ICC Note: It is a difficult life for civil and human rights lawyers in China, many of whom are significant advocates for the country’s persecuted Christians. These lawyers combat a laundry list of unlawful actions the CCP takes regularly to maintain the “public peace,” but it seems to be a miracle anytime that one of their suits actually culminates in corrective action against the CCP. Sadly, what is more likely is the detainment and repression of China’s fearless legal activists.

8/3/2016 Beijing, China (Fox News) – Trials started this week of Chinese lawyers and legal rights activists who were detained in July last year and charged with subversion for their attempts to bring attention to abuses and demand government accountability.

They include lawyer Zhou Shifeng and three activists associated with his Fengrui Law Firm, among the best known in the field broadly known as “rights defending.” The firm has pursued numerous sensitive cases and represented outspoken critics of the ruling Communist Party. Others, including disbarred lawyer Li Heping, remain in detention, their legal status a continuing mystery.

A look at some of the most prominent cases taken up by lawyers and activists now in custody:

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CONTAMINATED BABY FORMULA

In 2008, Fengrui represented victims in a contaminated infant formula scandal that the government sought to gloss over amid preparations to hold the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Around 300,000 children were sickened and six died from kidney failure caused by the adulteration of the formula with the chemical melamine. Fengrui represented victims’ families in cases against Sanlu, the maker of the formula and one of China’s biggest dairies. The firm’s work drew exactly the sort of attention that the government was hoping to avoid, further undermining public confidence in food safety and the leadership’s commitment to candor and accountability.

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