WASHINGTON—An activist Chinese legal scholar has called forgreater international attention on rights violations in China, particularly the authorities’bid to stop rights defenders by cancelling their licenses to practice law.
“Chinahas a growing attorney community, which now has probably 140,000 to 150,000members. Lawyers have strong ties with the people, and they belong to neitherthe officialdom nor the judiciary system,” legal expert and philosopher WangGuangze said in an interview here.
“In recent years, some rights lawyers’ own rights to conduct business have beendeprived by authorities through annulment of their licenses. This act shouldreceive the close attention of the whole Chinese society as well as theinternational community,” Wang said.
"If their rights were violated, this is not only harmful to the legal practice,but also harmful to society as a whole," said Wang, who has worked at the ChinaLegal Daily, 21st Century Economic Herald, and The New York Times.
Wang was here Friday with Beijing-based rights lawyers Jiang Tianyong and Zhang Kai,both of whom have been harassed and detained following their work on behalf ofclients reviled by the authorities, such as ethnic Uyghur criminal defendantsor members of the banned Falun Gong movement.
Chinese rights advocates have long complained of intimidation, beatings, anddetention for defending dissidents. Zhang’s law license was suspended in May2009. Jiang has faced trouble from the authorities in renewing his law licensein 2006, 2008, and 2009.
Tibet an issue
Jiang, whose law license was suspended this year, has taken on politicallysensitive clients including a Tibetan religious leader charged after the March2008 unrest in Lhasa, victims of a Shanxi province slave labor ring freed inJune 2007, and members of the banned Falun Gong movement.
Jiang most recently ran afoul of the government after initiating an open letteroffering free legal services to Tibetans detained in connection with a massiveuprising against Chinese rule in March 2008.
“I believe that Tibetans are Chinese citizens and should be protected by theChinese law. The Lhasa riots attracted worldwideattention and the related trials should be carried out even more strictlyaccording to China’sConstitution and law, to ensure everyone’s rights are protected. But all the attorneyswho signed my open letter were harassed by police,” Jiang said.
Jiang said he has suffered police harassment and telephone surveillance since2005.
“Police also harassed my family members in 2006, 2008, and this year. They setup surveillance posts in front of my residence and stopped me from going out onsensitive days such as June 4, or when the authorities had an importantmeeting,” Jiang said.
“The Beijinglegal administrative authorities didn’t renew my attorney license last July, asa punishment. But now there are around a dozen lawyers nationwide who didn’tget their licenses renewed for the year of 2009.”
Uyghur defendants
Zhang Kai, whose law license was suspended in May 2009, said he was barred frommeeting with a Uyghur criminal defendant whom he had agreed to represent.
“The rights cases I dealt with include some cases of religious freedom,” hesaid, citing members of the banned Falun Gong movement, which Beijing regards as a cult, as well asdetainees who had been subject to torture.
“A typical case is a Christian by the name Ali Mujiang in Xinjiang. He is anethnic Uyghur and has been illegally detained for almost two years but there isstill no solution in sight. After I took the case, I was not allowed to meethim, and the legal authorities said to me ‘You cannot represent him.’”
“All these cases showed that basic human rights are not protected in China,”Zhang said.
“Even I was beaten up by police this past May.”
Original reporting by He Ping for RFA’s Mandarin service. Translated by PingChen. Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou.