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Home , Huang Qi, Jiang Tianyong, Liu Wei (politician), Liu Xia (poet), Soft detention, Teng Biao

April 8,2011. into soft detention. See UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances Press Release, put releasedor being beforeintimidated and torturedoften then are facilitiesand detention secret to taken are dissent of suspected persons where ,disappearancesenforced in of pattern a is there expressed serious concerns over the wave of disappearances over the preceding months, stressing that Defenders (CHRD). On April 8, 2011, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances 1 Internet on gatherings peaceful for calls re-posting or posting past for the charges of subversion severe faced most Some decade. the of one be to considered is that crackdown a counter-operation, security massive the of part as interrogations lengthy to subjected were or restricted movements their had surveillance, arrest tight or house under put disappeared, arrested, reportedly were artists and defenders rights human lawyers, bloggers, activists, opposition of Dozens places. symbolic or central certain to 27 people February on on called peacefully march post to online another police, the from response a massive with faced Although China. across cities several in 2011, 20, on February slogans chant to protestors urges post online The in Egypt. those and Tunisiato similar uprising”, Revolution-style “Jasmine a start to urging 2011, 19, people February on online call especially anonymous an reactions after Their well. intensified as China in effect spill-over a revolutions have the may that concerned increasingly became authorities Chinese context Political 2010. Expo World Shanghai the as such events, and anniversaries key of eve sensitive the on association and assembly expression, of freedoms restrict and defenders on to crackdown continued also authorities The ance. disappear enforced and detention arbitrary including intimidation, of and acts harassment various to subjected be to continued scandals, various in the role Government’s questioned who and corruption evictions, forced denounced who HIV/AIDS, on working defenders as well as including lawyers rights human defenders, 08”, “Charter rights of human signatories the context, that In Africa. North and East the Middle in events the following 2011 February in started that Revolution” calls “Jasmine a online for anonymous to response in dissent of form any against increased repression their authorities Chinese the addition, In 2011. and 2010 throughout restricted ob CHI annual re annual

/ /

s Following the events in the Middle East and North Africa in early 2011, in early Africa North and East Middle in the events the Following severely remained freedoms fundamental and activities rights human China, In See (HRIC) Press Release, February 23, 2011 and Chinese Human Rights Rights Human Chinese and 2011 23, February PressRelease, (HRIC) China in Rights Human See er v a t ory ory p ort ort f or or N 2011 th e e A p ro t e cti on o on f

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In 2010-2011, freedom of expression and access to information contin- ued to be severely restricted. Journalists were jailed or dismissed from employment as a form of reprisal against reporting, which was considered inappropriate by the authorities. The use of Internet, in particular access to independent news and microblogging and social networking websites continued to be tightly restricted by the so-called Great Firewall of China. Bloggers and activists posting messages online that were considered threat-

ening by the authorities, were facing increasingly2 severe consequences as a result, including lengthy jail sentences . On a positive note, in March 2010, Google announced that it had redirected Google.cn to the Hong Kong-based search engine Google.com.hk, where it now provides uncen- sored search results. This was done in response to cyber attacks on e-mail

accounts of dissidents and human rights activists,3 which reportedly origi- nated from Government-affiliated servers .

Moreover, in October 2010, the amendments to the Law on Guarding State Secrets, adopted on April 22, 2010, came into effect. The revised law still does not contain a precise definition of what actually constitutes State secrets, which makes it possible that virtually any information, including maps or economic statistics, can be considered as State secrets. This is all the more worrying since authorities frequently resort to the law in order to avoid disclosing information. Additionally, the amendments bring elec- tronic data under the scope of the law, by obliging Internet providers and telecommunications companies to provide information on persons leaking or simply sharing information considered to be State secrets. It is feared that the Government will use the new provisions of the revised law to

tighten its crackdown on freedom of expression, and in particular on cyber-4 dissidents and human rights defenders exposing Government misconduct .

In October 2010 also, the Fifth Plenum of the 17th Congress of the appointed Vice-President Mr. Xi Jinping, the Vice-Chair of the Central Military Commission. The appointment of Mr. Xi Jinping into this position foreshadows that he will succeed as the President of the People’s Republic of China in 2012.

