Criminal Justice
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Introduction
Around July 9, 2015, PRC authorities launched a crackdown, commonly referred to as the “709 Crackdown,” interrogating and detaining over 300 lawyers and rights advocates, many of whom were later convicted on charges such as “subversion of state power.” While lawyers and rights advocates have been targeted by authorities on other occasions, the scale and coordinated nature of the 709 Crackdown indicate a decisive policy shift and regression of reform efforts in several areas, including the legal profession, the judicial system, and due process rights.
(Washington)—In a letter released today, a bipartisan group of U.S.
August 8, 2024
(Washington)—Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the Chair and Co-chair respectively of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China, will hold a hearing on securing the freedom of unjustly detained Americans in China on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at 10:00 am (EDT). Following the high-profile release of Americans unjustly detained in Russia, attention to the cases of Americans imprisoned in China, many jailed for over or nearly a decade, remains a pressing diplomatic concern.
(Washington)—The Chairs of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), Representative Christoper Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), today released a letter asking President Biden to submit a list of Chinese political prisoners and unjustly detained American citizens to Communist Party General Secretary and Chinese President Xi Jinping and to “demand an immediate end” to transnational repression efforts targeting American citizens and legal residents.
Transcript (PDF)
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China will hold a roundtable entitled “One Year of the National Security Law’s Repression of Fundamental Freedoms in Hong Kong” on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 from 1:00pm–2:30pm EDT.
Beginning around July 9, 2015, Chinese authorities conducted a nationwide and coordinated crackdown (709 Crackdown) that affected over 300 human rights lawyers, legal professionals, and rights advocates.[i] At least fifteen individuals detained in the crackdown have been convicted on criminal charges.[ii] In a recent interview, one of the detained lawyers Sui Muqing recalled that suppression of rights lawyers began to intensify around 2014, after a long period when “lawyers were the only group willing to speak out” and were asked by grassroots activists “to take the lead [in rights defense movements].”[iii] Authorities consistently accused lawyers of committing crimes endangering state security, reflecting the view that lawyers presented a political threat to the state.
CECC Commissioners Rubio, Smith, Feinstein, Cotton, Merkley, Lankford, Daines, Young, Walz, Pittenger, Kaptur, Hultgren and Lieu Issue Statements Mourning the Death of Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo
Commissioners ‘Deeply Saddened’ by the Loss of Liu Xiaobo and Urge Renewed Efforts to Seek the Unconditional Release and Protection of His Wife Liu Xia
Media Contact: Scott Flipse, 202-226-3777
July 13, 2017