Human Rights Attorney Jobless for Over Three Years, Now a Street Beggar

There is a political joke in China which says, China University of Political Science and Law is a special school. Half of the graduates from this school will end up persecuting the other half. Indeed, in communist China, while many in the legal system use their power for aggrandizement, many others choose to risk their career and safety to defend the rights of political dissidents, religious groups and victims of injustice. Out of selfish motives, the former ruthlessly suppresses the latter. On June 18, human rights attorney Peng Yonghe, videotaped himself panhandling on a street in Shanghai. He said he hasn’t had an income for the past three years, because not a single law firm is willing to hire him.