Profile: How ‘barefoot lawyer’ took on might of the state

FROM an early age, Chen Guangcheng seemed unafraid to question authority, and he devoted years to educating himself so he could take on the might of the Chinese government.

Born in 1971 in a rural area of Shandong province, Chen lost his sight as an infant due to fever, but his disability did not hinder his progress – indeed, it seemed to encourage it.

According to reports of his early life, he was illiterate until 1994 when he enrolled by the Qingdao High School for the Blind, where he studied for four years. He is then said to have gone to the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from 1998 to 2001, when he returned to his home province. During his time at university, he also enrolled in law classes, and is said to have learned enough to help his fellow villagers when they sought his help.

He captured the attention of the international community seven years ago when he filed a class action lawsuit accusing officials in the city of Linyi in Shandong of forcing women to have late-term abortions, imposing compulsory sterilisation and conducting midnight raids and beatings, according to a Human Rights Watch profile.

Earning the nickname of the “barefoot lawyer”, he and his family were put under house arrest for six months soon after he began his campaign.

He was formally arrested in 2006 for disrupting traffic and damaging property. After a brief trial, where he did not have access to defence lawyers, he was sentenced to four years in prison. Many believe the charges were simply to silence him.

Since his release in September 2010, Chen, his wife and young son have been held under house arrest, with dozens of security officers outside their home.

Other prominent voices of dissent in China include:

LIU XIAOBO

A leader of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago for demanding political change in China, but it was a prize he could not receive in person. On Christmas Day 2009, he received an 11-year sentence for “inciting subversion” after drafting Charter 08, calling for multi-party democracy and respect for human rights in China. His wife is under house arrest and friends and supporters have been prevented from leaving China.

HU JIA

The 38-year-old, who has spoken out on issues such as the environment and HIV/Aids, was released from prison last June after serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence for “inciting subversion,” after writing articles criticising the Chinese political system and conducting interviews with foreign journalists.

GAO ZHISHENG

The self-educated lawyer, who has taken on the cases of evicted homeowners and human rights activists, was arrested in 2006 for “inciting subversion” and given a suspended jail sentence. He went missing in February 2009, reappeared a year later, and went missing again in April 2010. Last year, state media reported he been sent back to jail, for “seriously violating probation rules”.