when Wang died, and that nobody was discussing the incident at work.
Repeated requests to the Hengyang police department for comment went unanswered at the time of writing.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Death, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Right to health, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to life
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Suspected state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 3, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 19, 2019
- Event Description
Authorities in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan have criminally detained a prominent rights activist after he repeatedly showed public support for the anti-extradition protests in Hong Kong.
Chen Yunfei was taken away by state security police from his home in Gucheng township in Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu on Sept. 19, his friend told RFA on Monday.
"Eight or nine people came from the Gucheng township police station, some in uniform, some in plain clothes," Chen's friend Luo Kaiwen said. "The police station called his sister and offered to find a lawyer for him."
"I heard that it was because of interviews Chen Yunfei gave to overseas media during which he expressed his support for the anti-extradition movement, that's what this was," Luo said. "They didn't say what the charge was, but I read online that it was for 'supporting Hong Kong'."
"The authorities basically have a lot of different options if they want to bring charges," he said.
Chen's family received official notification on Sept. 21 that he is under criminal detention for publishing comments in support of the anti-extradition movement in Hong Kong, it said.
Chen has outspokenly defended the anti-extradition movement at a time when the ruling Chinese Communist Party is ramping up the nationalistic narrative that the Hong Kong protests are being carried out by a small minority of troublemakers in the pay of "hostile foreign forces."
In recent interviews with RFA, Chen has called repeatedly for a dialogue between Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and protesters to try to reach a resolution over the five demands of the anti-extradition movement.
Several Chinese dissidents have had their Twitter accounts taken offline or been called in for questioning by police after they voiced support for the Hong Kong protests.
Chinese authorities have also been checking the devices of anyone crossing the internal border from Hong Kong to mainland China, as part of a concerted campaign to ensure that no unedited news of the Hong Kong anti-extradition protests is able to reach residents of China.
Admiration for the anti-extradition protesters
In an interview with the Epoch Times on Aug. 31, Chen expressed his admiration for the anti-extradition protesters and said Hong Kong should serve as a model for people in mainland China, an idea that gives voice to concerns in Beijing that Hong Kong's liberal attitudes could lead to the overthrow of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
Chen was only released last March from a jail term handed down on public order charges after he marked the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, politically sensitive and forbidden topic in China, in 2015.
Back then, he was detained after visiting the grave of Tiananmen massacre victim Wu Guofeng near Chengdu along with a group of fellow activists.
The government bans public memorials marking the event, and has continued to ignore growing calls in China and from overseas for a reappraisal of the 1989 student protests, which it once styled a "counterrevolutionary rebellion."
Chen has also campaigned vigorously for human rights protections and against environmental pollution in the past two decades.
Sichuan-based writer and activist Tan Zuoren declined to comment in detail, citing additional security measures ahead of celebrations of the 70th anniversary of Communist Party rule on Oct. 1.
"Of course I'm worried about him, but there's not much I can do to help, particularly not before National Day on Oct. 1," Tan said. "I have been told not to make any comments, as part of the conditions of my current bail."
Chen's wife said she and her husband are currently estranged, and that she is also under pressure from the authorities over the birth of the couple's daughter, which was deemed a violation of family planning restrictions.
"I just saw on the group chat that he was in trouble," she said. "But I don't know any of the details. I'll go and visit him in a few days ... we are not living together at the moment ... and I don't have much time to take care of him."
National Day on Oct. 1
Calls to the nearby Wenjiang Detention Center rang unanswered during office hours on Monday.
An employee who answered the phone at the the Gucheng township police station said he knew nothing of Chen's detention.
"I don't really know about this," the employee said. "You could come to the police station and ask. Different people are on duty here every day."
Fellow dissident Zeng Rongkang said Chen's detention could also be linked to his attempts to make news of the Hong Kong protests available to social media users in mainland China.
"News from Hong Kong is usually deleted from WeChat, and a lot of ordinary people don't actually know about the anti-extradition movement in Hong Kong," Zeng said.
"Security is extremely tight across the whole country ahead of National Day on Oct. 1," he said. "There are police on all the buses and metro trains in the Chengdu area."
Zeng said Chen had previously been sentenced to four years' imprisonment over his commemoration of the Tiananmen massacre. "He didn't even do anything, just visit the grave of a 1989 student protester."
"Strictly speaking, that's not a crime."
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Offline, Right to liberty and security
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist
- Perpetrator-State
- Armed forces/ Military, Government, Judiciary, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 3, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 23, 2019
- Event Description
The Global Times, an English media owned by the state-run People’s Daily, published an article on September 23, which referred to a ‘campaign’ launched by several Hong Kong journalists against the Hong Kong Journalist Association (HKJA), and requested the IFJ to revoke HKJA’s membership. The journalists behind the campaign remain anonymous, and the accusations referred to against the HKJA on the campaign website [saynotohkja.mystrikingly.com], are not based on solid evidence, some are based on the disinformation by other state-run media.
The IFJ is aware of attempts to discredit HKJA, having received several complaints since June from anonymous emails. The complaints are almost identical in language and issues referred to, raising questions about their authenticity. The IFJ strongly condemns attempts to discredit professional journalist unions such as the HKJA, as well as the broader work of the journalist community with attempts to legitimise the authorities’ attacks against the media or suppress press freedom.
The IFJ said:"We strongly deplore this smear campaign against our affiliate the HKJA. The work of the HKJA is commendable, especially the continued support and campaigning for media safety in the past four months in Hong Kong. We stand in solidarity and support the HKJA. The IFJ was never sort for comment regarding the campaign to have HKJA's membership revoked. The attempts by some to share disinformation are part of a campaign to discredit the work done by HKJA, supported by the IFJ to ensure the safety and security of the media and press freedom in Hong Kong."
The HKJA is a strong professional media union, working to support the Hong Kong media community and promote press freedom. Since the start of Hong Kong wide protests in June 2019, HKJA has been active in working to support the media. Since June they have raised HKD3 million (USD 383,000) for an anti-violence legal fund for journalists. They have supplied more than 100 safety kids to journalists, organized medical service for 33 journalists injured with tear gas while covering the protests, provided professional counselling services to 20 journalists and filed complaints for over 40 journalists attacked covering the protests.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Online Attack and Harassment, Vilification
- Rights Concerned
- Online, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to protect reputation
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 3, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 8, 2019
- Event Description
Hong Kong police must cease their unprovoked use of tear gas and pepper spray against journalists covering protests in the city, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
On September 7, police pepper-sprayed a group of journalists who were filming the arrests of protesters in the Mong Kok area, according to news reports and Holmes Chi Hang Chan, a reporter with the independent news website Hong Kong Free Press, who live-streamed the incident on Facebook and recounted it in a statement sent to CPJ.
On September 8, police threw teargas canisters directly at several journalists wearing clearly marked press vests while they were covering protests in the Causeway Bay metro station, according to news reports and footage circulated online showing the attack. One canister appeared to hit a journalist in the helmet and then exploded near another journalist, according to those reports.
“Hong Kong police need to learn that a police badge and a uniform do not amount to a license for indiscriminate attacks against journalists, or anyone,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “The most recent attacks against journalists make clear why an independent investigation into police behavior is essential if Hong Kong is to be a place where rule of law prevails.”
Police fired pepper spray without warning that hit Chan, who was wearing a reflective press vest and a helmed labeled “Press,” in the face, he wrote in the statement provided to CPJ. Chan had two press passes visible and was not wearing protective facial gear, he wrote.
Chan was admitted to the Kwong Wah Hospital and was treated for a “chemical eye injury,” according to a document given to him by a doctor, he said in the statement. The journalists on the scene had complied with police instructions and had not given police any reason to use force against them, he said.
Also on September 7, in Mong Kok, police pepper-sprayed three reporters for local daily Ming Pao who wore helmets and passes identifying them as press, according to a statement posted on Facebook by the newspaper’s staff association.
The Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Journalists Association both issued statements condemning the increasing acts of violence against journalists. Protestors have demanded an independent inquiry into police behavior, according to news reports.
The Hong Kong Police Force did not respond to CPJ's email requesting comment.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Offline
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 2, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 7, 2019
- Event Description
Around 10.30 pm Saturday (Sept 7), police officers were charging to drive away protesters and make arrests outside Pioneer Centre in Mongkok. With no protesters around, police officers sprayed pepper spray at reporters at the scene. Several frontline journalists were injured. We condemn police violence and taking journalists as their target of attack – deliberately and with hostilities – in obstructing reporters’ work. We urge Police to take the issue of frontline officers being unable to control their emotions and abuse of power seriously.
Around 10.30 pm, reporters who covered the police operation were driven away by police officers. Reporters kept a distance of about 10 meters from the place where police made arrests. They heeded police’s demand for them to position themselves at the pedestrian pavement. Suddenly, two officers from the Special Tactical Squad, or commonly known as Raptor, sprayed pepper spray. At least five photojournalists, two from HK01, one from AFP and two from Ming Pao and three reporters, one from Ming Pao and two from Cable TV. Two had sprayed on their faces.
We noted that reporters there were wearing passes and helmets emblazoned with the word, PRESS, which were easily identifiable. There were no protesters near the reporters. Reporters were retreating while police officers were making the requests. The sudden attack from police officers was unreasonable. Two officers had persistently sprayed at a bigger group of reporters, injuring more. A reporter at the scene heard from an officer who sprayed pepper spray saying, “shooting (pictures), so you like shooting.” It is clear the police officers were hostile towards the reporters. The acts of the two officers were close to an assault against journalists. We demand police to provide the identification of the two officers for reporters to lodge a formal complaint.
Police officers at the scene had not provided clear identification for reporters to lodge a complaint. Police’s media liaison officers were nowhere to be seen. Those who turned up late failed to perform their duty of liaison. They were also hostile when responding to journalists’ questions.
We condemn police’s abuse of the use of force and deliberately obstruct reporters’ work. We urge the police to take seriously the statements issued by us in the past three months. We urge the police to take the issue of frontline officers being unable to control their emotions and abuse of power seriously to coordinate with the work of frontline journalists for them to play their role of fourth power.
- Impact of Event
- 8
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Offline
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Government, Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 1, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 2, 2019
- Event Description
In 2016, the police issued an order to all the kindergartens, including all the early education centers in Beijing’s Shijingshan District (石景山区) to not accept my son at their schools. My son, Quanquan (泉泉), had stayed home, unable to attend school since May 2018. Then, by luck and coincidence, I found a private school that accepted him. Quanquan finally was able to go to school, joining the top kindergarten class there.
It was a hard-won opportunity for Quanquan, and he was very excited. On the first day of school [in 2018], he woke up at 6 am. He tugged at me, acting cute one moment and threatening me the next. I had to get out of bed. We washed together, and after getting dressed, he wanted to go to school. Reluctantly, I told him that the school bus wouldn’t arrive at the gate until 7:48 am. His single-eyelid eyes flashed with ardent hope, and he said to me pleading: “I want to go early to wait at the gate. Please?”
So I gave in, unable to say no to his adorable face. So, we sat on the side of the street waiting for the bus for more than an hour before it was due to arrive. Quanquan was a little anxious; he would stand up and sit down, stand up and sit down again, making me dizzy just watching him. His small pudgy face was full of worry, and he asked me over and over again: “Mom, are you sure we’re waiting in the right place for the school bus?” It was annoying and amusing at the same time; all I could do was answer “Yes!” over and over again. At that time, I thought, it was only children who’ve been unable to attend school who could feel such excitement about going to school.
Quanquan really liked his school. The flowers and trees in the school grounds, the sandboxes, the trampoline, and the various insects on the lawn made each day full of surprise and joy. The school’s atmosphere was happy, relaxed, and full of love, which led to Quanquan arguing that he wanted to go to school on Sundays. He also made a lot of friends, and he even secretly liked a little girl.
Quanquan successfully completed kindergarten without incident. I thought at the time that attending school would no longer pose a problem.
Come September 2, Quanquan was promoted to primary school. School has only been in session for four days, but the police have visited multiple times already to put pressure on the school. As a result, my son is once again forced out of school.
Having been told that that Quanquan could not continue school, I felt all my strength was sucked out of me there and then. Heavyhearted, I walked out of the school gate. At home, Quanquan’s maternal grandpa had just suffered a severe cold, stooping after days of high fever and coughing. I tried hard to pull myself together, not wanting to cry in front of him. But I broke down after all, tears streaming down my face.
I was thinking, why? Why?
It’s no wonder that every time I visited Quanzhang (王全璋), what he worried about most was whether our son could go to school. No wonder he repeatedly sought confirmation from me whether our son was indeed going to school.
When Quanzhang was detained four years ago, our son was only two and a half years old. Now, it looks like our son has been made into a bargaining chip which officials are going to use to coerce Quanzhang. Maybe that’s why every time I see Quanzhang he tells me not to come visit; maybe that’s why Wang Quanzhang said he did not want medical parole (as I write this, I recall that Quanzhang has lost three teeth in the past four years; maybe that’s why Wang Quanzhang said that after he is released from prison next year, he would continue to be subject to government monitoring, and would not return to Beijing, but stay in Jinan!
They detained and isolated an innocent lawyer from the outside world for four years; they held a secret trial of him without lawyers present to defend him, and then transferred him to prison to serve his sentence, and repeatedly blocked me, his wife, from visiting him. Now they are making an issue of a 6-year-old boy attending school.
I have to ask, what do you want?
Do you intend to make a mother give in and give up by making her suffer pain and despair over her son’s loss of schooling? Or, are you using his son to strike the imprisoned father and force him to bow to your menacing?
Or, perhaps you are concocting a tribute to your grand celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China by depriving this six-year-old child of schooling, and inflicting pain on this family.
Quanquan knows that he can’t go to school anymore starting today. He asked me: “I am the leader of Team No. 1 in martial arts class. I can’t lead the team anymore, what to do? The teacher is going to teach a lot of new moves, which I won’t know — what should I do?” He’s not ready to accept that fact that he has no school to go to anymore. He’s said repeatedly that he wants to go school, he wants to go to school.
I wiped my tears, and began to smile, telling him:
“If we can’t attend this school, I believe that God will provide another school for us that is just as good as this one!”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Right to education
- HRD
- Family of HRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 1, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 2, 2019
- Event Description
Thousands of Hong Kong university and school students boycotted class and rallied peacefully for democracy on Monday, the latest acts of defiance in an anti-government movement that has plunged the Chinese-ruled city into crisis.
The boycott followed a weekend marred by some of the worst violence since unrest escalated more than three months ago, with protesters burning barricades and throwing petrol bombs, and police retaliating with water cannon, tear gas and batons.
Tension remained high, with several brief skirmishes around the territory after night fell. Police fired tear gas to clear protesters in the densely populated Mongkok region of the Kowloon peninsula.
Thousands of students gathered earlier on the hilltop campus of Chinese University under leaden skies, taking turns to make speeches from a stage with a black backdrop embossed with “Students in Unity Boycott for our City”.
They are seeking greater democracy for the former British colony which returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees wide-ranging autonomy, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary.
They fear those freedoms are being slowly eroded by Communist Party rulers in Beijing, a charge China denies.
“I come here just to tell others that even after summer holidays end we are not back to our normal life, we should continue to fight for Hong Kong,” said one 19-year-old student who asked to be identified as just Chan.
On the first day of the new school year, secondary students were seen singing, chanting and forming human chains, some wearing hard hats and masks.
China accuses Western countries of egging on the protests. It says Hong Kong is its own internal affair.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang reiterated Beijing’s support for Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam.
“China’s central government supports chief executive Carrie Lam’s leadership ... to administer in accordance with the law and supports Hong Kong’s police tackling the violence and chaos in accordance with the law to restore order,” he told a press briefing.
As for Lam, she said last week she had caused “unforgivable havoc” by igniting the crisis and would quit if she had a choice.
Students have turned out in significant numbers at recent rallies and were also prominent during the 2014 pro-democracy “Umbrella” movement that foreshadowed the current unrest.
“It’s very different from what happened back then. People are more mad now,” said Summer, a 20-year-old student who gave only his first name.
The vice-chairman of the Demosisto pro-democracy movement, Isaac Cheng, was assaulted by three unidentified men on Monday and taken to hospital, the group said in a statement. The group’s leader, Joshua Wong, was one of the prominent leaders of the 2014 struggle.
