Access to Justice
Amended Law Contains Provisions That Could Help Improve Consumer Protections
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Under China's reeducation through labor system, Chinese officials can order citizens to be held in reeducation through labor centers for up to four years without a trial or legal representation. There are no definitive figures, but hundreds of thousands of Chinese may currently be held in these centers.
Chen Kegui Denied Appropriate Medical Treatment, Medical Parole
Prison Officials Threaten Chen Kegui and Subject Him to Physical Abuse
Chinese and U.S. Lawyers Allege Wrongful Conviction
Some Chinese and U.S. lawyers have called into question the conviction of Chen Kegui in a range of public statements. On December 1, 2012, Si Weijiang, one of the lawyers hired by Chen Kegui's wife to represent him, drafted a statement in response to the sentencing of Chen Kegui (Si Weijiang's personal blog, via Caijing, 1 December 12, link appears to be no longer available; English translation available at Seeing Red in China blog, 17 December 12). In his statement, Si Weijiang asserts that Chen Kegui's actions were "lawful self-defense and in no way criminal." He describes Chen Kegui's clash with officials as follows:
Following the death of labor advocate and 1989 Tiananmen protester Li Wangyang in June 2012, Chinese authorities have employed a range of coercive measures to intimidate and silence family members and supporters of Li who have questioned the circumstances of his death and called for an investigation into his case. Beginning in June 2012, the Commission observed various reports of security officials placing restrictions on family members and supporters of Li that some have characterized as a "crackdown" and "punishment" for raising suspicions about the circumstances of his death (Guardian, 17 August 12; South China Morning Post (SCMP), 20 June 12).
The U.S.-based Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC) reported on November 7, 2012, that the organization had lost contact with Xinna and Uiles for two weeks. Xinna and Uiles lost contact with the outside world again in early December, according to Radio Free Asia, which reported on December 5, 2012, that it was unable to contact Xinna or Uiles by phone. On December 10, SMHRIC published letters that each had written in November to Chinese officials. In his letter, Uiles appeals to incoming President Xi Jinping to "please send your Public Security personnel to execute me and my mother or arrest and take us away lest we die at home of hunger and suffering."