Chinese filmmaker charged with ‘picking quarrels and provoking troubles’

Jurist of 25 February, 2024 reported that police in China have charged Chen Pin Lin, director of documentary “Not the International Drive,” with “choosing quarrels and upsetting hassle,” in line with Chinese language human rights information watchdogs Weiquanwang and Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch.

The Thursday costs come after Chen’s arrest in January 2024. He has been in detention for greater than a month. In a letter to his members of the family, the authorities accused him of “choosing quarrels and upsetting troubles,” which is criminalized by Article 293 of the Legal Act. Human Rights Watch beforehand criticized Article 293 for its elusive definition and use in opposition to human rights defenders.

The movie “Not the International Drive,” often known as “Ürümqi Highway” in Chinese language, depicts the nationwide protests in opposition to COVID-19 lockdown measures in China. The demonstrations erupted in Shanghai after a fireplace killed 10 individuals in Ürümqi, the place lockdown insurance policies had slowed down fireplace companies. Throughout the rallies, colloquially often known as the “White Paper Protests,” individuals held a bit of clean paper over their heads to represent their speechlessness over the tragedy. The protests finally prompted the Chinese language authorities to carry all COVID-19 restrictions in December 2022.

Chen printed the video on China Digital Occasions below the pseudonym “Plato” on 27 November 2023, one yr after the demonstrations began. Within the caption, Chen criticized the Chinese language authorities for shifting the blame to international forces. “The extra the federal government tries to mislead, neglect and conceal, the extra we must always communicate out, remind and keep in mind,” he wrote. “Bear in mind the White Paper Protests.”

https://www.jurist.org/information/2024/02/china-activist-filmmaker-charged-with-picking-quarrels-and-provoking-troubles

This entry was posted on February 26, 2024 at 18:52 and is filed below Human Rights Defenders.

Tags: Chen Pin Lin, China, Covid-19, detention, filmmakers, Filmmakers at Threat, Human rights defender, Jurist (newspaper), information, Not the International Drive, Plato