Lü Gengsong
If one must find a ‘one and only legal government,’ then from a historical perspective and from the aspect of legally constituted authority, this ‘one and only legal government’ can only be the government of the Republic of China, and not the government of the People's Republic of China.
Lü Gengsong is a freelance writer who has highlighted corruption and illegal evictions on the part of the Chinese authorities, and who has frequently spoken out on behalf of petitioners whose rights have been violated. He is also an active member of the Zhejiang Branch of the China Democracy Party.
He was previously arrested in 2007 and sentenced in 2008 to four years' imprisonment for “inciting subversion of state power”. Prior to his arrest, Lü Gengsong had written extensively on political reform, corruption within the Chinese Communist Party, and had also exposed numerous human rights abuses occurring in Zhejiang province. Upon his release in 2011, Lü Gengsong resumed his work in defence of human rights and his participation in the local chapter of the China Democracy Party. He initiated various online appeals, campaigns and open letters to expose rights violations and demanding political reform. He also opposed China's membership of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Chinese HRDs face intimidation, harassment, house arrest, abductions, torture and imprisonment. They also work under very restrictive legislation, including laws which criminalize all unauthorized demonstrations and require government sponsorship for NGO registration, which is refused to any organisation touching on human rights issues. Widescale investigations into NGOs with links to overseas organisations took place in 2014 and 2015 resulting in harassment, detentions and forced closures.
