Zhang Kai () is a human rights lawyer known for defending churches in

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 ...

that were being forced to remove their crosses and

crucifixes A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

. He is also known for representing or campaigning on behalf of the disadvantaged, such as

Feng Jianmei On June 2, 2012, Feng Jianmei () was Forced abortion, forced to have an abortion in Zhenping County, Shaanxi, Zhenping County, Shaanxi, China, when she was seven months pregnant with her second child. Local officials had demanded that she and her ...

, a woman forced by government authorities to have an abortion in 2012.

Arrest and detention

Zhang was detained on 25 August 2015 in

Wenzhou Wenzhou; Chinese postal romanization, historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in China's Zhejiang province. Wenzhou is located at the extreme southeast of Zhejiang, bordering Lishui, Zhejiang, Lishui to the west, Taizhou, Zheji ...

Zhejiang Province ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, a city with a strong Christian influence. He had been representing churches whose crosses were demolished by government officials, and was also accused of ‘masterminding illegal religious gatherings’. He was charged with “endangering state secrets” and “gathering a crowd to disturb public order” and placed in criminal detention. Along with a group of religious leaders, Zhang had been scheduled to meet US envoy for religious freedom, David Saperstein, the following day. Officials in the province have been waging a campaign to remove crosses from more than 1,200 churches and other buildings. Communist Party general secretary

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

was once the

Party Committee Secretary A Party Committee Secretary () is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organization in a province, city, village, or other administrative unit. In most cases, it is the ''de facto'' highest political office of its area of jurisdictio ...

of the province. Since coming to power in 2012 Xi’s strict political regime has clamped down on human rights lawyers, liberal academics, journalists, bloggers and feminist campaigners. Rights groups say the campaign has affected hundreds of parishes. Zhang, like many of China's human rights lawyers, is a Christian, and earlier in 2015 had posted an online essay denouncing the Communist party’s treatment of Chinese churchgoers. Zhang made a televised confession, which was rejected by his supporters. Zhang Lei, a fellow human rights lawyer, said “it is utterly appalling for a person to be made to confess on the television”.

Release

Zhang was released on 23 March 2016. He posted a message on

WeChat WeChat or Weixin in Chinese ( zh, c=微信, p=Wēixìn , l=micro-message) is an instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment mobile app, app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile a ...

confirming his release, and that he was back in his hometown in Inner Mongolia.

Lawyers and activists detained in China

Other people detained by the authorities include lawyers Wang Yu, Zhou Shifeng, Li Shuyun and Xie Yanyi; as well as Li Heping and his two assistants,

Zhao Wei Zhao Wei (; born 12 March 1976), also known as Vicky Zhao or Vicki Zhao, is a Chinese nationality law, Chinese actress, singer, filmmaker, and businesswoman. Regarded as one of China's Four Dan Actresses, she rose to pan-Asian fame for her rol ...

and Gao Yue; another legal assistant, Liu Sixin; and activists Hu Shigen and Gou Hongguo. In June 2016, there were reports in the

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

that Zhao Wei had been released after apparently 'confessing' – however these reports have not been confirmed. Her husband also believes that she may have been forced to recant, and disputed the authenticity of statements on her

Sina Weibo Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ...

social media account.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Kai Chinese human rights activists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)