Lawyer is sent back to his place of household registration after serving 3 1/2 years for ‘subversion.’

By Kitty Wang |Radio Free Asia (Mandarin) | Translated by Luisetta Mudie | Edited by Malcolm Foster

Summary

Chinese authorities have released human rights lawyer Chang Weiping following the completion of a three-and-a-half-year prison term for “subversion”. In addition to a travel ban, Chang is expected to live in Haikou, the capital of Hainan province, the place of his household registration (hukou)*.

Chang holds scant ties to Haikou. In an interview with Radio Free Asia, Chang’s wife Chen Zijuan, who now lives in the U.S., said:

“Our family doesn’t have any property or any relatives there. According to my understanding of the law, someone who has been released from prison ought to be free.”

This move by the authorities is seen as an attempt to keep Chang away from his old life and out of China’s major cities, a tactic often used with dissidents and rights activists.

Chang’s release comes on the ninth anniversary of the mass arrests of human rights lawyers in China. The treatment of his former colleagues doesn’t augur well for his future if he stays in China, said Chen, who fled to the U.S. with their son in 2022.

None of the lawyers targeted by the Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown in 2015 have been able to live a normal life after their release from prison, notes Chen.

Chang will also likely lose his license to practice law, making it difficult for him to work in China.

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*Hukou (permanent registration status) is a system of classification which divides China’s population into rural and urban hukou bound by their birthplace and parents. Hukou guarantees basic housing, a living allowance, medical insurance, and access to education. Without it, you are literally reduced to nothing.