Zhao Lianhai
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Zhao Lianhai (赵连海) is a Chinese dissident and former food safety worker who became an activist for parents of children harmed during the
2008 Chinese milk scandal The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was a significant food safety incident in China. The scandal involved Sanlu Group's milk and infant formula along with other food materials and components being adulterated with the chemical melamine, which resu ...
. In 2010 he was sentenced to years imprisonment for 'disturbing social order'. Zhao was born circa 1972. He used to work for the Food Quality and Safety Authority of China. His son, Pengrui, was born in late 2005 and became ill as a result of drinking tainted milk. The couple also have a daughter, Sian, born in 2008/2009.


Activism and website

Zhao became a leader in the movement of parents to get restitution and treatment for their children. He called for a national memorial day for the victims. He held a memorial ceremony in his home for parents of harmed children. He started the "Home for Kidney Stone Babies" (结石宝宝之家, jieshibaobao.com) website from his apartment in
Daxing __NOTOC__ Daxing ( unless otherwised noted) may refer to: Places in China *Daxing or Daxingcheng (Daxing City), the capital of the Sui dynasty (581–618) before 605, known as Chang'an before and after the Sui *Daxing District, a district of Beijin ...
, near
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
. The website was blocked in China. The site was also shut down by the government so he moved hosting to Japan. Parents of children harmed by
melamine Melamine is an organic compound with the formula C3H6N6. This white solid is a trimer (chemistry), trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-Triazine, 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 66% nitrogen by mass, and its derivatives ha ...
-tainted milk went to the website and could exchange information about how to sue. Zhao also pushed for increased research into the number of kidney stone babies. The site published a leaked document from the Henan Department of Health, which had allegedly ordered workers to underreport kidney stone cases. The website also posted claims that autopsies of children were being denied. In 2009, Zhao posted a petition arguing against accepting the government's compensation plan as inadequate (especially considering the long-term unknowns), and not created in consultation with parents. The petition was signed by several hundred parents. The police and/or public security bureau harassed him, his wife, his mother, his siblings, and volunteer students. The government also broke up meetings and a press conference.


Arrest, trial, imprisonment

Zhao was taken by police in mid-November 2009. Arrest papers were given to his wife Li Xuemei on 21 December 2009, on charges, she said, of "
picking quarrels and provoking trouble Picking quarrels and provoking trouble (), also translated as picking quarrels and stirring up trouble or picking quarrels and making trouble, is a criminal offense in the People's Republic of China. Law The crime first appeared under Articl ...
". His case was handed to prosecutors in early 2010. He was tried at Daxing district court in Beijing where he was legally represented by Li Fangping and Peng Jian. A lawyer's blog claimed the police wrote the following:
From September 2008 to September 2009, Zhao Lianhai used 'protecting rights' as well as the Sanlu milk powder issue as an excuse to hype and agitate people who did not know the truth to disturb social order ... by shouting slogans and gathering illegally.
He was sentenced on 10 November 2010 to years prison. The main charge was inciting social disorder. Three incidents were used against Zhao at his trial: * Organizing a gathering of 12 parents * Holding a sign in front of a factory and court * Giving media interviews in a public place Amnesty International condemned the sentence and he began a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
in protest. Li Xuemei, his wife, indicated there would be an appeal.
Leung Man-tao Leung Man-tao (;, born 26 December 1970) is a Hong Kong writer, critic and host. Life Leung was born in a Catholic family in Hong Kong on December 26, 1970, with his ancestral home in Shunde, Guangdong. Leung was raised primarily in Taiwan, retu ...
, a
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
based writer, wrote an
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...
in ''Southern Weekend'' in
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
, defending Zhao. He was named as a political prisoner by the
Congressional-Executive Commission on China The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) is an independent agency of the U.S. government which monitors human rights and rule of law developments in the People's Republic of China. The commission was given the mandate by the U.S. C ...
, and as a prisoner of conscience by
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
. Zhao was subsequently released on medical parole, which normally allows freedom of movement, subject to regular reports to the local police. But Zhao has largely been restricted to his Daxing home and official harassment has continued, such as when he tried to take his children for a day out on 31 May 2011, and the family were surrounded by police and public security officials and held in a nearby restaurant in what onlookers thought was a hostage situation.


