Li Boguang | |
|---|---|
李柏光 | |
.jpg) Li Boguang in May 2006 | |
| Born | (1968-10-01)October 1, 1968 |
| Died | February 26, 2018(2018-02-26) (aged 49)[1] |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Alma mater | Peking University |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, human rights activist, writer, translator, publisher |
| Years active | 1997 — 2018[2] |
| Known for | Tangshan protest |
| Awards | National Endowment for Democracy – Democracy Award 2008[3] |
| Weiquan lawyers |
|---|
| Li Boguang | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 李柏光 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Li Boguang (Chinese:李柏光;pinyin:Lǐ Bóguāng; 1 October 1968 – 26 February 2018) was a Chinese legal scholar andhuman rights activist. Li was born in a mountain village inJiahe County,Hunan province. He was the youngest son among seven children in poor family. When his father died Li was only 7 years old.[4][5]
In his capacity as the director of the Qimin Research Institute inBeijing,[6] Li supported farmers in seeking compensation for confiscated farmland. He was arrested in 2004 following his involvement in theTangshan protest, which led to international attention being paid to his plight by human rights groups.[7] Li was the victim of a physical assault in 2016.[8] He died in February 2018, with the Chinese government attributing his death to liver disease.[9] This provoked controversy, with media outlets considering his demise to be "suspicious",[3][10][11] given the Chinese government's track record onhuman rights.[1]
Li studied Philosophy, Politics and Law at university, obtaining hisMasters and Doctoral degrees fromPeking University. In 1997, he became Professor of Law atHainan University, but lost the role after being arrested the following year.[2]
Li became known internationally in 2004 as a result of his efforts to promote the rights of farmers in theTangshan protest. Along withYu Meisun andZhao Yan, Li provided an advice to the farmers inHebei Province who were resettled to make way for the Taolinkou reservoir, some 100 km (62 mi) east of Beijing. The farmers asserted that their compensation was not received as a result of corruption and misappropriation by officials from the local Government.[12] Led byZhang Youren, a peasant activist, more than 11,000 displaced farmers signed a petition calling for the dismissal of the Municipal Party Secretary, Zhang He. Boguang aided the peasants in the organization of the protest, gaining him international attention, and resulting in his arrest.[13] However, he was subsequently released.[13] As a direct result of theTangshan Protest Zhang Youren was detained, and a crackdown on rights activists was instigated by the authorities.[14][15]
In the same year, Li published an article which examined the impact of corruption on the lives of farmers. The article, entitled "Can Citizens Dismiss a Mayor" was published in Modern Civilisation Pictorial, No 12.[16] Reportedly, Li Boguang also advised farmers in Fu’an, a coastal city in the North ofFujian Province. Once again, farmers sought to create and deliver a petition to thecentral government regarding a land dispute.[17]
A hallmark of the protests in both Fujian and Hebei was the immense pressure that was put on villagers by the police force to denounce Li Boguang and his fellow activists.[18] This culminated in December 2004, when Li was arrested by the police in Fu’an. He was charged with defrauding farmers.[19] Police reportedly searched his home in Beijing, confiscating computers and documents.
In March 2005,AFP reported that Li had been released on condition that he remain in Beijing and have no contact with farmers or others seeking to petition the government about abuses by local officials.[20][21] The actual date of release was later reported as 21 January.[22]
There have been claims that Li was affiliated with the Fangzhou Congregation, aChinese house church situated in Beijing's Chaoyang district.[23] Other members of the influential church includeGao Zhisheng and Yu Jie, founder of the Chinese branch ofInternational PEN.[24] He also defended multipleChristians who had been arrested by the government, protecting them from perceived persecution.[25]
While proofreading in 1998, Li once read works by theVictorian era writerSamuel Smiles and was touched by the author, so he decided to translate and publish Smiles' works. Also he translated other writers likeRobert A. Dahl andNiccolò Machiavelli, and published the books through Chinese publishing houses.[4]
Li,Wang Yi andYu Jie were invited to visit theUnited States of America bynon-governmental organization "China Aid" and the Institute on Chinese Law & Religion to join the China Freedom Summit in May 2005. Then Li and other members of the summit met also with thePresident of United StatesGeorge W. Bush in theWhite House on 11 May.[5]
Prompted by his reading ofSamuel Smiles, Li started to read the Bible in 1999. He began to visit a Beijing church in 2005 and was baptized on 30 July 2005 there.[5]
Li Boguang's death was reported by the Chinese government on 26 February 2018, with the cause of death attributed to liver disease,[9] despite his clear health record.[26]
However, this description courted controversy, with activists and media outlets alike considering his demise to be "suspicious",[11] and allegations that the government report was not credible.Bob Fu, president ofChinaAid, demanded that the Chinese government provide a transparent account of Li's death.[3]Christian Solidarity Worldwide also considered the death to be "suspicious", and refuted the official account as Li's health was very good prior to his death.[27] The death served to return attention to China'shuman rights record and the welfare of those who oppose the authorities.[28] The government's treatment of Li was already under scrutiny following the assault perpetrated by men with alleged ties to theChinese Communist Party in 2016,[8] and further threats which had allegedly been levied against him.[11]
International commentators remarked on the similarity between Li's death and that ofNobel LaureateLiu Xiaobo in 2017.[10]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link),| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
