Tag Archives: Pu Zhiqiang

Prominent Chinese Dissidents Still Face Surveillance, House Arrest

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Rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, who has been held on questionable charges since May 2014, in an undated file photo. AFP

Three prominent critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party have been prevented from leaving their homes by state security police in recent days, indicating that they are still living under considerable restriction on their freedom. Continue reading

China Strips Top Human Rights Lawyer of License to Practice

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A copy of the decision from the Beijing municipal bureau of justice ordering the cancellation of Pu Zhiqiang’s lawyer’s license, April 13, 2016. Photo courtesy of a lawyer

Authorities in the Chinese capital have stripped prominent rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang of his license to practice following his conviction over a series of tweets on social media, his lawyer said on Thursday. Continue reading

A Look at “Mr. Six”

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Guan Hu, director of “Mr. Six.” Image via Youtube user: Yitiao Video 一条视频,

Guan Hu’s newest movie resonates with the Cultural Revolution generation, but the film has one fatal flaw. Continue reading

Verna Yu: Beijing ‘silencing’ outspoken rights lawyer with restrictions on suspended jail term

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China’s rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang speaks at a court session in Beijing. The court convicted Pu, one of China’s most prominent rights lawyers, on December 22, 2015 of “inciting ethnic hatred” and trouble-making with posts criticising the government. Photo: Reuters

Rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, who was convicted for his online criticism of the Communist Party, will begin serving the terms of his suspended sentence on Tuesday after he declined to appeal, but the previously outspoken figure will remain under tight restrictions aimed at silencing him, his lawyer said on Monday. Continue reading

Vivienne Zeng:Where is legal sector’s conscience and courage, asks Beijing law professor after Pu trial

Peking University law professor He Weifang has spoken out against a Beijing court’s decision to sentence prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang to a three-year suspended jailed term over social media posts.

In an op-ed titled “Where is the legal sector’s conscience and courage?” the Chinese legal heavyweight argues that the charges against Pu – inciting ethnic hatred and “picking quarrels and provoking troubles” – are baseless.

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pu zhiqiangPu Zhiqiang. Photo: rosechina.net.

Continue reading

Ai Weiwei: Courage on Trial in China

Reprinted from the New York Times 

BERLIN — In April 2011, I was kidnapped by the Chinese undercover police at a Beijing airport and detained at a secret location for 81 days. After my release, the government charged me with tax evasion, even though most of the questions during my confinement centered on my political activities. They demanded that I pay back taxes and a fine totaling $2.4 million, and when I asked why the shakedown, one official replied, “If we don’t penalize you, you won’t give us any peace.” Continue reading

156. PU ZHIQIANG (released)

Pu Zhiqiang1Pen name              

Sex                              Male

Birth date                1965-01-17

Birth place               Luan County, Tangshan City, Hebei Province

Resident place         Beijing City Continue reading

Pu Zhiqiang: China rights lawyer gets suspended jail sentence

Prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang has been released from detention after receiving a suspended jail sentence.

Mr Pu was found guilty by a Beijing court earlier on Tuesday for “inciting ethnic hatred” and “picking quarrels” in social media posts.

The court sentenced him to three years in prison but also said the sentence would be suspended.

He is the latest to be tried in a crackdown on dissidents in China.

Mr Pu was released from Beijing’s Number One Detention Centre on Tuesday afternoon, where he had been held for 19 months.

He is now under “residential surveillance”, and has 10 days to decide whether to appeal against his conviction and sentence, his lawyer says.

Experts say the suspended sentence means Mr Pu can avoid serving time in jail – but could be monitored during the suspension period. The guilty verdict means he can no longer practise law.

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A female activist was dragged away by plainclothes police

Mr Pu could have faced a maximum sentence of eight years in prison.

State news agency Xinhua said that during his sentencing Mr Pu had “acknowledged the reality of his crimes”, apologised, and accepted his sentence. However, his lawyers said he had not pleaded guilty.

Rights group Amnesty International said that the sentence was “a deliberate attempt by the Chinese authorities to shackle a champion of freedom of expression”.

However, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Mr Pu’s case had been handled “in accordance with the law” and that “foreign governments should respect China’s judicial sovereignty”.

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Mr Pu was swiftly driven away from the detention centre on Tuesday afternoon. Photo provided to BBC

Mr Pu has been in detention since May 2014, after he posted several messages on microblogging platform Weibo that were critical of the government.

He had questioned the “excessively violent” crackdown on Uighurs in the restive Xinjiang region, alleged the Chinese Communist Party was an untruthful party, and mocked government rhetoric over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Supporters say his arrest was politically motivated, as he is known for representing dissidents in sensitive human rights cases.

Pu Zhiqiang represented artist Ai Weiwei in a tax evasion case that critics complained was politically motivated. He also campaigned for the eventual abolition of the labour camp system, under which suspects could be detained for years without trial.

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Ai Weiwei (left) has condemned the sentence. AFP

Scuffles

Prior to the sentencing, a small group of activists and foreign journalists gathered in front of the court. There were brief scuffles with the police, in a repeat of scenes seen last week during Mr Pu’s one-day trial.

A BBC team witnessed supporters and journalists being dragged away by dozens of plainclothes policemen. The BBC team was later asked to leave.

Amnesty said at least 12 activists were detained on Tuesday.

Human rights activist Hu Jia told the BBC that China’s authorities had “attacked a leading human rights lawyer… as a warning to other rights lawyers [in China].”

International interest in his case could have contributed to his jail sentence being suspended, Mr Hu said, but added that Mr Pu was still at risk of being persecuted by the authorities.


At the scene: Stephen Evans, BBC News, Beijing

Pu Zhiqiang is something of a celebrity as a lawyer. He’s a big, bear-like man with a baritone voice who has defended a range of causes, especially those involving freedom of speech and detention in labour camps.

He mixes popular street speech with allusions to classical literature in a powerful rhetorical fashion. “Feisty” is an adjective often used to describe him.

He has also been a thorn in the side of the authorities since his imprisonment in 1989 as a student pro-democracy protester.

His defenders say his current treatment is not because of the content of the seven posts on social media cited by the authorities. Rather, they say, it is to send a warning to dissidents – and the lawyers of dissidents.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35157525