Simply put, Teng Biao (滕彪) is one of the best known human rights lawyers and legal scholars in China. This is his preface to a memoir entitled “A Worthwhile Trip—A Documentation of Beijing Reeducation-through-Labor Dispatch Center”, in which he looks deep into what these camps do to inmates as human beings. It’s much worse t [...] Keep reading »

Update 1: Cheng Wanyun’s legal name (name on ID) is Cheng Aihua (程爱华). Update 2:   Telephone numbers: PSB State Security Office of Nanchong Municipality (南充市公安局国保办公电话): 0817-2803084. PSB of Xichong County (西充县公安局值班电话): 0817-4200085. State security chief of Xichong PSB Zhao Yanlin (西充县 [...] Keep reading »

By Yaxue Cao Almost exactly one year ago, I wrote a post titled Around Town with Chen Guangcheng, in which I recounted my lone protest in Washington, DC, on Valentine’s Day, 2012. That day Xi Jinping was meeting with president Obama in White House, and various groups—Tibetans, Uighurs, Falungong practitioners, overseas dissident groups—conver [...] Keep reading »

Wang Dengchao (王登朝), a police officer at Luohu Sub-bureau of Shenzhen Public Security Bureau (police ID 054985), was arrested on March 8, 2012 on charges of embezzlement and disruption of public services. After being detained for 8 months, he was tried and sentenced to 14 years in prison on December 4th, 2012. But he is believed to be arreste [...] Keep reading »

By Li Huaping, published: January 1, 2013 Dear Mr. Xi Jinping, You have become the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party during the CCP’s 18th Congress, and your succession to be the president of the People’s Republic of China in 2013 is only a matter of formality. You don’t have competitors, nor do you need my vote. I have lived f [...] Keep reading »

By Chen Guangfu Chen Kegui was tried and sentenced to three years and four months in prison on November 30th for “intentional harm.” Following the trial, his family received a statement, supposedly by Kegui, that he “abandons appeal.” Throughout his detention and trial, Kegui was denied access to his own defense lawyers.  [...] Keep reading »

Zhu Chengzhi  (朱承志)’s offense has to do with the death of Li Wangyang (李旺阳), a labor movement leader during the June 4th movement in 1989 who had served two prison terms totaling 21 years. In the morning of June 6th this year, while receiving treatment for heart disease and diabetes in a local hospital in Shaoyang, Hunan (湖南� [...] Keep reading »

By Wang Tiancheng Leading up to the Party’s 18th Congress, the phrase “political reform” had buzzed around like a butterfly, fluttering with pretty hopes. Then, 15 minutes into Hu Jintao’s speech on the 8th, that buzz fell silent; by the time Hu finished his speech, it was as good as death. When we talk about political reform in China, what [...] Keep reading »

In a secret court decision made on Wednesday, October 31, in the southwest city of Kunming (昆明), Cao Haibo (曹海波), a young internet café owner, was sentenced to eight years in prison after being detained for 13 months for “subversion of state power.” (Note: the verdict is “subversion of state power,” not “inciting to subvert sta [...] Keep reading »