The Shanghai World Expo 2010 was held from May to October and was surrounded by a number of human rights-related controversies. It is indeed believed that approximately 18,000 families were displaced from their homes in order to provide space for the exhibition. To prevent victims of forced

2 / See CHRD, Annual Report on the situation of human rights defenders in China 2010, March 3, 2011. 3 / See HRIC, China Rights Forum No. 2, April 2010. 300 4 / See CHRD, China Human Rights Briefing, April 27- May 3, 2010 and HRIC Press Release, April 29, 2010. Chairperson of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention JointSpecial PressRapporteur Release, on the December Promotion 13, 2010.and ProtectionInternet of the Rightregarding to Freedomthe Nobel of OpinionPeace and Prize.Expression Seerelocations, andSpecial Rapporteur acts of intimidation,on the Situation and blockingof Humandetentions ofRights meansof human Defenders,rights of communication,defenders, and over 120 otherincluding cases of house removalarrests, their travelof statement contentrestrictions, the experts on theforcedstated that since 8 October 2010, they had overreceived the crackdown reports on human of rightsover defenders20 arrests since Liuor Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace of OpinionPrize. andIn Expression and the Working Group on Arbitrary7 Detention expressed their serious concerns of HumanRights. Since itsrelease over haveit. 10,000 people signed 6 5 ceremony the of time the around disrupted widely also were connections phone cell and Internet detention”. “soft or arrest house under put were ,others from awaywhile stay or leave to forced were them of Some as they were detained, interrogated, placed under house arrest or surveillance. significantly intensified dissidents activists,and lawyers, rights intellectuals human ceremony,on the December, crackdown to in the up leading ment announce the from months the during Furthermore, . in ceremony award the attending from possible as Governments many as discourage to the information concerning the award and blocked foreign broadcasters, all censored authorities 2010,Chinese China”includingOctober in in rights human the Nobel Peace Prize “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamentalof dozen a and diplomats media from accessing the the courtroom. After Mr.prevented was that was awardedCourt forces The floor. security the by take surrounded to lawyers defence the allowing without verdict his gave Judge the and minutes few sentence. a only lasted Xiaobo’s session court The Liu Mr. confirmed Court People’s High Municipal power”. State 11,of subversion February for On “inciting 2010, Beijing the rights political of years’ two deprivation and imprisonment of years eleven 2010-2011. in particular,2011,In April Mr.of as authorities the by intimidated and harassed judicially be country the in democracy and rights human promote that activists 08” “Charter on crackdown Ongoing instructions the disregards who threateningany punishment”“strict for others or petition on or near the Expo grounds for the duration with of the Expo,gather to not them warning notice a received or home detention” at “soft under held were petitioners.Many threatened and detained, harassed evictions from drawing attention to their grievances during the Expo, police Jinzhou, Liaoning province, after being sentenced on December 25, 2009 to scholar,08,and in activistCharter detained the remained of co-author and

/ / /

Signatories Signatories of “Charter 08”, an online petition calling for political reforms

The Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom Charter 08 was published on December 10, 2008, on the 60 See HRIC PressSee HRIC Release, 2010 Action,April28,2010. April1, andCHRDUrgent BBC and CNN , and started an aggressive diplomatic campaign in order Liu Xiaobo Liu th anniversary of the Universal Declaration , a prominent human rights rights ,human prominent a 6 ann , continued to to ,continued u a l re p or t 5

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On October 10, 2010, Mrs. Liu Xia, Mr. Liu Xiaobo’ wife, was placed under house arrest by Beijing municipal State security officers after a visit to her imprisoned husband. As of April 2011, she remained under house arrest. On June 28, 2010, Mr. Liu Xianbin, a human rights activist and signatory of Charter 08 who previously served two prison terms for his human rights and democracy activism, was detained on suspicion of “inciting subversion of State power” by police in Suining city, province, after writing a series of articles and essays calling for democratic reform and human rights. The police raided his home, and the following day officers summoned, harassed and threatened his wife and thirteen-year old daughter. Mr. Liu also worked to increase public awareness of other persecuted democracy activists and human rights defenders. On March 25, 2011, he was sentenced to ten years in prison, on charges of “incitement to subvert State power”.

