Lawyer Wang Quanzhang Moved from Prison into New Isolation

by Samuel Wade | Apr 07, 2020

Rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was released from prison in Shandong on Sunday, but is still being kept under closely guarded isolation. Authorities have presented this as a standard measure against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Wang’s family and supporters fear that it is a form of "non-release ‘release,’" a tactic used to contain politically disharmonious figures after the end of their formal sentences. The use of disease containment as a pretext for political control was previously suspected in cases like the detention of citizen journalist Chen Qiushi, and...

[S]uppression can ferment the next counterattack. The hangman’s noose is not tightened all at once. If there is no way to broaden the boundaries of public discourse, we can at least resist a bit when they tighten the rope. And then, resist a bit more.

- Writer Mimiyana

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The following term comes from the Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon, a glossary of terms created by Chinese netizens and encountered in online political discussions. These are the words of China’s online “resistance discourse,” used to mock and subvert the official language around censorship and political correctness. CDT is expanding its China Digital Space (CDS) wiki beyond the Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon to include short biographies of public intellectuals, cartoonists, human rights activists, and other people pushing for change in China. CDS is a work in progress.  wǎngmín bù fúcóng 网民不服从 Online...

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Lawyer Wang Quanzhang Moved from Prison into New Isolation

Apr 7, 2020

Rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was released from prison in Shandong on Sunday, but is still being kept under closely guarded isolation. Authorities have presented this as a standard measure against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Wang’s family and supporters fear that it is a form of "non-release ‘release,’" a tactic used to contain politically disharmonious figures after the end of their formal sentences. The use of disease containment as a pretext for political control was previously suspected in cases like the detention of citizen journalist Chen Qiushi, and...

More Stories

Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon: Digital Disobedience

Mar 31, 2020

The following term comes from the Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon, a glossary of terms created by Chinese netizens and encountered in online political discussions. These are the words of China’s online “resistance discourse,” used to mock and subvert the official language around censorship and political correctness. CDT is expanding its China Digital Space (CDS) wiki beyond the Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon to include short biographies of public intellectuals, cartoonists, human rights activists, and other people pushing for change in China. CDS is a work in progress.  wǎngmín bù fúcóng 网民不服从 Online...

More Stories

Lawyer Wang Quanzhang Moved from Prison into New Isolation

Apr 7, 2020

Rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was released from prison in Shandong on Sunday, but is still being kept under closely guarded isolation. Authorities have presented this as a standard measure against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Wang’s family and supporters fear that it is a form of "non-release ‘release,’" a tactic used to contain politically disharmonious figures after the end of their formal sentences. The use of disease containment as a pretext for political control was previously suspected in cases like the detention of citizen journalist Chen Qiushi, and...

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The New York Times’ Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes report responses under consideration by the Trump administration to the expulsion of 13 American journalists from China, which were announced last week together with new registration requirements for some American media organizations. These, together with more recently apparent measures against U.S. news organizations’ Chinese staff, were the latest salvo in a sharply escalating exchange of blows between Washington and Beijing. Some American intelligence officials have pushed for years to expel employees of Chinese media...

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A former journalist, Leta Hong Fincher was the first American to receive a PhD in Sociology from Tsinghua University in Beijing. Her research there led to her first book, “Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China,” which examined rising gender inequalities in China today through the lens of economics, marriage, and the real estate market. Her widely acclaimed second book, “Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China,” examines the rise of a new feminist movement in China and profiles several of the key participants, including the...

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Lawyer Wang Quanzhang Moved from Prison into New Isolation

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Rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was released from prison in Shandong on Sunday, but is still being kept under closely guarded isolation. Authorities have presented this as a standard measure against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Wang’s family and supporters fear that it is a form of "non-release ‘release,’" a tactic used to contain politically disharmonious figures after the end of their formal sentences. The use of disease containment as a pretext for political control was previously suspected in cases like the detention of citizen journalist Chen Qiushi, and...

