Few topics rival the importance of defending basic human rights, especially for the people of China, whose rulers consistently stand among the most blatant rights violators.
So a new book, A Sword and a Shield: China's Human Rights Lawyers (edited by Stacy Mosher and Patrick Poon, 2009), deserves a careful look. It's the first book published by the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group (CHRLCG) and may be the first book to focus on issues relating to China's human rights lawyers.
Thoughtful and analytical sections in the book come from prominent lawyers and legal scholars based in Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and the United States. The topics include:
-- rising harassment of human-rights lawyers and legal activists;
-- restrictions on legal representation in criminal cases, especially those involving writers and political dissidents;
-- lawyers' role in the emerging weiquan (rights defence) movement; and
-- comparison of lawyers' participation in the human-rights movements on the Chinese mainland and in Taiwan.
As a special feature, the book contains translations of the defense statements by prominent Chinese human-rights lawyers in two classic cases.
According to the publishers, “We hope this book will provide readers with a deeper and broader understanding of the situation of human-rights lawyers in China.”
An English-language edition launches at the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club on December 10 to mark International Human Rights Day. A Chinese edition follows in January.
The English version costs HK$120 (US$15) plus any shipping charges. A Sword and a Shield will appear in Hong Kong's major book stores. Some readers may wish to order copies by email (info@chrlcg-hk.org).
In a mighty display of the problems making this book so necessary, it's sure to be banned on the Chinese mainland. Progressive thinkers regard freedom of information as a basic human right, one of the many routinely violated by the Beijing authorities.
(December 7, 2009)
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