Freedom of Expression

HRIC Resigns Global Network Initiative Membership

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 22:54:59 +0000

July 13, 2016

HRIC Resigns Global Network Initiative Membership

Freedom of Expression

HRIC has resigned from the Global Network Initiative (GNI), the multi-stakeholder group founded in 2008 to advance freedom of expression and privacy in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. As a founding member and former board member of the GNI, HRIC has actively contributed...

Olympic Athletes Speak Out

tw — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 21:45:42 +0000

February 25, 2022

Olympic Athletes Speak Out

HRIC Bulletin

Freedom of Expression

In the lead-up to the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, a Chinese official explicitly warned athletes that, while in China, they would not be free to express themselves. Many of them did voice their concerns—before and after the Games—about human rights violations in China.

A Tribute to Xu Zhiyong: Rights Advocate and Public Intellectual

tw — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 22:33:35 +0000

June 5, 2020

A Tribute to Xu Zhiyong: Rights Advocate and Public Intellectual

Statement

Xu Zhiyong wrote in his seminal essay in 2012: “China Needs a New Citizens Movement”: “China needs a new citizens movement. This movement is a political movement in which this ancient nation bids utter farewell to authoritarianism and completes the civilized transformation to constitutional...

Access to Justice

Xu Zhiyong

China Human Rights Lawyers Group's Public Statement on Safeguarding the Legal Rights of Lawyer Liu Yingying

phb — Sat, 11 Apr 2020 05:03:23 +0000

April 6, 2020

China Human Rights Lawyers Group's Public Statement on Safeguarding the Legal Rights of Lawyer Liu Yingying

Citizens' Square

Access to Justice

On April 2, 2020, the Zhengzhou Lawyers Association issued a disciplinary “warning” to lawyer Liu Yingying( 刘莹莹 ) for posting on her blog an article titled, “Today, family members lined up in a long queue to pick up their relatives’ ashes at the Hankou Funeral Home.“ The warning states that Liu is...

Urgent Appeal Concerning State Compensation in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 National Disaster

phb — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 15:41:35 +0000

March 22, 2020

Urgent Appeal Concerning State Compensation in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 National Disaster

Citizens' Square

Access to Information

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, thirteen Chinese citizens from Beijing, Fujian, Hunan, Shandong, and other provinces, including Li Yingzhi ( 李英之 ) , Zha Jianguo ( 查建国 ) and Lin Yubin ( 林于斌 ) urge the government to take the following actions: Conduct a public memorial service on Qing...

Talking Out of Both Sides of the Face Mask: Propaganda and Practice in the Age of Coronavirus

tw — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 23:17:46 +0000

February 14, 2020

Talking Out of Both Sides of the Face Mask: Propaganda and Practice in the Age of Coronavirus

HRIC Commentary

Access to Information

As the grip of the coronavirus continues to tighten , local governments are at the forefront of efforts to implement ever-stricter regulations aimed at stopping the epidemic in its tracks. Just this week, for example, the Zhangwan District of Shiyan City in Hubei Province issued a notice on...

HRIC Urges Michelle Bachelet to Support the People of Hong Kong

phb — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 18:04:56 +0000

June 28, 2019

HRIC Urges Michelle Bachelet to Support the People of Hong Kong

HRIC Bulletin

Citizen Participation

In a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, Human Rights in China urges her to speak out publicly, strongly, and unequivocally to support the people of Hong Kong in their demand for the full withdrawal of an extradition bill that has triggered, over recent weeks,...

Four Sichuan Dissidents in the “Remembering June Fourth" Case Will Be Tried in Court Consecutively Starting Tomorrow

phb — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 22:11:43 +0000

March 31, 2019

Four Sichuan Dissidents in the “Remembering June Fourth" Case Will Be Tried in Court Consecutively Starting Tomorrow

Citizens' Square

June Fourth

Liu Tianyan (刘天艳) , wife of dissident Fu Hailu (符海陆) —who is accused of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for creating a wine bottle label in 2016 to mark the anniversary of June Fourth—posted this essay one day before his trial. She points out that Fu had in fact already been imprisoned for...

