Chinese activist gets 4 years

Blind Chinese activist (pictured right) Chen Guangcheng received a 51 month jail sentence yesterday for "damaging property and 'organizing a mob to disturb traffic.'" He was known for his campaigning "against forced abortions and abuse of disabled people."

This comes as attention is increasing prior to the 2008 Olympics to be held in China. China has had an increase in so called "peasant advocate[s]" in recent years and with the 2008 Olympics coming China is attempting to stop the bad image of abuse and corruption from spreading worldwide. But as of yet, any abuse by China has gone unpunished. As these abuses have occurred leaders in the world have done little to stop this. China even has a position on the UN Security Council, and that might be the reason that China has had little action taken against it by the international community.

The Human Rights Watch recently criticized China on this latest crackdown on lawyers saying that "Beijing should either uphold the rule of law and tolerate legal challenges or drop this façade of commitment to legal reform."

Sophie Richardson, deputy director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, said in July that "When Chen tried to make proper use of China’s legal system, the response wasn’t due process. It was house arrest, physical abuse, and then ‘disappearance’ by local authorities. His case is a textbook example of how little the rule of law really means in China." Richardson went on to say that "China should free Chen and welcome his exposure of official abuses, instead of continuing to persecute him."

Chen Guangcheng was first arrested on August 12, 2005, after in June 2005 he filed a class-action lawsuit against late-term forced abortions in connection with population control laws. His arrest and detention was not officially acknowledged until June 11, 2006, after two escapes by Chen.

Chen should be released and his name cleared. This shows that China does not give freedom to its people and that the US is hypocritical. The US Government says that they are spreading freedom worldwide (such as in Iraq), but the US has, as of yet, not taken a strong stance against China and its policies of denying basic freedom to its people.

Chinese authorities jailed Zhao Yan, a civil rights campaigner and journalist, for three years, on charges of fraud today. Also human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was taken into police custody earlier this month. These cases show the crackdown that is happening by China on lawyers, civil rights defenders and other dissidents within China.