Thousands of protesters blocked roads and public transport links to Hong Kong airport on Sunday. Some then targeted the MTR subway station in nearby Tung Chung, ripping out turnstiles and smashing CCTV cameras, glass panels and lamps with metal poles. Police made several arrests.
Lam, a lightning rod for protesters’ anger, said on her Facebook page on Monday that 10 subway stations had been damaged by “violent offenders” over the weekend.
John Lee, government secretary for security, told media that nearly 100 petrol bombs were thrown in various locations on Saturday with two found on a 13-year-old boy who was arrested inside an MTR station.
The unrest began over a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed people in the city to be sent to China for trial in courts controlled by the party.
The turmoil has evolved into calls for democracy. China is eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1.
With Hong Kong facing its first recession in a decade, China has also warned of the damage the protests are causing to the economy.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Violence (physical), Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Offline, Right to healthy and safe environment, Right to Protest
- HRD
- Pro-democracy activist, Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Unknown
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Unknown
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Oct 1, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 31, 2014
- Event Description
Authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Friday 31st October detained a prominent women's rights activist after she organized an online activity in support of Hong Kong's Occupy Central pro-democracy movement. Ye Haiyan, who founded the Women's Rights Workshop, was taken away by police in her home district of Xinzhou after her home was searched, a Beijing-based rights lawyer told RFA. "Police went to her home and confiscated some of her things," rights lawyer Tang Jitian said. "I am guessing it's because she organized some activities on and offline." "I can't say for sure, but it is likely to have at least something to do with her support for Occupy Central," Tang said. Ye's boyfriend Ling Haobo said around a dozen police officers had arrived at her home at around 11.30 a.m. local time on Friday, and had confiscated two notebook computers, three cellphones, and an external hard drive. "I was at the door when the police came knocking," Ling said, adding that police had stayed around 20 minutes. "Then they told Ye Haiyan to go with them to the police station, but they didn't produce any documentation," he said. "They didn't say whether it was for questioning, or whether it was criminal detention," he said. "They just took her away, and left five officers behind to go through her things." He said Ye had recently joined an online movement in which participants shaved their heads to show support for Occupy Central. "Several dozen people in mainland China shaved their heads," Ling said. The overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) group, which collates and translates reports from rights groups inside China, says it has documented 72 cases of detention of people showing public support for the Occupy Central movement. Of those, 27 people were criminally detained and three were handed administrative detentions, while 32 remain in custody without charge. A further 11 were released, it said. It said the most recent detention was that of Guangdong-based activist Su Changlan, who is being held by Foshan municipal authorities on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power" after she took part in Hong Kong-related activities in the province. But Tang said the true number of Hong Kong-related detentions may be much higher. "It's more than 100 so far, although we haven't yet updated those numbers," he said. Beijing has repeatedly said the five-week-old Occupy movement is "illegal," but Hong Kong officials have taken a more diplomatic stance since police use of tear gas brought hundreds of thousands of people out onto the streets to swell the movement, and sent video and social media accounts of the Sept. 28 clashes streaming live around the world. Since then, the mostly peaceful protests have occupied major highways and intersections near government headquarters in Admiralty district and in the busy shopping districts of Causeway Bay and Mong Kok, amid sporadic clashes with police and anti-Occupy protesters.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Reprisal as Result of Communication
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Internet freedom, Right to Protest
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 1, 2014
- Event Description
A Tibetan monk charged with inciting Tibetans to oppose Chinese rule has been ordered jailed for 12 years, according to sources who say he is being confined in a prison notorious for its abusive treatment of prisoners. Tsangyang Gyatso, chant leader at the Drilda monastery in Sog (in Chinese, Suo) county in the Nagchu (Naqu) prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region, "was sentenced sometime around Oct. 1, 2014," Ngawang Tharpa, a Tibetan living in India, told RFA's Tibetan Service, citing contacts in the region. "He is reportedly being held in Chushur prison near[the regional capital] Lhasa," Tharpa said. Harsh treatment is common at the Chushur prison, located about 48 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Lhasa, with prisoners routinely subjected to torture, beatings, and forms of abuse, Tibetan sources have said. "[Gyatso] was convicted on charges of inciting others to protest against China and of communicating with contacts outside Tibet," Tharpa said. "His relatives in Sog county's Trido township were informed of his sentence by letter only around Oct. 15." Family members have been told they will not be allowed to visit the jailed monk until three months elapse from the date of his sentencing, but have also been warned they will need letters from township and county officials giving permission for the visit, Tharpa said. Tsangyang Gyatso was detained on unknown charges on March 17, 2014, along with three other monks from Drilda monastery named Tsewang, Atse, and Gyaltsen, Tharpa said. Their detention followed a roundup earlier in March of at least nine other area monks and residents suspected of involvement of activities challenging Chinese rule in Tibet, including the painting of independence slogans on boulders near an iron bridge in Trido township. Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with 133 Tibetans to date setting themselves ablaze to oppose Beijing's rule and call for the return of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment, Reprisal as Result of Communication
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Right to Protest
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 10, 2014
- Event Description
An AIDS researcher, Wang Qiuyan, was prevented from attending a women's rights conference put on by the United Nations, when authorities forcibly registered her at a hospital. Jess Macy Yu reports for the New York Times: Wang Qiuyun, 46, a member of the Women's Network Against H.I.V./AIDS China, was to have consulted Thursday with experts reviewing China's case before the Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. In an interview on Wednesday, she said she was currently under close surveillance at her home in Hebi, Henan Province, after local officials took away her passport with her newly issued Swiss visa on Oct. 10. On that same day, she was driven to the Hebi City Infectious Disease Hospital by six officials, registered as a patient and told to notify the conference that she was "too sick to attend." That night, she said she was able to quietly escape the hospital. Ms. Wang, formerly director of women's services with the Henan Province Family Planning and Medical Station, has in recent years devoted her time to the Women's Network Against H.I.V./AIDS China, an organization founded in 2009 with the support of Unaids, the United Nations agency dealing with AIDS, to help Chinese women with H.I.V. improve the quality of their life.[Source] Simon Denyers at the Washington Post looks at Wang's work and the possible reasons for her travel ban. Wang herself contracted HIV, most likely during an operation when Henan was the center of an HIV epidemic in the 1990s: "I don't know why this happened," Wang said in a telephone interview. "I've explained to the police and other officials many times that I was just going to talk about helping women with AIDS, and about children who suffer discrimination because of their parents' HIV status." The report she was due to present, on behalf of the nongovernmental group Women's Network Against HIV/AIDS China (WNAC), concludes that the HIV epidemic among women in China is on the rise, partly because of a lack of awareness and low condom use among sex workers. It also argues that women face "serious discrimination and humiliation" in health care, employment and education, and that strong laws against prostitution - including police regulations that equate condom possession with prostitution - were discouraging sex workers from carrying condoms.[Source]
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 16, 2014
- Event Description
A young Tibetan called out in public for Tibet's freedom before being assaulted and taken into custody by Chinese police in the second solo protest in Sichuan province's Kardze prefecture this month, according to sources. Dorje Rinchen, believed to be in his 20s, launched his solitary protest shortly after 2:00 p.m. on Thursday the 16th October in the central square of the Serthar (in Chinese, Seda) county seat in the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, a local source told RFA's Tibetan Service. "Many witnesses saw him throw leaflets in the air and shout slogans calling for the long life of[exiled spiritual leader] the Dalai Lama and for freedom for Tibet before he was overpowered by police," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The detaining officers tied Dorje Rinchen's hands behind his back, forced his head down, "and took him away, beating him severely at the same time," the source said. "A large contingent of police were then stationed in the square and imposed harsh restrictions in the area," he added. Separately, a Tibetan living in exile confirmed Rinchen's detention, citing contacts in the Serthar area. Rinchen, a resident of Horshul village, had once been a monk at Serthar's Nubsur monastery but "had left monastic life and pursued various trades in the nomadic community," the source, Golog Jigme, said. "At this time, it is difficult to know whether his family members have been allowed to see him or learn where he is being held," Jigme said. Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with 133 Tibetans to date setting themselves ablaze to oppose Beijing's rule and for the return of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Right to Protest
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 15, 2014
- Event Description
Hong Kong protesters clashed with dozens of police using batons and pepper spray early Wednesday, in some of the worst violence since pro-democracy demonstrations began. The confrontation broke out during a police operation to clear newly erected barricades on a main road next to the city's embattled government headquarters. A wall of police armed with shields and batons marched before dawn on crowds clutching the umbrellas that have become emblematic of their fight for full democracy. Police used their fists and batons to beat back protesters who refused to retreat, aiming pepper spray in their faces in wild scenes. Others were pulled to the ground, handcuffed and hauled away by officers, and there were injuries on both sides. Police said that 45 people had been arrested in the operation, including 37 men and eight women. Within an hour police had regained control of Lung Wo Road, which sits just metres from the offices of Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chin-Ying, ending a short-lived occupation that protesters staged the day before. The violence was among the worst seen since the start of rallies that have drawn huge crowds calling for Beijing to grant the semi-autonomous city the right to hold free elections. China has insisted it will vet candidates standing for election as the semi-autonomous city's next leader in 2017 - a move protesters deride as "fake democracy". While the activists have been praised for their civility and organisational skills, they have also brought widespread disruption and traffic congestion to the financial hub, and tempers on all sides have begun to fray. A police statement said officers had warned that "advancing against police cordon line even with their arms raised is not a peaceful act", and had appealed to the demonstrators to "stay calm and restrained". The protests that have paralysed parts of the city over the last fortnight have largely been peaceful. But ugly scuffles have frequently broken out between demonstrators and government loyalists, sparking accusations the authorities are using hired thugs. Patience is running short in some quarters, with shop owners and taxi drivers losing business and commuters voicing irritation at extensive disruptions on the roads and on public transport. UPDATE: 15 October 2015 Hong Kong police charged over beating of democracy activist Seven Hong Kong police officers have been charged in relation to the beating of a protester during pro-democracy demonstrations in the Chinese-ruled city late last year that brought large parts of the financial centre to a halt. The officers were charged with one count of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, while one officer was also charged with one count of common assault, a police spokesperson said today. The officers will appear in court on Monday. The seven officers are accused of beating activist and Civic Party member Ken Tsang Kin-chiu. Footage of the attack in October last year went viral, sparking outrage from some lawmakers and the public. Protesters had been demanding full democracy for the former British colony and were also calling for Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader, Leung Chun-ying, to step down. The weeks of protests failed to persuade Beijing to lift a restriction on who can stand for election as Hong Kong's leader in the next vote in 2017. China rules Hong Kong under a "one country, two systems" formula that accords the city a degree of autonomy and freedom not enjoyed in mainland China, with universal suffrage an eventual goal. - Reuters, October 15, 2015. UPDATE: 12/ 11/ 2015 Hong Kong activist takes police torture claim to UN HONG KONG - A Hong Kong activist allegedly assaulted by police during last year's pro-democracy protests said Wednesday he would present his case to a United Nations torture hearing next week. Footage of activist Ken Tsang being punched and kicked by police officers was beamed around the world at the height of the mass protests that brought parts of the southern Chinese city to a standstill last year. The video, aired by local television network TVB, showed a group of men hauling a handcuffed Tsang to a dark corner in a public park. One man stood over Tsang punching him while three others repeatedly kicked him. Seven police officers were charged with assault over the incident, while Tsang himself was also charged with attacking 11 police officers. Tsang, 40, said he would present his case at a UN Committee Against Torture hearing in Geneva next Tuesday. "Those seven policemen being accused should be charged with torture, not with common assault," Tsang told AFP. "We want to raise more pressure on the government on how they are handling the case," Tsang said, adding that the charges were only brought a year after the incident. Tsang has previously slammed allegations against him as "unreasonable and ridiculous", while the justice department has justified the assault charge against, saying he "splashed liquid from a plastic container" onto police. Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau, who will also attend the UN torture hearing, told AFP: "On a number of occasions the police used force to deal with the peaceful demonstrators, and that is very, very unacceptable. "They (Hong Kong government) don't want to be disgraced on an international stage... it is an important arena where Hong Kong is under international scrutiny," said Lau. At the height of the 2014 protests, which lasted for 79 days, tens of thousands of people regularly gathered to demand political reform in a major challenge to China's communist rulers. Thousands more joined the crowds after police fired tear gas in the afternoon of September 28, a move that shocked the public and galvanised the Umbrella Movement -- named after the umbrellas used to ward off sun, rain, tear gas and pepper spray. The democracy protests began after China's central government said it would allow a popular vote for Hong Kong's leader in 2017, but insisted that candidates be vetted. Hong Kong has been governed under a "one country, two systems" arrangement since it was handed back to China by Britain in 1997.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Right to Protest
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 3, 2014
- Event Description
Tibetan businessman Pasang Wangchuk has been taken into custody by authorities in China's western province of Sichuan after launching a solitary protest challenging Beijing's rule in Tibetan areas, according to sources. He staged his protest on October 3rd in the downtown area of the Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) county seat in Kardze prefecture, a Tibetan living in India told RFA's Tibetan Service, citing sources in Kardze. "He called out for the return of[exiled spiritual leader] the Dalai Lama to Tibet," RFA's source said. During his solo protest Wangchuk also carried a banner bearing slogans calling for the Dalai Lama's long life and for human rights and religious freedom in Tibet, the source said. "He was able to protest for about ten minutes before he was overpowered by police and taken away," he said. No further details were immediately available regarding Wangchuk's condition or where he was taken. Reached by RFA for comment, an officer at the Kardze county police office angrily hung up the phone. UPDATE 3rd November 2014: Pasang Wangchuk, 37, a businessman and father of three, detained in China's Sichuan province last month for launching a solitary protest challenging Beijing's rule in Tibetan areas has been freed after being interrogated over slogans he wrote on his protest banner, Tibetan sources said. He was taken into custody on Oct. 3 as he protested in the downtown area of the Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) county seat in the Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, calling out for human rights and religious freedom in Tibet, sources said. "He was released around 5:00 p.m. on Nov. 3," a Tibetan living in Nepal told RFA's Tibetan Service on Friday, citing local sources. "I could not speak to him directly, but it is confirmed that he has been released," the source said, adding that his contacts could not say whether Wangchuk had been beaten or tortured during the month he spent in jail-a punishment most detained Tibetan protesters say they undergo. "It is also unclear why he was freed," the source continued, speaking on condition of anonymity. During his solo protest, Wangchuk-who is also known as Ngodru-carried a banner bearing slogans calling for the long life of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and shouted slogans calling for the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet, sources had said. "We have now learned that he also wrote slogans on his banner urging Tibetans to "remember our heroic patriots' and calling for a peaceful dialogue to resolve the question of Tibet," RFA's source said on Friday. "During his detention, he was questioned mainly about these writings on his banner," he said. Wangchuk's release has fueled various speculations. "Some say that he was released because of "improving conditions' in the area, while others say that he was freed because he is a well-known businessman with good connections," the source said. "Others are saying that some of his close business associates paid for his release," he said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of Religion and Belief, Right to Protest
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 2, 2014
- Event Description
The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong took an ugly turn with women protesters alleging sexual assaults by men opposing the Occupy Central movement. A woman protester has alleged that she and other female pro-democracy activists were sexually assaulted by a man opposing the Occupy movement and police did nothing about it. A video uploaded on the website of the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post showed an older man in a white polo shirt violently groping a young woman while arguing with her. A woman identified as Christine was quoted by the Post as saying that she was standing as part of a human chain when the man lying on the ground sexually assaulted the girl. "I felt very, very scared, insulted and threatened," she was quoted as saying by the Post. "I yelled, That guy has assaulted me. The police were there but they didnt really do anything," she said. Other people at the scene had shouted at the man to move, but he refused to leave the women alone, she added. "I wasn't scared of the tear gas but I was scared of this. It was non-violent but it was more violent," she said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats, Sexual Violence
- Rights Concerned
- Women's rights
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Oct 1, 2014
- Event Description
International rights groups called on Wednesday for the release of dozens of activists being held across China for showing support for Occupy Central's mass pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. At least 20 people have been detained by police in a number of mainland Chinese cities after they posted photographs of themselves with shaved heads as a message of support for the protests, which are calling for genuine universal suffrage in 2017 elections in the former British colony. At least 60 more have been called in by state security police for questioning, Amnesty International said in a statement on its website. "The Chinese authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all those detained for peacefully showing support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong," the group said. The ruling Chinese Communist Party's censorship machine, known colloquially as the Great Firewall, has blocked and filtered keywords linked to the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and banned the photo-sharing service Instagram in a bid to keep its more than 600 million netizens in the dark about developments there. Among those detained or held under guard at their homes to prevent them from traveling to Hong Kong to join the demonstrations were Hunan activist Ou Biaofeng and Shenzhen-based Wang Long, detained on criminal charges of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," it said. In the southern city of Guangzhou, police seized dozens of activists and citizens who gathered in the Martyr Memorial Gardens to show support for the Hong Kong protests on Tuesday, the overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) group said in an e-mailed statement. The group, which monitors and collates reports from rights groups inside China, said an estimated 20 people were detained and taken to unknown locations. Luo Xiaoxiang, another activist from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province which borders Hong Kong, was also detained, while Xie Dan and Luo Yaling are being held in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing, Amnesty said. Shanghai-based Chen Jianfang and Shen Yanqiu were also named, along with Song Ningsheng, Gong Xinsheng and Chen Maosen from the eastern province of Jiangsu. In Beijing, police have imposed tight domestic surveillance on Liu Huizhen, Li Dongmei, Guo Zhiying, Chen Lianhe, Wu Xiaoping, Han Shuzhen, Cui Baodi and Zhang Chonggang, Amnesty reported. Circumvention software While the complex system of filters, blocks and human censorship severely limit what Chinese netizens are able to see online, activists and intellectuals are increasingly making use of circumvention software and virtual private network (VPN) services to "scale the Wall" and read blocked content. The result has been a slow filtering of news back into China's civil rights and activist community, and a growing wave of support for Hong Kong's bid for full democracy. Online activist Wu Bin, known by his online nickname Xiucai Jianghu, said accounts on popular social media platforms in China are consequently being close left and right. "A lot of accounts are being shut down; it's really serious," Wu said. "I shaved my head in support of Hong Kong, took a photo and posted it online." He said the Twitter-like service Sina Weibo had immediately shut down his account. "A lot of my friends have had their accounts closed as well," Wu said. "It's much worse than it used to be." Messaging app In the eastern province of Shandong, civil rights campaigner Li Shufen said she had learned about the Hong Kong protests via the messaging app WeChat, which is hugely popular in mainland China. "Everyone is very supportive of the Occupy Central campaign for democracy in Hong Kong," Li said. She added: "They don't really report it. All the news here is the government's point of view." "We have to go online to read about it." Amnesty International China researcher William Nee said China is merely demonstrating what Hong Kong has to fear from Beijing. "The rounding up of activists in mainland China only underlines why so many people in Hong Kong fear the growing control Beijing has in their city's affairs," Nee said in a statement. "The fundamental freedoms being exercised by hundreds of thousands of people in Hong Kong continue to be denied to those in mainland China." CHRD said some of those detained in China had made plans to join the protests in person. "Police in China have harassed and warned activists in many cities, concerned that they may try to travel to Hong Kong or take to streets to protest," the group said. "The occupation of several areas in Hong Kong, including parts of its financial and political center, has inspired many Chinese on the mainland and encouraged them to speak up for democracy," it said.
