All Contents

Steadfast in the Storm: Hong Kong Towards 2017 and Beyond Two thousand and fourteen has been a momentous year in two respects. It marked the 25th anniversary of the June Fourth government crackdown on the 1989 Democracy Movement, a year in which the persistence of the Tiananmen Mothers and others...

Shanghai rights defender, Li Yufang (李玉芳), was released from prison on December 18, 2014 after completing a one-year sentence for “obstructing official business.”

Today, Hong Kong police cleared out the Admiralty site of a 74-day peaceful mass civil disobedience movement pressing for genuine universal suffrage. But instead of the closing of a troubling political chapter, hoped for by both the local and central governments, the Umbrella Movement in fact was “...

Excerpted from the Chinese original [Translation by Human Rights in China] “Democracy” may be more than just one-person, one-vote to elect the top leaders. What is more important is equality and mutual respect. That is, treat everyone—and their opinions—equally and with respect. Every one of us has...

As Hong Kong protesters stand up to recent heavy handed police tactics in clearing sections of the Mong Kok Occupy site, Peter Gabriel, Pussy Riot, Iron & Wine, and others have sent photos and messages of support which are being projected on the Lennon Wall in the Admiralty District of downtown...

Demonstrators shine lights from their mobile devices as they hold them aloft during a ongoing protest outside the central government office in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2014. Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests swelled for a sixth day as student leaders renewed an ultimatum for Leung...

Today, it seems it has been months since the protests began, although it has only been 56 days. Hong Kong has changed for the better. I have always imagined the Tiananmen Square student protests of 1989 and what it would have felt like to have been a student there. I was eight years old during that...

In a report on the situation of women’s rights in China, a United Nations expert committee advances dozens of recommendations aimed at addressing their concerns, which, if adopted, would strengthen China’s civil society, including: availability and transparency of data on policies and practices...

HRIC has learned that, Chen Shuqing (陈树庆) , a core member of the China Democracy Party’s Zhejiang Committee, has been formally arrested. The official charge cannot be confirmed at this point, but Chen has been in criminal detention for more than a month on charges of “subversion of state power.”...

On May 26, 2014, lawyer Liu Shihui was released from the Shanghai Pudong Zhangjiang detention center after a 10-day administrative detention, which started as a criminal detention on May 13. Following these events, Liu filed a lawsuit against the Pudong Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau...

In 1989, millions of democracy and labor activists and other citizens throughout China demanded reforms. The leaders responded with tanks and violence and then attempted to silence demands for political reform with the benefits of economic liberalization. What the Chinese people got are...

The indictment charges Guo and Sun with “gathering crowds to disrupt order in public places,” in connection with Guo’s alleged role in organizing street actions in January 2013 outside the gate of the Guangzhou-based publication Southern Weekly to support its staff’s protest against editorial...

Today, the Guangzhou Municipal Tianhe District People’s Court opened the trial of rights activist Guo Feixiong ( 郭飞雄) , also known as Yang Maodong ( 杨茂 东) , and Sun Desheng ( 孙德胜) , but did not proceed as lawyers for the defendants did not appear in court in protest of what they alleged were...

In a statement one day before his trial, rights defense activist Guo Feixiong (aka Yang Maodong) alleges serious procedural violations by the prosecution, in particular, in its denial of his defense lawyers’ right to review case materials on eight CDs that include videos and photos. Such violations...

Cheng Hai is a Beijing-based rights defense lawyer. He has represented victims of hukou discrimination and Falun Gong practitioners, among others. Cheng was a vocal advocate for the abolition of Reeducation-Through-Labor, and, in 2008, joined other lawyers to call for the independent election of...

On August 22, 2014, lawyer Cheng Hai received a notice from the Changping District Bureau of Justice in Beijing informing him that the bureau planned to administratively suspend his license to practice for one year. The reason given for the suspension was that Cheng had “disrupted court order...

We—more than three dozen rights defenders—protested in front of Zhengzhou No. 3 Detention Center, to support the “Ten Gentlemen of Zhengzhou.” They were all detained and arrested on trumped up charges, such as “illegal business activity” and “picking quarrels and provoking troubles,” and many are...

HRIC has learned that that Lü Gengsong ( 吕耿松 ) , a core member of the China Democracy Party’s Zhejiang Committee, was arrested today and is being charged with “subversion of state power” (颠覆国家政权罪). He was criminally detained on suspicion of the same charge on July 7 , and is being held at the...

In this urgent appeal, lawyer Liu Jinbin ( 刘金滨 ) calls on the All China Lawyers' Association, prosecutorial organs, and other stakeholders to end the police's unlawful coercive summons of lawyer Chang Weiping in Jiaozuo, Henan. The couple, Xu Youchen ( 许有臣 ) and Zhang Xiaoyu ( 张小玉 ) , who are...

