Category Archives: Special Topics

Adam Shapiro: China’s Neo-Authoritarianism on Display at the G20

Between 4-5 September the leaders of 19 of the world’s largest economies and representatives from the European Union meet in Hangzhou in eastern China to discuss global financial stability and international economic policy. It is the first time that China is hosting a G20 Summit and it is another opportunity for it to announce its arrival on the world stage. Millions of dollars are being spent to ensure the city is picture-postcard perfect for the arrival of the dignitaries. Continue reading

Concerns Mount For Detained Chinese Lawyers on ‘Disappearance Day’

detained family members and attorneys

A screen shot from the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group’s Facebook page showing detained family members and attorneys, June 7, 2016. RFA

Concerns are growing for the safety of dozens of human rights lawyers and associates locked up in an unknown location by the Chinese authorities in a crackdown that started in July 2015, as the international community marks a day of concern for the victims of enforced disappearances. Continue reading

Charlie Hegarty: The ceaseless inferno of Maoist China

Porcelain figures depicting the Cultural Revolution on a stall in Beijing

Porcelain figures depicting the Cultural Revolution on a stall in Beijing (AP)

How beating a class enemy became a favourite pastime in the China of Chairman Mao

The Cultural Revolution
by Frank Dikötter, Bloomsbury, £25 Continue reading

Chinese Rights Lawyer ‘Tortured’ in Detention on Subversion Charges

Detained rights lawyer Xie Yang

Detained rights lawyer Xie Yang is shown in an undated file photo. New Citizens Movement

The family of a Chinese attorney detained during a recent nationwide crackdown on human rights lawyers has accused the authorities of allowing his torture in detention. Continue reading

Tienchi Martin-Liao: Using the Red Guard’s Language to Commemorate the Cultural Revolution

Red_Guards

Three young Chinese Red Guards from the Cultural Revolution. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

The rhetoric of the 50th anniversary of the Cultural Revolution in China mirrors the Red Guard’s language of 1966.

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Chinese Activists’ Families Face House Arrest, Travel Bans: Lawyers

Li Wenzu2

Li Wenzu (R), wife of detained rights attorney Wang Quanzhang, says state security police officers prevented her and their son from leaving their home in an interview with RFA on Aug. 11, 2016. RFA

Chinese authorities are continuing to mete out punishment by association to the families of detained human rights lawyers and activists, preventing them from leaving the county on “national security” grounds, activists said. Continue reading

China Extends Pretrial Detention of Rights Activist Again

Su Changlan

Guangdong rights activist Su Changlan in an undated file photo. Photo courtesy of HRCChina.org

Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have extended the pretrial detention of a prominent women’s rights activist on subversion charges for a second time, her lawyers said. Continue reading

Wife of Detained Lawyer Accuses Beijing Police of Harassment

A delivery cart and cyclist ride past a building housing the Fengrui law firm in Beijing

A delivery cart and cyclist ride past a building housing the Fengrui law firm in Beijing. Several lawyers from the firm have been targeted by authorities.

The wife of a detained human rights lawyer in China has accused Beijing police of harassing her landlord and forcing him not to renew her lease. Continue reading