The sentence is 8the second longest handed down for inciting subversion after Mr. Liu Xiaobo . Chinese artist Mr. Wu Yuren, a signatory of Charter 08, was detained on June 1, 2010 while reporting a theft to the police station, and was allegedly beaten while in detention. His detention relates to the protests he organised in February 2010 to draw attention to the forced demolition of the 008 Arts District. Mr. Wu is known to have been involved in other protests over land seizures that threatened art studios. On April 3, 2011,

Mr. Wu was released on parole pending a verdict 9to be handed down in his case for “obstructing public affairs with violence” . Increased repression of human rights defenders working on HIV/AIDS Human rights defenders promoting and protecting the rights of persons living with HIV/AIDS continued to face serious obstacles and to be harassed by judicial and tax authorities. In particular, as of April 2011,

Mr. , an HIV/AIDS activist, co-founder and 10former Director of the Beijing Aizhixing Institute of Health Education as well as winner of the 2008 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, remained detained in . His health gradually deteriorated while he

was in detention and he was suspected of suffering from11 liver cancer. Yet, the authorities rejected applications for medical parole . Furthermore, on

8 / See CHRD, China Human Rights Briefings, June 22-30, 2010 and HRIC Press Releases, June 29, July 6, 2010, February 1 and March 25, 2011. 9 / See CHRD, China Human Rights Briefings, November 16-23, 2010 and January 25-February 1, 2011 and HRIC. 10 / A grassroots organisation that aims at educating the public about HIV/AIDS and at advocating for the rights of persons suffering from AIDS. 11 / Mr. Hu Jia was arrested on December 30, 2007 and charged with “inciting subversion of State power”, and was sentenced on April 3, 2008 to three years and six months in prison. On June 26, 2011, he was released after completing his sentence. Yet, he remained subjected to a one-year deprivation of his 302 political rights. See HRIC Press Release, June 27, 2011. 12 serious face to continued practitioners, Gong Falun as well and as Uyghurs Tibetans, defenders, as rights human such prisoners, authorities, political of the by defence the “sensitive” deemed are that cases on taking lawyers rights human on Crackdown of result a campaigning as his monitoring and harassment police frequent to subject edly report was Xi Mr. detention, Tian his to Prior infected. similarly others for and himself for both hospital the from compensation request and medi cine more obtain had to order who in him hospital, visited had Mr. him. Tian Government dismissed the of Director the with argument an after arrested was Mr. 2010, 2,Tian August On Institute. for Aizhixing worked the also He HIV/ supplies. blood with public infected contaminated people through of AIDS thousands to the for compensation of campaigned has old, granting years nine was he when transfusion tainted a blood of result a as AIDS contracted who Mr. Tian, years, property”. recent of In destruction “intentional for prison in year HIV. one to of province, epidemic an city, and People’sin Zhumadian County Court by Xincai the sentenced transfusions for Mr.2011, 11, February On blood of sale Government- the between supported link the up covering of leaders party former two accused Mr.letter,Bingzhong this In Institute. Research Education Mr. by written was letter,which the remove to authorities the from requests several received Education, Health of Institute Aizhixing the of Director and Foundation in Mr. HIV.role its and spreading plasma blood in trade the about 2010 December in letter open an published it after Foundation, Research Aizhixing the of website the down shut to order an issued Beijing of office information municipal the 2011,15, March On status. compliance tax NGO’s the of inspection their resumed had authorities the that Beijing the informing Bureau, Taxation from Local notice a received Institute the 2010, 7, September down.On closing into Institute the inspectors pressuring at tax aimed and the of illegal viola be might actions tax the for years, five within punished be discovered not cannot tions organisation an Management Collection, the Tax on of Law the to according that fact the Given back 2002. dating to records tax produce should Institute the that note a left and Bureau Taxation employees Institute. questioned Aizhixing They ofthe offices at the Local arrived Beijing the from inspectors two 2010, 19, May / Lawyers working on human rights cases, in particular those who are are who those particular in cases, rights human on working Lawyers See CHRD,, February China HumanRights Briefing 9-14, 2011 andHRIC. 12 . Chen Bingzhong Chen Wan Yanhai Wan Tian Xi Tian , Founder of the Aizhixing Research Research Aizhixing the of Founder , , a Beijing-based AIDS activist, was was activist, AIDS Beijing-based a , , a former head of the China Health Health China the of head , former a ann u a l re p or t

