Jiang Tianyong () is a human rights lawyer in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...

. Based in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, he is a prominent figure in the

Weiquan The Weiquan movement is a non-centralized group of lawyers, legal experts, and intellectuals in China who seek to protect and defend the civil rights of the citizenry through litigation and legal activism. The movement, which began in the early ...

(rights defending) movement, and has defended

Tibetans The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans ...

, petitioners,

Falun Gong Falun Gong (, ) or Falun Dafa (; literally, "Dharmachakra, Dharma Wheel Practice" or "Law Wheel Practice") is a new religious movement.Junker, Andrew. 2019. ''Becoming Activists in Global China: Social Movements in the Chinese Diaspora'', pp. 23 ...

adherents, HIV/AIDS victims, and other vulnerable groups. Jiang's human rights advocacy has drawn the ire of Chinese authorities; his applications for renewal of his legal license have been denied, and he has been detained on multiple occasions.

Advocacy

Jiang was born in Luoshan,

Henan province Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

, where he worked as a teacher from 1995 to 2004. In 2004 year, he left his job as a teacher, relocated to Beijing, and become a human rights lawyer. He passed the bar exam in 2005, and became a partner in the Beijing Global Lawfirm, along with several other prominent human rights lawyers. He has taken on a number of politically sensitive cases, including those of petitioners and religious and ethnic minorities.Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers
Jiang Tianyong
In 2008, Jiang offered to provide legal services to Tibetans facing charges in the aftermath of the

2008 Tibetan unrest 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number ...

,Bill Schiller
“Lawyers pay high price for coming to aid of Tibetans”
The Star, 17 June 2008. and was involved in the high-profile defense of a Tibetan cleric, along with lawyer Li Fangping.Gillian Wong
'China Takes Hard Line on Activists, Many Missing
Associated Press, 21 March 2011. Jiang began advocating for Falun Gong adherents in 2008, and by late 2009 said he had defended nearly 20 practitioners who had been detained for their spiritual practice.Jiang Tianyong
"Written Testimony submitted to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on the rule of law in China"
29 October 2009. Jiang has also advocated on behalf of citizens who contracted HIV/AIDS in tainted blood transfusions or donations, and was involved in advocating for victims of the Shanxi " black brick kiln" case.

Detentions

Jiang has been detained on multiple occasions by Chinese security agents in response to his human rights advocacy.Freedom House
Special Feature:Cyberdisappearance in Action
China Media Bulletin, No. 29, 14 July 2011. In 2008, Jiang was informed that his license to practice law had expired. In 2009, he was one of at least 17 Weiquan lawyers whose application for renewal of a legal license was rejected. The same year, Jiang was put under police surveillance, and was prevented from leaving his home.Human Rights in China
Chinese Rights Defense Lawyers Under All-out Attack by the Authorities
4 June 2009. On 19 February 2011, he was one of several lawyers and dissidents detained as part of a sweeping crackdown on dissent. Jiang was held in custody for two months. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Jiang said he was beaten and abused in custody. While in the detention center, interrogators reportedly kicked and punched Jiang repeatedly, and forced him to sit motionless for up to 15 hours at a stretch. In November, 2016, Jiang was feared to be in custody again, according to his wife. On December 6,

Philip Alston Philip Geoffrey Alston is an Australian international law scholar and human rights practitioner. He is John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, and co-chair of the law school's Center for Human Rights and Globa ...

, the UN’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said Jiang’s disappearance was in reprisal for his cooperation with the UN during Alston's visit to China. Jiang was sentenced in 2017 to two years in prison for "inciting subversion of state power". He was released in 2019, and reported to be living with his family in central China, under close watch from Chinese authorities. In May 2021,

Radio Free Asia Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a United States government-funded private non-profit news service that broadcasts radio programs and publishes online news, information, and commentary for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editorial ...

reported that Jiang remained under house arrest.

Notes

External links

Interview with Voice of America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jiang, Tianyong Living people Chinese human rights activists Weiquan movement 1971 births 20th-century Chinese lawyers 21st-century Chinese lawyers