This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-25823953

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
China activist lawyer Xu Zhiyong set for trial China activist lawyer Xu Zhiyong on trial
(about 1 hour later)
Several activists who have campaigned against corruption and for more government transparency are to go on trial in China this week. Xu Zhiyong, a prominent human rights lawyer who campaigned against corruption, has gone on trial in China.
Among them is Xu Zhiyong, a human rights lawyer charged with "gathering crowds to disrupt public order". Mr Xu is charged with "gathering crowds to disrupt public order". He is one of several activists from a transparency movement to be tried this week.
Seven members of Mr Xu's informal grassroots group, New Citizens Movement, also face separate trials.
Rights groups have criticised President Xi Jinping - who pledged to fight corruption - over their trials.Rights groups have criticised President Xi Jinping - who pledged to fight corruption - over their trials.
They say that the president's promise, made in 2012 after he assumed power, did not allow room for public dissent. They come as a report says many members of China's elite have set up offshore companies in overseas tax havens.
The trial of Xu Zhiyong, who was arrested in July 2013, begins on Wednesday in Beijing. The trial of Xu Zhiyong, who was arrested in July 2013, began on Wednesday in Beijing.
Mr Xu, who was also previously under house arrest, is a leading advocate of a group campaigning for government officials to reveal their wealth.Mr Xu, who was also previously under house arrest, is a leading advocate of a group campaigning for government officials to reveal their wealth.
A known legal scholar, he also campaigned on behalf of inmates on death row and families affected by tainted baby milk formula in 2009. Seven members of the informal grassroots group, New Citizens Movement, also face separate trials this week on similar charges.
'Hypocritical crackdown'
A known legal scholar, Mr Xu also campaigned on behalf of inmates on death row and families affected by tainted baby milk formula in 2009.
In a video message from prison last year, he urged compatriots to unite in pursuing democratic freedoms.In a video message from prison last year, he urged compatriots to unite in pursuing democratic freedoms.
No matter how "absurd" society was, he said, "this country needs brave citizens who can stand up and hold fast to their convictions".No matter how "absurd" society was, he said, "this country needs brave citizens who can stand up and hold fast to their convictions".
The trial of other activists, who face similar charges to Mr Xu, will happen later this week. Critics say Xi Jinping's promise to crack down on corruption, made in 2012 after he assumed power, has not allowed room for public dissent.
Rights group Amnesty International condemned what it called China's "hypocritical crackdown on anti-corruption campaigners".Rights group Amnesty International condemned what it called China's "hypocritical crackdown on anti-corruption campaigners".
"Instead of President Xi Jinping's promised clampdown on corruption, we are seeing a crackdown against those that want to expose it," Roseann Rife, East Asia research director, said in a statement on Tuesday."Instead of President Xi Jinping's promised clampdown on corruption, we are seeing a crackdown against those that want to expose it," Roseann Rife, East Asia research director, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Xu Zhiyong was a "prisoner of conscience and he should be released immediately and unconditionally", Ms Rife added.Xu Zhiyong was a "prisoner of conscience and he should be released immediately and unconditionally", Ms Rife added.
"Anything less would make a mockery of the Chinese government's ongoing anti-corruption efforts.""Anything less would make a mockery of the Chinese government's ongoing anti-corruption efforts."
Meanwhile, a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists said relatives of many of China's political elite, including the brother-in-law of Mr Xi, and the son and son-in-law of former Premier Wen Jiabao, owned offshore companies in international tax havens.
It said that almost 22,000 offshore clients with addresses in mainland China and Hong Kong appear in leaked documents from two off-shore firms that set up offshore companies and accounts for clients.