A/HRC/48/28
21.
The case of lawyer Ms. Wang Yu was included in the 2020, 2019 and 2018 reports
of the Secretary-General 118 on allegations of arrest and charges of “subversion of state
power,” (CHN 6/2015),119 including in connection to her role in the case of Ms. Cao Shunli
who had cooperated with the UN. It was reported to OHCHR that, during the reporting
period, Ms. Wang Yu continued to face surveillance and harassment from police (see above).
On 26 November 2020, the Beijing Justice Bureau reportedly cancelled Ms. Wang Yu’s
license to practice law. Ms. Wang Yu was reportedly prevented from traveling or using the
Internet freely by authorities and was unreachable for a week in early March 2021, coinciding
with the time when she was due to receive an award from the Government of the United
States of America for her human rights work. On 19 March 2021, Ms. Wang Yu’s family and
friends lost contact with her as she traveled to Shanghai, allegedly when she was detained
briefly by authorities in her hotel room to prevent her from attending the trial of rights
defender Ms. Chen Jianfang (as mentioned above).
22.
The cases of Mr. Qin Yongmin, and his wife, Ms. Zhao Suli, were included in the
2020, 2019 and 2018 reports of the Secretary-General.120 During the reporting period, Mr.
Qin Yongmin remained in prison serving a 13-yearprison sentence for engaging in human
rights that included promotion of engagement with UN human rights mechanisms, and his
long-term detention was raised by special procedures mandate holders (see CHN 4/2021 121).
According to information received, Mr. Qin Yongmin reportedly continues to suffer from
poor health. His family’s most recent communication with him was a letter received in
August 2020, dated December 2019. His family reports that authorities do not permit him to
convey anything about conditions in prison. After one visit in January 2020, authorities
reportedly refused the family’s monthly visitation requests, citing the COVID-19 outbreak,
although quarantine measures in the region had ended and other criminal justice proceedings
in the area had returned to normal. A lawyer engaged by his family attempted to visit Mr.
Qin Yongmin in person at Qianjiang Guanghua Prison in Hubei province in November 2020
but was denied due to COVID-19 and informed that he would need to sign documentation to
be granted a video visit. Ms. Zhao Suli reportedly remains under 24-hour surveillance. and
is therefore unable to work. Her son has been monitored by national security officers.
23.
The cases of Mr. Mi Chongbiao and his wife Ms. Li Kezhen were included in the
2020, 2019 and 2018 reports of the Secretary-General122 after Mr. Mi Chongbiao posted a
complaint online that was submitted to the Human Rights Council. During the reporting
period, Mr. Mi Chongbiao and Ms. Li Kezhen remained in their home in Yanyun District in
Guiyang, Guizhou province under informal house arrest, as they have since 2012. Their
residence is reportedly surrounded by guards, and they cannot leave home unaccompanied
by police.
24.
The case of Ms. Li Wenzu was included in the 2020, 2019 and 2017 reports of the
Secretary-General 123 on allegations of her arbitrary arrest and detention following her
cooperation with the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights during his
visit to China in August 2016 (CHN 9/2016).124 During the reporting period, Ms. Li Wenzu
and her family reportedly remain under surveillance by the authorities, who at times prevent
her from leaving her home, including on 10 December 2020, blocking her public participation
in Human Rights Day. In July 2020, Ms. Li Wenzu’s husband, Mr. Wang Quanzhang, whose
four-year detention was taken up by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, 125 revealed
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
A/HRC/45/36, Annex II, para. 21; A/HRC/42/30, Annex II, para. 19; A/HRC/39/41, Annex I, paras.
10–12.
https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=32826.
A/HRC/45/36, Annex II, para. 22; A/HRC/42/30, and Annex II, para. 20; A/HRC/39/41, Annex I,
paras. 13–14.
https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=36396.
A/HRC/45/36, Annex II, para. 23; A/HRC/42/30, Annex II, para. 21; A/HRC/39/41, Annex I, paras.
15–16.
A/HRC/45/36, Annex II, para. 24; A/HRC/42/30, Annex II, para. 22; A/HRC/36/31, Annex I, paras.
20–21.
https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=33318.
Opinion No. 62/2018 adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its eighty-second
session, concerning Wang Quanzhang, Jiang Tianyong and Li Yuhan (China), 20–24 August 2018.
53