The telegraph
Chinese lawyer who represented Hong Kong activist without a license
A Chinese lawyer who represented a pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong was stripped of his license amid Beijing’s efforts to crush opposition to tighter control over the territory. Lu Siwei, who represented one of 12 Hong Kong activists who tried to escape to Taiwan, had his license revoked by the Sichuan Provincial Justice Department in a formal notification given on Friday. Ten of the 12 activists caught at sea in August were sentenced by a Shenzhen court in December to prison terms ranging from seven months to three years for illegally crossing the border and organizing illegal border crossings. They are part of an exodus of Hong Kong residents following Beijing’s imposition of a tough new security law that they say is destroying the territory’s western-style civil liberties. Since the law was introduced in response to anti-government protests that began in 2019, dozens of pro-democracy activists have been arrested or detained. The law was denounced by European nations, the United States and others. Beijing says the legislation allows Hong Kong to “enjoy more social stability, economic development and greater freedom”. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying called the 12 activists “elements trying to separate Hong Kong from China”, not democratic activists. Beijing, which requires lawyers to take an oath of allegiance to the ruling Communist Party, has tightened its grip on the profession. Other lawyers have lost their licenses for representing defendants in politically sensitive cases. Some were arrested. In a warning last week, the Sichuan Justice Department’s Chengdu office said Lu had violated professional legal conduct laws. He accused him of making comments online that had a “negative impact on society”. Also last week, Ren Quanniu, another lawyer for one of the 12 activists, was notified by the Zhengzhou office of the Henan Department of Justice that he could lose his license. He was told that the comments he made in court had “a negative impact on society”. His hearing is still pending, but it is seen as a formality. On Wednesday, Ren and a small group of supporters came to the hearing to obtain Lu’s license in Chengdu to support him. They were forcibly separated by the police and Lu was taken inside alone, said Ren. Lu and Ren were hired by activist families, but were prevented from seeing their clients during the legal process. “They didn’t even let me in, let alone the door to the administrative area where you handle the paperwork,” said Ren of his first visit to a police station in Shenzhen, where Hong Kong activists were taken by authorities. On his second visit, he was informed that his client had already agreed with a court-appointed lawyer. Throughout the case, the activists’ families protested that they should be able to use the lawyers they chose instead of the lawyers appointed by the court. Lu was summoned frequently by the local Justice Department office in Chengdu for meetings at which office officials told him to drop the case. Neither Lu or Ren backed down. “Why should I stop when there is no legal reason for me to stop? How can I explain myself to the family?” Ren said. A person from the local Chengdu Department of Justice office initially told the AP to call back. Subsequent calls were not answered. Calls to the Justice Department office in Zhengzhou were not answered. The two lawyers have a history of handling delicate cases and navigating turbulent and murky waters to defend people who are considered political targets by the authorities. Ren dealt with cases related to Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that China labeled a cult and is the target of persecution after his followers protested in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1999. More recently, he represented citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who was convicted to four years in prison for trying to report the situation in Wuhan City during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic early last year. Lu, a professional insurance lawyer, handled cases in a crackdown on lawyers and human rights activists led by President Xi Jinping, which started in 2015. Lu defended prominent human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng, who criticized Xi. Still, neither was prepared for how delicate the 12 activists would be. “They cannot punish anyone. Can they punish the European media? Can they punish Pompeo? They can only discount us because we are lawyers on the continent,” said Lu.