China Change, September 25, 2021 On December 7 and 8, 2019, twenty or so people – more than half of them human rights lawyers and the rest citizen movement enthusiasts – gathered in Xiamen, Fujian Province, for a day-and-half informal gathering. It was a mixed affair of chatting, debate, karaoke, lunch, and dinner, and the topics they touched o [...] Keep reading »

Chen Zijuan, September 19, 2021 Born in 1984, Chang Weiping has been an outstanding member of the younger generation of human rights lawyers in China. Starting in 2014, he has represented human rights defenders in areas of free speech, expression of political dissent, religious freedom, anti-discrimination in the workplace and more. For example, he [...] Keep reading »

Chen Zijuan, August 3, 2021 Dear Ministry of Public Security and Public Security Minister Zhao Kezhi, My name is Chen Zijuan (陈紫娟). I graduated from a certain institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and hold a PhD in microbiology. I am the wife of Chang Weiping (常玮平), who is currently incarcerated. My personal informatio [...] Keep reading »

Sun Dawu, July 28, 2021, in Gaobeidian Court, Baoding City, Hebei Province I thank this court for allowing me the opportunity to present my case. I would like to start with an overview of Dawu Group’s history. Dawu began when my wife raised 50 pigs and 1,000 chickens. I was an army veteran. In 1988 I founded the Dawu Group with my wife, Liu H [...] Keep reading »

Dawu Legal Team, July 25, 2021 There is no briefing on the tenth day of the trial. The trial is over and the sentences are announced on July 28, but China Change will go on completing the translation of the Briefings and Sun Dawu’s closing statement. — The Editors July 25, 2021 is the eleventh day of the Dawu trial. At present, the court ha [...] Keep reading »

Li Xiongbing, July 15, 2021 July 13, 2021, a summer day in Beijing. The sun was emerging after a rain shower. I waded through puddles on the road heading for Beijing South Railway Station. It was getting pretty late when the high-speed train arrived in Linyi. Getting off the train, I ran into a former colleague whom I hadn’t seen for years but ha [...] Keep reading »

Dawu Legal Team, July 28, 2021 On the afternoon of July 28, 2021, after 14 consecutive days of trial, the Gaobeidian Municipal Court of Baoding City, Hebei Province, pronounced the verdict and sentences in the Dawu case in court. Sun Dawu was sentenced to 18 years in prison and the Dawu Group was fined more than 1 billion yuan for the recovery and [...] Keep reading »

Yaxue Cao, July 28, 2021 There is no sun, moon and stars but dazzling lights that blind me day and night, With two armed soldiers guarding me, six shifts a day, through long and tormentous hours. Fate is fickle, I am but a living corpse, eyes wide open, forbidden to speak. In unbearable suffering I hold on to faith, as I silently miss Dawu City. Su [...] Keep reading »

Dawu Legal Team, July 23, 2021  July 23, 2021, the ninth day of the Dawu trial. As today’s session started, lawyer Hao Yachao (郝亚超) lodged a formal statement with the court: we do not accept the court’s overtime schedule, and the Gaobeidian Court should comply with the Labor Law and protect the right to rest of the defense lawyers and th [...] Keep reading »