![]() The chill that has descended across Chinese civil society, especially over the past 12 months, has become one of the defining aspects of Xi Jinping’s presidency, alongside his own rapid consolidation of power over the party, government and military. Most have since been released but the most prominent among them have been formally accused of state subversion - a charge punishable by life in prison. This month also marks the one-year anniversary of the round-up of dozens of rights lawyers. He awaits trial on charges of “disrupting public order”, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Today, however, Mr Meng is spending his eighth month in a detention centre. Labour activists, rights lawyers and academics believed that, so long as they did not challenge the ruling Communist party, they could operate without fear of official retribution. ![]() At the beginning of 2015, Mr Meng could feel reasonably confident that he inhabited, in the context of China’s rapidly evolving civil society, a relatively safe sphere. ![]()
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