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repression by the authorities and frequently had their licences cancelled or revoked. The authorities apply different approaches to the licences of human rights lawyers. In most cases the licences are cancelled, which still leaves open the possibility of reapplying for a licence at a later date. However, the administrative punishment of revocation is more severe

than denying13 renewals, since this decision permanently bars lawyers from practicing . For instance, Mr. Tang Jitian and Ms. Liu Wei, two Beijing human rights lawyers, were subjected to judicial harassment and saw their

licenses14 definitively revoked in May 2010, by the Beijing Bureau of Justice (BBJ) . Both were accused of “disrupting court order and interfering with

the normal conduct15 of litigation activities”, on the basis of Article 49 of the Lawyers’ Law . On the day of the hearing, on April 22, 2010, about twenty supporters who had gathered outside the building of the BBJ in a show of strong support along with 200 lawyers, activists and petitioners, were taken away by the police and at least eight other lawyers and activists were prevented from attending the hearing by Beijing police, including Ms. Liu Wei’s representative. In June 2010, Mr. Tang and Ms. Liu appealed for administrative reconsideration of the revocation of their licenses; and on September 3 and August 27, 2010, respectively, they received written notice that the original decisions were upheld. Chinese human rights lawyers also faced restrictions on their freedom of movement. Mr. Tang Jitian faced restrictions on travel and, in January 2011, Mr. , a Beijing human rights lawyer, was prevented from leaving China to attend a seminar on human rights in the .

Lawyers were also subjected to arbitrary detentions and assaults as repris- als to their human rights activities. Mr. , a promi- nent self-taught human rights lawyer, was finally released from prison on

September 9, 2010 after having served over four years of imprisonment for16 his work exposing human rights abuses in Linyi city, province . However, despite having served his full sentence, Mr. Chen and his family

13 / See CHRD Urgent Action, April 22, 2010. 14 / Mr. Tang and Ms. Liu are two of about 20 lawyers whose licenses were not renewed by their local bureaus of justice in June 2009 in reprisal for taking on some of these “sensitive” cases. 15 / The accusations refer to the trial of a practitioner that took place on April 27, 2009 where Mr. Tang Jitian and Ms. Liu Wei, representatives of the defendant, had walked out the courtroom after pointing out the repeated interruptions by the Presiding Judge and court officials. See HRIC Press Release, April 20, 2010. 16 / Mr. Chen, a lawyer involved in denouncing the extensive use of violence by the authorities of Linyi in relation to birth planning policies, had been arbitrarily detained since March 2006. In December 2006, he was sentenced to four years’ and three months’ imprisonment for “intentionally disrupting traffic” and “inciting material destruction”. While in detention, he was denied appropriate medical care and would reportedly be in very poor health. See HRIC profile, “Incorporating Responsibility 2008: Chen 304 Guangcheng”. company, and for having public interest activities inconsistent with its commercial enterprise designation. 20 17 officers police Shanghai and Beijing by Beijing in hotel her at arrested was rights, women’s reproductive promoting also and evictions forced ing rights, oppos housing defending in active been has who activist Shanghai For 23, authorities. the instance, on February 2010, Ms. by targeted return in were activists rights human prominent of harassment activists rights human other of harassment the denouncing those of harassment judicial and detention Arbitrary confiscated other as items well as books account company’s the returned also 2009. August in PSB The detention from released were they since trial ing Director, Mr.Gongmeng’s against measure bail the removed also police The fines”. its the paid has “company because Initiative) Constitution Open the as evasion” known “tax (also of suspected Gongmeng NGO Beijing against case the dismissed (PSB) Bureau Security Public 2010, Beijing September Mr.of bouts office. He returned home after a few days of disappearance of days few a after home returned He office. by kidnapped on unknown individuals April 29, was 2011,Centre, of outside his NGO’s Yirenping Beijing NGO rights health the with advisor legal missing Mr.as him register to refused police the and custody in was Mr. Gao that denied subsequently authorities The torture. subjected on reappeared only had March 28,He he which had been during a detention 14-month 2010 following 2010. 20, April on heard last was 2006, in subversion” “inciting for sentence suspended with a along receiving since family, his surveillance, police constant under been had who Gao,Mr. unknown. cases,remained rights human high-profile on took who Office, period this family his during and he suffered abuses the and vide a arrest of house illegal release the the detailing to otape related reportedly was beating The treatment. Shuanghou medical from seeking prevented from were and subsequently home at their town police and city Linyi from officers security beaten national by were wife his and Guangcheng Mr.Chen 2011, 8, February conditions. On harsh very under arrest house extrajudicial to subjected were 18 2011. 19 /