- Impact of Event
- 20
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Censorship
- Rights Concerned
- Internet freedom
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 16, 2014
- Event Description
Cyber-dissident Huang Qi's site has been repeatedly blocked by DDoS attacks since 16 September Reporters Without Borders condemns the cyber-attacks on China's leading human rights information website 64 Tianwang that have repeatedly rendered it inaccessible since 16 September. The creation of human rights activist and cyber-dissident Huang Qi, the site posts information supplied by citizen-journalists. A Distributed Denial of Service attack launched at around 10 a.m. on 16 September paralyzed activity on the site (www.64tianwang.com) until around 11 p.m. on 17 September. During the attack, the site redirected its visitors to its blog (64tianwang.blogspot.com/) or Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/twhuangqi). After resuming activity for 10 hours, the site was again rendered inaccessible on 18 September. Another attack occurred on 19 September, accompanied by the closure of 64 Tianwang's Tencent QQ and Weixin messaging and chat accounts. Huang said: "Reports recently posted on 64 Tianwang, including reports about[dissident writer] Tie Liu's arrest, land conflicts and the beatings of citizens trying to complain to local authorities, very probably triggered these latest attacks." "We condemns these targeted cyber-attacks, which testify to the sensitivity of the information revealed by 64 Tianwang," said Benjamin Isma��l, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Asia desk. "Their intensity and the fact that they coincided with Internet company Tencent's closure of 64 Tianwang's messaging accounts indicate that they were acts of censorship instigated by the government. We urge the authorities to apply the constitution, which guarantees freedom of information, by bringing these untimely attacks to an end. We also call on Tencent to stop cooperating with the censors." Created by Huang in 1998, 64 Tianwang is regarded as subversive by the authorities. The police watch both Huang and his reporters, who were recently again the target of government-orchestrated reprisals after they covered protests in Tiananmen Square and various human rights violations. The winner of the Reporters Without Borders Cyber-Freedom Prize in 2004, Huang has had two long spells in prison, the second of which began in 2008, after the Sichuan earthquake, when he was jailed on a charge of "illegal possession of state secrets." He was briefly detained in March in connection with the coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- Online Attack and Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of association, Internet freedom
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 18, 2014
- Event Description
Beijing-based veteran rights activist Hu Jia has received death threats by text message, while explosive substances were placed into his heavily vandalized vehicle during the trial of a fellow activist this week, Hu told RFA on Friday. Hu, who was taken in for questioning on Wednesday by Beijing police on suspicion of "beating another person," received a text message on Thursday threatening to kill him, before discovering his car had been vandalized with red paint and a small explosive shell placed on the dashboard on Friday morning, he said. Photos posted on Hu's Twitter account showed his Volkswagen sedan slathered in red paint, both inside and outside, on the driver's side, with a small black pot-like object placed behind the steering wheel. Hu is a close friend and vocal supporter of detained Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti, who stood trial on charges of "separatism" in the northwestern region of Xinjiang on Wednesday and Thursday. "There haven't been any clues yet[about who might have done this]," Hu told RFA on Friday. "All I can say is that it was done by the same people who carried out the[earlier attacks]." On July 16, Hu was set upon as he made his way back to his car on a Beijing street by people he identified at the time as "trained men," and likely "plainclothes cops." Hu tweeted at the time that he was grabbed by some "plainclothes guys in black," grabbed by the throat, punched in the eye and nose, then kicked in the stomach. Further threats and vandalism took place last month, including a death threat on Aug. 12 and damage to his parents' property on Aug. 26. "It is clear that these attacks are escalating," said Hu, a long-time campaigner on AIDS issues and for civil rights in general who has served time in jail for subversion, as well as being subjected to prolonged "criminal detention" and periods of house arrest at his Beijing home. He said he is convinced that the attacks are a covert form of intimidation by the ruling Chinese Communist Party. "The type of explosive they planted was a shell used by the Communist Party for ceremonial occasions," Hu said. "That's not something your average person can easily get hold of." "The authorities knew I would go public with this if they planted explosives," Hu said. "They know they can't scare me, but they might scare some other people." He said the vandalism and previous attacks seemed calculated to frighten off anyone thinking of opposing the Chinese government. "They police said maybe the explosives were put there by someone with a private grudge against[me]," he said. Asked if the authorities had taken steps to protect him against further attacks, Hu replied: "They won't send anyone to protect me, because I'm not a government official. It's a very difficult situation for me, because I don't know how things will develop." Health at risk Hu, who suffers from hepatitis B, said he has been warned that his activism may be damaging his health irreparably. "The doctor told me very clearly that strenuous work and strong emotions will damage my liver and gall bladder," Hu said. "But I don't seem to be able to get away from an environment that makes me angry." "During the past three days, I was put under house arrest because of Ilham Tohti's trial, and that will continue[on Friday and Saturday], although I don't know why," he added. "It's hard to see how I'm going to get well." Hu was handed a three-and-a-half year jail term in 2008 for "incitement to subversion" after he wrote online articles critical of China's hosting of the Olympics. A campaigner for human rights and AIDS victims in China, Hu was awarded the Sakharov Prize, a major human rights award, by the European Union in 2008. He had acted as a key source of information for foreign media on human rights and environmental violations, government abuses, judicial injustices, and the mistreatment of dissidents. More recently, Hu has been a vocal supporter of jailed Uyghur dissident Ilham Tohti, regularly speaking out against Chinese government policy in the troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang. Source: Radio Free Asia (Radio Free Asia
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Event Description
A Chinese blogger and a rights activist are being held in mental institutions, rights groups and activists say, sparking fears for their well-being. Authorities in the southeastern province of Fujian detained outspoken blogger Shi Genyuan at his home on June 3 and forcibly committed him to the mental health ward of the Quanzhou No. 3 Hospital, according to the Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch website. Shi's committal means that only Quanzhou state security police have the power to release him from the facility, although nurses there said he didn't consent to his detention there. A campaign by Shi's family and friends for his release has come to nothing in the face of threats from Quanzhou state security police, the group said. Shi is being held on the basis of a "psychiatric evaluation" carried out by police in August 2013, after he was held on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power" the previous May, it said. "They are using mental illness as an excuse to detain him," Shi's friend, who gave only his surname Pan, told RFA. He said nobody believes that Shi is suffering from a genuine mental illness. "Mental health patients have normally lost at least some of their capacity to function in society," Pan said. "But his notes say he wants to appeal." "Perhaps he wants to appeal against being labeled a mental health patient?" 'A form of reprisal' Meanwhile, it has emerged that authorities in Beijing have been holding veteran pro-democracy activist Song Zaimin at the Pinggu Psychiatric Hospital, since he "disappeared" on Aug. 27, activists said. "We have received reliable information in the past couple of days saying that that[Song] is being held in a mental institution," Beijing-based fellow activist Hou Xin told RFA. "I am very worried about his situation. I never thought they would use a psychiatric hospital to detain him," Hou said. He said Song's friends and family are getting together to campaign for his release. "We want to see if we can get lawyers involved, because people don't get released from psychiatric hospitals quickly," he said. According to Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch, Song was detained after taking part in activities marking the 25th anniversary of the military crackdown on student-led pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. The overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) group, which collates and translates reports from a number of Chinese rights groups, said both Song's and Shi's detentions are illegal. "Their detentions constitute a deprivation of liberty that directly violates China's Mental Health Law, which went into effect in May 2013," the group said in an e-mailed statement on Thursday. "The law has not stopped the use of involuntary psychiatric commitment as a form of reprisal against members of civil society," it said. Litany of abuses Aimed at protecting mental health service users from misdiagnosis and involuntary medical treatment in China's state-run psychiatric hospitals, the mental health law is the first in the country to define the concept and procedures linked to compulsory committal. Chinese people who lodge complaints about or criticize the ruling Chinese Communist Party have been force-fed medication, tied up, beaten and humiliated, and subjected to electroconvulsive shocks in mental hospitals last year, according to a February report by the Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch group. The report focused on those without prior mental illness who are forcibly committed to psychiatric institutions, either by officials or family members with whom they come into conflict. It detailed a litany of abuses of the psychiatric system in a process known as "being mentally-illed" that have continued in spite of the new law. The victims of the system, which often makes use of a nationwide network of police-run hospitals, include activists who highlight human rights abuses. Source: Radio Free Asia (Radio Free Asia
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Aug 23, 2014
- Event Description
Authorities in northwestern China's Qinghai province have detained a Tibetan woman for blogging on topics considered politically sensitive, including the living conditions of Tibetans in an area devastated by an earthquake four years ago, sources said. Dawa Tsomo was taken into custody on Aug. 23 in Dzatoe (in Chinese, Zaduo) county in the Yulshul (Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture "for violating China's Internet rules and regulations," a local source told RFA's Tibetan Service on Tuesday. "She had blogged and disseminated articles with political overtones online," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Tsomo, a native of Dzatoe county's Chidza Sachen village, was taken away shortly after her arrest, "but her present whereabouts and status are unknown," he said. Tsomo had recently blogged on the plight of Tibetans living in Kyegudo, a Yulshul town hit by a devastating earthquake on April 14, 2010, the source said, adding, "She had particularly highlighted local Chinese officials' mishandling of issues related to Tibetan residents' welfare." 'Discrimination' The earthquake in Kyegudo largely destroyed the town and killed almost 3,000 residents by official count, and many homes rebuilt by Tibetan families on their own land and with their own resources were later torn down by authorities. Chinese authorities have also refused permits to Tibetans to operate shops and restaurants in Kyegudo while applications to set up these businesses by Chinese immigrants are easily approved, sources say. "There are explicit actions of discrimination committed by local authorities favoring Han Chinese immigrants over the local Tibetans," one local source told RFA earlier this year. Meanwhile, Yulshul authorities in April demolished several brick kilns operated by Tibetans in Kyegudo in response to pleas by rival Chinese plants concerned over increasing competition, a local source said. Tibetans living in Tibet and in western provinces of China complain of political, religious, and economic discrimination as well as human rights abuses. Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijing's rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Censorship, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of Religion and Belief, Internet freedom, Minority Rights
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Aug 11, 2014
- Event Description
Chinese police opened fire to disperse hundreds of Tibetans protesting the detention of a respected village leader in Sichuan province, seriously wounding nearly a dozen people, exile sources said Wednesday, quoting local contacts. Many Tibetans were also detained and beaten in the violent crackdown in Sershul (in Chinese, Shiqu) county in the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on Tuesday, a day after police whisked away village leader Dema Wangdak from his home at midnight, the sources said. Wangdak, 45, was detained after he complained to the authorities over the harassment of Tibetan women by senior Chinese officials at a cultural performance the local community was forced to host during their visit to the county, the source said. "Hundreds gathered to call for Wangdak's release because he is innocent, but the Chinese authorities sent in security forces to crack down on the protesters," Demay Gyaltsen, a Tibetan living in exile in India, told RFA's Tibetan Service. "The security forces used tear gas and fired live ammunition indiscriminately to disperse the crowd during the protest in Loshu township," he said, adding that about "10 Tibetans were seriously wounded" by the gunshots. Among the injured were Wangdak's son and brother, both of whom suffered two gunshot wounds each, said Gyaltsen, who heads an organization in India for Tibetans from Sershul's neighboring Dege county. After dispersing the protesters, he said, the authorities sought reinforcements and stepped up security late Tuesday, when many Tibetans were detained and communication lines were cut off. "The village is now entirely surrounded by security forces and many of the adults in the village have gone to the hills to hide," Jampa Youten, a monk in South India told RFA. "Those who remained were the younger Tibetans and women, who have been interrogated and tortured by the Chinese security forces," he said, also citing local contacts.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Sexual Violence, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Minority Rights, Right to Protest, Women's rights
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Aug 7, 2014
- Event Description
Beijing-based Tibetan poet and writer Tsering Woeser said Chinese authorities detained and "intimidated" her during three hours of interrogations on arrival at the airport in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. She said on her Twitter account that security personnel searched through all of her personal belongings and interrogated her after detaining her as she was about to leave the departure gate at Lhasa Gonggar Airport at 11 a.m. local time. "Chinese security personnel stopped me before I left the main departure gate," Woeser said. "They interrogated me and went through my personal belongings in my handbag, taking pictures of my lingerie, medicine, cosmetics, books and DVDs, and even copying all the contents of my computer. They also thoroughly checked my cell phone." Woeser said that airport security had "intimidated" her during the three-hour interrogation. "Last year I had the same problem, but this time the one thing I couldn't tolerate was that they even interrogated my 72-year-old mother yesterday[Aug. 7]," she said. Her mother lives in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). Woeser told RFA's Mandarin Service via Skype that it was inconvenient for her to be interviewed because "the authorities told me that they would 'take actions' if they found my conduct during my stay in Lhasa unacceptable." Chinese authorities frequently subject Woeser-an outspoken writer who has criticized Beijing's policies in Tibet-to tight restrictions and surveillance, particularly during visits from western dignitaries to the Chinese capital. Last month, she was placed under house arrest along with her husband at her Beijing home as Chinese officials began a high-profile round of annual talks with a U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State John Kerry. She said the move came after she posted on Twitter and Facebook that she had received an invitation from officials at the U.S. Embassy to attend a meeting and banquet. Woeser "has emerged as the most prominent mainland activist speaking out publicly about human rights conditions" for Tibetans, the U.S. State Department said in a statement after she won its "Woman of Courage" award in 2013. Her website Invisible Tibet, together with her poetry and nonfiction and writings on social media have given a voice to millions of Tibetans "who are prevented from expressing themselves to the outside world due to government efforts to curtail the flow of information," the State Department said. Woeser was prevented from leaving China to collect the award in person.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement, Minority Rights, Right to self-determination
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Not active
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Dec 16, 2011
- Event Description
