Chinese 709 rights lawyer Xie Yang loses professional licence

Xie says he will seek to overturn the decision even though there is little chance of success

He pleaded guilty to subversion in 2017 on understanding that he would not face further punishment, he says

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Hunan authorities have stripped Xie Yang of his lawyer’s licence. Photo: Weibo

Published: 8:00am, 21 Aug 2020Updated: 8:00am, 21 Aug 2020

A Chinese lawyer convicted three years ago of inciting subversion said he would challenge a decision to revoke his professional licence.

Xie Yang, one of the more than 200 human rights lawyers and activists rounded up by the authorities five years ago in the “709 crackdown”, was stripped of his licence to practise law by the Justice Department of the central province of Hunan.

In a notice last week, the department said Xie lost his licence because he had tried on multiple occasions to “disrupt court order” – references to his attempts to defend his clients – and posted comments on social media that were defamatory or endangered national security.

Xie said on Thursday that he would seek to overturn the decision, even though he knew he had little chance of success.

He said that under Chinese law, administrative penalties could not be applied if the alleged offences took place more than two years ago.

“The reasons [the department] cited happened in 2015, and this was already beyond the legal period,” he said. “They could not punish me with these charges.”

Xie said that when he pleaded guilty to subversion in 2017, he did so on an agreement that he would not face further punishment.

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