/ / / Human rights defenders expressing their opposition to the judicial judicial the to opposition their expressing defenders rights Human

See CHRD,See

See CHRD Urgent Action,April29,See CHRDUrgent 2011. See HRIC PressSee HRIC Releases, February 4,10, 17andApril8,2010 On August 17, 2009, Gongmeng had been shut down for providing “false data” when it registered as a Xu Li Fangping Li 20 . , February, Briefing Rights China9-14,Human Press 2011HRIC and Release, February 11, Gao , staffer and , a Beijing-based human rights lawyer, working as a as working lawyer, rights human Beijing-based a , , Director of the Beijing-based Shengzhi Law Law Shengzhi , Beijing-based the of Director 17 Zhuang Lu Zhuang . Moreover, as of April 2011, the wherea the 2011, April of as Moreover, . , await on out bail been had who Mao Hengfeng Mao ann 19 18 u . Finally, in in Finally, . . Likewise, Likewise, . a l re p or

t

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and placed under administrative detention for ten days for “disturbing social order”. She was arrested and detained because of the slogans she shouted outside the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court on December 25, 2009 to denounce the arbitrary sentencing of Mr. Liu Xiaobo. On March 4, 2010, Ms. Mao Hengfeng, who had already been detained several times and subjected to ill-treatment in the past years due to her human rights activities, was ordered by the Shanghai Municipal Committee for the Management of Re-education Through Labour (RTL) to serve one and a half year of RTL. Likewise, on February 13, 2010, Mr. Tong Guojing, another Shanghai protester who shouted slogans outside the Beijing Court on December 25, 2009, was also ordered to serve one and a half year of RTL, though his RTL decision cited his participa-

tion in a gathering of more than 100 people in Shanghai in January21 2010 – not the Beijing court incident – as the basis for the punishment . While detained at the RTL facility, Ms. Mao was subjected to ill-treat- ments, including beatings by the RTL guards and by the persons in charge of the facility. On February 22, 2011, Ms. Mao Hengfeng was granted medical parole because of her very high blood pressure. Yet, on the morning of February 23, 2011, more than ten police officers blocked the entrance of her home and did not allow her to leave. The police officers stayed in front of the house until February 24, 2011, when the Head of the Anhui RTL facility, along with a dozen Shanghai and Anhui police officers, entered

Ms. Mao’s home and22 took her away and announced that her medical parole had been rescinded . It is not until June 9, 2011 that Ms. Mao’s husband received official notice regarding Ms. Mao’s whereabouts, when he was

informed that she had been kept in the Shanghai prison general23 hospital from February 24 for treatment of her high blood pressure . In February

2011, Messrs.24 Jiang Tianyong, Tang Jitian and , a human rights legal scholar , disappeared after a meeting in a restaurant with several other lawyers and human rights activists from Beijing to discuss the case of Mr. Chen Guangcheng, on February 16, 2011. During the meeting, the restaurant had been surrounded by police officers from the Beijing Municipal PSB, who stayed until the end of the meeting. The police then arrested Mr. Jiang Tianyong, who was interrogated at the police station of Haidian district, before being released five hours later. During his