More Stories

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Last week, U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye published a report on "one of the broadest campaigns by a Chinese cyber espionage actor we have observed in recent years," identifying its alleged perpetrator "APT41" as "one of the most prolific threats that FireEye currently tracks." From Christopher Glyer, Dan Perez, Sarah Jones, and Steve Miller: […] Between January 20 and March 11, FireEye observed APT41 attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in Citrix NetScaler/ADC, Cisco routers, and Zoho ManageEngine Desktop Central at over 75 FireEye customers. Countries we’ve seen...

More Stories

Lawyer Wang Quanzhang Moved from Prison into New Isolation

Apr 7, 2020

Rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was released from prison in Shandong on Sunday, but is still being kept under closely guarded isolation. Authorities have presented this as a standard measure against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Wang’s family and supporters fear that it is a form of "non-release ‘release,’" a tactic used to contain politically disharmonious figures after the end of their formal sentences. The use of disease containment as a pretext for political control was previously suspected in cases like the detention of citizen journalist Chen Qiushi, and...

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Following widespread reports of forced labor by Uyghurs in Xinjiang and other parts of China, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers submitted a bill to restrict imports from Xinjiang. Austin Ramzy of The New York Times reports: With Xinjiang producing much of China’s cotton and textiles, the legislation could affect companies as diverse as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike and Patagonia, which are named in the draft bill. While the bill’s prospects are uncertain, industry groups are already under pressure to police their Xinjiang imports. This week several released a statement calling worker...

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Lawyer Wang Quanzhang Moved from Prison into New Isolation

Apr 7, 2020

Rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was released from prison in Shandong on Sunday, but is still being kept under closely guarded isolation. Authorities have presented this as a standard measure against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Wang’s family and supporters fear that it is a form of "non-release ‘release,’" a tactic used to contain politically disharmonious figures after the end of their formal sentences. The use of disease containment as a pretext for political control was previously suspected in cases like the detention of citizen journalist Chen Qiushi, and...

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Lawyer Wang Quanzhang Moved from Prison into New Isolation

Apr 7, 2020

Rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was released from prison in Shandong on Sunday, but is still being kept under closely guarded isolation. Authorities have presented this as a standard measure against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Wang’s family and supporters fear that it is a form of "non-release ‘release,’" a tactic used to contain politically disharmonious figures after the end of their formal sentences. The use of disease containment as a pretext for political control was previously suspected in cases like the detention of citizen journalist Chen Qiushi, and...

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Despite the lessons thought to have been learned after the 2002 SARS epidemic, Chinese authorities have been readily using censorship and propaganda amid the outbreak of COVID-19 novel coronavirus–which some see as a contributing factor to the severity of its spread and lethality. In an attempt to keep the public calm and dilute criticism, early cases in Wuhan were downplayed or ignored. Once an epidemic was underway the narrative was controlled with censorship directives. Unsanctioned medical information was labeled “rumor,” medical professionals who shared...

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Following widespread reports of forced labor by Uyghurs in Xinjiang and other parts of China, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers submitted a bill to restrict imports from Xinjiang. Austin Ramzy of The New York Times reports: With Xinjiang producing much of China’s cotton and textiles, the legislation could affect companies as diverse as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike and Patagonia, which are named in the draft bill. While the bill’s prospects are uncertain, industry groups are already under pressure to police their Xinjiang imports. This week several released a statement calling worker...

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China Joins in Global Hacking Spike Amid Pandemic

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Last week, U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye published a report on "one of the broadest campaigns by a Chinese cyber espionage actor we have observed in recent years," identifying its alleged perpetrator "APT41" as "one of the most prolific threats that FireEye currently tracks." From Christopher Glyer, Dan Perez, Sarah Jones, and Steve Miller: […] Between January 20 and March 11, FireEye observed APT41 attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in Citrix NetScaler/ADC, Cisco routers, and Zoho ManageEngine Desktop Central at over 75 FireEye customers. Countries we’ve seen...

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The New York Times’ Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes report responses under consideration by the Trump administration to the expulsion of 13 American journalists from China, which were announced last week together with new registration requirements for some American media organizations. These, together with more recently apparent measures against U.S. news organizations’ Chinese staff, were the latest salvo in a sharply escalating exchange of blows between Washington and Beijing. Some American intelligence officials have pushed for years to expel employees of Chinese media...

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