Li Boguang

Li Boguang (Simplified Chinese:李柏光； Hanyu Pinyin:Lǐ Bóguāng) (born 1968) is a Chinese legal scholar and human rights activist. Director of the Quimin Research Institute in Beijing, Dr. Li has supported farmers in seeking compensation for confiscated farmland. He was arrested following his involvement in the Tangshan Protest.

Involvement in Farmer's Rights

Born in 1968, Li Boguang studied Philosophy, Politics and Law at university.

Li Boguang became known to the international community in 2004 as a result of his efforts to promote the rights of farmers. Along with Yu Meisun and Zhao Yan, Dr. Li provided advice to farmers in Hebei Province who were resettled to make way for the Taolinkou reservoir, some 100 km (60 miles) east of Beijing. The farmers asserted that compensation funds were misappropriated by officials from the local Government. Led by Zhang Youren, a peasant activist, more than 11,000 displaced farmers signed a petition calling for the dismissal of the Municipal Party Secretary, Zhang He. The Tangshan Protest led to the detention of Zhang Youren and a crackdown on rights activists.

In the same year, Li Boguang published an article that 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 [PRC: Arrest of Writers, International PEN, January 04, 2005, [http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/index.php?pid=33&aid=258&query=china] ,] .

It has been reported that Li Boguang also advised farmers in Fu’an, a coastal city in the North of Fujian Province. Once again, farmers wanted to petition central government regarding a dispute over land [PRC: Human Rights Defenders at Risk, Amnesty International, March 01, 2005 [http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA170022005?open&of=ENG-2AS] ] .

In both Fujian and Hebei, police put pressure on villagers to denounce Li Boguang and another activists. [Chinese Police Harass Journalist Who Covered Tangshan Protest, Radio Free Asia, July 14, 2004, [http://www.rfa.org/english/news/politics/2004/07/14/141042/] ] . Li Boguang was arrested in Fu’an on 14th December and charged with defrauding farmers. Police reportedly searched his home in Beijing, confiscating computers and documents.

In March 2005, AFP reported that Li Boguang 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 [Annual Report 2005, Committee of Concerned Scientists, [http://www.libertynet.org/ccs/annual2005.pdf#search=%22%22Qimin%20Research%20Centre%22%22] ] [Chinese Authorities Release Farmers' Rights Activist, Congressional Executive Commission on China, March 14, 2005 [http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=8103] ] . The actual date of release was later reported as 21 January [List of imprisoned and detained petitioner activists, Human Rights Watch, December 2005 [http://hrw.org/reports/2005/china1205/7.htm] ] .

It has also been reported that Dr. Li was affiliated with the Fangzhou Congregation, a chinese house church in Beijing's Chaoyang district [Going to Church, The Shanghaiist, January 18, 2006, [http://www.shanghaiist.com/archives/2006/01/18/going_to_church.php] ] . Other members of the church include Gao Zhisheng and Yu Jie, founder of the Chinese branch of International PEN [Writer held as China turns on intellectuals, The Guardian, December 22 2004 [http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,7369,1378463,00.html] ] .

References

See also

* Tangshan Protest
* Zhang Youren, farmer activist
* Yu Meisun, lawyer
* Zhao Yan, journalist
* List of Chinese dissidents
* Human rights in the People's Republic of China
* Taishi Incident
* Hou Wenzhou
* Guo Yan