Announcement Regarding the Annual ‘China Human Rights Lawyers Day’ Event

June 24, 2018

China’s community of human rights lawyers have made enormous sacrifices to defend the rights and freedoms of citizens and promote China’s progress toward the rule-of-law and democracy. As representatives of China’s wider community of lawyers, human rights lawyers have, since the beginning of the rights defense movement in early 2000s, been the constant target of severe government repression. This has included, without letup, cancellation of legal licenses, being stalked, being threatened, being publicly defamed, being kidnapped, being secretly disappeared, and being subject to forced labor, long-term incarceration, or torture.

On July 9, 2017, marking the second anniversary of the Communist Party’s most brutal persecution of human rights lawyers with the ‘709 incident,’ 14 human rights organizations held an ‘Inaugural China Human Rights Lawyers’ Day’ in Washington, D.C. Through speeches, a photographic exhibition, a documentary, a march, and a live broadcast online, we showed to the world the bearing and courage of China’s rights defense lawyers, and brought their plight and peril to the attention to the wider world.

A year has passed, and Zhou Shifeng (周世鋒), Jiang Tianyong (江天勇), Tang Jingling (唐荊陵), Xia Lin (夏霖), and others are still imprisoned. Yu Wensheng (余文生) and Li Yuhan (李昱函), among others, have been newly arrested and jailed. Wang Quanzhang (王全璋) remains disappeared, with no news of his whereabouts or condition for three years now. Gao Zhisheng (高智晟) has once again been disappeared, now for 11 months. Over 20 lawyers have had their licenses cancelled or face disbarment. Tragically, two outstanding rights defense lawyers, Li Subin (李蘇濱) and Li Baiguang (李柏光), have left us forever.

The persecution continues, and human rights defenders continue to hold their ground and resist. This year we hold in New York a second ‘China Human Rights Lawyers’ Day,’ and also to establish a ‘709 Rights Defense Lawyer Award.’ The date of July 9 now symbolizes the glorious and thorny road that China’s human rights lawyers walk. Every July 9, we — coming from around the world, including Chinese rights defenders and those who care deeply about the struggle for a free and democratic China — will mark ‘China Human Rights Lawyers’ Day’ and support one other through this dark time.

We firmly believe that one day in the future we will be marking the occasion of July 9 in a free China with the rule of law.

Time: July 8, 2018 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT

Location: Bateman Room, Fordham Law School (2nd floor of 150 West 62nd,New York)

Hashtags: #中國人權律師節 or #709lawyers on social media

Sponsors

Humanitarian China (U.S.A)

China Change (U.S.A)

China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group (Hong Kong)

Taiwan Support China Human Rights Lawyers Network (Taiwan)

Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers（U.S.A）

Chinese Democracy Education Foundation (U.S.A)

Dialogue China (U.S.A)

ChinaAid (U.S.A)

Taiwan Association for China Human Rights (Taiwan)

Human Rights Law Foundation (U.S.A)

New School for Democracy (Hong Kong)

Visual Artists Guild (U.S.A)

China Anti-Torture Alliance (US/China)

Institute for China’s Democratic Transition (U.S.A)

Uyghur Human Rights Project (U.S.A)

China Strategic Analysis Center (U.S.A)

Monitoring Committee on Attacks on Lawyers/

International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL) (France)

Safeguard Defenders (Hong Kong)

Students for a Free Tibet (U.S.A)

Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI)

Special Thanks：

Alexandre (艾飞力) Law Firm (NYC)

Law Office of Yujian Zhang, P.C. (NYC)

Advisors

Jerome Cohen (孔傑榮), law professor and faculty director of U.S.-Asia Law Institute, New York University.

Andrew Nathan (黎安友), Class of 1919 Professor of Political Science at Columbia University.

Albert Ho (何俊仁), solicitor, chairman of China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, current chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China.

Martin Flaherty, Leitner Family Professor, Co-Director of Leitner Center for International Law and Justice.

Terry Halliday, Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation.

