Hefei Petitioning Rankings Continue Despite Central Stoppage

The State Office of Letters and Visits reportedly suspended in March the circulation of lists that ranked provinces by their frequency of “abnormal” petitioning. Many welcomed the move as a sign that petitioning was losing its sway over performance evaluations, thereby reducing the incentive for officials to silence petitioners by any means necessary. A new ranking system in Anhui’s provincial capital, however, puts these hopes on hold by promising to remove officials where petitioning crops up most.

PHOTO Hefei petitioning work meeting. Credit: Hefei Municipal Letters and Visits Bureau

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Sunnylands Summit: US-China Relations in Obama’s Second Term

President Barack Obama will host Chinese President Xi Jinping at the California estate called Sunnylands on June 7-8. The talks will set the tone and agenda for US-China relations for the remaining years of Obama’s second term. The economy will likely top Xi’s agenda and human rights will be in the mix, but perhaps what’s needed most is the opportunity to build mutual trust.

PHOTO Xi Jinping visits the White House as vice president in February 2012. Photo credit: Xinhua

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China’s Women Prisoners Focus of New Book

Filling a significant gap in research on China’s criminal justice system, Chinese Female Offenders: Corrections System Research offers a systematic look at China’s women’s prisons and calls for gender-specific treatment. Published in September 2012, the book weaves together a patchwork of often spotty information, providing a broad sketch of issues ranging from prison staff, visitations, and community corrections.

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Prisoner Update

We report on the home coming of American businessmen Jude Shao (邵裘德) and David Dong Wei (董维), the early releases of labor activist Li Jianfeng (李建峰) and June Fourth activist Jiang Yaqun (姜亚群), and the sentence reduction of land rights activist Ding Shuyin (丁树银).

PHOTO Jude Shao (right), home for the first time since Chinese police detained him in 1998, meets Executive Director John Kamm.

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Teaching June 4: The Cost of Taking Students to the “Dark Side”

For many in China, the events surrounding June 4, 1989, have been either forgotten or confined to an official narrative that justifies the bloodshed. China’s education system is largely to blame. The case of Zhang Zhongshun, a former university lecturer who was imprisoned in 2008 for using unofficial sources to broaden students understanding of June Fourth and other subjects, is emblematic. Including testimony from more than a dozen students, his verdict reinforces that critical thinking has no place in the classroom.

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Featured Video: Reforming China’s Juvenile Justice System

KTSF26 highlights Dui Hua’s effort in reforming China’s Juvenile Justice System. A translation of the broadcast can be read here.

What We Do

Dui Hua is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that brings clemency and better treatment to at-risk detainees through promotion of universally recognized human rights in well-informed, mutually respectful dialogue with China.

We focus on four areas, with an aim to help at-risk detainees—political and religious prisoners, juvenile justice, women in prison, and selected issues in criminal justice. And we take a five-pronged approach, premised upon our belief that positive change is realized through constructive dialogue—advocacy, expert exchange, research, publications, and community engagement.

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