In the latest episode of China’s crackdown on human rights lawyers and activists, authorities have shut down a prominent women’s legal-aid center in Beijing.
The Zhongze Women’s Legal Counseling and Service Center came under fire by Chinese authorities.
“It looks like they are trying to crush all people with any influence, as far as well-known people go today, it’s ‘kill one and scare 100’ to make sure no one else tries to do anything,” said an anonymous source connected to the center. “Controls on thought and speech are intensifying. The repression of lawyers and NGOs is growing.”
The center helps women handle various cases including those involving child custody, land rights, and employment.
The government’s actions come months after China officially declared its support for women’s rights at the United Nations conference in New York. President XI Jinping’s wife even delivered a speech on the issue in English.
Nonetheless, the government chose to intensify its crackdown by bringing its iron fist down on the center, which traces its roots back to the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995.
It was led by human rights lawyer and activist Guo Jianmei..
Be the first to comment