By Megan E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Almost one year ago Liang Liwan gave information to Yves Cabannes, head contact of the United Nations Advisory Group on Forced Evictions. The result of her outreach was imprisonment.

A Chinese human rights group reports that Liwan has been in police custody since September 23, 2009 based on her attempt to contact officials within the United Nations regarding forced eviction and demolition in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. It was also reported that on October 3, Liwan was moved to an undisclosed location thereby leaving her family with no knowledge of her whereabouts or wellbeing.   

Liang’s imprisonment is based on information she conveyed to the United Nations Advisory Group on Forced Evictions in 2008 making them aware of the impending demolition of her home and several others by the local government. Following her contact with the United Nations, Liang’s husband was seriously injured in a beating by thugs in December of 2008.

In mid-August 2009, a conference was held at the School of Public Management of Zhejiang University, where Liang spoke about social problems facing ordinary Chinese citizens with personal antidotes to discuss along with her research. The United Nations informant Liang reached out to, Yves Cabannes, attended the conference. The event was organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, a German foundation, the Centre Marc Bloch, a German social sciences research institution, and the Zhejiang University.

After the conference, Liang invited Cabannes and others to see the site of her home, which is being requisitioned by the government for expansion of the city’s East Railway Station. Liang gave them a tour of her home and while showing conference attendees her house, the police arrived and took Cabannes and others to the local police substation for questioning. Liang escaped and returned to the outskirts of Beijing to her temporary home, which she was renting while petitioning the government.

According to Amnesty International, sources say that on September 22, 2009, three men and one woman forced their way into Liang’s temporary home and attempted to force her to sign an agreement for the demolition. Liang refused. Liang was then detained in Beijing by officials and security police belonging to the city of Hangzhou. It is also reported that police may have threatened Liang’s husband stating that they were detaining his wife. 

It was then that Liang was taken to Hangzhou on September 27 and detained at two different locations before being transferred to an undisclosed location on October 3.

Human rights activists are concerned that Liang’s case is sadly one of millions of Chinese citizens who have been forcibly displaced by local governments across China in recent years.

For more information, please see:

Human Rights in China – Activist Detained After Telling UN Expert of Impending Eviction  – October 7, 2009 

United Nations – World Report 2009 – China – January 14, 2009

Center on Housing Rights & Evictions – Forced Evictions – Violations of Human Rights – Report 2007.