China: Over 1,000 Beijing Lawyers Have Their Licenses Suspended

China’s Ministry of Justice abolished a widely criticized “annual registration” system for lawyers last year. But the Beijing Administration of Judicial Lawyers has devised a tactic to block lawyers who handle so-called „sensitive“ cases from practicing.

A large number of human rights lawyers have emerged in China in recent years.

They take on “sensitive” cases prohibited by the communist regime such as Sanlu milk poisoning, HIV rights, and church-related cases.

The Beijing Administration of Judicial Lawyers has suspended the licenses of over 1,000 lawyers and around 90 law firms for failing to pass a concocted annual registration examination.

All the lawyers who failed the exam have handled “sensitive” cases.

[Zhang Jiankang, Human Rights Lawyer]:
“Because they handle ’sensitive‘ cases, more than 1,000 lawyers have lost their legal careers. This is likely to provoke China’s human rights movement even more.”

Shanghai human rights lawyer Ma Tianlin believes the suspension of licenses is retaliation by the Beijing Justice Bureau over the fact that many Beijing lawyers have demanded direct election of members to the Beijing Bar Association.

[Albert Ho, Chairman, Hong Kong Democratic Party]:
“The internal assessment system in China is not fair. Lawyers‘ human rights are also damaged. It now appears that (assessment) will be used by the authorities to suppress lawyers who have different opinions. Of course, this should be noticed. I have already told our local Bar Association about our concerns and put forward their demands.”

French-based Lawyers Without Borders is concerned over the issue.

[Nathalie Muller, Lawyers Without Borders]:
“At present, some international organizations have begun to defend the rights for lawyers which are under risky circumstances. I am a member of Lawyers without Borders from France. For the lawyers’ problems happening in China, I am very concerned about it.”

Several human rights lawyers appealed in person to the Beijing Justice Bureau and the Beijing Bar Association.

They tried to negotiate with officials about the cancellation and suspension of lawyer’s licenses and requested a stop to the illegal assessment in accordance with the law.

The Beijing Justice Bureau said the matter had nothing to do with them, while the Beijing Bar Association said they would have an answer after an investigation.

Well-known jurist Professor Yuan Hongbing believes that this is not a decision made by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice or the Beijing Bar Association.

[Professor Yuan Hongbing, Jurist]:
“Based on our understanding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), this must be the work of the Political Science and Law Committee in Beijing, and maybe even the Political and Legal Committee. This matter shows the hypocrisy of the Chinese Communist dictatorship with regard to the law. It shows that under the legal system of the CCP, the political interests of the Communist Party are above all else.”

A June 26th Washington Post article points out that Beijing’s use of administrative procedures to decline annual registrations avoids crackdowns and police action to handle those whom the communist regime considers troublemakers.

(NTDTV)