Source: Amnesty International –
Chinese authorities must stop blocking access to medical treatment for a land rights activist, Amnesty International said, as the annual ‘Two Sessions’ meetings of China’s government opened in Beijing.
The family of woman human rights defender Yang Li, who recently spent 15 months in detention for her advocacy on land rights, say that her condition has deteriorated to end-stage kidney failure following prolonged inability to access medical care during and following her time in custody.
According to the family, since her release police have repeatedly blocked her travel to Beijing to receive potentially life-saving dialysis treatment, restricting her freedom of movement to her home in the eastern province of Jiangsu.
The ‘Two Sessions’ – annual meetings of Chinese Party and government leadership that set the tone for political, social and economic reforms for the year to come – began on Wednesday 4 March with the elite Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, while the regular, rubberstamp National People’s Congress (NPC) annual session started on Thursday.
“Keeping Yang Li from essential treatment is unconscionable. Denying urgent care to a critically ill woman – seemingly in retaliation for her peaceful advocacy – is a glaring violation of China’s duty to respect and fulfil the right to health of all,” said Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director.
“As China’s leaders gather for the ‘Two Sessions’, we expect to hear about their commitment to improving peoples’ lives and ensuring social services; this must be matched by action and applied to all.
“The authorities must enable Yang Li’s safe transfer to a trusted hospital — including outside Jiangsu or abroad — and guarantee no reprisals against her or her relatives.”