The case of Shanghai rights activist Chen Jianfang, who is suspected of “inciting subversion of state power,” was heard in a Shanghai court on March 19. Sources said there was a large number of police and plainclothes officers around the court, and the atmosphere was tense. Wang Yu, a former 709 lawyer in Beijing, was not able to attend the trial because he was controlled by Shanghai police for about four hours.
Wang Yu lost contact with the court and was unable to attend the trial
Wang Yu, a human rights lawyer who traveled from Beijing to Shanghai to attend the trial, lost contact with the outside world at the hotel where she was staying at around 6:00 a.m. It was later confirmed that she was taken away by some police officers to the Hongqiao police station to make a statement and was returned to the hotel at around 11:00 a.m.
Wang Yu’s husband, lawyer Bao Longjun, posted the news online just after 9 a.m. that day, calling for attention. The news said that Wang Yu went to Shanghai to observe the trial of Chen Jianfang, and Zhang Lei’s lawyer arranged to meet at the restaurant at eight o’clock, and then went to the court together. However, Zhang Lei did not see Wang Yu until the court, and has not been able to contact Wang Yu, and calls to Wang Yu’s room were not answered.
Bao Longjun told the Voice of America that on that day, he “sent two messages to Wang Yu at around 6 a.m., asking about some things. At that Time replied to one, the second only wrote two words, then no letter, probably then was controlled.”
In the case of Chen Jianfang, who is now in court, Beijing-based Bao Longjun said it is understood that the court believes that Chen Jianfang has twice been released from the commission of a lawyer and can only defend himself.
Human Rights Lawyer Receives U.S. Award
On the day that Wang Yu was taken away by Shanghai police to prevent her from attending Chen Jianfang’s trial, Secretary of State Blinken and White House National Security Adviser Sullivan met with Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Alaska on a range of issues, including human rights.
Wang Yu was one of the recipients of the State Department’s annual International Women of Courage Award, which was presented on March 8. However, she did not attend the virtual award ceremony hosted by the State Department, which featured a pre-recorded speech by Wang Yu.
In her pre-recorded speech, Wang said, “As a legal person, I still hope to promote the rule of law in China, and I also hope to achieve the rule of human rights in Chinese society, and also to achieve a fair and just …… In the cases I represent, I also see this kind of judicial corruption and degradation. So as a legal person, I feel I have an obligation to promote the rule of law.”
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken expressed concern at the time about Wang Yu’s situation and the human rights situation in China.
Blinken said, “Wang Yu is one of the most prominent human rights lawyers in China. She represents cases involving abused children, ethnic minorities, women and religious believers, and her work has until today put her under pressure from the government. We have not been able to have normal communication with her over the past two days. We are concerned because we know she wants to attend today’s ceremony. We will continue to follow up and speak out on her case as necessary.”
Landless farmers become civil rights advocates
Longtime rights activist Chen Jianfang, originally a suburban farmer in Shanghai, embarked on a rights petition after her Family‘s land was illegally expropriated and forcibly occupied by the Shanghai government and a housing developer without receiving reasonable resettlement compensation. During her more than ten years of activism, Chen has actively participated in civic activities to promote human rights and the rule of law, and in 2018 she received the Cao Shunli Memorial Human Rights Defender Award, named after Cao Shunli, a human rights activist who was detained and persecuted to death by the Beijing police.
In September 2013, Chen Jianfang and Ms. Cao Shunli jointly accepted an invitation to attend a human rights training event in Geneva that month and to observe a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Chen Jianfang was prevented from leaving the country at the Guangzhou airport. On the same day, Ms. Cao Shunli was stopped by police at the Beijing airport and was forcibly disappeared.
In December 2017, Gao Yan, the former head of the Chaoyang Branch of the Beijing Public Security Bureau, was sanctioned by the U.S. government for his responsibility in the persecution of Cao Shunli that led to her death, becoming the first Chinese police official to be sanctioned by the United States.
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