Chinese Legal Rights Group Blocked from Paying Its Fines

Chinese legal scholar Xu Zhiyong is still in detention for supposedly violating tax law. He’s part of an organization called The Open Constitution Initiative, or Gongmeng in Chinese. They take on welfare and human rights cases.

Chinese authorities are demanding that Gongmeng pay fines for overdue taxes. But now authorities are making it hard for them.

A report by the organization Chinese Human Rights Defenders says that Gongmeng asked supporters for donations to help pay the fines. But authorities have frozen Gongmeng’s bank account—and that makes it impossible for them to pay.

Meanwhile, Xu is still being detained.

Recent months have seen an increased number of arrests and trials of activists and lawyers in China.

(NTDTV)