China's Human Rights Lawyers: Current Challenges and Prospects

Friday, July 10, 2009 – 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
628 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Opening Statements

Representative Joseph R. Pitts

Panelists

Mr. Jerome A. Cohen, Professor, New York University School of Law; Co-director, U.S.-Asia Law Institute; Adjunct Senior Fellow for Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

[ Full text of testimony ]

Dr. James V. Feinerman, Professor of Asian Legal Studies, Georgetown University Law Center; Co-Director, Asian Law and Policy Studies Program

[ Full text of testimony ]

Mr. Nury Turkel, Attorney, Kirstein & Young, PLLC

Pastor Bob (Xiqiu) Fu, Founder and President, China Aid Association (CAA)

[ Full text of testimony ]
 
[ Additional submission - Rights defense attorneys ]
 
[ Additional submission - Open letter to the Ministry of Justice ]

Transcript (PDF) (Text)

At this CECC Roundtable, a panel of experts discussed China's human rights lawyers and their role in advancing the rule of law in China. What is the relationship between these lawyers and the Chinese government and the Communist Party? Why have Chinese authorities recently stripped some prominent rights lawyers of their lawyers' licenses? What explains the increasing harassment of human rights lawyers, what does the future hold for them, and what does their treatment suggest about the development of the rule of law in China?

Issues: Access to Justice