Datt, Angeli; Beck, Alex --- "Assessing freedom of peaceful assembly and association in contemporary China" [2019] ELECD 1312; in Biddulph, Sarah; Rosenzweig, Joshua (eds), "Handbook on Human Rights in China" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) 397

Book Title: Handbook on Human Rights in China

Editor(s): Biddulph, Sarah; Rosenzweig, Joshua

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 19

Section Title: Assessing freedom of peaceful assembly and association in contemporary China

Author(s): Datt, Angeli; Beck, Alex

Number of pages: 28

Abstract/Description:

Despite a constitutional guarantee of the rights to freedom of assembly and association, Chinese authorities systematically curtail these rights in law and practice and have labeled as criminals individuals who hold peaceful demonstrations or who form or join particular independent non-profit organizations. Domestic laws, regulations, and policies place undue restrictions on the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of association in China and are incompatible with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and several international conventions. The change in leadership under Xi Jinping marked an intensified deterioration of human rights in China, one in which the government has further reduced the already limited space for peaceful assembly and freedom of association through new legislation and increased criminal prosecution of civil society leaders.