China Change » Rule of Law

The Last Hong Konger – A Personal Farewell to Mr. Lam Wing-kee (1955-2026)

Yaxue Cao, October 7, 2026 1. I didn’t know Mr. Lam Wing-kee well, having met him only twice. In late April 2017, I learned from Ann Lau’s newsletter that Lam Wing-kee (林榮基) was coming to Washington. I didn’t know Ann other than that she was based in Los Angeles and her organization – the Visual Artists Guild [...] Keep reading »

Open Letter from the Early Rain Covenant Church Regarding Pastor Wang Yi’s Health and Family Visits

October 5, 2026 To all fellow members sharing in the redemptive grace of Christ within the Kingdom, and to friends from all walks of life who care about Pastor Wang Yi: We greet you in Christ! Recently, information regarding the health status of Pastor Wang Yi has been circulating online, and like all of you, we are deeply concerned. In terms of fa [...] Keep reading »

In Zion Church Case, Chinese Authorities Punish and Harass Defense Lawyers to Force Them Out

China Change, March 24, 2026 Last October, following the detention of 18 pastors and church workers of Zion Church, including its lead Pastor Jin Mingri (金明日), as many as forty lawyers joined the defense team as the case progressed. The Zion Church members were charged with “the crime of illegally utilizing information networks” and detai [...] Keep reading »

Full Text of Xu Zhiyong’s Court Judgment

China Change, January 29, 2026 In December 2019, Xu Zhiyong, Ding Jiaxi, and more than 20 other Chinese lawyers and ordinary citizens held a two-day gathering in the southeastern city of Xiamen, Fujian province, later referred to as the “Xiamen Gathering.” Shortly afterward, Chinese authorities launched arrests targeting the participant [...] Keep reading »

A Home in God: The Story of Detained Pastor Jin Mingri and China’s City Churches, Part One

Yaxue Cao, October 30, 2025 Zion Church Under Attack On the evening of Saturday, October 10, in Beihai, Guangxi (广西北海), more than twenty police officers stormed into the home of Pastor Jin Mingri (金明日, Ezra Jin), the head pastor of Zion Church (锡安教会), just after he and his elderly mother-in-law had finished dinner. One officer [...] Keep reading »

‘Socialist Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics’: Establishment, Destruction, Reconstruction, Reform, and Reversal

Li Fangping, August 21, 2025 It’s been seven decades since the promulgation of Communist China’s first Constitution in 1954. To evaluate the journey of its rule of law, the successes and failures, I’m going to divide my analysis into four periods. I. The CCP’s founding leaders never meant to honor PRC’s first Constitution The [...] Keep reading »

The 10th Anniversary of the 709 Crackdown on Human Rights Lawyers and Defenders: Ten Notable Events Over the Past Year

China Change, August 7, 2025 The year 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the “709” crackdown. A full decade has passed since the mass arrest of lawyers that shocked both China and the world, and this persecution has not ended. Over the past year, several more lawyers have been arrested, sentenced, or placed in administrative detention. [...] Keep reading »

1,296 Days in Limbo: The Trial of Xie Yang and the Eleven Notices That Delayed It for Thirty-Two Months By Way of Punishment

Yaxue Cao, July 29, 2025 I. At 10 a.m. Beijing time on July 30, 2025, after 1,296 days in detention, lawyer Xie Yang (谢阳) is finally standing trial at the Changsha Intermediate People’s Court. He is charged with “inciting subversion of state power.” This is the second time Xie Yang has been imprisoned since the internationally known [...] Keep reading »

A Decade On — It’s Time to Stop

Chen Guiqiu, ex-wife of Xie Yang, July 28, 2025 Human rights lawyer Xie Yang (谢阳) was arrested in January 2022, shortly after displaying a banner in support of an elementary school teacher in his province who had been arbitrarily detained in a mental hospital for online expression. As of today, he has been held for 1,295 days without trial. His [...] Keep reading »