5,830 research outputs found
FAU Human Rights Podcast #13: China und Menschenrechte
No full textVerhaftungen in Hong Kong, Unterdrückung von kritischen Meinungen zur Corona-Politik und Zwangslager für Uiguren in Xinjiang: Die Lage der Menschenrechte in China beleuchtet Professorin Eva Pils vom King’s College London in diesem Podcast
Charter 08 and Violent Resistance: The Dark Side of the Chinese Weiquan Movement
No full textIf, fantastically, an opinion poll on "Do you support Charter 08?" could be conducted in China today, its results would have to be read bearing in mind that you cannot look up "Charter 08" on the domestic Internet, and that any expression of support for it may result in state persecution. Attempts to measure the impact of or support for the Charter would therefore be inherently limited,1 even though naturally, we will continue to ask ourselves how strong such support is.2 Charter 08's significance lies not in its measurable impact or support but in its proposition of a peaceful kind of political change, a proposition that represents but one group within an increasingly diverse opposition to the current government. Charter 08 supporters face not only government repression, but also opposition from those who do not approve of its supporters' apparent advocacy of non-violence. This chapter seeks to understand the perspective of those represented by the Charter, as well as some of the perspectives of those within the wider Chinese rights defense movement who do not consider themselves represented by it. It draws on a distinction often used by rights defenders themselves, namely that between "grassroots" and "elite" rights defense or weiquan; but also urges recognition of the fact that an analysis of attitudes, ideals and social practices among rights defenders shows these groups to be mingling and interacting, rather than rigidly separate. 3 It is argued here that the Charter attempts to pose an enlightened alternative to the popular political opposition's and weiquan movement's darker sides, because its agenda is non-violent and non-vindictive. Its proposals are premised on values germane to a practice of adequate rights protection, but increasingly at risk of being sacrificed to public anger and destructiveness in China's volatile society, in which "rights defense" is not infrequently combined with support for strategies and policies inimical to the very idea of rights. Like the distinction between "grassroots" and "elite," so too is the imagery of light and shadow used here complex and unstable - for the "darkness" attributed to parts of the "grassroots" movement contrasts starkly with the light, warmth, and transparency people in this movement apparently desire: "Sunshine Charity" (Yangguang Gongyi), as the name of one of those "grassroots" groups may serve as a good illustration. The darkness in which much of weiquan is situated, on the other hand, is in many ways due to especially vicious state repression, and also affects "professional" or "elite" weiquan, in particular human rights lawyers. In the following pages, I first explain the stagnation of constitutional change (or reform) as a result of the inherent contradictions within the current constitutional setup, the weiquan movement's early successes, and its current repression. Then I turn to examining attitudes of heightened enmity and vindictiveness among the grassroots weiquan movement. These can be understood as a consequence of repression, yet they also complement and enable some government practices of repression. Lastly I discuss how public figures in the weiquan movement, including some of the Charter's prominent signatories, view Chinese society's prospects for change, focusing not on views about the end goal, captured in the Charter itself, but on views about the way to get there
'Disappearing' China's human rights lawyers
No full textThis chapter discusses the techniques used by the state to control Chinese human rights lawyers, in particular those working in criminal defence. It argues that in assessing criminal justice and other centrally important law reform projects designed to establish rule of law in China, we must pay adequate attention to what is happening outside the bureaucratic and institutional frameworks of such reform projects. It is very important to conduct empirical research that captures what the broader everyday system does; how, for instance, it is affected by new rules against coerced confessions. But we should also study the measures adopted by the police and other authorities against human rights lawyers. These lawyers’ main goals – albeit not necessarily their methods – are similar to the ones the officially endorsed reform measures purport to realize. Both officially endorsed reform projects and human rights lawyers appear committed to achieving better protection of the rights of the accused and other participants in the criminal process, reducing wrongful convictions, eradicating torture, and so on. As measures against human rights lawyers are taken by the very authorities in charge of the criminal justice system, these measures are part of the system under our observation
Le souvenir tenace des injustices historiques en Chine : une analyse des demandes de «réévaluation»
No full textPils Eva, Bardon Séverine. Le souvenir tenace des injustices historiques en Chine : une analyse des demandes de «réévaluation». In: Perspectives chinoises, n°101, 2007. pp. 104-113
Human Rights in China:A Social Practice in the Shadows of Authoritarianism
No full textHow can we make sense of human rights in China's authoritarian Party-State system? Eva Pils offers a nuanced account of this contentious area, examining human rights as a set of social practices. Drawing on a wide range of resources including years of interaction with Chinese human rights defenders, Pils discusses what gives rise to systematic human rights violations, what institutional avenues of protection are available, and how social practices of human rights defence have evolved. Three central areas are addressed: liberty and integrity of the person; freedom of thought and expression; and inequality and socio-economic rights. Pils argues that the Party-State system is inherently opposed to human rights principles in all these areas, and that – contributing to a global trend – it is becoming more repressive. Yet, despite authoritarianism's lengthening shadows, China’s human rights movement has so far proved resourceful and resilient. The trajectories discussed here will continue to shape the struggle for human rights in China and beyond its borders
Comments on the 2012 revision of the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law
No full textThis chapter discusses selected major aspects of the 2012 Criminal Procedure Law (‘CPL’) revision: compulsory measures (Section I), rules of evidence (Section II), criminal reconciliation (Section III), the death penalty review procedure (Section IV) and the impact of the CPL revision on criminal defence lawyers (Section V)
China's Human Rights Lawyers:Advocacy and Resistance
No full textThis book offers a unique insight into the role of human rights lawyers in Chinese law and politics. In her extensive account, Eva Pils shows how these practitioners are important as legal advocates for victims of injustice and how bureaucratic systems of control operate to subdue and marginalise them. The book also discusses how human rights lawyers and the social forces they work for and with challenge the system. In conditions where organised political opposition is prohibited, rights lawyers have begun to articulate and coordinate demands for legal and political change.Drawing on hundreds of anonymised conversations, the book analyses in detail human rights lawyers’ legal advocacy in the face of severe institutional limitations and their experiences of repression at the hands of the police and state security apparatus, along with the intellectual, political and moral resources lawyers draw upon to survive and resist. Key concerns include the interaction between the lawyers and their bureaucratic, professional and social environments and the forms and long term political impact of resistance. In addressing these issues, Pils offers a rare evaluative perspective on China’s legal and political system, and proposes new ways to assess domestic advocacy’s relationship with international human rights and rule of law promotion.This book will be of great interest and use to students and scholars of law, Chinese studies, socio-legal studies, political studies, international relations, and sociology. It is also of direct value to people working in the fields of human rights advocacy, law, politics, international relations, and journalism
I Remember column in which author Eva LaPlante writes of her visits to sites a
No full textI Remember column in which author Eva LaPlante writes of her visits to sites associated with E. B. White and his book Charlotte\u27s Web
Eva Murray, author of Well Out to Sea , has been a resident of Matinicus Island
No full textEva Murray, author of Well Out to Sea , has been a resident of Matinicus Island since she moved there to teach at the island\u27s one-room schoolhouse in 1987. She discusses the differences between writing from an island and writing about an island as well as her efforts to dispel some stereotypes and myths about Matinicus through her writing
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