Rob Precht, Founder & President of Justice Labs.

Felice Gaer, Vice-Chairperson of the Committee against Torture, UCLA professor.

Contacts

Teng Biao, tengbiao89@gmail.com

Yaxue Cao, yaxuecao@gmail.com

Zhou Fengsuo, fzhou89@gmail.com

關於舉辦第二屆 “中國人權律師節”活動的通告

中國人權律師群體，為捍衛公民自由和人權，為推動中國走向法治和民主，付出了艱苦的努力。作為中國律師群體的優秀代表，人權律師從維權運動之初開始，就一直受到中國政府的各種嚴厲打壓：吊銷律師證、跟蹤、威脅、公開汙名化、綁架、秘密失蹤、勞教、長期監禁和酷刑，無日無之。

2017年7月9日，在中共殘酷鎮壓人權律師的“709事件”兩周年之際，我們十四家人權機構在華盛頓舉辦了“首屆中國人權律師節”，通過演講、圖片展、紀錄片、網路連線、現場直播、遊行示威等方式，向世界展示中中國人權律師的勇氣和風采；關注他們的困境和危難；並譴責中國當局迫害律師的暴行。

一年過去了，周世鋒、江天勇、唐荊陵、夏霖等律師仍在獄中；余文生、李昱函等律師被捕入獄；王全璋仍然失蹤，毫無消息已經接近三年；高智晟律師再次失蹤，至今已經11個月；超過20名人權律師已經被吊銷或者面臨被吊銷律師證。令人悲痛的是，兩位優秀的人權律師李蘇濱、李柏光永遠地離開了我們。迫害仍在繼續，人權勇士們仍在堅守和抗爭。我們決定舉辦第二屆“中國人權律師節”，並將設立、評選和頒發“709人權律師獎”。

7月9日象徵著中國人權律師走過的光榮的荊棘路。每年的7月9日，我們，來自世界各地包括中國的人權捍衛者和關注中國自由民主的人們，將約定以各種方式舉辦“中國人權律師節”，在黑暗中守望相助；我們堅信，在未來的某個7月9日，我們將在一個憲政法治、自由民主的中國，慶祝這個不僅僅屬於人權律師、也將屬於全體中國律師的節日。

【時間】2017年7月8日 美東時間下午2:00-4:30

【地點】Bateman Room, Fordham Law School (2nd floor of 150 West 62nd,New York)

【社交媒體標籤】 #中國人權律師節 #709lawyers

【主辦】

人道中國（美國）

China Change (美國）

中國維權律師關注組（香港）

臺灣支援中國人權律師網路（臺灣）

聲援中國律師委員會（美國）

中國民主教育基金會（美國）

對話中國（美國）

對華援助協會（美國）

臺灣關懷中國人權聯盟（臺灣）

國際人民律師協會-受迫害律師觀察委員會（法國）

人權法基金會（美國）

華人民主書院（香港）

視覺藝術家協會（美國）

中國反酷刑聯盟（美國/中國）

中國民主轉型研究所（美國）

維吾爾人權項目（美國）

中國戰略分析智庫（美國）

国际人民律师协会（法国）

保护卫士（香港）

自由西藏學生運動 （美國）

【特別鳴謝】

Alexandre Law Firm

Law Office of Yujian Zhang, P.C.

【中國人權律師節顧問委員會成員】

孔傑榮/Jerome Cohen（紐約大學法學院教授，亞美法研究所主任）

黎安友/Andrew Nathan（哥倫比亞大學政治系教授、東亞研究所主任）

何俊仁（中國維權律師關注組主席，香港支聯會主席）

Martin Flaherty（福特海姆大學法學院教授，紐約律師協會人權委員會主任）

Terry Halliday（美國律師基金會教授）

Rob Precht（Justice Labs創辦人及主席）

【联絡人】

滕 彪 Email：tengbiao89@gmail.com

曹雅學 Email：yaxuecao@gmail.com

周鋒鎖 Email: fzhou89@gmail.com

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