Submission to the report on the protection of lawyers. The Rights Practice. December 2021 At least 42 rights lawyers and two law firms have been disciplined between January 2017 and October 2021. 25 As mentioned in answer to Question 4 above, the system of annual lawyer license renewal is a form of control and enables lawyers who challenge state authority and take on sensitive cases to be disbarred. On 2 February 2021, Ren Quanniu (任全牛) was informed that Henan Provincial Judicial Department had revoked his lawyer’s license.26 The Department had notified Ren that the reason for revoking his license to practice was due to his action during a trial in November 2018, in which he defended a member of a religious group. The Department stated that Ren had violated the ‘Administrative Measures for the Practice of Law by Lawyers’ (2016) through his actions and had “severely damaged the image of the legal profession”. 27 He is one of three lawyers believed to have been targeted in 2021, for being hired to defend Hong Kong activists attempting to flee to Taiwan by boat. Lawyers Lu Siwei (卢思位) and Lin Qinlei ( 蔺 其 磊 ) also had their lawyer’s licenses revoked in 2021, believed to be for representing one of the Hong Kong activists.28 Lin Qilei’s law firm, Beijing Ruikai Law Firm, was closed down in April 2021. His lawyer’s license was revoked on 30 October 2021. 29 Lin has defended many rights-related cases including religious practitioners and activists. On 28 October 2021, lawyer Liang Xiaojun ( 梁 小 军 ) was notified by Beijing Judicial Department that his lawyer’s license would be revoked for violating the Law on Lawyers (2017). The reasons given were his comments on domestic and foreign social media and for publicly supporting Falungong practitioners.30 Lawyer Liang has for many years taken on rights cases including defending fellow rights lawyers, religious practitioners, and death penalty cases. 6. Please provide information on any case where lawyers in your country have been subject to intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference, whether from State authorities or non-State actors, for action taken in accordance with their recognized professional duties. Please also describe the measures that State authorities have taken to investigate and bring perpetrators to justice. 25 International Service for Human Rights, Front Line Defenders, Safeguard Defenders, Reporters Without Borders, and The 29 Principles, “Three years after UN review, China failing to uphold commitments on human rights defenders”. 30 November 2021. https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/three-years-after-un-review-china-failing-to-uphold-commitments-onhuman-rights-defenders-and-civil-society-space/ 26 Frontline Defenders. “Ren Quanniu Barred From Establishing a legal Services Company”. July 2021. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/ren-quanniu-barred-establishing-legal-services-company 27 Ibid 28 Jeffie Lam. “Mainland Chinese lawyer who tried to help Hong Kong fugitive arrested while fleeing to Taiwan stripped of licence” South China Morning Post. 31 October 2021. https://www.scmp.com/news/hongkong/politics/article/3154356/chinese-lawyer-who-tried-help-hong-kong-fugitive-arrested 29 China Change. “Lin’s Uprising — A Human Rights Lawyer Recounts How His Law Firm Was Shut Down and His License Revoked”. 21 November 2021. https://chinachange.org/2021/11/21/lins-uprising-a-human-rights-lawyerrecounts-how-his-law-firm-was-shut-down-and-his-license-revoked/ 30 Liang Xiaojun, Twitter update, 26 November 2021. Chinese language: https://twitter.com/liangxiaojun/status/1464251480165150727?s=20 7