21 / See HRIC Press Release, March 9, 2010. 22 / The Anhui RTL facility authorities cited Ms. Mao Hengfeng’s “illegal activities inconsistent with [the stipulations of] medical parole” as the basis of the decision, but did not specify what those activities were. 23 / Ms. Mao was released from RTL on July 28, 2011, one month before the completion of her 18-month RTL order. The decision to release her early was based on the prison hospital’s suggestion that she get hospital treatment outside of prison. See HRIC Press Release, July 28, 2011. 24 / On June 3, 2008, Mr. Teng Biao, who represented AIDS activists, Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetan 306 protesters, and farmers fighting land seizures, he was denied the renewal of his license. Director of the Tianwang Human Rights Centre, who remained detained detained remained Centre, who Rights Human the Tianwang of Director On June 9, 2010, the Sichuan Provincial High People’s Court upheld upheld Court People’s High Provincial Sichuan the 2010, 9, June On 25 of charge the on People’s Court, Intermediate Municipal the by 9, rights, on February years’ three issued tional 2010 of political deprivation Mr. earthquake Sichuan the in died who children carried of protests families the the about by out journalists foreign to interviews and reports provided also He children. their lost website had who his parents on of plight the information about published and disaster the of provided victims times, to aid numerous zone earthquake Sichuan the visited he after 10, 2008, June on arrested arbitrarily was Mr. noti decision. Huang the of fied formally not were lawyer decision his the and wife before Mr.Huang’s and hearing made was appeal oral any given not was Huang Mr. secrets”. State of possession “illegal for prison in years three to sentenced in as Chengdu of 2011.April On 23,November 2009, Mr. had Huang been by Mr. lodged appeal the rejected Court 8,Intermediate period. City On February reporting Chengdu the 2010 throughout harassment judicial face to continued construction, in larities irregu the and of casualties on number the information publicising merely victims, to or assistance providing 2008,May in activists Sichuan in quake corruption and scandals various in role Government’s the questioned who defenders against repression Ongoing disappearance. enforced of months two after 19,2011, April on home 29, arrest,Mr. house while under 2011,returned remained April but Jiang Tianyong and 5 April on respectively released were Biao Teng and Jitian printer, a books, of Mr.articles, DVDs photos and computers, Messrs. Guangcheng. Chen Tangtwo confiscating home, his searched Unit National PSB’s Security Municipal Beijing the from computer. policemen 20, a February and on police the by confiscated called and also was Mr.Biao Teng2011, 19,house February On brother’s Tianyong Jiang Mr. returned to police Beijing the evening, same That staying. temporarily was he where home, brother’s his from Tianyong’s him took Jiang Mr. policemen by Beijing as family identified men five 2011, or 19, four February “within On home days”. return would he that told was She husband. her about ask to station police Guang’anmenwai the to went wife Jitian’s Mr.2011, 21,Tang February of morning the away. On him dragged and home Jitian’s Mr.entered Tang officers police two 2011, 16, February of evening the On ill-treated. allegedly was Tianyong Mr.Jiang detention, Releases, December 26,2010 andJanuary 2and June 2011. 11, / Although more than two years had passed since the devastating earth devastating the since passed had years two than more Although

On June 10, 2011, Mr. was released after completing his three-year term. See HRIC Pressthree-year HRIC his JuneMr.See 2011, releasedOn term. wascompleting 10,after Qi Huang TanZuoren ’s previous sentence to five years in prison, with an addi an with prison, in years five to sentence ’sprevious Huang Qi Huang , a cyber-dissident and and , a cyber-dissident

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“inciting subversion of State power”. Mr. , an environmen- tal activist based in Chengdu, Sichuan province, was detained in March 2009, three days after the online release of a report entitled Independent Investigation Report by Citizens, which presented findings of his investiga- tion into the causes of the widespread collapse of school buildings during the May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan. However, he was tried on the basis of attempting to organise commemorative activities for the 20th anniver- sary of the Tiananmen Massacre and conducting interviews with “hostile foreign forces” such as the exiled student leader Wang Dan. On August

12, 2009, his trial took place before the Chengdu Municipal Intermediate26 People’s Court but the verdict was only announced on February 9, 2010 . The court session in June reportedly lasted only a few minutes. The court was surrounded by security forces that prevented supporters, the media, and diplomats from accessing the courtroom. At least four of his support- ers, including Mr. Tan Zuoren’s daughter, Mr. Chen Yunfei, a Chengdu activist, and Mr. Li Tinghui, a petitioner, were taken away by the police.

