Lawyers

The Reeducation-Through-Labor (RTL) system allows authorities to order minor offenders to labor camp for up to four years without trial and has been increasingly criticized in recent years. On August 14, 2012, ten lawyers including prominent rights defense lawyer Li Fangping (李方平) sent a proposal (Chinese only) to the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Public Security demanding reform of the RTL system.

Li Tiantian (李天天), a former lawyer from Shanghai, has suffered continuous harassment by the authorities since she began participating in rights defense activities and publishing articles in 2009. Li made an online appeal in support of the Jasmine Revolution in February 2011, and since then was detained for 95 days and forced to leave Shanghai on six occasions. She has since abandoned her profession as lawyer. Li writes in the article that she feels that the rule of law in China is little more than window dressing.