On July 7, 2014, Lü Gengsong, member of the China Democracy Party’s Zhejiang Committee, was criminally detained on suspicion of “subversion of state power.” Ding Xikui, a lawyer with the Mo Shaoping Law Firm in Beijing, was retained by Lü’s family as defense counsel. On July 17, Ding traveled to...

25 Years after June Fourth On June 4, 1989, the Chinese authorities responded to massive citizen calls for democracy and a more open and accountable government with a violent military crackdown. Over the past 25 years, while economic reform has dramatically changed the face of China, the no-...

( Part 1 ) ( Part 2 ) ( Part 4 ) Remembering My Son Jielian on the 25th Anniversary of His Death [Translation by Human Rights in China] On the afternoon of June 5, 1989, I was lying in bed. First, several doctors from the school suddenly came to our house to give me a shot. At almost the same...

( Part 2 ) ( Part 3 ) ( Part 4 ) Remembering My Son Jielian on the 25th Anniversary of His Death [Translation by Human Rights in China] Twenty-five years after June Fourth, I quiet my heart to remember Jielian’s ( 蒋捷连 ) short life, feeling that this child’s time in this world was both fortunate and...

The Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People's Court today upheld the sentences of New Citizens Movement advocates Ding Jiaxi ( 丁家喜 ) and Li Wei ( 李蔚 ) . In April this year, both were found guilty of “gathering a crowd to disrupt order in a public place” (聚众扰乱公共场所秩序) by the Beijing Municipal...

25 Years after June Fourth Cover Collage HK TST Canton Road Harbour City LV , 18 December 2008 Photo Credit: Maizeam 25 Years after June Fourth Cover Collage Factory in China , September 2008 Photo Credit: High Contrast 25 Years after June Fourth Cover Collage Cena de Estado que en honor del Excmo...

Ding Jiaxi's ( 丁家喜) second-instance trial lawyer Cheng Hai (程海) argues in this statement that under the Constitution, Ding has the right to demand officials to disclose their assets and call for educational equality. The statement was also submitted as a complaint against 125 judges, prosecutors,...

Shanghai petitioner Li Yufang ( 李玉芳 ) , who had petitioned for more than a decade for compensation for the forced requisition of her family home, was found guilty of “obstructing official business.” Li was tried at the Yangpu District People's Court in Shanghai on July 4, 2014, and received a...

Zhang Zanning ( 张赞宁) , who represents lawyer Ji Laisong ( 姬来松) , has filed a complaint before the Zhengzhou Municipal People's Procuratorate against the Zhengzhou Public Security Bureau's Erligang Sub-branch for allegedly fabricating facts and criminal charges against Ji, and illegally criminally...

In this statement, lawyers Pang Kun (庞琨) and Wen Yu (闻宇), who represent detained lawyer Chang Boyang (常伯阳), describe how the Zhengzhou authorities have continuously obstructed them from meeting with their client, on the basis that Chang's alleged actions are "national security crimes" and that...

Background Seventeen years after China’s resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong, the former British colony has returned to the spotlight. The debate over reforms to the process for selecting the city’s next Chief Executive in 2017 has reached fever pitch. Democracy advocates are rallying behind...

Weiquan— rights defense—lawyering had two defining characteristics prior to the 2010-2011 crackdown on lawyers and civil society activists. First, weiquan lawyers were high-profile in their style of lawyering and did not shy away from political issues. They courageously accepted cases that other...

Human Rights in China (HRIC) has received information that the couple, Chen Wei ( 陈卫 ) and Yu Shiwen ( 于世文 ) , organizers of one of the first public June Fourth Commemorative events in mainland China last year, have been officially arrested for “picking quarrels and provoking troubles.” Lawyer Ji...

[Translation by Human Rights in China] On June 3, 1989, Li Ping and his classmates found out that classes would resume the following week. That night, he and several classmates flagged down a truck in front of the university. They wanted to go to Tiananmen Square to have a look. But the truck had...

In this essay, Wang highlights her husband Tang Jingling's leading role in initiating and advocating for non-violent civil disobedience as a means to press for greater respect for basic freedoms and for democratic reforms. Wang also provides details on Tang's long track record of rights defense...

On June 27, the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court ruled against the appeal of Zhang Baocheng and upheld the first-instance verdict. Zhang was convicted of “gathering a crowd to disrupt order in a public place” (聚众扰乱公共场所秩序) by the Beijing Municipal Haidian District Court on April 18, 2014,...

This book’s sub-title hints at Emily T. Yeh’s main point: Tibet is being transformed by the Chinese occupation, which Beijing maintains is an act of generosity, even a gift, while Tibetans experience the occupation as oppression. This gives rise to one of Ms. Yeh’s propositions drawn from the...

Wang Qingying (王清营) was formally arrested on June 20, 2014 on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power” (煽动颠覆国家政权罪) and is currently being held at Guangzhou No. 1 Detention Center (广州市第一看守所). He was first criminally detained on May 16, 2014 on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking...