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China Change, July 8, 2024 Six 709 lawyers and three 709 lawyers’ wives speak out on the 9th anniversary of the 709 Crackdown on human rights lawyers and defenders about the continuous harassment, loss of livelihood, and the significance of the fateful event that started nine years ago and is still ongoing. 709大抓捕九周年，六位律� [...] Keep reading »

The 9th Anniversary of 709 Crackdown on Human Rights Lawyers and Defenders: Ten Notable Events Over the Past Year

29 Principles and China Change, July 1, 2024 This year, 2024, marks the 9th anniversary of the “709” crackdown on China’s human rights lawyers and rights activists that began in the summer of 2015. Since then, the Chinese authorities’ repression of these lawyers has continued nonstop, with harassment and restrictions extending to their rela [...] Keep reading »

A Year On: Remembering Dr. Jiang Yanyong, the Truth-Teller Who Saved Lives

Hermann Aubié, March 12, 2024 One year ago today, on March 11, 2023, the world lost a remarkable figure: Dr Jiang Yanyong (蒋彦永), a Chinese surgeon who first became known to the world for exposing a government cover-up during the SARS crisis of 2003. He thus played a crucial role in ensuring that both his compatriots and people worldwide were [...] Keep reading »

Shanghai Halloween 2023

November 11, 2023 This year, a phenomenal Halloween party occurred in the streets of Shanghai, of all places. It interests us because it offers a unique window to observe the young people in China. The themes are eclectic, some political and social. The fact that such a crowd was able to amass is extraordinary, given the Chinese authorities’ [...] Keep reading »

What Are the ‘Crimes’ of Journalist and MeToo Activist Huang Xueqin, According to Her Indictment?

China Change, September 24, 2023 It took three whole years of secret detention for journalist Huang Xueqin (黄雪琴) and labor activist Wang Jianbing (王建兵) to be tried on charges of “inciting subversion of state power,” as announced on Friday, September 22, in the southern Chinese city Guangzhou. Still, little has been made public about [...] Keep reading »

The 8th Anniversary of 709 Crackdown on Human Rights Lawyers: Ten Notable Events Over the Past Year

The 29 Principles and China Change, September 6, 2023 Preface: With the escalating crackdown on China’s human rights lawyers in recent years, the authorities have developed increasingly sophisticated means for repressing attorneys who take on politically sensitive cases. Instances of prolonged detention without trial, trial with [...] Keep reading »

Human Rights Lawyers Under Renewed Crackdown and Nasty Harassment

China Change, June 17, 2023 Correction: The original post misstated that lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife were intercepted on their way to German Embassy to meet the visiting German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, whereas the couple was on their way to a meeting at the EU Delegation. On April 13, lawyer Yu Wensheng (余文生) and his wife Xu Ya [...] Keep reading »

In Zealous Effort to Increase Grain Production, China Deploys Force and Coercion to ‘Manage’ the Countryside

China Change, April 30, 2023 It’s the season for spring planting in China, starting from the south and moving up to the north. However, agricultural policies implemented by the Communist Party authorities in recent years are wreaking havoc in rural communities nationwide this spring, drawing the attention and unease of many Chinese commentators a [...] Keep reading »

‘A democratic China must be realized in our time, we cannot saddle the next generation with this duty’ – Xu Zhiyong’s Court Statement

Xu Zhiyong, April 9, 2023 Dr. Xu Zhiyong (许志永) is no stranger to those who have followed the emergence of civil society in China in the early 2000s to its being silenced by the continuous suppression, more severe under Xi Jinping. Xu Zhiyong’s career began from providing legal assistance along with a team of rights lawyers to disadvantaged [...] Keep reading »