According to a press statement by Human Rights in China, a New York based human rights group, authorities have stepped up efforts to detain, arrest, and harass numerous rights activists and dissidents in late July under the banner of a “peaceful Olympics”.  Suppression includes issuing police summons to Shanghai-based rights lawyer Mr. Zheng Enchong. 


Zheng Enchong was taken away on 23 July 2008 by police from Zhabei district in Shanghai, which hosts the preliminary Olympic soccer games.  The detention was the second time in four days’ time.  Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher with New York-based Human Rights Watch's Asia Division mentioned that the police in Shanghai and Beijing claimed they did not know about the case.

In UA031128(11), Hotline Asia urged the Chinese authorities to end any form of harassment of lawyers and human rights defenders in China.

 
Source:
Associated Press
Human Rights in China
South China Morning Post

Mr. Zheng Enchong says his months of house arrest intensified in February when he suffered several police beatings. He feared it would not end until the Beijing Olympics is over in August, if at all. With the Olympics coming, he said, "I think they're just looking for an excuse to give me trouble."

A spokesman for Shanghai's police, or Public Security Bureau, denied police were monitoring Zheng and said they had no reports of him being beaten. The police office in Zheng's district in Shanghai would not answer questions.

Mr. Zheng, a property rights lawyer was sentenced to imprisonment on charges of "illegally providing state secrets to entities outside of China" on 28 October 2003.  Hotline Asia issued UA031128(11) to call for an end to any form of harassment to lawyers.

 
Source:
Associated Press

Shanghai defense lawyer Mr. Zheng Enchong was unable to pay his last respects to his dying mother because the police had disconnected his phone line. Hospital staff at the Social Welfare Institution for the Aged in Nanhui District, Shanghai, tried to call Zheng on the evening of 11 October to inform him about his mother’s deteriorating condition, but could not reach him. His mother died the next morning. He was also ordered by police not to leave his home when the trial of Shanghai tycoon Zhou Zhengyi, who allegedly colluded with government officials in his property business, opened on 23 October.

In November 2003, Hotline Asia urged the authorities to conform to the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, ending any form of harassment of lawyers and human rights defenders in China.
 

Source:
Human Rights in China

On 24 July 2007, Mr. Zheng Enchong, the human rights lawyer involved in economic and social rights of displaced persons in 2003, was beaten by police on his way to the Shanghai Municipal Higher People’s Court. He was on his way to the Shanghai Municipal Higher People’s Court to register to attend the trial of property developer, Mr. Zhou Zhengyi, scheduled for later this month. However, Zheng together with more than 50 displaced residents were surrounded by 6 police officers who reportedly knocked Mr. Zheng to the ground, beat him and dragged him nearly 200 meters in an hour-long assault that was witnessed by hundreds of neighboring residents. Mr. Zheng reportedly sustained serious abrasions to his left hand during the struggle. The police officers then reportedly pushed Zheng and his wife, Jiang Meili into a cab that took them to the home of Jiang Meili’s older sister, Jiang Zhongli, on Baochang Road. At latest report, five police cars and more than 30 police officers were allegedly blocking the exits of the street, keeping the home of Jiang Zhongli under close surveillance and preventing the couple from leaving.

In the meantime, more than 50 displaced residents of the Dongbakuai neighborhood arrived at the Shanghai Municipal Higher People’s Court at approximately 9 a.m. to register to attend the trial, but they were prevented from entering the court building by security guards and court police.

Hotline Asia issued UA031128(11) in November 2003 for Mr. Zheng, calling the government to conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, ending any form of harassment of lawyers and human rights defenders in China.
 

Source:
Human Rights in China

In UA031128(11), Hotline Asia appealed to the Chinese authorities to respect the rights of Mr. Zheng Enchong, a lawyer who advised Shanghai residents on eviction disputes with the government in 2003.

Although released from jail in June 2006, Mr. Zheng Enchong was barred from leaving his apartment in mid-December 2006.

Source:
Human Rights in China

Mr. Zheng Enchong, the human rights lawyer released in June 2006 suffers continuous harassment by police. At around 6:00am on 14 October, on their way to attend religious service at the Mu'en Christian Church near Shanghai's Renmin Square, Mr. Zheng and his wife were prevented by a dozen police officers from proceeding. The lawyer was knocked to the ground at the incident and sat on the ground to protest. Eventually he was taken by the police and released on the same day. Moreover, he was prevented by police to visit his 94-year-old mother. Neither could visitors, such as his 76-year old former high school teacher, Mr. Zhu visit him. Police officers have also reportedly harassed Zheng's daughter at school. A police officer reportedly told Mr. Zheng Enchong that Shanghai's deputy Party committee secretary, Liu Yungeng, had specifically ordered that Zheng be kept under the tightest possible restrictions at home.

Hotline Asia in November 2003, issued UA031128(11) for Mr. Zheng, calling the government to conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, ending any form of harassment of lawyers and human rights defenders in China.