Likewise, although more than two years had passed since the tainted milk scandal, activists and relatives of victims trying to establish account- ability and raise awareness of the violations and irregularities commit- ted continued to face severe consequences for their activities. Mr. Zhao Lianhai, a children’s rights activist and founder of the website Kidney Stone Babies, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on November 10, 2010, on charges of “causing a serious disturbance” and “disturbing social order”, for organising a victims’ association in connection with the 2008 tainted milk scandal. He announced his intention to appeal the sentence. However, on November 22, 2010, the final day on which he could file an appeal, Mr. Zhao’s lawyers received a note stating that he no longer needed their services. It is feared that he was pressured by authorities to fire his

lawyers and drop his plan to appeal his conviction.27 On December 28, 2010, Mr. Zhao was released on medical parole .

Activists exposing the abuse of power of local authorities were also repressed and received harsh prison sentences ostensibly in retaliation of their activities. As of April 2011, Mr. Qi Chonghuai, a reporter and former Shandong Bureau Chief for the Fazhi Morning Post, remained detained in Zaozhuang prison, Tengzhou city, Shandong province. Mr. Qi was arrested

26 / The appeal decision was handed down four months after the appeal, in violation of Article 196 of the Criminal Procedure Law, which stipulates that an appeal trial should be concluded within one and a half months after the filing of the appeal. 27 / See HRIC Press Releases, March 10 and 30 and November 10, 2010 and CHRD Urgent Action, 308 December 15, 2010 and China Human Rights Briefing, December 28, 2010 - January 3, 2011. 30 social stability”. 29 11 andJuly 28,2011. Press HRIC See Shandong. wasin Releases,rejectedcourtappeal a byhis 2011, June2010Mayand 30, July25, On embezzlement”. and blackmail “extortion forand prison in years additional eight to 2011 28 Symposium, Rights Human Guizhou the of meeting a prevented already had police 9,the May PSB. On the by summoned also were group the of Jiangang Messrs. detained had police officers 24,the May on before, days Hebin few police A park.at of place take to number scheduled meeting, large weekly group’s a the 28, prevented May on instance, For released. subsequently being before during province, Guizhou Guiyang, in detention ill-treatment their suffered or questioning, for by summoned police, detained the were members its of many movement, democracy 1989 the to 21 2010 the 4, June on commemorate meeting a hold to planning was Human Symposium Rights Guizhou the as instance, For massacre. Square Tiananmen the as such anniversaries, sensitive politically commemorating gatherings ful peace to harshly particularly reacted events. authorities sensitive The cally politi key of eve the on association and assembly expression, of freedoms events and anniversaries sensitive key of eve the on defenders rights human of repression Increased detained his remained on all they Lama 2011, April Dalai of As website.the about article an posting for reportedly country”, Samdrup Mr.Rinchen sentenced Court People’s Intermediate Chamdo the 2010, 3, July On artefacts”. looted in “trading and 1998, to back dating Region, Autonomous Uighur the Yanqicounty, in in graves” “robbing of to sentenced was 15 years in and foreuros),1,100yuan fined (about prison 10,000 he oncharges 2010, 24, June On detention. their protest to tried he 3, after 2010 January on arrested was philanthropist, and activist rights Mr.brother, their addition, In species endangered poaching of officials local in accusing and group village their environmental an running for 2009 August since Tibet in tion deten (TAR), in been Region have they Autonomous prefecture, Tibetan county, Gonjo Chamdo of village their in activists environmental Tibetan Messrs. for As for in Tengzhou on corruption 2008 city reporting blackmail” and May after “extortion in prison in years four to sentenced and 2007 25, June on

/ / The authorities continued in 2010-2011 to repress defenders and restrict and restrict defenders to repress in2010-2011 continued authorities The / /

See TibetanCentre for HumanRights andDemocracy (TCHRD) Press Release, July 9, 2010. Although Mr.four-year Although his Junecompleteto on wassentenced9,was Qi Junehe 2011, on 25,term In November 2009, Mr. Chime Namgyal received a sentence of 21-months of RTL for “harming “harming for RTL of 21-months of sentence a received Namgyal Mr. 2009,Chime November In ,

to five years in prison on charges of “incitement to split the the split to “incitement of charges on prison in years five to Xu Guoqing Xu Chime ( Jigme) Namgyal Jigme) ( Chime st anniversary of the Government crackdown on on crackdown Government the of anniversary and and Du Heping Du Karma Samdrup Karma for 72 hours. Several members members Several hours. 72 for and and Rinchen Samdrup Rinchen , also a Tibetan human human Tibetan a also , 30 . ann u a l re p or , two two , t Mo Mo

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stopping the participants in front of their homes and arresting some of them, including Mr. Mo Jiangang, who was severely beaten while in deten- tion at the police station.

