China cracks down on rights lawyers.7/30/2009 2:26:17 AM The authorities in China appear to have mounted a sweeping crackdown crack·down n. An act or example of forceful regulation, repression, or restraint: a crackdown on crime. Noun 1. on human rights lawyers, revoking the licences of more than 50 lawyers in the past week. The lawyers handle a wide-range of cases, from families affected by last year's tainted taint v. taint·ed, taint·ing, taints v.tr. 1. To affect with or as if with a disease. 2. To affect with decay or putrefaction; spoil. See Synonyms at contaminate. 3. milk scandal, to Tibetan and Uighur rights and the representation of prominent dissidents. But the government's crackdown has now forced many of these law firms This list of the world's largest law firms by revenue is taken from The Lawyer and The American Lawyer and is ordered by 2006 revenue:[1]
One such firm is the Yirenping Centre, which for years has fought scores of cases of discrimination against women, gays and people who are HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. positive. On Wednesday the authorities showed up unannounced to collect evidence and investigate supposed illegal activities. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. officials the problem centred on the publication of the office's newsletter, which had not been given the necessary government approval. 'Increasingly restrictive' "I suspect our anti-discrimination activities have offended of·fend v. of·fend·ed, of·fend·ing, of·fends v.tr. 1. To cause displeasure, anger, resentment, or wounded feelings in. 2. many people, including big corporations, government officials, and wealthy businessmen," Lu Jun, a lawyer with Yirenping, told Al Jazeera This article is about the TV network and channel. For other uses, see Jazira. Al Jazeera (Arabic: الجزيرة, al-ğazīrä . Human Rights in China, a US-based rights group, said on Thursday that the raid on Yirenping showed the "increasingly restrictive legal environment under which China's civil society organisations must operate". The raid on Yirenping is just the latest blow to the handful of organisations in China that push for social change and justice. Last week police raided the offices of another Beijing law firm, Gongmeng, which offers legal aid specialising in human rights issues. The raid saw police confiscate To expropriate private property for public use without compensating the owner under the authority of the Police Power of the government. To seize property. When property is confiscated it is transferred from private to public use, usually for reasons such as most of the firm's computers and office equipment. In the months previously, several of Gongmeng's lawyers have had their licences revoked because of their work. 'Clear signal' Teng Biao, one of the firm's lawyers, says the crackdown appears to be a warning to other organisations to rein-in their activities. "The fines slapped on our legal aid office, and the possibility of our closure, would be a blow to civil society," he told Al Jazeera. "It also sends a clear signal to other organisations fighting for human rights and the public interest to be more careful. It's very worrying." The groups targeted in the crackdown are China's social conscience. They are the organisations which have helped families with babies sickened by toxic milk formula, or who have raised the profile of powerless groups, such as migrant workers A migrant worker is someone who regularly works away from home, if they even have a home.[] Although the United Nations' use of this term overlaps with 'foreign worker', the use of the term within the United States is more specific. and peasants. Teng says the crackdown has had a devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. effect. 'Harassed' "Most human rights lawyers are based in Beijing. And over the last few months, I'd say the effect has been huge," he says. "I'm guessing about 70 per cent of rights attorneys have been harassed." In most cases the authorities are using technicalities to handicap organisations. Gongmeng, for example, has been targeted with a tax investigation. But with the 60th anniversary of the founding of communist China approaching andndash; a sensitive date in the country's political calendar - what many suspect is that this is a concerted effort to silence organisations that highlight difficult issues. The assault on these institutions means that after the dust settles, if the government succeeds, there may well be no one left to fight for the public interest. Aljazeera.net 2003 - 2009 Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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