Source:
Human Rights in China

In UA031128(11), Hotline Asia urged the Chinese authorities to respect the rights of Mr. Zheng Enchong, a lawyer who advised Shanghai residents on eviction disputes with the government in 2003. The UA requested the authorities to conform with the UN Principles on the Role of Lawyers, restore Mr. Zheng's license to practice law, and restore his political rights.

Although Mr. Zheng was released on 5 June 2006, harassment continues. Human Rights in China reported that he has been under constant police monitoring and effective house arrest. On the evening of 12 July 2006, police from Shangai Zhabei District North Station bursted into his house, confiscated a computer and some documents, including a letter he had written to President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao regarding his case. He and his wife, Jiang Meili was taken to custody that night. His wife was released on that night, but it was reported that Mr. Zheng was still in custody.

According to Mr. Zheng’s sentence, he is deprived of his political rights for an additional year, essentially preventing him from holding a job, contacting the media or accepting visitors, among other conditions.

Source:
South China Morning Post
Human Rights in China

According to Human Rights in China, the home of imprisoned lawyer Mr. Zheng Enchong in Shanghai was broken into by two unidentified men on 16 May 2006, while Zheng's wife, Ms. Jiang Meili, was on her way to visit him in prison.

Although Zheng Enchong has nearly completed a three-year prison sentence, his family continues to be harassed. HRIC calls on the Shanghai public security authorities to fully investigate this matter and end the surveillance and harassment to the family.

Hotline Asia issued UA031128(11) in 2003 urging the Chinese government to conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, ending any form of harassment to lawyers. Mr. Zheng has been providing legal advice to Shanghai families affected by redevelopment projects, assisting families suing a company controlled by a wealthy developer. He was sentenced to imprisonment in 2003 on charges of "illegally providing state secrets to entities outside of China".

Source:
Human Rights in China

According to the source housing rights lawyer, Mr. Zheng Enchong, known for his activism in property disputes, has been subjected to biased treatment at Tailanqiao prison in Shanghai. Since his imprisonment, he has not been allowed to see his lawyer, and therefore he has not been able to file an appeal application against his sentence before the Shanghai Supreme People's Court. Moreover, despite his relatively light sentence, he has been housed in the prison's high security section, where he is obliged to share his 3.5 square meter cell with two other prisoners. In addition, his repeated requests to telephone his family have also been denied.

During his wife's visit on 10 November 2004, Mr. Zheng said he had been visited a number of times by the director of the Shanghai's Judicial Bureau and Prisons Bureau, Mr. Miao Xiaobao, who reportedly told him that if he admitted wrongdoing, his three-year sentence would be reduced by one year. However, Mr. Zheng did not concede to it.

Hotline-Asia has issued UA031128(11) to request the immediate release of Mr. Zheng, who was advising two groups of residents to sue district officials, alleging they had colluded with developers to transfer land in the course of urban redevelopment project.

Source:
Human Rights in China, South China Morning Post

Hotline Asia issued UA031128(11) in November 2003 to request the Chinese authorities to ensure people's rights to adequate housing and compensation, amid the re-development projects in Shanghai.

After many peaceful protests by residents complaining that the compensation is too low, Shanghai officials have increased the minimum compensation. The increase varies widely according to district and specific location. Some have complained that the compensation is not in line with market prices.

Source:
South China Morning Post

Ms. Jiang Meili, the wife of housing rights lawyer Mr. Zheng Engchong, was unlawfully detained for the third time on 4 March 2004. Despite her release soon after detention, she remains under house arrest in Shanghai. Protestors estimated that dozens of people involved in property disputes with the city have been placed under house arrest also.

Mr. Zheng who has been giving legal advice to Shanghai families affected by redevelopment projects, has been detained since June 2003. There was a closed door hearing in December 2003 to appeal his sentence to 3 year imprisonment in Oct 2003. There were also repeated reports of harassment, repression and intimidation of displaced residents who attempt to voice their grievances and seek assistance from the central government.

In response to the dispute arising from the Shanghai re-development and relocation projects, Hotline Asia issued UA031128(11) to urge the Chinese government to ensure that the rights to adequate housing is respected and to release their representing lawyer, Mr. Zheng immediately.

Source:
South China Morning Post

A closed door hearing was held on 18 December 2003 for the appeal of Shanghai lawyer Zheng Enchong, who was involved in the defense of the economic and social rights of displaced people in Shanghai.

Officials informed Mr. Zheng's wife, Jiang Meili, and the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai of the hearing date and invited a representative to attend the proceedings. Knowledgeable observers suggested that the invitation is an attempt to dispel tensions that have arisen between the two governments over the controversial case, and is also intended to convince the international community that justice is being served. However, the high-profile handling of the case also suggests that the authorities do not anticipate public embarrassment in the form of a reversal of the original conviction.

Mr. Zheng Enchong was sentenced on 28 October 2003 to three years in prison on charges of "illegally providing state secrets to entities outside of China" after representing more than 500 families in claims against the Shanghai authorities for losses relating to Shanghai's redevelopment program. Hotline issued UA031128(11) to call for his immediate release and for the authorities to respect the rights of those defending housing rights.

Source: Human Rights in China