Censorship

Reports and discussions on Chinese websites are restricted. On 30 March 2010, Hong Kong singer
Gigi Leung Gigi Leung Wing-kei (; born 25 March 1976) is a Hong Kong singer and actress. Early life She was born at Tsan Yuk Hospital in Sai Ying Pun on 25 March 1976 and was given the name Leung Pik-chi () for superstitious reasons; as a child, Leung suf ...
posted about the unjustly jailed Zhao Lianhai on
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 ...
. After receiving a message from website's administrator, Gigi Leung then deleted the relevant blog, resulted in hundreds of supportive messages from her fans.


2010 Hong Kong journalists assaulted

On 10 December 2010 several Hong Kong journalists were at Zhao's apartment in
Daxing __NOTOC__ Daxing ( unless otherwised noted) may refer to: Places in China *Daxing or Daxingcheng (Daxing City), the capital of the Sui dynasty (581–618) before 605, known as Chang'an before and after the Sui *Daxing District, a district of Beijin ...
,
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
to interview his supporters.Broadcasting head condemns attack on HK journalists
. ''South China Morning Post''. Retrieved on 2010-12-10.
About 40 members of a "Neighbourhood Management Committee" tried to stop the journalists. The journalists were kicked, struck and had their cameras blocked. An
ATV ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television broadcaster * Andorra Televisió * Anguilla Television * Ayna TV, Afghanistan * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourn ...
journalist's camera was hit. A female
RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service of Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...
reporter was slapped.趙連海獲選“年度民間人士” 港傳媒北京採訪遭驅趕
. ''Lianhe Zaobao''. Retrieved on 2010-12-10.
The
Hong Kong Journalists Association The Hong Kong Journalists Association () is a Hong Kong association that represents journalists in Hong Kong. Established in 1968, the association acts as a trade union for journalists by seeking to improve working conditions for them and ...
expressed concern about the incident. Hong Kong director of broadcasting Franklin Wong Wah-kay (黃華麒), head of the public broadcaster
RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service of Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...
, condemned the attack and said the journalists were legally covering the case under mainland law. On 29 December 2010 the director of the Hong Kong and Macau office of the State Council
Wang Guangya Wang Guangya (born March 1950; ) is a Chinese diplomat who is the former Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. A career diplomat, Wang was previously Vice Minister of Foreign ...
said that under the
one country, two systems "One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Deng Xiaoping developed the one country, two systems ...
principle Hong Kong should not interfere. He then made a controversial statement that "well water should not mix with river water (do not interfere with each other)".葉國謙:港區人大關心趙連海案 不涉河水井水
. RTHK.org. Retrieved on 2010-12-29.


See also

*
List of Chinese dissidents This list consists of activists who are known as Chinese dissidents. The label is primarily applied to intellectuals and other high-profile individuals from China who are known for their criticism of the Chinese government or its policies. Deta ...
*
Chinese legal system Chinese law is one of the oldest legal traditions in the world. The core of modern Chinese law is based on Germanic-style civil law, socialist law, and traditional Chinese approaches. For most of the history of China, its legal system has b ...
*
Whistleblowers Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
* Tan Zuoren *
Xu Zhiyong Xu Zhiyong ( zh, s=许志永, p=Xǔ Zhìyǒng; born March 2, 1973) is a Chinese civil rights activist and formerly a lecturer at the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications. He was one of the founders of the NGO Open Constitution I ...
*
Golden Shield Project The Golden Shield Project (), also named National Public Security Work Informational Project, is the Chinese nationwide network-security fundamental constructional project by the e-government of the People's Republic of China. This project i ...


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao, Lianhai Chinese dissidents Chinese activists Living people 1972 births Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by China Chinese prisoners and detainees