Statement
The Free China Movement calls for transparent legal procedures, humane treatment and independent scrutiny in cases involving political prisoners in mainland China. Families should be able to obtain reliable information about detention, seek legal assistance and advocate lawfully without retaliation. These demands are universal protections; they do not depend on a claim that any particular new case has already been verified.
Procedural protections
Authorities should promptly disclose the legal basis for detention, enable meaningful access to qualified counsel and an effective review process, ensure necessary medical care, and permit appropriate family communication subject only to lawful and proportionate restrictions. Credible allegations of ill-treatment, coercion or unlawful deprivation of liberty should be independently investigated.
Protect relatives and confidential sources
Relatives should not face threats, discriminatory administrative measures or retaliation for lawful expression and association. Public advocacy must not increase danger to families: identifying details of minors, home addresses, school names and sensitive movements should be withheld unless disclosure is necessary, consensual where appropriate, and demonstrably safe.
Independent documentation and accountability
Governments, legislatures and human-rights organizations should maintain dated, source-attributed records, preserve documentary evidence and request meaningful official responses. Testimony establishes what a witness reported; it is not automatically a judicial determination. An allegation should be attributed accurately and corrected if subsequent evidence changes its status. Repetition by multiple outlets does not itself amount to independent corroboration.
Specific requests
We call for verifiable custody information, access to counsel and appropriate medical services, protected family contact, impartial investigation of credible reports of mistreatment, non-retaliation against relatives, and remedies where violations are established. Independent monitors should follow cases over time and report outcomes rather than relying solely on one-time publicity.
Attribution
Issued by the Free China Movement as an independent policy statement. It is not a conference communiqué, does not imply institutional endorsement by any outside body, and does not name a newly verified individual case.
Editions in preparation in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, German and Spanish will be linked here upon publication.