Who the activists are, and why the government is striking hard against their NGOs By Yaxue Cao, published: December 10, 2015     Chinese police on December 3 began a series of sudden raids of labor rights organizations in Guangdong, questioning at least 25 staff members and managers of about five organizations, according to labor activist [...] Keep reading »

China Change, published: November 27, 2015   On August 8, 2013, Guo Feixiong (郭飞雄, real name Yang Maodong [杨茂东]) was arrested and then indicted on charges of “gathering a crowd to disrupt order in a public place.” The case stems from Guo’s activism around the “Southern Weekend” incident, in which he made speeches outside [...] Keep reading »

By Mo Zhixu, published: October 4, 2015 “[T]he existence of a relatively free, relaxed, and anonymous Internet for the regime is ‘the root of all evil.'”   August 5 was the last day that opinions were solicited by the government for its new Internet Security Law, meaning that in the near future the legislation will be formall [...] Keep reading »

By Lu Chai, published: May 21, 2015 “[F]ew options remain. You can turn your back on groups that are targeted and in trouble, and continue to advertise your own abstention from all things political. Or you can face up, with honesty, to the reality that civil society has little space to work in, muster your courage, and raise objections.” &nbs [...] Keep reading »

By Song Zhibiao, published: May 17, 2015 We present you the second commentary out of China on the draft law. The first one, by Dr. Wan Yanhai, one of China’s NGO pioneers, briefly examines the operational path of Chinese NGOs from early 1990s to the present, and how the three recent laws will dead-end rights advocacy NGOs in China. This, it turns [...] Keep reading »

By Wan Yanhai, published: May 13, 2015   In March 2007, Guo Yushan (郭玉闪）and others co-founded Transition Social and Economic Consulting Limited, otherwise known as Beijing Transition Institute. In July 2013, Beijing Bureau of Civil Affairs sent Transition Institute (TI) a violation notice, alleging that the organization had not registe [...] Keep reading »

Published: May 6, 2015 Below are excerpts of the letters they posted following their release on April 13, 2015.   Wei Tingting (韦婷婷), April 17, 2015   Since the first day home, I have been constantly trying to make up for what I missed during the detention, reading your articles, tracking your chats, browsing through various reports from va [...] Keep reading »

By Beijing Yirenping Center, April 14, 2015   On April 14, Hong Lei, the Spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), stated publicly that our organization, Beijing Yirenping Center (BYC), “has allegedly violated the law, and will be punished.” Our organization’s response is as follows: 1.  We welcome MOFA in its [...] Keep reading »

Published: April 11, 2015 “You must know the global picture of women to understand the international response to the detention of the five feminists in China.”   Professor Wang Zheng (王政), of the University of Michigan, is a scholar whose research focuses on the modern and contemporary history of Chinese women and gender, and Chinese [...] Keep reading »