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 »

First published by Human Rights in China in New York as a part of its press release, which also includes a translation of Chen Pingfu’s Indictment. On Tuesday, September 4, a 55-year-old man was on trial for “inciting subversion of state power” in Lanzhou, the capital city of northwestern province of Gansu, China, and the evidence cited i [...] Keep reading »

In an interview with the New York Times in late May when his “probation” ended, China’s most famous artist, Ai Weiwei, recounted the details of his forced disappearance in April, 2011. “The policeman yanked the black hood over Ai Weiwei’s head. It was suffocating. Written in white across the outside was a cryptic phrase: ‘Suspect 1.7.� [...] Keep reading »

Liang Xiaojun, July 23, 2012 This is the second article about Song Ze’s case following Dr. Xu’s, and it is by Song Ze’s lawyer Xiao Xiaojun (梁小军). — The Editors     I first met Song Ze (宋泽) in late April. The weather was still cool, and he showed up following a call from Xu Zhiying, a bashful, quiet boy [...] Keep reading »

By Xu Zhiyong Today and tomorrow, we bring to you two articles about the case of a young man called Song Ze. He was a volunteer at Dr. Xu Zhiyong’s Open Constitution Initiative, an NGO dedicated to providing legal aid to disempowered people in China. We at SRIC are in no position to fully report the many cases such as Song Ze’s, but what we can [...] Keep reading »

By Yaxue Cao, published: November 12, 2011   To say life didn’t start promisingly for him is a vast understatement. He was born on November 12, 1971, in the impoverished village Dong Shi Gu (东师古) in Yinan County, Shandong province, the youngest of five boys. He lost his vision to high fever when he was around one year old. He didn’t [...] Keep reading »