[Communist Party leaders have long been suspicious of independent
organizations, but under Mr. Xi, the authorities have come to view such groups
as potential conduits for subversion – with help from those they perceive as
China’s enemies in the West. “Even though these organizations have tried to
stay within the red lines of normally tolerated activism, the government still
sees them as fomenting counterrevolution,” said Maya Wang, a researcher at
Human Rights Watch in Hong Kong.]
BEIJING — Chinese security agents raided
the offices of a leading human rights organization, according to its employees,
the latest sign of the authorities’ mounting hostility toward nongovernmental
groups, especially those that receive foreign funding or promote civic
activism.
Employees say about two dozen police officers on Tuesday raided
theBeijing
Yirenping Center, which champions gender equality and employs
litigation to fight discrimination against people with H.I.V., hepatitis and
physical disabilities. Lu Jun, a founder of the group, said the raid was likely
related to the group’s efforts to publicize the recent detentions of five
female activists that have prompted international criticism.
The activists, all of whom have ties to Yirenping, had planned to hand out stickers and
leaflets in Chinese cities to highlight the problem of groping
of women on public transportation. They were taken into custody just ahead of
International Women’s Day and are being held on suspicion of “picking quarrels
and provoking troubles,” a charge that has been used with increasing frequency
against those the government considers potential threats to social stability.
Mr. Lu said the authorities carted away files, computers and
laptops, and briefly detained one of the center’s employees before changing the
locks on the doors.
“We can’t even get into the offices, and the police won’t give
us any information,” said Mr. Lu, speaking from New York, where he is a
visiting scholar at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute at New York
University. He said the center’s five employees, fearing for their safety, had
left the Chinese capital.
It was unclear if the authorities intended to close the offices
for good.
Since President Xi Jinping came to power more than two years
ago, scores of rights defenders have been jailed as part of a crackdown on
social activism and political dissent. But the detention of the five activists
– young, social-media savvy idealists — has struck a chord among women’s rights
advocates around the world, prompting rallies, petition drives and statements
of support by Western diplomats. Samantha Power, the United States ambassador
to the United Nations, has been especially vocal about the case, repeatedly
demanding on Twitter that the Chinese governmentfree the women.
Lawyers for the detained women said some of them had been
mistreated and subjected to lengthy interrogations and sleep deprivation. One
woman, Wang Rongrong, has been
denied critical hepatitis medication and has been spitting up
blood, her lawyer said.
The Beijing Public Security Bureau did not respond to requests
for comment, and the Foreign Ministry has dismissed expressions of concern from
overseas. “No one has the right to ask China to
release relevant persons, so we hope that relevant people will stop interfering
in China’s judicial sovereignty in such a manner,” Hua Chunying, the
spokeswoman for the ministry, said during a regular news conference on
Wednesday.
Communist Party leaders have long been suspicious of independent
organizations, but under Mr. Xi, the authorities have come to view such groups
as potential conduits for subversion – with help from those they perceive as
China’s enemies in the West. “Even though these organizations have tried to
stay within the red lines of normally tolerated activism, the government still
sees them as fomenting counterrevolution,” said Maya Wang, a researcher at
Human Rights Watch in Hong Kong.
In recent months, the authorities have closed a network of
rural lending libraries, harassed labor advocates and dismantled a
well-regarded think tank, the Transition Institute, detaining several of its
employees. “A lot of NGOs are facing tough times right now,” said
Anthony J. Spires, associate director of the Center for Civil Society Studies
at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “The government is intent on shutting
down perceived troublemakers.”
Most at risk are groups that rely on foreign support, which
describes the vast majority of Chinese organizations dedicated to social
justice. Mr. Lu of Yirenping said it was nearly impossible these days to raise
money domestically despite the group’s record of accomplishment. Since
Yirenping was established in 2006, the state media have lauded its effortsto
fight discrimination against the estimated 100 million Chinese infected with
hepatitis B.
He said the few Chinese philanthropists who have donated money
to the organization in recent years had invariably withdrawn their support
after a year or two. “It seems they were afraid to offend the government,” he
said.