This is a much watch documentary.. please make the time
“Rights defense lawyers” emerged at the beginning of the 21st century. From their appearance, to the notorious 709 mass arrests in 2015, to today, the Chinese Communist government has subjected them to intimidation, disappearance, torture, imprisonment, and disbarment, ignoring the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
This 68-minute documentary film reviews the 20-year journey of human rights lawyers in China. Written by China Change editor Yaxue Cao, the documentary is built from existing footage, partly from China Change’s own footage and partly from other sources. We are deeply indebted to Professor Ai Xiaoming (???), whose documentary films Taishi Village (2006), Citizen Investigation (2009) and The New Citizens Trial (2014) provided precious footage of lawyers; and to artist Ai Weiwei (???), whose interviews with lawyers Li Heping (2011) and Jiang Tianyong (2011), as well as the footage of lawyer Pu Zhiqiang from his documentary Disturbing the Peace (2009), have provided us with indispensable material.
The two Ais are as gracious and supportive as their works are invaluable. We are also grateful to Deutsche Welle, Associated Press, Boxun, The Netherlands Online, Voice of America, Kyodo, David Missal, and Wang Qiaoling for their content. Without these existing and diverse materials, it would be very difficult to compile this documentary, so badly needed for our advocacy work.
About 33 lawyers appear in this documentary in video or audio form, and many more in photographs, making it a portrait of human rights lawyers in China. Nonetheless, the “existing footage” imposed a constraint on the production of this documentary, and we hope you will understand and forgive us for not being able to include more lawyers for lack of footage and for the risk of filming in China.
Finally, I would like to thank the protagonists of this film – the human rights lawyers in China. They are among the unsung heroes of our time. China Change March 15, 2022
