China’s human rights lawyers face uphill struggle FEATURE 05/12/2010

China’s human rights lawyers face uphill struggle

FEATURE 05/12/2010 BEIJING — Tang Jitian has had to move several times after authorities pressured his landlords. He hardly ever sees his wife and daughter. And he has now lost his livelihood for defending the Falungong. The 41-year-old is one of a rising number of lawyers in China who have risked their jobs and even their families to fight for those whose rights have been violated, amid what activists say is a widespread official clampdown. “The issue of human rights is not an abstract one. It exists in our lives in a big way. But in the minds of many officials, it is considered insignificant,” Tang, a slight but jovial man, told AFP. He and colleague Liu Wei have had their licences revoked for “disrupting court order,” after they defended a member of the spiritual movement Falungong, which is banned in China, in April last year. They say they walked out of court due to constant interruption of their defence by the judge..... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100512com5.html

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