The Trials of At Least Eight Activists to Begin This Week

The trials of at least eight people associated with the New Citizens Movement will begin this week in Beijing. The New Citizens Movement is a loose collection of Chinese citizens who promote constitutionalism and have urged Communist Party officials to disclose their personal wealth.

Xu Zhiyong, the most prominent of the accused, will face trial on Wednesday. Charges leveled against the activists range from “unfurling banners, issuing leaflets, and using an amplifier to give speeches” to “assembling a crowd to disrupt order in a public space.”

Trial of Xu Zhiyong to Begin Next Week

The trial of Xu Zhiyong, lawyer and co-founder of the New Citizens Movement-a loosely organized group of activists seeking to develop Chinese civil society-will begin on Wednesday, January 25. Xu is accused of “organizing, planning and inciting” a series of public “incidents” and making “banners and leaflets.” Under Chinese law, the charges carry a maximum sentence of five years, and observers fear Xu will receive the harshest sentence possible.

Stanley Lubman: Xi Reiterates Commitment to Controlling Chinese Courts

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Chinese legal expert Stanley Lubman argues that a recent speech delivered by Chairman Xi exposes the hollowness of prior official directives seemingly urging judicial reform and independence.

Prominent Uighur Scholar Detained for "Breaking the Law"

Chinese authorities detained Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti for “breaking the law.” Many regard Tohti, an economics professor at Beijing’s Minzu University, as the country’s most high-profile Uighur academic. Tohti’s arrest is part of Chairman Xi Jinping’s recent broader crackdown in China’s restive Xinjiang province. State media has characterized this repressive campaign as a “strategy shift” from development to maintaining stability.

"Cultural Threats" to be a Focus of Newly Created National Security Committee

Providing a glimpse into the anticipated role of China’s national security committee, the creation of which was announced at the Third Plenum last November, a senior colonel stressed the need for the high-level agency to focus on “five unconventional security threats,” which includes ideological struggle against Western nations. The colonel placed particular emphasis on the need to address threats posed by the Internet. Such statements indicate that the Party seeks to enhance censorship controls in an effort to maintain political stability.

Censorship

China Faces Enormous Challenges in Ending Organ Trafficking

Although the Chinese government has pledged to combat the country’s thriving black market for organs, international medical observers, human rights experts, and Chinese citizens are skeptical that the government has the will or ability to make significant progress in phasing out the highly profitable organ transplant industry.

organ harvesting