Since 2012, the Chinese government has tightened its grip on civil society, citing national security and stability as main motivations. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a group that wants to fight corruption and promotes women empowerment, released a report stating the increase of use of torture and control over independent organizations.
Frances Eve, a researcher for the group said, "Mr. Xi and his administration are really intent on shutting off any avenue for civil society to participate in the improvement of the Chinese nation."
She added, "The government is saying, 'you're not allowed to participate. This is something that only we the Communist Party can do.'"
"And not only are they not letting people participate, but they're criminalizing activities to take part in public participation in governance and social issues," she said.
According to the report, many have been deprived of a fair trial and the government wants to "expand already strict control over independent organizations, including their funding sources, staffing, and activities."
Human-rights lawyer Li Fangping said that civil-society organization has been a focus of crackdown for decades.
Aside from depriving the right to be organized, the group accused the Communist Party of targeting individuals who pose a threat to state power, which was apparent in the arrest of lawyer Zhou Shifeng.
Zhou convicted of subversion when he started to pursue cases of the victims of the contaminated baby scandal.
He "hired protesters to disturb the judicial system" and "attempted to manipulate public opinion and damage national security by spreading subversive thoughts" according to state media.
Another human rights lawyer, Xie Yang, was tortured in 2015 and spent 100 hours with shackled arms and legs. His interrogator said to him, "I'm going to torment you until you go insane."
The Human Rights Watch released another report that stated, "Individuals and groups who have fought hard in the past decade for human rights gains were the clearest casualties of an aggressive campaign against peaceful dissent."
The group reported that in 2015, 280 human rights activists and lawyers were detained and interrogated. Forty people from this group were detained in secret locations without access to legal representation.
These individuals were accused of "major criminal gang" that "seriously disrupts public order."