Gao Zhisheng (???), a defense lawyer known for taking on politically sensitive cases and for calling on the Chinese government to end its persecution of Falun Gong, completed his three-year prison sentence for inciting subversion today. He was released from Shaya Prison in western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Gao was accompanied by his brother and taken by police escort to his father-in-law's house in Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital and Gao's place of household registration (hukou). Gao now begins his supplemental sentence of one year of deprivation of political rights (DPR). China's Criminal Law, promulgated in March 1997, stipulates that DPR sentences of 1?5 years be applied to individuals convicted of inciting subversion (which falls under the category of endangering state security) and other serious crimes. According to Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Criminal Law, people serving DPR sentences lose their rights to freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, procession, and demonstration. Two years prior to the promulgation of the Criminal Law, the Ministry of Public Security issued the "Regulations for Monitoring and Management of Offenders Subject to Public Surveillance, Deprivation of Political Rights, Suspended Sentence, Parole, or Medical Parole by Public Security Organs." The Dui Hua Foundation has translated these regulations in their entirety. Together with the relevant articles of the Criminal Law, these regulations provide the framework for how Gao Zhisheng will be monitored and managed over the next 12 months. According to the regulations, public security authorities in Urumqi (Gao's place of residence) will be responsible for monitoring and observing him during DPR. He must report periodically to police and receive their approval to travel outside Urumqi. The regulations prohibit Gao from giving interviews to journalists, and from "publishing or circulating, inside or outside China, any remarks, books, audio recordings, or other such items that damage the reputation or interests of the state or pose any other threat to society." Gao was detained on suspicion of inciting subversion on August 16, 2006, and sentenced on December 22, 2006, to three years in prison and one year deprivation of political rights by the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court. The prison sentence was suspended for five years, but shortly before that period ended, the suspension was revoked by the court on December 16, 2011. Gao was then incarcerated in remote Shaya Prison. The four months and seven days he spent in detention prior to his first trial was credited to his three-year sentence. Local public security bureaus have a high degree of discretion to establish measures targeting specific individuals during the enforcement of DPR. Given what is known about how Gao was treated during the period of his suspended sentence, portions of which were spent in Urumqi, and the current tense situation in Xinjiang arising from ethnic strife between Uyghurs and Han, it is likely that the Urumqi public security authorities will strictly implement the regulations, thereby effectively restricting Gao's personal freedom and contact with the outside world. UPDATE 14/08/2014- Gao's family alleged that he was subject to inhumane detention conditions and torture. Gao was kept in a small cell with little light and no television or reading material and was severely underfed: he lost 22.5 kilograms while in detention. Although he has been released from prison, he is under constant surveillance. UPDATE: 11/ 05/ 2015 Top Chinese rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng remains effectively under house arrest, 10 months after his release from prison on subversion charges, his family said on Wednesday.Gao, 52, is currently under 24-hour surveillance by state security police at the home of his wife's parents in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where he was released from a three-year jail term for "incitement to subvert state power" in August. While he is allowed to maintain phone contact with his family in Shaanxi province, Gao remains in Xinjiang, his brother Gao Zhiyu told RFA on Thursday."I talked to him recently and he is better now-[his physical condition] has been good for the past several weeks," Gao Zhiyu said."He can walk around the outside of the house, but he is not free[to go anywhere else]."Asked if he had plans to visit his brother, who he has not seen since his release, Gao Zhiyu said that authorities would not give him permission, "but we'll have to see what happens." According to Gao's friends, such as Beijing-based rights activist Hu Jia, the rights lawyer had barely been able to speak an entire sentence when he was first released from Xinjiang's Shaya Prison, where he had been held for lengthy periods in solitary confinement and tortured.Gao suffered psychological torture and various forms of corporal punishment, severely affecting his memory, and leaving his teeth in such bad shape that he was unable to chew, they said.Gao Zhiyu said his brother was mostly reading at home these days, while he remained under surveillance by authorities. He said he was unsure how many people were monitoring Gao at any given time. In January, Hu Jia told RFA that authorities were also monitoring Gao's phone calls, saying he was only permitted to have "brief, stilted conversations which can never touch on any deeper topics."He said at the time that Gao's family was "under the same huge political pressure that he himself is under."Gao's wife Geng He fled China with the couple's two children after her husband "disappeared" for more than a year, arriving in the United States with the couple's two children in 2009.During the Chinese New Year in February, Geng told RFA that she had tried to contact Gao, but was unsuccessful. Defending the vulnerable Once a prominent lawyer lauded by the Communist Party, Gao fell afoul of the government after he defended some of China's most vulnerable people, including Christians, coal miners and followers of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement.In 2006, Beijing authorities arrested Gao and handed him a three-year jail term for "inciting subversion" that was later suspended for five years. But during the following five years, Gao had repeatedly suffered forced disappearances and torture. In December 2011, China's official Xinhua news agency said in a terse announcement that Gao had been imprisoned for three years for repeatedly violating his probation terms.The announcement drew strong criticism from the United Nations, United States and the European Union, all of which have repeatedly called for Gao's release, and by overseas rights groups, including Amnesty International. Geng He and fellow activists say they fear the authorities may decide to whisk Gao off into secret detention, given the sensitive nature of the cases he has defended.Since Geng's account of her husband's torture, overseas rights groups have highlighted the cases of several more Chinese activists subjected to cruel or degrading treatment while in detention.In January, the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) group, which translates and collates reports from rights groups inside China, called on the authorities to investigate complaints made by the victims' lawyers.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Enforced Disappearance, Judicial Harassment, Surveillance , Torture, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of association, Freedom of Religion and Belief, Minority Rights, Right to property
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 16, 2014
- Event Description
Prominent Chinese activist Hu Jia says thugs ambushed him in the streets of Beijing and left him with a fractured nose. The outspoken human rights supporter says he believes the attackers were plainclothes police out to teach him a lesson and deter him from his activism. Activist Hu Jia told VOA he was assaulted late Wednesday outside a subway station where he parked his car earlier in the day. "It was raining, so I was carrying an umbrella. With that it was more difficult for people to see my face. But they recognized me after I pressed the button to open my car, and within seconds they jumped on me and started with the beating targeting my eyes," he said. After punching and kicking him for two minutes, Hu says the men left using a car driven by a third man. A CT scan at a nearby hospital revealed a fracture on the bridge of Hu's nose. The men did not wear a uniform, but Hu says he is certain they were plainclothes police. Hu says he wanted to fight back, but the assailants were too strong and it was clear they knew how to beat people. He says they did not call him by name or tell him why they were beating him. Hu says they only repeated "I teach you a lesson" with a low voice. Short of a general warning for his activism, Hu says the specific lesson they sought to teach him remains unclear. The attack against Hu comes amid a general crackdown against political speech in civil society. On Friday, a court in Beijing will pronounce the verdicts against two members of the New Citizens Movement, a group founded by legal scholar Xu Zhiyong to promote government transparency and more equal education policies. The organization has become the target of authorities who jailed its founder and put on trial scores of other members. On social media, Hu Jia had called for people to gather outside the courtroom Friday to show support for the defendants, charged with "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order". Hu Jia also endorsed Occupy Central, a political movement that calls for democracy in Hong Kong. On the day of the attack, Hu says he was wearing an "Occupy Central" T-shirt, which authorities had warned him was too sensitive for him to wear outside the house. "We are concerned that a prominent activist like Hu Jia is attacked in a public place, but I think it will be difficult to pin point what exactly caused this attack because we do not know who these people are," said Ye Shiwei, senior program officer at the advocacy group Human Rights in China. Hu started his advocacy on behalf of rural AIDS patients over a decade ago. He became one of China's most critical voices against human rights violations and spent three-and-a-half years in jail for inciting subversion. He was released in 2011.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Access to justice, Internet freedom
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Not active
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 15, 2014
- Event Description
A rights activist from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong who attended a mass pro-democracy rally in neighboring Hong Kong on July 1 has been out of contact with family and friends since returning to mainland China. Jia Pin, who was a vocal campaigner for human rights and for an inquiry into the death of Shandong dissident Xue Mingkai's father, crossed the internal immigration border to Hong Kong on June 30 ahead of the rally, in which an estimated half a million people took to the streets to demand public nomination of election candidates in 2017. Jia, who at the time reported being threatened with criminal detention by China's state security police if he continued to Hong Kong, has been incommunicado since returning to Guangdong on foot via the border crossing at Shenzhen on Tuesday, his friends said. Repeated calls to Jia's cell phone went unconnected on Wednesday. "I have been trying to get in touch with him this whole time," Jia's friend and fellow activist Luo Xiangyang told RFA. "I haven't heard anything. A lot of people are looking for him." Luo said Jia had received a phone call from state security police shortly before leaving for Hong Kong, in which they tried to put pressure on him not to take part in the demonstration. "But he still went anyway, which was brave of him. Since he got back, I haven't seen hide nor hair of him," Luo said. "I don't know why." 'Off for a while' Guangdong capital Guangzhou-based rights activist Xiao Yuhui said another friend, Xie Wenfei, had received a brief call from Jia on the day he returned to Guangdong. "He told Xie Yunfei[yesterday] to tell everyone his phone was going to be off for a while, and to tell them not to worry about him," Xiao said. "At the time, he said his phone would be off for a few hours... so if they still haven't managed to get in touch with him until now, then it's not looking good." "The state security police said they would put him under criminal detention if he went to the Hong Kong protest," Xiao added. Xie confirmed that he received the call around 11.00 a.m. local time on Tuesday. "If everyone's asking where he is, and the authorities have got their eye on him, then it's probably not going to be good for[Jia]," Xie said. Jia was a prominent campaigner at January 2013 street protests in Guangzhou over official censorship of an editorial in the cutting-edge Southern Weekend newspaper. He has also carried placards in public calling on China to abide by United Nations human rights treaties and for officials of the ruling Chinese Communist Party to disclose details of their assets. President Xi Jinping has launched a nationwide anti-graft crackdown, targeting high-ranking "tigers" and low-ranking "flies," since coming to power in November 2012. But the party regards any popular involvement in the anti-corruption campaign as highly sensitive and potentially threatening, and has already sentenced a number of activists to jail for calling on officials to reveal their wealth. Health fears Elsewhere in Guangzhou, Yuan Xinting, one of three top rights lawyers detained in May and now formally arrested on charges of "incitement to subvert state power," has written to his family about fears for his health while in detention. Yuan's lawyer Ge Wenxiu said he has concerns about his client's health following a recent meeting in which Yuan said that his blood pressure was high and that he was suffering from bowel problems. "This has been going on since June 23, and this is a health problem he had before[he was detained]," Ge said. "But it has recently got much worse." "I[did] apply for medical parole for him, but this was turned down by the investigating agency," he said. "Further requests for a meeting[with Yuan] were also refused." The May 16 detention of Yuan, Wang Qingying, and Tang Jingling comes as the government pursues a policy of nationwide harassment and physical attacks on Chinese lawyers, especially those involved in politically sensitive or high-profile cases. Signature campaign Last month, Chinese lawyers launched a signature campaign against moves by the government to formalize recent curbs on their profession and punish lawyers acting "outside of professional boundaries." They also called on the head of the ruling Chinese Communist Party-backed All-China Lawyers' Association Wang Junfeng to resign over the controversial new rules, warning of a "large-scale infringement of the civil and political rights of lawyers, and Chinese citizens in general." Law enforcement agencies have also denied lawyers the right to visit clients in detention in a number of high-profile political cases in recent weeks, including the detention of top rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang and his defense attorney. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Hong Kong on the 17th anniversary of the handover to Chinese rule to demand full and universal suffrage, including the public nomination of candidates in the 2017 chief executive race without prior vetting by Beijing. However, the Hong Kong government on Tuesday stopped short of asking for public nomination, saying mainstream public opinion supports the use of a pro-Beijing nomination committee.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of movement, Right to Protest
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 15, 2014
- Event Description
Li Xuewen, an essayist and playwright in Beijing, has been fired from his job as a book editor in what he said was retribution for attending a private event in May marking the 25th anniversary of the military suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests. Mr. Li, 37, a senior editor at the state-owned Lijiang Publishing House, said he was abruptly let go on Tuesday. In a telephone interview Tuesday evening, Mr. Li said his boss had come under pressure from security agents in the two months since a group of intellectuals and rights advocates gathered at an apartment in Beijing to discuss the 1989 crackdown, in which hundreds, possibly thousands, of civilians were killed. A photograph of the seminar's participants was posted on the Internet, drawing the attention of the authorities at a time when the Chinese government was anxious to tamp down any commemoration or public discussion of the politically sensitive anniversary. In the days following the May 3 meeting, the police detained five of the attendees. One of them, Pu Zhiqiang, a prominent rights lawyer, was subsequently charged with "picking quarrels and provoking troubles," as well as with illegally gathering personal information. His niece Qu Zhenhong, a fellow lawyer, also remains in police custody, but the others have since been released. Mr. Li said he underwent several police interrogations, including one that lasted six hours. But he said in the interview that he was somewhat surprised by his dismissal, because a high-ranking police official in Beijing had assured him that he would be left unscathed if he declined interviews with foreign news outlets. He attributed his dismissal to security agents from Guangxi, the region in southern China where Lijiang Publishing House is based. "I held up my end of the bargain by refusing to talk to reporters, and this is what I get," he said. Mr. Li's former boss at the publishing house could not immediately be reached for comment. The authorities, Mr. Li said, had also pressured his landlord to evict him, but he was allowed to remain in his home after he followed police suggestions that he leave Beijing during the approach to the June 4 anniversary and to "adjust" the tenor of social media postings that criticized the government. "They told me I should give constructive advice to the government, not criticism," he said. There were other, somewhat mysterious occurrences that he interpreted as repercussions for joining the seminar. On two occasions recently, he said, someone had squirted a gluelike substance into the lock of his front door, rendering the mechanism inoperable. Although Mr. Li said he cut back on the number of critical postings to Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like microblog, he let his followers know that Wednesday night last week he had joined with friends to stand outside a Beijing police station where the writer Murong Xuecun was being interrogated. "That probably infuriated them," he said of the security agents on his case. Mr. Li said he had no interest in returning to the publishing industry and would devote himself to writing plays. "Until the day press freedom arrives in China, I'll never work in publishing again," he said.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Censorship, Reprisal as Result of Communication, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of association, Internet freedom
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Not active
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 3, 2014
- Event Description
Chinese authorities have formally arrested at least 17 people in connection with public attempts to mark the 25th anniversary of the military crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square, rights groups said, including seven people from the central city of Zhengzhou who held a public memorial event. In Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan province, activist Chen Wei was formally arrested alongside her husband Yu Shiwen and three others who attended: Hou Shuai, Fang Hongwei, and Dong Guangping. Two lawyers hired by those arrested, Chang Boyang and Ji Laisong, were also formally held. All seven are were arrested on Thursday on charges of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," and are being held in the Zhengzhou No. 3 Detention Center, the overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) said. "A lawyer went with us[to the detention center] today...and called up police...who said seven people had been formally arrested," Chang's daughter Chang Ruoxi told RFA on Friday. "I went with my mother and Dong Guangping's wife." "The prosecution told us[on Monday] that the crime had been changed from disrupting public order to picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," Chang said. "The other relatives confirmed[that seven people were formally arrested]." "They have been in detention for 37 days, and the authorities should have informed the family by now. They have acted illegally from start to finish." "I think this is disgraceful," she said. "All of these people are innocent." A further 10 people have been formally arrested in connection with events linked to this year's anniversary, according to CHRD, which collates and publishes reports from a number of independent rights groups inside China. Journalist Shi Yu and another memorial attendee Shao Shengdong have been released on bail, pending further investigation, the group said in an e-mailed statement on Friday. Shi's lawyer Ma Lianshun said the charges against his client were trumped up at random. "The charges against those seven people should be 'pissing off the government,'" Ma said. "They are randomly coming up with charges to pin on them. They do whatever they like." "[The government's] actions are in serious breach of the law," he said. Confirmed Zhu Xiaoding, a second lawyer hired by Shi, later confirmed his and Shao's release on bail. "That's correct. I was told by the prosecutor's office that Shi Yu and Shao Shengdong were released and that the other seven were formally arrested," Zhu said. In addition to those formally arrested, which usually signifies that a case is likely to proceed to trial, more than 50 have been put under criminal detention on public order charges before and since the anniversary. In China, charges must be specified if a person is held under criminal detention, but police are increasingly using it as a way to target dissidents and activist around sensitive political dates. Some cases are taken to trial, while in others, police may require detainees to sign pledges not to engage in further activism before releasing them on bail, under an ongoing threat of re-detention at any time. Authorities have detained dozens of activists, lawyers, academics and journalists before the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square bloodshed, and tightened controls on dissent, free speech and the Internet. Many of those who were placed under house arrest or taken on enforced "vacations" were later released, Face charges while others face trial on public order charges similar to those the Zhengzhou seven are accused of. However, the ruling Chinese Communist Party bans public memorials marking the event, although police have escorted the relatives of those who died from house arrest to cemeteries to pay their respects to loved ones in private. The party has continued to ignore growing calls in China and overseas for a reappraisal of the 1989 student protests, which it once styled a "counterrevolutionary rebellion." The number of people killed when PLA tanks and troops entered Beijing on the night of June 3-4, 1989 remains a mystery. Beijing authorities once put the death toll at "nearly 300," but the central government, which labelled the six weeks of pro-democracy protests a "counterrevolutionary uprising," has not issued an official toll or list of names.
