{"id":5594,"date":"2015-09-04T00:01:01","date_gmt":"2015-09-04T04:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/?p=5594"},"modified":"2015-09-03T00:03:02","modified_gmt":"2015-09-03T04:03:02","slug":"us-demands-release-of-2-detained-chinese-lawyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/us-demands-release-of-2-detained-chinese-lawyers","title":{"rendered":"US Demands Release of 2 Detained Chinese Lawyers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"B7E8753F-12AB-4532-84B3-ACF2FD605235_w640_r1_s<\/a>FILE – In this April 18, 2015 photo, Wang Yu, a lawyer for Chinese activist Li Tingting, speaks during an interview in Beijing.<\/p>\n

Victor Beattie<\/p>\n

September 02, 2015 4:17 AM<\/p>\n

The United States has called for the release of Chinese lawyer Zhang Kai and a group of religious figures, including Christian pastors, accused of threatening public order and national security. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, has also launched a campaign for the release of 20 women prisoners of conscience, including Chinese attorney Wang Yu.<\/p>\n

Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping\u2019s first state visit to Washington later this month, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for religious freedom, David Saperstein, said the August 25 detentions of religious figures, including Zhang, were a \u201cparticularly alarming development.\u201d It came as he prepared to meet them the next day in China.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere can be no excuse for the detention of these religious figures that either met with me or tried to meet with me,\u201d said Saperstein, who met with Chinese government officials on religious freedom. \u201cThese detentions fit into a disturbing pattern of state intimidation of public interest lawyers, Internet activists, journalists, [and] religious leaders,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He said it underscores \u201cthe precariousness of religious life in China.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Department spokesman Mark Toner Tuesday said religious freedom in China is something the United States watches closely.<\/p>\n

“You know, I can say that it is an ongoing concern and, specifically, just to cite a recent case, prominent Christian human rights lawyer Zhang Kai and his assistant were detained by Chinese authorities. We certainly want to see him released, but this is just indicative of an ongoing pattern that we\u2019ve seen,” said Toner.<\/p>\n

Zhang has been advising churches in China\u2019s Zhejiang province that are resisting orders to remove crosses from church roofs. Human Rights Watch researcher Maya Wang in Hong Kong said Zhang has worked for many years defending human rights in China.<\/p>\n

“He is primarily known for his work defending Christians and Falun Gong practitioners and this time it appears he was very much involved in advocating for the Christians in Zhejiang whose crosses have been forcibly taken down by the government,” said Wang.<\/p>\n

During his visit to China, Saperstein raised a number of ongoing concerns, calling for an end to the campaign of cross removals and church demolitions, an end to the harassment of members of unregistered religious groups and a reassessment of restrictions on Tibetan Buddhists and Uighur Muslims, which he called counterproductive.<\/p>\n

Wang said there has been a crackdown on Christians in Zhejiang, a coastal area considered to be the heartland of China\u2019s Christianity.<\/p>\n

“In that province, the government has used excuses such as the violation of buildings codes and so on to remove crosses which have been standing on these churches, official churches, churches that were previously sanctioned by the government,” said Wang.<\/p>\n

Wang added there have been greater restrictions on civil liberties in the past two years and that it is vital U.S. officials take the opportunity to raise the plight of human rights defenders privately and publicly with Chinese officials during Xi\u2019s state visit.<\/p>\n

Writing in Wednesday\u2019s state-run China Daily, the Chinese ambassador to Washington, Cui Tiankai, said the two countries are benefiting from growing cooperation. He said despite differences, including maritime disputes in the South China Sea and cyberattacks, cooperation — not confrontation — is the key to finding solutions. He said such differences should not be allowed to dominate the bilateral agenda.
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