International Pressure on CCP to End Clampdown on Human Rights Lawyers

Chinese activists rally for the release of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, on the anniversary of his arrest, in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles on Aug. 13, 2022. Federic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Western lawmakers and human rights organizations have called on China to end the continuing suppression of rights defenders in China on the ninth anniversary of the Chinese communist regime’s large-scale clampdown on human rights lawyers and activists.

The U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China chairs urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to seek accountability, including sanctions, for Chinese officials responsible for their torture and arbitrary detention.

“Human rights lawyers detained during the #709Crackdown must be allowed to travel without restrictions,” the commission wrote in a July 9 post on social media platform X.

In 2015, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) initiated a nationwide campaign targeting human rights lawyers, activists, and their families. Beginning on July 9 of that year, more than 300 lawyers and activists across the nation were arrested, in what later became known as the “709 Crackdown,” or simply “709.”

German Ambassador to China Patricia Flor called on the CCP to overturn rulings on the 709 cases.

“The ‘709’ lawyers are a distinct group of brave Chinese human rights defenders whose relentless pursuit of justice has resulted in their loss of basic freedoms, as well as social and economic inclusion—in some cases, this even extends to their families,” Ms. Flor said in a July 9 post on social media. “I call on the authorities in China to overturn ... rulings on the ‘709’ cases and to restore the rights of these defenders and their families. They deserve to be celebrated.”

The Law Society of England and Wales, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, and Lawyers for Lawyers also issued a joint statement on the ninth anniversary. They called on the Chinese regime to “put an end to the unlawful detention and torture of human rights lawyers and defenders” and to “conduct an independent investigation in relation to the allegations of torture and hold those responsible to account.”

The China Human Rights Lawyers Group held an online seminar on July 9, bringing together human rights lawyers, family members of victims, and supporters to discuss how to continue defending human rights in the era that they call “totalitarianism 2.0” in China.

In a statement issued ahead of the event, they said that with so many human rights lawyers unable to practice their profession normally, Chinese citizens are bound to face more severe violations at current times and in the future.

The statement urged human rights defenders to “never surrender,” to “embrace ideals and visions,” and to “be prepared for the nation’s rebirth and to navigate through the dark night.”

Gao Zhisheng

Nine years after the 709 clampdown, some of the lawyers remain in Chinese custody.

Among them is Gao Zhisheng, a renowned human rights lawyer who went missing from his home in northern China’s Shaanxi Province in August 2017. His family said they don’t know whether he is still alive.

“It has been eight years since Gao Zhisheng disappeared. Information about him has become the CCP’s top secret,” Mr. Gao’s wife, Geng He, said in a social media post on his 60th birthday in April. “Gao Zhisheng chose to act upon what his conscience was telling him and has paid a price for it. And we choose to stand with him and bear tragedies of life together with him.”

Mr. Gao, a self-taught lawyer and devoted Christian, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times. He began practicing law in 1996, defending victims of government land seizures; families of miners seeking compensation after their loved ones died in coal mining accidents; and persecuted Christians and Falun Gong practitioners.

Before his disappearance, Mr. Gao was placed under house arrest after being released from prison in August 2014, having spent time there for his 2006 conviction of “inciting subversion of state power.”

The subversion charge is a catch-all charge that the CCP often uses against dissidents.

Geng He, the wife of missing Chinese dissident Gao Zhisheng, participates in a press conference to discuss China’s human rights, on Capitol Hill on Jan. 18, 2011. Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images

Ding Jiaxi, Xu Zhiyong

In another high-profile case, Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong, both human rights lawyers and prominent figures in the New Citizens’ Movement, were sentenced to 14 and 12 years, respectively, by a Chinese court in April 2023 after being convicted under the catch-all charge.

The New Citizens’ Movement promotes civil rights, campaigns for greater transparency regarding the wealth of CCP officials, and seeks the peaceful transition of China toward constitutionalism.

Mr. Xu and Mr. Ding were detained after they organized and attended a private gathering in December 2019 in Xiamen, a city in southern China’s Fujian Province, to discuss civil society and political reforms with like-minded associates. About half a year later, they were put on trial behind closed doors.

During the months in detention, the pair were subjected to torture and ill-treatment, including prolonged sleep deprivation, interrogation while being forced to sit on a restraining device called the “tiger chair,” food and water restrictions, and deprivation of shower access, according to Mr. Ding’s wife, Sophie Luo.

“The authorities have been handling these two cases completely against the Chinese Constitution and criminal laws from the beginning to the end,” Ms. Luo told a hearing in Congress in 2023. “The CCP is a barbaric government that does not respect any rule of law.”

A photograph of Chinese civil rights activist Xu Zhiyong and Chinese human rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi is on display during a hearing on Capitol Hill on April 20, 2023. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Wang Yu

Those who have been released still live under surveillance. Wang Yu, who was imprisoned during the 709 clampdown, is now subject to a travel ban and repeatedly harassed, threatened, searched, and physically assaulted by police, according to the U.S. State Department. She was targeted by the CCP for her work defending activists, farmers, and Falun Gong practitioners.

Her diligent efforts earned global acclaim. In 2016, she received the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize, an annual honor awarded to prominent human rights lawyers. The same year, the American Bar Association (ABA) presented her with the first ABA International Human Rights Award. In 2021, Ms. Wang was bestowed with the “2021 international women of courage award.”

Less than two weeks before the 709 crackdown, Ms. Wang had an in-depth interview with the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times, in which she explained what prompted her to stand up for Falun Gong practitioners.

Falun Gong, a meditation discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, has been the subject of a relentless persecution campaign in communist China.

For the past 25 years, Falun Gong practitioners—numbering up to 100 million in 1999 according to estimates at the time—have faced lengthy imprisonment, torture, forced labor, and forced organ harvesting.

“Carving out people’s organs when they are alive. It’s absolutely horrible. Just hearing about it gives me the creeps,” Ms. Wang told The Epoch Times in July 2015. “It’s not acceptable for a modern and civilized society.”

Wang Yu, the lawyer of late Chinese human rights activist Cao Shunli, during an interview in Hong Kong on March 20, 2014. Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images

Ms. Wang said at the time that she was well aware of the brutal persecution faced by Falun Gong practitioners and was moved by their spirit of upholding their principles.

Falun Gong practitioners “are well-regarded, kind, and helpful people, as confirmed by their families, neighbors, and colleagues,” she said at the time.

“It looks like I’m helping Falun Gong practitioners, but really, I’m advocating for all of us. We can’t stand by and let the government trample on the rights of its citizens like this,” she said. “Though my influence may be limited, I believe it can still make some difference. This is a belief shared by every human rights lawyer.”

Frank Fang and Eva Fu contributed to this report.