Furthermore, ahead of the opening of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo on May 1, 2010, officials in Shanghai detained, placed under surveillance, or threatened activists, dissidents, and petitioners across the city and in surrounding areas. Police in other cities also warned activists not to travel to Shanghai. Police sought out high-profile local activists and made it clear that any efforts to criticise the Government were to be met with swift and serious retaliation. For example, Mr. Feng Zhenghu, a veteran Shanghai activist who for years has sought to draw attention to the failures of the Shanghai judicial system, had planned to set up a “Shanghai Expo of Unjust Court Cases” during the Expo. Around midnight on April 19, 2010, Shanghai police raided his home, confiscated his computer equipment and took him away for a four-hour interrogation. Police threatened that if he spoke out during the Expo they would “make him disappear like Gao Zhisheng”. Other activists were placed in detention to ensure that they will be out of sight for the duration of the Expo. A number of activists in the provinces surrounding Shanghai, such as Messrs. Wen Kejian and Zou Wei in Zhejiang province, and Zhang Lin in Anhui province, were warned by local police against travelling to Shanghai during the Expo. Activists in cities as far away as Guangzhou, Xi’an and Beijing were warned not to travel to Shanghai or speak out during the World Expo. Several Shanghai activists were sent to RTL for reasons related to the World Expo. Finally, some veteran Shanghai petitioners were detained as a warning to others ahead of the event. For example, Ms. Shen Peilan, who has been petition- ing since the forced demolition of her home in 2003, was administratively detained for 15 days in the Minhang district detention centre in late March

and early April 2010. Ms. Shen, who was beaten during her31 detention, was subsequently released, and went into hiding in Shanghai .

In that context, human rights defenders denouncing forced evictions continued to be victim of judicial harassment. For instance, in August 2010, Mr. Liu Zhengyou, a Sichuan activist who has provided continued assistance to petitioners and victims of forced evictions and reported on human rights abuses in his hometown of Zigong city, was sentenced to two years in prison. Mr. Liu was arrested on November 11, 2009 and shortly thereafter criminally detained on suspicion of “fraud”. Eight officers also searched his apartment and copied the contents of his computer.

310 31 / See CHRD Urgent Action, April 28, 2010. to April 2011 April to 2010 January from Observatory The by issued Interventions Urgent and Guoqing Xu TangJitian, Messrs. Guizhou Human Guizhou Messrs. Mrs. Mrs. Mao Hengfeng Mao Mrs. A Mr.and LiuXiaobo Mr. Chen Guangcheng Chen Mr. izhixing Mr. Mr. Symposium/ Mr. Liu Xia Liu Mrs. Ms. Foundation TangJitian Mao Hengfeng, Mao Mr. TongGuojing TanZuoren Jiang Tianyong, Jiang Names Liu Xiaobo Liu Huang Qi Huang , Jiangang Mo Liu WeiLiu Tengand Biao Hu Jia Hu R esearch Du Heping Du Rights and

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/ CHN005/0809/126.2 OBS CHN005/0809/126.3 OBS CHN001/0310/034.1 OBS S 105.3 CHN004/068/OBS CHN009/1107/141.7 OBS CHN002/0410/051 OBS CHN003/0610/074OBS CHN002/0311/050 OBS CHN001/0310/034 OBS CHN004/1010/124 OBS Urgent 001/0311/028 OBS Urgent Urgent Urgent Urgent Urgent Urgent Urgent Urgent Urgent Urgent Press Press Reference ppeal CHN Appeal R R Appeal Appeal Appeal Appeal Appeal Appeal Appeal Appeal Appeal Appeal elease elease ann Date of Issuance of Date February 12, 2010February12, February 8, 2010February8, ctober 11, 201011, October ctober 8, 20108, October January 4, 20104, January March 10, 201010,March March 25, 201125, March pril 26, 201026, April March 2, 2011 2, March u pril 13, 201013, April March 1, 2011 1, March June 10, 201010, June June 3, 20103, June a l re p or t

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