Yitong Law Firm (忆通) is a
law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...
in the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
engaged in defense of
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
. Its clients include
Hu Jia and
Chen Guangcheng
Chen Guangcheng (born November 12, 1971) is a Chinese civil rights activist who has worked on human rights issues in rural areas of the People's Republic of China. Blind from an early age and self-taught in the law, Chen is frequently describ ...
. In February 2009 Chinese authorities announced that the firm would be shut down for six months, ostensibly because an unlicensed lawyer was practicing there.
The accused lawyer, Li Subin, was a former deputy director of the firm who had been denied the chance to renew his professional license by the provincial authorities in
Henan
Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...
after he had successfully sued the Henan judicial bureau for overcharging.
[{{cite web , date=25 February 2009 , access-date=11 March 2009 , last=Ford , first=Peter , url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0225/p01s01-woap.html , title=China cracks down on human rights lawyers , work=]Christian Science Monitor
''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper b ...
The managing partner of the firm, Li Jinsong, denied that Li Subin had engaged in the practice of law claiming he was only engaged in administrative duties and charged that the government authorities "are distorting facts ... to get revenge" for the way the firm's lawyers have criticized or defied government agencies.
[
]
See also
*Human rights in the People's Republic of China
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are great apes characterized by their hairlessness, bipedalism, and high intelligen ...
*Weiquan movement
The Weiquan movement is a non-centralized group of lawyers, legal experts, and intellectuals in the People's Republic of China who seek to protect and defend the civil rights of the citizenry through litigation and legal activism. The movemen ...
References
Further reading
* Peter Foster (March 19, 2009)
"China shuts down activist law firm."''The Telegraph''
Accessed November 2011.
External links
* Human Rights In China
* Chinese Human Rights Defenders
* Christian Chinese Human Rights Advocates
* Li Subin biography
* Interview with Li Subin
* Christian Science Monitor article regarding law firm intimidation
Law firms of China