- Impact of Event
- 7
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Right to Protest
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 10, 2014
- Event Description
A Chinese anti-corruption campaigner went on trial in Beijing on Thursday, his lawyer said, joining two others who appeared in court this week as China's government cracks down on activists. Zhao Changqing, 45, faces a possible five year prison sentence for supporting activists who unveiled banners in Beijing calling for government officials to disclose their assets -- despite not being present, his lawyer Zhang Peihong said. Zhao is associated with the New Citizens Movement, a loose-knit network of campaigners against corruption, among other issues. China jailed a founder of the movement in January, and more than 10 other members have been tried. Zhao pleaded not guilty to a charge of "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order" for his alleged involvement in three small-scale protests in Beijing, which saw activists unfurl banners, Zhang said. "(Zhao) didn't disturb public order in any way, he didn't even appear on the scene of the protests, because he was worried about his family," he said, adding that the hearing lasted around three hours. Fellow anti-graft activists Ding Jiaxi and Li Wei were also put on trial this week over the protests. China's ruling Communist Party is in the midst of a highly-publicised anti-corruption campaign, which President Xi Jinping has pledged will target both high-ranking "tigers" and low-level "flies" in the face of public anger over the issue. But the party has cracked down harshly on independent activists who have the same goals, viewing independently organised anti-corruption protests as a challenge to its rule. Zhao was previously jailed for his role as a leader during the 1989 pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square, and has served more than eight years in jail for his continued political campaigning. A court in Beijing sentenced Xu Zhiyong, a legal campaigner and a founder of the New Citizens Movement, to four years in prison in January for his role in the protests. The verdict was condemned by the US and the European Union. Xu's lawyers said the trial was subject to political interference, and appealed, with a court set to announce its decision on Friday. UPDATE- 18/04/14: The four Chinese anti-graft activists were sentenced to prison on charges of "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order." Ding Jiaxi was sentenced to three-and-a-half years, Zhao Changqing got a two-and-a-half year sentence and Li Wei and Zhang Baocheng got two-year terms. Critics claim that contrary to the court's public rationale, the four were sentenced because they had publicly called on Chinese Communist Party leadership to disclose their assets. Their prosecution is part of a broader crackdown on dissenting voices- the worst in years, observers say.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Right to information, Right to Protest
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 17, 2013
- Event Description
Two Chinese anti-corruption activists went on trial under heavy security Tuesday, in Beijing's latest strike against a burgeoning rights movement. Ding Jiaxi and Li Wei appeared at a court in Beijing's Haidian district, their lawyers said. Scores of uniformed and plain-clothes police were deployed in various locations around the building, with at least 20 police vehicles. Both men are members of the New Citizens Movement, a loose-knit network of activists whose dinner discussions and small-scale protests calling for official disclosure of assets have drawn the anger of the authorities in Beijing. China's ruling Communist Party is in the midst of a highly-publicised anti-corruption campaign, which President Xi Jinping has pledged will target both high-ranking "tigers" and low-level "flies" in the face of public anger over the issue. But the party has cracked down harshly on independent activists who have the same goals, viewing organised anti-corruption protests as a challenge to its rule. Li's lawyer Jiang Yuanmin said that while Beijing has touted its anti-graft efforts, the activists were being targeted by authorities who wish to keep their wealth hidden from public view. "His behaviour does not constitute a crime," he said of his client. "People like Ding Jiaxi and Li Wei, they just want government officials to report their assets. "This goes against the interests of a vast majority of officials," he added. "So the government is afraid." The trial is likely to take at least two days, Jiang said, as the court was not allowing the defence to call any witnesses and Ding's lawyer refused to answer any of the court's questions in protest. Ding, 46, is a well-known human rights lawyer. Li, 42, was unemployed at the time of his arrest last May. A third member of the movement, Zhao Changqing, is expected to go on trial Thursday. Zhao was a student leader during the 1989 pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square and previously served eight years in jail. - 'They are terrified' - The trials come three months after a Beijing court pronounced Xu Zhiyong, a founding member of the New Citizens Movement, guilty of "gathering crowds to disrupt public order". The 40-year-old Xu, a prominent legal activist, was sentenced to four years in jail. Ding, Li and Zhao face similar charges and appeared in court in January. But the three men dismissed their lawyers in protest at the accusations against them, a move which triggered a delay to their trials. As at previous trials of New Citizens Movement members, the heavy police presence deterred any organised demonstrations in support of the defendants. Officers were checking IDs of passers-by outside the courthouse in northwest Beijing, and journalists were barred from approaching the building or lingering outside. As the proceedings got underway, one protester yelled "Ding Jiaxi is innocent!" before quickly being bundled off by police, according to a European diplomat who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the trial. In an open letter published Sunday by the human rights website China Change, Ding revealed that he had been threatened and abused by his interrogators in a process reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution, China's decade of political and cultural upheaval beginning in the mid-1960s. "They are terrified of what we did," Ding wrote. "They want to try us in order to warn the others. They want to tell the Chinese people, people living in China, that it is a crime to demand that officials disclose their assets." "In essence, this is anti anti-corruption," he wrote. UPDATE 10/04/14: Sui Muqing and Jiang Yuanmin, Ding and Li's lawyers, walked out of the trial and denounced it as not in conformity with Chinese law after the court refused to provide original (as opposed to photocopied) evidence of the trial. However, it appears that unlike in January, when Ding and Li replaced their lawyers to delay the trial, Sui and Jiang will continue to represent the accused.
- Impact of Event
- 2
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Right to Protest
- Source
Bangkok Post(Beijing) | Radio Free Asia | [China Post](http://China Post | BBC News | VOA News | Radio Free Asia | Yahoo News
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 3, 2014
- Event Description
Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong this week briefly detained a prominent women's rights activist linked to a campaign to help the daughter of a leading dissident who is held under house arrest, her husband and rights lawyers said. Su Changlan was detained on Tuesday at her home in Foshan city, but no reason was given for her detention, her husband, who gave only his surname Chen, told RFA's Mandarin Service. Su was released later that day, after questioning likely linked to her involvement in a campaign for Zhang Anni, daughter of Anhui-based dissident Zhang Lin, to be allowed to attend school, lawyer Sui Muqing said. "Su Changlan has just been taken away by the Foshan police," Chen told RFA's Mandarin Service on Tuesday. "There were two of them, and they didn't give a reason." "She was taken away by a state security officer from Nanhai[district] and a Foshan police officer," he said. Su had been a volunteer for the New York-based rights group Women's Rights in China, and had campaigned vigorously for the political, economic and social rights of women and girls. Sui, a Guangzhou-based lawyer, said Su had taken part in a number of politically sensitive campaigns since last year, including campaigning in the Anhui capital Hefei for Anni, who was barred from attending school last year. Anni has since moved to the United States to continue her education, and her father, a veteran pro-democracy activist who previously served 13 years in prison on subversion charges for his political activities, stood trial in December on public order offenses. "Su Changlan ... went to[Anhui provincial capital] Hefei last year, and when the police detained[fellow activist] Tian Li, they kept asking about the incident in Hefei, and what part they had played in it," Sui said. Chen said he guessed that the detention could have something to do with a visit Su made to Anhui last year. "It seems like she got into an altercation with someone higher up," he said. Beijing-based rights lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan said he is acting for Su's fellow activist Tian Li, and that he had received a number of phone calls from Su's family on the day of her detention. "I think it's about the Anni incident, because Su Changlan and Tian Li went to Anhui together," Liu said. "But it's ridiculous if they are still detaining people over Zhang Anni." He said Anni's father Zhang Lin was still awaiting sentencing following a mid-December trial in Anhui's Bengbu city. "They can't sentence him, and it seems they have postponed it, because there are other cases linked to Zhang Lin's still with the prosecutor, but they can't back out now," Liu said. Dubbed "China's youngest political prisoner," Zhang Anni was held under house arrest and removed from two schools, sparking protests that she was being punished for her father's activism. Now at school in the United States along with her sister Ruli, Anni has written to U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping, the U.S. Congress and the European, British, and Canadian parliaments, saying that the charges against Zhang Lin are "groundless."
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of association, Right to education, Women's rights
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Not active
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Mar 24, 2014
- Event Description
A Chinese court has handed an 18-month jail term to a man who applied to hold a protest on the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square killings, his lawyer said. On Monday, Gu Yimin was found guilty of "inciting state subversion" for posting pictures of the 1989 crackdown online and applying for permission to stage a protest on its anniversary last year, his lawyer Liu Weiguo . "This judgement violates the constitution," the AFP news agency quoted Liu as saying. He added that Gu would appeal the verdict, handed down by a court in Changshu in the eastern province of Jiangsu. "We maintain that Gu Yimin was exercising his right to freedom of speech." Liu said that men he believed to be state security officers had assaulted him and another lawyer outside the courthouse. Hundreds of protesters were killed in 1989 when the Chinese army cracked down on their pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the symbolic heart of the Chinese state. Gu applied to local authorities to hold a small-scale protest on June 4 last year, the 24th anniversary of the event, his wife Xu Yan previously told AFP news agency. He stood trial in September and denied the charges, his lawyer said at the time, adding that Gu, 36, had called off his protest when authorities warned him not to go ahead. "There is nothing illegal about posting a photograph of a genuine incident," Liu said. "If his activities caused damage to the[Communist] party, that's not the same as damaging the state." The Communist party remains intolerant of dissent and tightly censors public discussion of the crackdown. The vaguely defined charges of incitement to state subversion have previously been used by the ruling party to imprison political opponents. Nobel prize winner Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years in jail on subversion charges in 2009 after circulating a petition calling for political reforms including democratic elections.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Right to information, Right to Protest
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 21, 2014
- Event Description
China's newly-minted National Security Council has ordered a probe into foreign-based non-governmental organisations operating in the country, reports said Friday, in the latest sign of tightening control by the ruling Communist Party. The "thorough investigation" - which was launched by the security council and is apparently being administered by local governments - began in May and will continue until the end of July, according to a report on a local party-run news portal in Yuncheng in the northern province of Shanxi. The news comes as foreign companies and other organisations come under heightened scrutiny by Chinese authorities. Earlier this week, a senior anti-corruption official warned that experts at the state-affiliated Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) were spreading false ideas online and allowing foreign "infiltration" in their work. Chinese authorities have also moved to limit access to US-based search engine Google in recent weeks, while in the past year a host of foreign pharmaceutical firms including US-based Eli Lilly, Denmark's Novo Nordisk and British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline have found their business practices placed under scrutiny, according to state media. According to a notice released by the Yuncheng local government and posted online this week by the government-linked Yuncheng Sunlight Rural Public Integrity Network website, the probe into foreign NGOs and their relationships with Chinese partner organisations aims to "lay a foundation for further strengthening the administration of standards". Links to the original posting appeared to have been taken down by Friday. But several other Chinese news sites posted screenshots of the notice, which stated that foreign foundations, societies, chambers of commerce, institutes and non-profit institutions would be included in the "in-depth" investigation. The notice also advises local government officials not to speak publicly about the investigation so as to "avoid triggering domestic and foreign concern and speculation". Neither the Yuncheng local government or the National Security Council immediately responded to requests for comment on Friday.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of association
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 20, 2014
- Event Description
A Uyghur language rights activist, whose whereabouts had been unknown since his detention nearly a year ago, has been thrown in a prison notorious for abuses against political activists and formally charged with soliciting "illegal" donations to run his kindergarten, according to sources. Abduweli Ayup was taken into custody on Aug. 20, 2013, after authorities closed the Uyghur-language kindergarten run by him and his two business partners in Kashgar city in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and refused him permission to open a separate school in the regional capital Urumqi. Ayup was initially detained in Kashgar, while his associates were taken into custody in Urumqi, sources said. Denied information for months on Ayup's whereabouts, relatives have now learned that he is being held in the Liudawan prison in Urumqi, a source close to his family told RFA's Uyghur Service this week. "The family has received word that Abduweli is detained at the Liuduwan prison," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "A relative heard this news from Adil Nur, Abduweli Ayup's lawyer, but he was not allowed to visit him in prison." Though relatives had feared for months that Ayup had fallen ill in detention, "his lawyer said that his health is normal now," he said. Concern for language rights An active promoter of the Uyghur language despite Beijing's policy enforcing use of Mandarin Chinese in Xinjiang schools, Ayup and his associates established a Uyghur-language kindergarten in Kashgar during the summer of 2012. Authorities said they closed down the school in March 2013 because it was operating "without complete documentation." Ayup's associates Dilyar Obul and Muhemmet Sidik were also taken into custody by Chinese police on Aug. 20, 2013. After months of delay, the prosecutor's office of the Tianshan Region of Urumqi on May 17 sent a "formal letter" describing the charges filed against Ayup to the Urumqi Municipal Court, RFA's source said. "The letter announced that Abduweli and his business partners would be brought to trial within 20 days," though no word has been received of any further proceeding taken against the men, he said. "I have seen a copy of the letter from the prosecutor's office," he said. "It still maintains that Abduweli and his business partners are accused of having collected "illegal donations'[to support their work]." 'No regrets' Ayup obtained his bachelor's degree at the Central University for Nationalities in Beijing in the late 1990s and a master's degree at Xinjiang University in the early 2000s before working as a lecturer at the Northwest University for Nationalities in the Gansu provincial capital Lanzhou. From December 2005 to June 2006, he was a visiting scholar at Ankara University in Turkey and was later awarded a scholarship from the Ford Foundation for a two-year advanced study program in linguistics, which he attended at the University of Kansas from 2009-2011. Anwar Memet, a childhood friend and middle school classmate who now lives in the U.S., told RFA in an earlier report that Ayup's supervisor at the University of Kansas had offered him a three-year scholarship if he agreed to pursue his doctorate in linguistics following the completion of his graduate degree. "[B]ut he chose to return to his homeland to realize his dream ... of opening the Uyghur-language kindergarten and school." He said that he and other friends had tried to persuade Ayub-whose wife and daughter were also with him in the U.S. at the time-to stay to pursue his studies, but he could not be swayed. "We warned him, "As a high-level Uyghur intellectual, your plan to open a Uyghur-language kindergarten may be interrupted by the Chinese authorities. If you attempt to realize your plan under the pressure of the Chinese police, you may face arrest,'" he said. Ayup's family members told RFA that "[he] never regretted his decision to return to his homeland."
