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Wednesday, July 11, 2018

An Apartment Visit and Another Activist in Jail in China: Two Post Liu Xia Departure Links

After years of detainment despite never being charged with a crime, yesterday Liu Xia left China. Here are links to two relevant articles, both from Agence France-Presse, published today:

1. In "On the eve of freedom, a glimpse inside Liu Xia's flat" Becky Davis shares her recent visit to Liu Xia at her home in Beijing:
Judging by her apartment on the eve of her departure from Beijing to Germany, Liu Xia seemed completely unaware of her impending freedom -- or perhaps unwilling to believe it.

AFP on Monday evaded tight security to gain rare access to the fifth-floor duplex apartment.
Perhaps the Chinese government deliberately allowed Davis to slip by security as a test to see if Liu Xia would follow a "request" not to say anything about an upcoming departure.


2. In "Chinese democracy activist sentenced to 13 years for 'subversion'" Joanna Chao reports an example of how human rights remain a significant issue in China despite Liu Xia now being free:
A prominent Chinese political campaigner was sentenced to 13 years in jail on Wednesday, a court in central China said.

Qin Yongmin was found "guilty of subversion of state power," the Wuhan City Intermediate People's Court said on its official website. . . .

The European Union on Wednesday criticised a "deteriorating situation of civil and political rights in China, which has been accompanied by the detention and conviction of a significant number of Chinese human rights defenders."
And the world turns.

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