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Human Rights Developments Defending Human Rights The Role of the International Community Independent legal aid organizations, such as Wuhan Universitys Center for Protection of Rights of Disadvantaged Citizens, operated openly but gingerly. They were often able to help individuals challenge wrongful actions by officials, but they did not take on highly charged political cases. On September 7, authorities in Jilin province accepted the registration application of a new organization called the Economic and Social Rights Protection Association, designed to protect the rights guaranteed by the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. It was not clear as of October whether the governments acceptance of the application meant that the new group would indeed be registered by the Civil Affairs Bureau. Many of those who tried to advocate openly on behalf of political prisoners still faced harassment, intimidation, or arrest. Activists Xu Wenli and Qin Yongmin were unsuccessful in their attempts to officially establish an independent human rights monitoring group in Wuhan in April. On September 22, a dissident named Jiang Qisheng was detained while preparing to publish statements on political and civil liberties. Many individuals who took part in petition drives to advance civil and political rights were briefly detained during the year. |
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