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Minority Rights
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Not active
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 21, 2014
- Event Description
A Chinese rights lawyer has been arrested on charges of state subversion, his wife said on social media on Saturday, furthering a crackdown on activists since last year. "Tang Jingling has been arrested on charges of 'inciting subversion of state power'," his wife Wang Yanfang wrote on her Sina Weibo microblog account, where she also posted a photo of the notice. Tang, who is being held in the southern city of Guangzhou and who has represented uncompensated victims of land grabs and imprisoned rights defenders, was detained in May on a charge of "causing a disturbance." Numerous activists were taken in around that time, some temporarily, ahead of the sensitive anniversary of the June 4, 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Tang's arrest also comes amid a series of arrests and trials of rights activists and lawyers since new Communist Party leaders under President Xi Jinping took over in late 2012. Many have faced charges such as disturbing public order or "picking fights and provoking trouble" rather than the more serious charge of state subversion. "To go from an ordinary crime to now a political crime means it could be more serious," Liu Xiaoyuan, another rights lawyer and acquaintance of Tang, told AFP. This year several activists from the moderate New Citizens Movement, a loose network in various cities who held small protests against government corruption and other causes, have received jail sentences of up to six and a half years, with most people convicted of disrupting public order. The prominent Beijing-based rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, who was also detained ahead of the Tiananmen anniversary, was arrested this month for "creating disturbances and illegally obtaining personal information." Chinese activist and 2010 Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo was in 2009 sentenced to 11 years' jail for state subversion. He had spearheaded the Charter 08, a document signed by hundreds of dissidents, intellectuals and others urging democratic reforms in China. UPDATE: 23 April 2015 Subversion, Public Order Cases of Tiananmen Anniversary Activists Move Closer to Trial Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong look set to move ahead with the subversion trial of the "Guangzhou Three" rights lawyers next month, their lawyer said on Thursday.Tang Jingling, Wang Qingying, and Yuan Xinting were criminally detained on May 16, 2014 initially for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," but the charges were later changed to the more serious "incitement to subvert state power." "I think the indictment will come very soon now, within the next three weeks," Yuan's lawyer Ge Wenxiu told RFA after meeting with his client in Guangzhou's No. 1 Detention Center on Tuesday."They will[all three] be indicted at the same time ... as they will all be part of the same case," Ge said. "We are still waiting for confirmation, and we won't know the details until the indictment is released."The three were detained amid a nationwide crackdown on activists and family members of victims of the 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square student-led pro-democracy movement in the run-up to the 25th anniversary on June 4.Ge said Yuan had seemed in relatively good spirits during the visit. "He said he wasn't doing too badly in there, and I gave him letters from his son and daughter," he said. "He said the conditions in there aren't too bad, and that they allow him to read books.""His health is not too bad either."Appeal for world's attention. He said Yuan had called on the international community to pay more attention to the struggle going on inside China for freedom and democracy. "Chinese people make up a fifth of the world's population, and their liberation movement is closely bound up with the freedom of humanity as a whole," Ge quoted Yuan as saying.Tang's wife Wang Yanfang told RFA that the news came after the state prosecution service had twice referred the case back to police for further investigation, although no new evidence had been produced against her husband."Everybody knows that this is a political case, and that what they did in no way amounts to a crime under Chinese law," Wang said.The police charge sheet for Tang mentioned his involvement in "civil disobedience movements," a commemoration of the death of Mao-era dissident Lin Zhao, and a June 4 meditation event.Also mentioned was his part in a campaign to end China's "hukou" household registration system linking access to education and other public services to a person's town of birth. 'Picking quarrels' Meanwhile, authorities in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou have already issued an indictment of detained activist Yu Shiwen for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," his lawyer said.Yu was detained as part of the same crackdown on activists marking the 25th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square bloodshed, and is the last of the "Zhengzhou 10" activists to remain behind bars.Yu had given interviews to overseas media, and had issued signed invitations to public memorial events and posted them online, according to the indictment.As a result, the memorial event was covered by 28 media organizations, it said, and photos of the event were viewed online by large numbers of people, it said.But his lawyer Zhang Xuezhong said his actions didn't amount to a crime under Chinese law."Giving interviews to overseas media and post things online, no matter how many people click on them, doesn't amount to a crime," Zhang said in an interview on Thursday."These criminal charges are in fact a form of political persecution, because it's really about the fact that the authorities don't want people to bring up[Tiananmen] in public," he said. "It's not disrupting public order, whether hundreds or even thousands of people click on these documents online."Zhang said it is a natural and normal part of Chinese traditional culture to remember and to venerate the dead.The ruling Chinese Communist Party bans public memorials marking the event, although police have escorted the relatives of those who died from house arrest to cemeteries to pay their respects to loved ones in private. Calls for reappraisal The party has continued to ignore growing calls in China and from overseas for a reappraisal of the 1989 student protests, which it once styled a "counterrevolutionary rebellion."The number of people killed when People's Liberation Army tanks and troops entered Beijing on the night of June 3-4, 1989, remains a mystery.Beijing authorities once put the death toll at "nearly 300," but the central government, which labeled the six weeks of pro-democracy protests a "counterrevolutionary uprising," has not issued an official toll or list of names.China has launched a clampdown in recent years on its embattled legal profession, with many civil rights law firms struggling to renew their licenses.New rules introduced in the past two years ban lawyers from defending certain clients, and leave them vulnerable to being charged themselves with subversion if they defend sensitive cases. Out of more than 204,000 lawyers in China, only a few hundred risk taking on cases that deal with human rights, according to Amnesty International. UPDATE: 19/ 06/ 2015 Chinese Court Pulls Plug on Activists' Subversion Trial Amid Procedural Dispute With Defense Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong called off the trial of three prominent rights activists after they dismissed their defense team amid a procedural dispute with court officials, lawyers said on Friday. Rights lawyer Tang Jingling, former teacher Wang Qingying, and writer-activist Yuan Xinting, known as the Guangzhou Three, were scheduled to stand trial on Friday at the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court for "incitement to subvert state power" after being held in a police detention center for more than a year. Defense lawyers said they had insisted the defense be allowed to call witnesses, but their request was refused by the bench. "The court has repeatedly broken the law and infringed on the rights of the defendants," defense attorney Ge Wenxiu told RFA after the trial was adjourned mid-session on Friday. "The court refused to accept the correct opinions of the defense lawyers, who had no way to protect their clients' interests after that." "So all three defendants terminated their instruction to their lawyers," said Ge, adding that the court was then forced to pull the plug on the proceedings. Tang, Wang, and Yuan were criminally detained on May 16, 2014, initially for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," but the charges were later changed to the more serious "incitement to subvert state power." Tang has maintained his innocence of the charges against him, which came amid a nationwide roundup of dissidents ahead of last year's politically sensitive 25th anniversary of the military crackdown on the 1989 student-led pro-democracy movement. His wife, Wang Yanfang, told RFA that security was very tight around the court buildings when she arrived to attend the trial. "We were getting ready to go in, and there were plainclothes police taking video of us, and they cursed me out when I asked them about it," Wang said. "Then they shoved me into their police car, forcibly, and then they pushed Wang Jingying's wife into the car as well." She said some 20 other supporters from outside the court building were also detained. "I didn't know any of them," Wang added. An unreasonably long time The overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network said all three defendants had been held for an unreasonably long time before the case came to court. "The three spent over one year in pretrial detention before a judge heard the case," the group said on Friday in a statement on its website. It said Tang and Wang had both made allegations of torture in detention, which were never investigated. The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) called ahead of the trial for the Guangzhou Three to be released. "Reading and debating books is no crime, nor is it a basis for mistreatment, torture, or denying basic rights to a fair trial," HRW China director Sophie Richardson said in a statement on the group's website. "If anyone has made a �serious political mistake,_ it___s the authorities who seek to crush peaceful debate about China___s future," Richardson said. The Chinese government should immediately release the three lawyers and drop all charges against them, HRW said. "Incitement to subvert state power" can carry sentences of up to 15 years in prison, where the defendant is judged to be a "ringleader." According to rights lawyers, and HRW, the use of subversion charges to jail peaceful activists and dissidents contravenes Article 35 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, which guarantees freedom of expression to all citizens. Both Yuan and Wang have complained to RFA via their lawyers of repeated beatings and mistreatment inside the police-run Guangzhou No.1 Detention Center. According to the indictment against them, the three men allegedly incited others in public to participate in a nonviolent civil disobedience movement. The three had also distributed and discussed with others writings on the peaceful overthrow of dictatorships, including From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp, it said. Sharp's book contains "serious political mistakes," according to the indictment. Last November, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said the three lawyers' ongoing detentions were arbitrary and that they should be released immediately, HRW said.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Reprisal as Result of Communication
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of association
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Mar 21, 2014
- Event Description
Authorities in the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang have detained four prominent rights lawyers representing detainees in an unofficial detention center, or "black jail," fellow lawyers said on Friday. Jiang Tianyong, Tang Jitian, Wang Cheng, and Zhang Junjie were detained by authorities on Friday morning at their hotel in Heilongjiang's Jiamusi city, Guangzhou-based rights lawyer Li Xiaoling told RFA's Mandarin Service. The lawyers had been hired by relatives of those held in the "black jail" to campaign for their release, according to Beijing-based rights lawyer Chen Jiangang. "These four lawyers were representing human rights cases on the front line," Chen said. "They detained them and confiscated their cell phones." "I have tried to call them several times, but no one is picking up, and I can't get through; there's a switched-off message," he said. Fellow rights lawyer Zhao Yonglin confirmed the report. "The situation now is that the four lawyers have been locked up in a detention center, on the grounds that Wang Cheng's lawyer's license is fake," Zhao said. Threatening call Zhao said he had received a call from a number listed as belonging to the Jiamusi police chief, threatening that if the black jail case wasn't dropped, the lawyers "would find it hard to practice their profession." But the caller, who had a northeastern accent, declined to give his name or job title, he said. Zhao said the lawyers had taken issue with an extrajudicial detention center officially known as a "legal study center," where the authorities send anyone who pursues complaints against them, particularly with higher levels of government. "There's a place[in Qinglongshan] called the legal study center, where they hold citizens prisoner who haven't committed any crime," Zhao said. "The four lawyers were detained while on an inspection visit to the Qinglongshan black jail ... the sign on the gate reads Jiansanjiang Rule of Law Education Center," said Zhao, who had planned to join the other four lawyers, but canceled owing to other commitments. "In fact, it's a black jail." He said many of the detainees are being held there for religious reasons. "They have a lot of groups with religious beliefs locked up in there under the guise of legal education," Zhao said, adding, "They hold them for several months at a time, even up to a year." Hired by relatives He said the four lawyers had been hired by relatives of detainees to get them out. "They were there to demand their release, because they were locked up without any legal process at all," Zhao said. Rights lawyer Chen Jiangang said China's embattled legal profession has been under increasing pressure in recent years. "There are no human rights in China, and we lawyers have to try to do our jobs in manacles," Chen said. "It's a humiliating business, being a lawyer in China." "There's no guarantee of one's personal rights or safety, and yet we still try to help others defend their rights," he said. "We are pretty helpless." China's parliament voted on Dec. 28, 2013, to end its controversial "re-education through labor," or laojiao, system of administrative punishments following a prolonged campaign by lawyers, former inmates, and rights activists to abolish it. But rights lawyers say many other forms of extrajudicial detention remain, and that some former laojiao camps have changed their name but not their function. Torture, abuse Rights activists in China have long campaigned for the abolition of "black jails," which are often used to detain those who complain to higher levels of government about local officials or to hold anyone regarded as a troublemaker or threat to "social stability." Those held without due legal process are at increased risk of torture and general abuse, rights groups say. Staff in such detention facilities often insult and humiliate detainees, and have even robbed, raped, seriously injured, and killed them, according to a report last year by the Chinese rights website Weiquanwang. In May, Sichuan authorities detained and beat high-profile rights lawyers who tried to visit an unofficial detention center, or "black jail," according to fellow lawyers who spoke with them during the attack. And according to London-based rights group Amnesty International, thousands of Chinese people are subjected to arbitrary detention in labor camps and unofficial "black jails" each year. Earlier this month, Beijing announced a rise in the domestic security, or "stability maintenance," budget to 205 billion yuan (U.S. $33 billion). UPDATE 27/03/2014: Zhang has been released, but Tang, Jiang, and Wang are serving 15-day administrative sentences at the Qixing Detention Center in the city of Jiansanjiang. Tang has been charged with "using a cult to disrupt social order," but charges on the others remain unknown. Unconfirmed report allege that they have been subjected to torture. Five activists campaigning for their release were detained and released on 26 March. UPDATE 02/04/14: The reasons for the lawyers' detention have become clearer as authorities have claimed that they were visiting detained members of Falun Gong. Global Times newspaper, a CCP party mouthpiece, accused the lawyers of "instigating confrontation" and "inciting illegal activity" through their visit. Zhang -the only of the four who has been freed- has claimed that he was subjected to severe beatings which resulted in three cracked ribs. UPDATE 06/04/14: The three remaining lawyers-Tang Jitian, Wang Cheng, and Jiang Tianyong- were released. All four of the lawyers were subjected to torture while in detention: they suffer from lost teeth, broken ribs and soft tissue injuries.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Reprisal as Result of Communication, Torture, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Access to justice, Freedom of association
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Not active
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Mar 14, 2014
- Event Description
Authorities in Beijing have placed a number of rights activists under house arrest after they protested over the death last week of prominent dissident Cao Shunli, who was refused medical treatment for months while in detention, her supporters and lawyers said. "The authorities have tightened up their everyday security measures...in a bid to 'stabilize' the situation around Cao Shunli's death," rights activist Hu Jia said on Tuesday, adding that he is currently being prevented from leaving his Beijing apartment by state security police. "There are two reasons for this; one is Cao[Shunli] and the other is the visit of the U.S. first lady[Michelle Obama tomorrow]," Hu said in an interview on Tuesday. Cao, 52, died on Friday after she was denied medical treatment for months while in detention, according to her brother and fellow activists who blasted the government for using denial of medical care as leverage to silence critics. Cao had been in police custody since September last year and was admitted to intensive care at two Beijing hospitals suffering from various medical conditions, but only after she became seriously ill with tuberculosis in both her lungs, cirrhosis of the liver, and uterine fibroids. Chinese officials have denied refusing her medical treatment, but fellow activists and supporters have unleashed a storm of online criticism and public protest in recent days. "We want the authorities to make public information[surrounding Cao's death]," Hubei-based rights activist Chen Yunfei told RFA's Mandarin Service on Monday. Netizens banded together in a "human flesh search engine" to track down officials in charge of Cao's case, he said. "We are going to tell their relatives what terrible things they did," Chen said. "We call on all people of good conscience to demand justice." 'Prayers and hunger strike' Meanwhile, Beijing-based Protestant pastor Hu Shigen said he was also currently under house arrest after staging a 'prayers and hunger strike' event while Cao was still alive in hospital. "More than 50 people took part, and there were still a lot of people who planned to continue with it," Hu Shigen said. "Then Sister Cao died, so we will pray for her to rest in peace, and for comfort to her loved ones." Also in Beijing, artist Kuang Laowu said he had been warned by the authorities after he signed an online petition titled "Opposing the persecution of Cao Shunli," he said on Tuesday. Cao was set to travel to Switzerland to take part in a U.N. Human Rights Council review last September but police detained her at Beijing's international airport. She had earlier joined a rare protest outside China's foreign ministry in June last year to demand greater participation in the U.N.'s review of human rights in China. Cao went into detention in ill health, and told her lawyer in October that she was not receiving medical treatment, overseas rights groups say. Other prominent Chinese activists, including Liu Xia, wife of jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, have been denied medical treatment. Liu Xia, who is under extrajudicial house arrest, was denied treatment for a serious heart condition. She was finally allowed to receive hospital treatment in late February. Cao's death came just five days before the United Nations Human Rights Council's second review of China under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, to which Cao submitted a civil society report detailing the plight of petitioners in China. China won a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council in November along with Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba, despite criticism of their rights records. UPDATE 28/03/2014: it has been revealed that since Cao's death, her family and their lawyer have been subject to intimidation to prevent them from learning more about the circumstances surrounding her death. Cao was denied medical treatment until she was in critical condition and was transferred from prison to a hospital only shortly before she died. Her family and their lawyer have been denied access to her body and have received text messages and physical visits from police insinuating that they may suffer the fate of to Lu Xiaofang, a friend of Cao's who was disappeared shortly after her death, if they continue to probe the authorities. UPDATE 02/04/2014: Hu Jia remains under house arrest. His house arrest was originally due to Cao Shunli's death, but reasons since have shifted from this to occurrence of the National People's Congress, Michelle Obama's visit, and currently, Lui Xia's (wife of nobel peace prize winner Liu Xiaobo) birthday.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Freedom of movement, Internet freedom
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Not active
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Mar 13, 2014
- Event Description
Police have detained the founder of a human rights website and at least four writers after the site reported on a self-immolation in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and a defacement of Mao's portrait there. Amnesty International reported that Huang Qi, the founder of the human rights website 64 Tianwang, was detained in Chengdu after a raid by 11 police officers Thursday afternoon. Police confiscated computers, mobile phones, and USB sticks, Amnesty said. "There now appears to be a concerted campaign of intimidation by the Chinese authorities against those associated with the 64 Tianwang website. Once again the authorities have shown their intent to stifle debate on human rights within China," said William Nee, China researcher at Amnesty International. "These are spurious charges against Huang Qi and others detained solely for their work for 64 Tianwang. They must be immediately released," Nee said. Last weekend three volunteer journalists who had reported on the sensitive issues of the self-immolation and the Mao defacement for 64 Tianwang website were taken away and detained by the police. Two of the journalists quoted witnesses to the Tiananmen Square self-immolation in interviews with foreign media, and photos of the smoke from the incident were published by the 64 Tianwang website. The citizen journalists, Liu Xuehong, Xing Jian, and Wang Jing, were detained during a series of raids on charges of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," Amnesty said. The website, 64 Tianwang, which was founded in order to report on missing persons, has expanded to report human rights news for Chinese readers, covering protests, petitioners, and other rights issues. The website is still operational, but has not been updated since March 11. In another incident in the ongoing crackdown against activists and dissidents, activist Hu Jia reported on Twitter that former Masanjia labor camp detainee, Liu Hua, was taken from a friend's home in Beijing by over 10 plainclothes agents from Liaoning Province, and transported to the Honglin police station in Shenyang City, Liaoning. When the Epoch Times called the police station in Honglin just after midnight Thursday, a man named Liao, who answered the station phone, said he "didn't know" whether Liu Hua was there. "Liu Hua?! I don't know!" he barked. Hu Jia later said that she had been criminally detained on charges of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," and had been moved to a police lockup in Sujiatun. Liu was interviewed in the documentary "Above the Ghosts' Heads: The Women of Masanjia Labor Camp," which revealed the extent and detail of torture and physical abuse in the labor camp. More than three times the number of activist detentions were documented by Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) in 2013 than in 2012, CHRD said in a recent report, which detailed the deteriorating human rights situation in China.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Censorship, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jun 5, 2014
- Event Description
China has begun releasing activists it rounded up before Wednesday's 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Human rights lawyer Shang Baojun said in an interview with VOA's Mandarin service that at least three dissidents have been set free by police in Beijing. Xu Youyu, Hu Shigen and Liu Di had been detained last month after attending a private seminar about the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Family members for all three have confirmed their release and said they have returned home safely. Dozens of dissidents were detained or put under virtual house arrest in the weeks leading up to the Tiananmen anniversary. Most appear to still be in custody or confined to their homes. China annually detains dissidents ahead of the June 4 anniversary to prevent them from speaking out on the subject. Most are usually released in the weeks after the anniversary passes. Meanwhile, China has responded angrily to U.S. calls for Beijing "to account for those killed, detained or missing in connection with the events surrounding June 4, 1989." China's Foreign Ministry Thursday said it is "strongly dissatisfied" with the statement, which showed what it called a "total disregard of facts." In an article in the official Xinhua news agency, spokesman Hong Lei said China has "lodged solemn representations" over the comments. Wednesday's anniversary of the Beijing massacre passed quietly in China, where public discussion of the incident is not allowed. In Hong Kong, tens of thousands of people held candles, sang songs and listened to speeches Wednesday at a vigil to mark the anniversary. An activist taking part in the vigil, Renz Tse, says it is crucial Beijing know Hong Kong supports democratic freedoms and opposes violence. "We understand the importance of fighting for the democracy of the China. As Hong Kong is a part of China and nowadays the political reforms are now opposed by the Communist Party - they are trying to elect a chief executive[of Hong Kong] that only responds to the mainland China government," said Tse. Hundreds, or even thousands, of people died on June 3-4, 1989, when troops broke up the student-led pro-democracy protests. China's government has never given a death toll or an official statement of what happened, It defends its actions as necessary to preserve stability.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Censorship, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Freedom of movement
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Not active
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 25, 2013
- Event Description
This appeal concerns the arrest and detention, and in some instances disappearances, of 20 individuals in connection with their participation in peaceful assemblies or human rights campaigns in different parts of the country, protesting, inter alia, against alleged corruption among Government officials or calling on the State to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Many of them are believed to belong to, or be inspired by, the New Citizen Movement, a network of peaceful activists who reportedly call for transparency about the financial assets of top Chinese leaders, and promote political and legal reforms. According to the information received: The following individuals have reportedly disappeared: - Mr. Yang Tingjian was arrested in late May 2013 in Guangdong province, and has disappeared since. It is alleged that Mr. Yang had organised an event in which participants would share information about democracy and freedom via mobile phone on 4 June, which is the anniversary of the June 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. Mr. Yang's whereabouts are currently unknown. - Mr. Zhang Fuying of Lianoning was arrested on 13 June 2013 in Beijing municipality, and has disappeared since. Sources indicate that Mr. Zhang had sought public disclosure of the financial assets of top Chinese leaders. There are further indications that Mr. Zhang may have been transferred to Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, where officials have reportedly said he would "disappear forever". The following individuals have reportedly been criminally charged: Mr. Xu Zhiyong, legal advocate and founder of the NGO Open Constitution Initiative, has spearheaded the New Citizen's Movement. He was allegedly taken into custody on 16 July 2013 and was formally arrested on 22 August 2013. - Mr. Liu Yuandong, was taken into custody on 23 February 2013 outside the headquarters of the Southern Weekly where there had been a demonstration in support of press freedom. Mr. Liu had also been supporting activists in Guangzhou province, as well as engaging in human rights advocacy work. He was formally arrested on charges of "withdrawing contributed capital after incorporation of a company". He is detained at the Tianhe District Detention Center. There have been allegations that Mr. Liu has been subjected to illtreatment, including sleep deprivation, whilst in detention. - Ms. Ying Jixian of Zhejiang was apprehended on 18 May 2013 and charged with "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order". She was detained at the Xicheng District Detention Center, and released on bail on 26 July 2013, pending trial. - Mr. Deng Zhibo of Jilin was apprehended on 18 May 2013 and charged with "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order". He was detained at the Xicheng District Detention Center, and released on bail on 25 July 2013, pending trial. - Ms. Zhang Jixin was apprehended on 18 May 2013 and charged with "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order". She was detained at the Xicheng District Detention Center, and released on bail on 26 July 2013, pending trial. - Mr. Zhao Guanjun of Liaoning was apprehended on 18 May 2013 and charged with "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order" and "creating a disturbance". He was detained at the Fengtai District Detention Center, and released on bail on 26 July 2013, pending trial. - Ms. Zhu Pingping of Shanghai was apprehended on 18 May 2013 and charged with "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order" and "creating a disturbance". She was detained at the Fengtai District Detention Center, and released on bail on 26 July 2013, pending trial. - Mr. Xu Nailai of Tianjin and Mr. He Bin of Hubei were apprehended on 27 May2013 after they and other petitioners expressed their sympathy for hurricane victims in the US by gathering outside the US embassy with banners. They have been criminally detained since late June on charges of "creating disturbance". Both are in detention at The Chaoyang District Detention Center. - Mr. Gu Yimin was apprehended at his work place on 1 June 2013, and sources indicate that police simultaneously searched his home and confiscated his computer. He was formally arrested on 14 June 2013 on charges of "inciting subversion of State power" and is being detained at the Changshu City Detention Centre. He had allegedly posted photos of the 1989 Tiananmen Square prodemocracy protests online and had also refused to withdraw a petition to hold a gathering to mark the anniversary of the event. Sources indicate that Mr. Gu faced trial on 29 September 2013 at Changshu People's Intermediate Court. Although his family was allowed to attend the trial, it has been indicated to us that fellow pro-democracy campaigners were forbidden from doing so. - Mr. Zhao Zhenjia of Liaoning was apprehended on 9 June 2013 at the Beijing South railway station, and is currently being held at the Haidian District Detention Center on unknown charges. He had been working on the campaign for disclosure of public assets. It is alleged that he was held incommunicado for some weeks after his arrest. - Mr. Shen Guodong was apprehended on 5 July 2013, and was formally arrested on 6 August 2013 on charges of "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order". He is being detained at the Wuxi City No.1 Detention Center. - Mr. Yin Xijin was apprehended on 5 July 2013 and formally arrested on 6 August 2013 on charges of "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order". He is being detained at the Wuxi City No.1 Detention Center. - Mr. Song Ze was apprehended on 12 July 2013 and temporarily fell out of contact before being formally arrested on 16 August 2013 on charges of "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order". He is being detained at the Beijing No. 3 Detention Center. Mr. Song is reportedly involved in the New Citizen's Movement. - Mr. Guo Feixiong and Mr. Sun Desheng were detained on 8 and 13 August 2013, respectively, on suspicion of "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order" and have been detained since then at the Tianhe District Detention Center. On 27 August 2013, it is reported that officials refused Mr. Sun's lawyer's request to meet him, citing the need for permission from higher authorities. Mr. Sun and Mr. Guo have both participated in the New Citizen's movement and Mr. Sun has also sought the release of legal advocate Mr. Xu Zhiyong. - Mr. Zhou Weilin, apprehended on 6 September 2013 in Hefei, has been detained since on the charge of "gathering a crowd to disrupt order". Police simultaneously searched his home and confiscated his computers, cell phone and publications. He is being detained at the Feixi County Detention Center. Mr. Zhou had previously been detained for participating in the campaign for the right to education of Mr. Zhang Lin's daughter. - Mr. Yao Cheng was apprehended on 6 September 2013 and has been detained since. Neither Mr. Yao's place of or reason for detention are known. He had previously been detained for his role in the campaign for the right to education of Mr. Zhang Lin's daughter.
- Impact of Event
- 19
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Censorship, Enforced Disappearance, Intimidation and Threats, Reprisal as Result of Communication, Surveillance
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Right to education, Right to Protest
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Sep 13, 2013
- Event Description
Mr. Wang Gongquan is a business man and supporter of the New Citizens' Movement which reportedly calls for, inter alia, transparency about the financial assets of top Chinese leaders. He is also a supporter of Mr. Xu Zhiyong, a legal advocate who was the subject of an urgent appeal, among other activists, on 9 August 2013. According to the information received: On 13 September 2013, a group of police officers raided the home of Mr. Wang Gongquan in Beijing, and searched it, before arresting him on suspicion of "gathering a crowd to disrupt order of a public space". He is being detained at the Beijing No. 3 Detention Center, along with several other activists linked to the New Citizens' Movement. Serious concerns are expressed that the arrest and detention of Mr. Wang Gongquan may be linked to his legitimate human rights activities, including his support to Mr. Xu Zhiyong, a founder of the New Citizens Movement.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of association, Right to information
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Not active
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Jul 19, 2013
- Event Description
On 19 July 2013, Mr. Yang Lin, a 45-year old pro-democracy activist, was arrested on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power" in southern Guangdong province. He is one of the signatories of "Charter 08' which is a manifesto signed by over 300 Chinese reformists, co-authored by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo. Mr. Yang Lin has criticized the one-party system and also called for disclosure of widespread corruption in China. On 8 August 2013, Mr. Yang Maodong, also known by his pen name Guo Feixiong, based in Guangzhou province, was arrested by the police, and has subsequently been detained in Tianhe District Detention on charges of "gathering a crowd to disrupt order in a public space". The family of Mr. Yang Maodong was only informed of his arrest on 17 August 2013, which is believed to be linked to his participation in a public protest in January 2013 to show support for the Southern Weekend, a Guangzhou newspaper which was struggling against censorship. Mr. Yang Maodong is a prominent human rights defender who spent five years in prison, in very difficult conditions, due to his human rights work. On 10 August 2013, Mr. Li Huaping, originally based in Hunan province, was taken into custody and has been held in police custody since. He was arrested in Changsha City for "gathering a crowd to disrupt order in a public place," and believed to be in custody in Hefei in Anhui province where the detention notice was issued. However, it is currently unknown where he is being held as of the date of this communication. Mr. Li has written extensively online using his pseudonym and advocated for democracy, rule-of-law reforms, constitutionalism, and social justice. On 12 August 2013, Mr. Liu Jiacai, based in Hubei province, was arrested and detained on charges of "inciting subversion." It is alleged that this detention is viewed as retaliation for his role in gathering fellow activists for dinner parties where the issues of human rights and justice are discussed. Sources inform that Mr. Liu was arrested various times in the past on the same charges, and that he was also dismissed from his job in late 2012 due to his activism. He is currently being held at Yichang City No. 1 Detention Centre. UPDATE 11 May 2015: On 11 May 2015, a Chinese court in Yichang City, Hubei Province sentenced human rights defender Liu Jiacai to five years' imprisonment on charges of 'inciting subversion of state power.' Liu Jiacai had been awaiting sentencing since his trial on 23 July 2014. He had been formally arrested on 18 September 2013, after being 'criminally detained' on 12 August 2013. This followed the expiration of ten days' administrative detention ordered by the authorities in Yichang City on 2 August 2013, on grounds of 'disrupting public order' based on writings he had posted online. It is believed that the charge against him relates to Liu Jiacai's support of the New Citizen's Movement, a loose network of activists which has campaigned for greater transparency among Chinese Communist Party officials, greater equality within the education system, as well as for Constitutional government.