“No” to a Google Search Engine with Chinese Characteristics—Not “Right Now” or Ever

phb — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 22:34:02 +0000

December 11, 2018

“No” to a Google Search Engine with Chinese Characteristics—Not “Right Now” or Ever

Statement

Access to Information

In a Congressional hearing today, faced with questions from multiple members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee about Google’ s controversial Dragonfly Project—a search engine in development designed to meet the censorship requirements of the Chinese government—Google CEO Sundar Pichai...

NGO Joint Letter to Google CEO on Project Dragonfly

phb — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 23:56:07 +0000

December 11, 2018

NGO Joint Letter to Google CEO on Project Dragonfly

HRIC Bulletin

Freedom of Expression

HRIC joins 70 NGOs, individuals in an open letter led by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to urge Google to drop the development of a censored search engine for the Chinese market. OPEN LETTER: RESPONSE TO GOOGLE on PROJECT DRAGONFLY, CHINA AND HUMAN RIGHTS To: Sundar Pichai, Chief...

Final Verdict on Qin Yongmin from the Hubei Provincial High People’s Court

phb — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 21:17:58 +0000

September 26, 2018

Final Verdict on Qin Yongmin from the Hubei Provincial High People’s Court

Citizens' Square

Access to Justice

On September 26, 2018, the Hubei Provincial High People’s Court upheld a lower court’s ruling on veteran rights activist Qin Yongmin’s case: conviction of subversion of state power, a 13-year prison term, and three years of post-release deprivation of political rights. Qin was detained on March 30...

Qin Yongmin

Wife of Rights Activist Jiang Yefei Calls on Canadian Government, UN, and International Human Rights Organizations to Help Her Husband

tw — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 17:41:11 +0000

September 18, 2018

Wife of Rights Activist Jiang Yefei Calls on Canadian Government, UN, and International Human Rights Organizations to Help Her Husband

HRIC Bulletin

Access to Justice

In her appeal below, Chu Ling ( 楚玲 ), the wife of the imprisoned political cartoonist and rights activist Jiang Yefei ( 姜野飞 ) , urges the Canadian government, the United Nations, and international human rights organizations to intervene in her husband’s case. Chu calls on them to pressure the...

Ruling by the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court on Qin Yongmin’s Case

phb — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 22:24:13 +0000

July 10, 2018

Ruling by the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court on Qin Yongmin’s Case

Citizens' Square

Access to Justice

On July 10, Qin Yongmin, 64, veteran democracy activist, a cofounder of the China Democracy Party and founder of China Human Rights Watch, is sentenced to 13 years in prison for “subversion of state power.” The court’s ruling details the government’s accusations against Qin Yongmin: writing a large...

Qin Yongmin

Account of Applying to Attend Trial of Qin Yongmin

phb — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 18:00:00 +0000

July 11, 2018

Account of Applying to Attend Trial of Qin Yongmin

Citizens' Square

Access to Justice

This account describes the experience of the writer and other rights defenders from different areas in the country who intended to going to Wuhan to apply to attend the trial of Qin Yongmin. Some activists were intercepted in their local areas, and the others who arrived at the court were...

Qin Yongmin

Update on Meeting with Zhang Guanghong

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Mar 2018 16:32:18 +0000

December 7, 2017

Update on Meeting with Zhang Guanghong

Citizens' Square

Freedom of Expression

In the afternoon of December 7, 2017, lawyer Sui Muqing met with well-known netizen Zhang Guanghong (web name Nianhua Shiping) at Yuexiu District Detention Center in Guangzhou. Zhang, who was arrested for the crime of “insulting,” told the lawyer that Yuexiu police accused him of reposting a...