April 1, 2021 Share
A Chinese law firm linked to the defense of one of 12 pro-democracy activists who allegedly attempted to flee Hong Kong for Taiwan has been ordered to disband, a development that reflects tightening constraints on rights lawyers in China.
Human rights lawyer Ren Quanniu, who represented one of the so-called Hong Kong 12, confirmed to VOA Mandarin that authorities told him to close the Henan Guidao Law Firm, located in China’s Henan province, of which he was a partner.
The activists took to sea in August after Beijing enacted a sweeping national security law in Hong Kong in June. Beijing Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying tweeted, “Seriously?! Fact check: The 12 people were arrested for illegally crossing the border in waters. They are not democratic activists, but elements attempting to separate #HongKong from China.”
Lawyers of Hong Kong Activists Punished: One Firm Forced to Dissolve, One Lawyer Barred From Travel
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China Orders Law Firm Linked to Hong Kong 12 to Dissolve
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Zhang Zhan’s (張展) footage of bedridden patients lining a hospital corridor in Wuhan gave a rare, unvarnished glimpse from China’s COVID-19 ground zero in the first months of the pandemic.
The video was one of many that helped land the citizen journalist and former lawyer in jail, where she has been severely weakened by a hunger strike to protest her treatment.
In another clip, Zhang calmly faces down a security officer who accosts her and orders her to stop filming.
“It’s my right to monitor the government,” she said, as the man attempted to snatch away her phone.
Zhang has become “symbolic”