- Impact of Event
- 4
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Right to information, Right to political participation, Right to Protest
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Aug 9, 2013
- Event Description
On 31 March 2013, four activists, Ms. Hou Xin, Mr. Yuan Dong, Mr. Zhang Baocheng and Mr. Ma Xinli, were allegedly detained in Beijing. The activists were reportedly detained on charges of "unlawful assembly" after a demonstration in which they campaigned for the public disclosure of assets of Chinese officials. Ms. Hou Xin was subsequently released on bail on 12 April 2013, while Mr. Yaun Dong, Mr. Zhang Baocheng and Mr. Ma Xinli were formally arrested on 7 May 2013. All three are reportedly being held at Beijing No. 3 Detention Centre. On 10 April 2013, Mr. Li Wei and Ms. Qi Yueying were allegedly taken into custody on charges of "unlawful assembly". Mr. Li was formally arrested on 18 May 2013, and is being held at Beijing No. 3 Detention Centre, Ms. Qi was arrested on 8 May 2013, on charges of "extortion" and is in detention at Chaoyang District Detention Centre. On 15 April 2013, Mr. Wang Yonghong was reportedly taken into custody on charges of "disturbing social order" after unfurling a banner in Beijing which called for public disclosure of assets. He was formally arrested on 24 May 2013, on charges of "unlawful assembly". On 17 April 2013, Mr. Sun Hanhui, Mr. Zhao Changqing, Mr. Ding Jiaxi, all allegedly suspected of having participated in organizing the campaign for public disclosure of assets, were reportedly taken into custody on charges of "unlawful assembly". Mr. Sun Hanhui was arrested and charged on 22 May 2013, while Mr. Zhao Changqing and Mr. Ding Jiaxi were arrested on 24 May 2013. All three are allegedly detained at Beijing No. 3 Detention Centre. On 22 April 2013, sources report that there was a demonstration in Xinyu City, Jiangxi province, in which a group of activists publically expressed their support for the aforementioned detainees. It is reported that they also called for public disclosure of assets. On 27 April 2013, police allegedly detained a number of people who participated in this demonstration, including Ms. Liu Ping, Mr. Wei Zhongping, Mr. Li Sihua, Ms. Li Xuemei and Ms. Zou Guiqin. Of these, threeallegedly remain in custody: Ms. Liu Ping, Mr. Wei Zhongping and Mr. Li Sihua. They were initially charged with "inciting subversion of state power", a charge which was reportedly later changed to "unflawful assembly". It is reported that Ms. Liu Ping and Mr. Wei Zhongping are being held at Xinyu City Detention Center, and Mr. Li Sihua is detained at Fenyi County Detention Center. All three face trial on these charges on 18 July 2013. Ms. Zou Guiqin was released in mid- May 2013, but is reportedly under surveillance. On 25 May 2013, Mr. Huang Wenxum, Mr. Yuan Fengchu (also known as Yuan Bing), Mr. Yuan Xiaohua, Ms. Li Yinli, and Mr. Chen Jianxiong were allegedly taken into custody in Hubei province. Ms. Li Yinli and Mr. Chen Jianxiong were released on 13 July 2013, while Mr. Huang Wenxum and Mr. Yuan Fengchu were reportedly arrested on 19 June 2013, on charges of "inciting subversion" and "subversion", respectively. Mr. Yuan Xiaohua is being criminally detained on suspicion of "endangering state security". All three are reportedly currently being held in Chibi Detention Centre. On 2 July 2013, Mr. Zhang Xiangzhong was reportedly arrested, along with two others, in Beijing after they had left a sum of money with detained activists at Beijing No.3 Detention Centre. It is alleged that since being questioned, no-one has been able to contact Mr. Zhang Xiangzhong. On 8 July 2013, family members reportedly learned that he had been detained without further details. It is reported that police indicated that his case was being "secretly handled". According to sources, his family has not received information regarding charges pending against him. He is reportedly being held at Beijing No. 3 Detention Centre. On 12 April 2013, Mr. Xu Zhiyong was placed under house arrest at his home in Beijing. On 16 July 2013, he was detained at Beijing No.3 Detention Centre on suspicion of having "gathered crowds to disrupt public order". Computers and phones were also allegedly confiscated by police from his house. Mr. Xu Zhiyong is a leading advocate in the campaign for government officials to reveal their wealth. He has also actively campaigned on behalf of inmates on death row. It is also alleged that on 18 July 2013, when Mr. Xu Zhiyong's lawyer, Mr. Liu Weiguo, attempted to visit him, he was taken into custody by the Beijing Daqing District Public Security Bureau, on the same charges of "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order" and brought to Suncun police sub-station. Also on 18 July 2013, a human rights defence organization, the Transition Institute, with whom Mr. Xu Zhiyong has worked before, was allegedly shut down, apparently because it had not registered with the Bureau. On 12 July 2013, Mr. Li Gang and Ms. Li Huanjun were reportedly arrested on charges of "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order". It is alleged Mr. Li Gang is being held at Beijing No. 3 Detention Centre, and Ms. Li Huanjun at Beijing No. 1 Detention Centre.In October 2012, the family and lawyer of Ms. Ni Yulan applied for medical parole due to the alleged detection of a tumour in her thyroid gland. In March 2013, prison officials reportedly rejected this application. Ms. Ni Yulan's daughter reportedly visited her mother at Beijing Women's Prison in mid-June of 2013. She allegedly observed that Ms. Ni's tumour, which was detected last autumn, had been left untreated and had swollen to the "size of an egg". According to sources, Ms. Ni is serving a sentence of two years and six months for "creating a disturbance". She is reportedly due to be released in October 2013. Ms. Ni is allegedly incapacitated due to past torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In February 2013, Mr. Huan Tiejun reportedly took part in a gathering held by alleged victims of forced demolitions during the traditional lantern festival. On 1 June 2013, he was allegedly taken into custody on charges of "extortion". On 9 July 2013, it is reported that he was arrested on suspicion of "gathering a crowd to disrupt social order" and "extortion". Other human rights activists On 30 May 2013, Ms. Ye Haiyan was reportedly arrested and placed in thirteen days administrative detention after she was forced to defend herself when she was allegedly assaulted in her home by a group of unknown women. The incident took place after Ms. Ye had reportedly initiated a protest about the alleged sexual abuse of schoolchildren in a school in Hainan province. On 6 July 2013, Ms. Ye, together with her family, was allegedly forced to leave her house in Zhongshan, Guangdong province by security police. It is alleged that she and her family were left on the side of the road in the early morning with their belongings. On 31 May 2013, Mr. Du Bin was allegedly arrested at his home and reportedly held incommunicado for more than ten days. It was later learned that he was detained on 2 June 2013. On 26 June 2013, police allegedly rejected an application for bail by Du Bin's lawyer, which had been made the same day. He is reportedly being held at the Fengtai District Detention Centre, in a cell measuring thirty square meters, along with more than twenty other detainees. Du Bin has produced a book on the events that took place in connection to the Tiananmen Square protest in 1989 and a documentary film about the Masanjia Re-education through Labour camp. On 22 June 2013, sources have indicated that six human rights defenders, namely Ms. Ding Hongfen, Mr. Qu Fengsheng, Ms. Shen Aibin, Ms. Xu Haifeng, Mr. Wu Ping, Mr. Zheng Bingyuan were arrested when they broke into a guesthouse in Wuxi City where a private security firm was illegally detaining five people in an unknown pace of detention, including relatives of Ms. Ding and Ms. Xu. As theyreleased the detainees, it is alleged that 50 civilians arrived from the local police station and tried to seize Ms. Ding and Ms. Xu. On 23 June 2013, sources indicate that approximately one hundred people, some in civilian clothes, others in security personnel clothes, took Ms. Ding Hongfen, Ms. Xu Haifeng and her husband Mr. Qu Fengsheng, along with several others, away. On 26 June, police allegedly arrested Mr. Wu Ping, Ms. Shen Aibin and several others. Sixteen people were arrested altogether after they engaged in the rescue action, but only six remain in detention. Wu Ping is held at Wuxi City No. 1 Detention Centre, and Ms. Ding Hongfen and Ms. Xu Haifeng at Wuxi No. 2 Detention Centre. The whereabouts of Mr. Qu Fengsheng, Ms. Shen Aibin and Mr. Zheng Bingyuan are as yet unknown. Ms. Ding Hongfen and Ms. Xu Haifeng were denied access to their lawyers on 9 July 2013, but on 11 July 2013, it is reported that Ms. Ding Hongfen was allowed to see her lawyer. It is reported that she had been held in three different unknown pace of detention between 23 June and 2 July, as well as having been shackled to a tiger bench, allegations which, if proven to be accurate, would amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. On 18 July 2013, police arrested Mr. Zhang Lin and confiscated his computer and cellphone. After eight hours of interrogation he was sent to Benbu City No. 1 Detention Centre and on 19 July 2013, he was detained on suspicion of "gathering a crowd to disrupt social order of a place". When Mr. Zhang's lawyers visited him on 19 July, he informed them that the interrogation had focused on protests organized in April 2013, when activists in Hefei had gathered to demand that Mr. Zhang's 10-year-old daughter be allowed to attend school. According to reports, Mr. Zhang's daughter was seized from school on 27 February 2013, by four unidentified men and was held in custody for a number of hours until her father arrived. It is alleged that she was not allowed to attend school for a number of weeks after this, and many activists gathered to protest this fact during April 2013. We have also received credible information regarding human rights activist Ms. Zhu Guiqin, indicating that she might have been subject to torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment during her time in the aforementioned Masanjia Re-education through Labour camp. It is alleged that since her release from this camp she has suffered extreme physical and psychological distress. It is further alleged that she was raped in April 2012 by men who claimed they were hired by local government officials to punish her for seeking redress.
- Impact of Event
- 36
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Intimidation and Threats, Judicial Harassment, Sexual Violence, Torture, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Right to information, Right to Protest, Women's rights
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Not active
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 13, 2014
- Event Description
Foreign media workers Wednesday expressed alarm at Beijing's detention of a Chinese employee with a Japanese newspaper, the latest in a series of arrests before the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown. The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China said it was "alarmed and deeply concerned" by reports of the detention of Xin Jian, which "raise the disturbing possibility that she is being punished for the routine discharge of her professional duty on behalf of her employer." "The FCCC calls on the authorities to present evidence that Ms. Xin has broken the law or, in the absence of such evidence, to release her immediately," it said in a statement. Xin, an assistant for Japan's Nikkei newspaper working in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing, was taken away from her home by police on May 13, the paper said earlier. She was detained on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking troubles," the paper said, citing a detention notice given by police to Xin's family on Monday. The vague charge has been increasingly abused by the ruling Communist Party to round up dissenters, journalists and others it sees as a challenge to one-party rule, rights groups say. Xin's detention came after a recent interview she conducted with Pu Zhiqiang, one of China's most celebrated human rights lawyers who was himself recently detained on the same charge, Nikkei has said. Pu was detained in Beijing earlier this month with four others who attended a private seminar to discuss the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests. They were crushed on June 4 that year when soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed civilians. Police have detained on criminal charges some 20 prominent liberal academics, lawyers and activists in the past month, according to the US-based group Human Rights in China. China tightly censors domestic media and has arrested several prominent journalists in the past year, while foreign reporters are subject to surveillance and restrictions on their freedom of movement. Those restrictions increase in the run-up to dates the Communist Party deems sensitive, such as the Tiananmen anniversary. Xin's husband Wang Haichun lamented his wife's detention in a series of postings Tuesday and Wednesday on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter. "This time 14 days ago, you were taken away," he wrote on Tuesday morning. "8:35 on May 13. Our family should mark this moment." "Please come back soon," he added. "I can't take being alone any longer."
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of association, Right to information
- Source
[China Post](http://China Post
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 20, 2014
- Event Description
Police in China's restive Xinjiang region opened fire Tuesday at a protest by hundreds of mostly Muslim ethnic minority Uyghurs angry over the detention of several women and middle school girls for wearing headscarves, according to residents who fear several were shot dead. The mass protest in front of government buildings in a township in Aksu prefecture's Kucha county turned violent when participants beat the principal of the girls' school and a township official and pelted stones at the buildings, the residents said. Eyewitnesses said up to four people may have been killed and several others wounded when special armed police blasted several rounds of gunfire at random apparently to control the swelling crowd near the Alaqagha township state buildings. Police also detained dozens among the protesters, who had demanded the immediate release of the girls and several other women detained by local authorities for wearing headscarves and Islamic robes. "I heard the sound of gunfire. All the protesters were shocked and fled in different directions," a Uyghur woman who was at the protest scene told RFA's Uyghur Service. "I don't know for sure how many people were shot dead but the people around me were saying three or four were gunned down on the spot and several others wounded, including in the legs," she said. "The armed police also detained many people." Trigger She said the incident was triggered by an ongoing crackdown by local authorities on Uyghur men sporting beards and women wearing headscarves as well as on schools with girls adhering to Islamic dress. An unknown number of them had been detained by the authorities in recent days. "Their families and relatives gathered at the main door of government buildings today and demanded that the detainees, including schoolgirls, be freed," the woman said, adding that the protests became bigger as other residents joined to express their anger over the detentions. She said the protesters beat the principal of the Alaqagha township middle school-identified as Tursun Qadir-who helped the authorities round up girls wearing headscarves. "The head of the township government[identified just as Ahmad] emerged to speak to the protesters but he was also beaten by the angry protesters." Police who were contacted by RFA said the situation had calmed down by late Tuesday but refused to provide details such as the number of fatalities and of those detained. "The situation is already under control," an officer at the Alaqagha township police station said, declining to elaborate on the incident, the latest in a series of violent events to rock Xinjiang. An officer at the neighboring Dongqotan police station, when contacted, said police were huddled in an emergency meeting and wanted all queries to be directed to the county authorities. Curbs on Islamic practices Uyghur rights groups accuse the Chinese authorities of heavy-handed rule in Xinjiang, including curbs on Islamic practices and the culture and language of the Uyghur people. Many Uyghurs say headscarves are a marker of Uyghur rather than Muslim identity. Chinese authorities, however, discourage the wearing of headscarves, veils, and other Islamic dress in the region. More than 100 people, mostly Uyghurs, are believed to have been killed in violence in the region over the last year as the authorities launched an aggressive campaign to clamp down on dissent and suppress what they call "separatist" campaigns. A woman resident of Alaqagha said she heard numerous gunshots from her house several meters away from the protest site on Tuesday. She said power supply to the township has been cut off and security forces were in full force in the streets. "Now, the police and other security forces are patrolling everywhere. We cannot walk in the streets. The electricity has been cut off and we are staying at home without lights." Security tightened Security has been stepped up across Xinjiang since three people were killed and 79 injured in a knife and bomb attack on a railway station in the regional capital Urumqi when President Xi Jinping concluded a visit to the region last month. Following the attack, Xi called for "decisive actions" against such raids, saying "the battle to combat violence and terrorism will not allow even a moment of slackness," the official Xinhua news agency said. Deadly 2009 ethnic riots between Uyghurs and Han Chinese in Urumqi left around 200 people dead and sparked a security crackdown targeting Uyghurs.
- Impact of Event
- 19
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention, Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly, Freedom of Religion and Belief, Minority Rights, Right to life, Right to Protest
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Date added
- Sep 20, 2019
- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- May 15, 2014
- Event Description
Authorities in the Chinese capital have placed under criminal detention the lawyer and relative of detained human rights attorney Pu Zhiqiang, as well as a prominent rights lawyer based in the southern city of Guangzhou, lawyers and rights groups said. Qu Zhenhong, Pu's niece and legal representative, is being held by Beijing police on suspicion of "illegally gathering citizens' information," her colleague and lawyer Zhang Sizhi told RFA. "They said she is being held under criminal detention," Zhang said. "Originally, I thought it was because of the Pu case, but the charges don't seem to fit, so it's hard to say." Zhang said the detention center where Qu is being held had turned down his request for a meeting with her for a second time on Thursday. Meanwhile, Chinese police on Friday detained prominent rights lawyer Tang Jingling on charges of "causing a disturbance." Chinese authorities have detained and questioned dozens of activists and family members of victims of the 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square student-led pro-democracy movement after they held a seminar to mark the sensitive 25th anniversary. Around 20 human rights lawyers, academics, and family members of victims attended the May 3 seminar in Beijing, where they called for a public inquiry into the crackdown on unarmed civilians by the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Some of those questioned were subsequently released, but Pu Zhiqiang and four other activists-online writer Liu Di, social scientist Xu Youyu, house church leader and democracy activist Hu Shigen, and Beijing Film Academy professor Hao Jian-were held on public order charges last week. Tang, who also attended the seminar, is the sixth of the seminar group to be charged and held under criminal detention. Meeting refused Meanwhile, a lawyer for outspoken writer Liu Di, who is being held on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," said the authorities had repeatedly declined his requests for a meeting with his client, although Xu, Pu, Hu and Hao had already met with their attorneys. "I had arranged to meet[with Liu] last Friday, but when I got there, they said her case had been sent for arraignment," lawyer Ma Gangquan said, in a reference to the formal reading of charges to pave the way for a trial. "So I rescheduled it for Monday, but they called me back the same day and said she had been taken away again," Ma said. "[On Thursday], it was the same excuse." He said the refusal to allow a meeting with Liu Di wasn't legal. "It's an excuse, 100 percent," Ma said. "The rules on lawyers state clearly that any request by a lawyer for a meeting with a suspect must be met within 48 hours." Hunger striker Meanwhile, Henan-based rights lawyer Jia Lingmin, who has represented victims of forced evictions, was finally able to meet with her lawyer on Wednesday after a week of hunger strike under criminal detention. Her lawyer Lin Qilei said Jia had refused food for seven days in protest at the refusal of her right to meet with a lawyer. "She is still walking unsteadily, but there's nothing wrong with her mental state," Lin said. "She still speaks with plenty of animation." "The main point[of her hunger strike] was to protest that the police were breaking the law, in refusing to allow her a meeting with her lawyer." "Now she has met with a lawyer, she has gone back to eating her f