Free Chinese Lawyers from Their Cages - Taiwanese Civil Society's Statement in Solidarity with Detained Lawyers in China's "709 Crackdown"

Event PageSign in Support

Starting precisely one year ago on July 9, 2015, the Chinese government launched a massive crackdown within the span of a month, detaining over 300 human rights lawyers, legal assistants, and related rights activists across the country. Among them, 24 have been detained under accusations of "subversion of state power," "disrupting public order," or other charges, while another 16 have been released on bail pending trial. Even based on the "criminal circumstances" reported by official Chinese state media, these detained individuals were arrested merely for upholding the lawful rights and interests of their clients in accordance with the law, or for advocating the protection of human rights—a clear violation of international human rights standards such as the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.

According to records by the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group in Hong Kong, the "709" detainees who have yet to regain their freedom include nine lawyers: Wang Yu, Wang Chuan-chang, Pao Lung-chun, Li Ho-ping, Li Chun-fu, Chou Shih-feng, Hsieh Yen-yi, Hsieh Yang, and Liu Szu-hsin; legal assistant Chao Wei; law firm staff member Wu Kan; and 13 citizen rights activists: Kou Hung-kuo, Liu Yung-ping, Lin Pin, Hu Shih-ken, Yin Hsu-an, Wang Fang, Chang Wei-hung, Chai Yen-min, Li Yen-chun, Yao Chien-ching, Liu Hsing, Hsing Ching-hsien, and T'ang Chih-shun. Furthermore, a minor child of Wang Yu and Pao Lung-chun has even been placed under house arrest, effectively serving as a hostage.

Most of these 24 individuals have been detained for nearly a year. Except for Li Ho-ping, Chou Shih-feng, and Kou Hung-kuo, who were recently transferred to prosecutors for review and prosecution, the rest have been held in police detention for nearly a year without being transferred to prosecutors or judges. What is even more alarming is that the authorities have either invoked "national security" as grounds or arbitrarily replaced their defense counsel, cutting off their contact with the outside world. Even their families and self-retained defense lawyers are unable to meet with them—including Chao Wei, whose whereabouts became unknown following rumors of alleged sexual assault last May—resulting in the severe deprivation of their due process rights, including personal safety and freedom from torture, making a fair trial impossible.

Here, we once again call upon the Chinese government, led by President Hsi Chin-ping, in order to fulfill its state obligations to protect human rights and implement President Hsi's promise of "governing the country according to law and the constitution," to:

• Immediately release detained human rights lawyers and rights activists
• Safeguard the independence of lawyers so they may fulfill their role in protecting human rights
• Amend provisions in the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law that improperly deprive defendants of their rights
• Promptly ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Taiwanese civil society previously expressed concern and protest regarding China's "709 crackdown" twice last July and this January, and the international legal community has also voiced solidarity with Chinese lawyers on an unprecedented scale. Beyond civil society's solidarity, we expect the new government to uphold the spirit of founding the nation on human rights and express grave concern over Beijing's deteriorating human rights situation in recent years. In the past, President Tsai Ing-wen, in her capacity as Chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), urged the government to "demonstrate support for China's democratic reformists with concrete actions, clearly indicate to the international community Taiwan's firm stance on valuing democratic and human rights values, incorporate democracy and human rights issues into the agenda of cross-strait exchanges, and embed human rights clauses into various agreements signed with China." Now that the DPP has returned to power, it should carry out the platform it held while in opposition:

• Accelerate the institutionalization of the refugee system, the application scope of which should not exclude political refugees of Chinese nationality.
• Incorporating human rights issues into all cross-strait exchanges and agreements, which should include safeguarding the independence of lawyers.

Initiating Organizations

Taiwan Support Network for Chinese Human Rights Lawyers
Judicial Reform Foundation
Yung-Soo Legal Foundation
Taiwan Association for Human Rights
Taipei Bar Association Human Rights Committee
Office of Legislator Ku Li-hsiung
Legislative Yuan Inter-Parliamentary International Human Rights Promotion Association
Taiwan Association for China Human Rights

Co-signing Organizations

Human Rights Protection Committee, Taiwan Bar Association
Taitung Bar Association
Taichung Bar Association
Nantou Bar Association
Pingtung Bar Association
Yunlin Bar Association
Taiwan Falun Gong Human Rights Lawyers Group
Academia Sinica for Chinese Democracy (Chinese Democracy Education Foundation)
Chinese Democracy and Culture Association
Think Taiwan
Taiwan Grassroots Peace Alliance
Taiwan Labour Front
Taiwan Health Human Rights Action Association
Taiwan Association for Labor and Social Policy Research
Taiwan Occupational Safety and Health Link
Taiwan Friends of Uyghurs
Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Salvation Corps
Covenant Watch
Congress Watch Taiwan
Taiwan Association for the Abolition of the Death Penalty
Green Party Taiwan
Tibetan-Taiwan Human Rights Link
Awakening Foundation
Environmental Jurists Association
Chung-Cheng Jumping Horse
Friends of Tibet, Taiwan
Taiwan International Medical Alliance
New Power Party
Prison Watch
Students for a Free Tibet Taiwan
Taiwan Association for China's Democratization
Taiwan Wildbird Federation (Taiwan Environmental Information Association)
Taiwan Association for Truth and Reconciliation (Taiwan Innocence Project)
Taiwan Publishing Freedom Front
Free Taiwan Party
Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan
Public Intellectuals Magazine
Tibetans in Taiwan Welfare Association
ROC Free Communication Association
Taiwan Queer Rights Promotion Association
Dr. Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation
Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights
Flaneur Culture
Economic Democracy Union
Taiwan Peace Foundation
Legal Aid Foundation
Taiwan Democracy Watch
Social Democratic Party
Intersex Care Taiwan
Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBTQ+) Hotline Association
Sinjhuang Community College
Citizen's Congress Watch
Taiwan Association for Children's Rights and Welfare
Friends of Liu Xiaobo