Xu Zhangrun

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Xu Zhangrun ( Chinese  許 章 潤  /  许 章 润 , Pinyin Xǔ Zhāngrùn ; born October 1962 in Shengqiao , Lujiang County, Anhui Province ) is a Chinese legal scholar and dissident .

Professional background

Xu received his school education in his place of birth and studied law from September 1979 to July 1983 at the University of Political Science and Law of Southwest China (then still "College of Political Science and Law") and then from September 1983 to July 1986 at the Chinese University of Political Science and right . From 1994 to 2000 he received his PhD from Melbourne University . In his dissertation he dealt with the relationship between Confucianism and the legal system. Since 2000, Xu has been a law professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing . He was visiting scholar in Melbourne and at the University of Bonn , visiting professor at the University of Aix-Marseille and in various scientific institutions in China. Xu has received various academic honors and was named one of the ten best young lawyers in China in 2005.

He was the founding editor (2002 to 2007) of the Tsinghua Law Journal . His academic focus included Western legal philosophy, constitutional government theory, as well as Confucian legal ideas and traditions.

Xu lives in Beijing.

Political thinking and creating

Xu has been publishing essays critical of the government since 2016. In particular, the constitutional amendment in March 2018, which was passed by an almost unanimous majority by the National People's Congress and gave President Xi Jinping the option of a practically unlimited, lifelong term of office, met with sharp criticism. On July 24, 2018, during a guest stay in Japan, Xu published a pamphlet on the Hong Kong-based Internet platform theinitium.com from Initium Media ( 端 傳媒 ) with the title Our current fears and our hopes (Original: 我們 當下 的 恐懼與 期待 ). In this about 10,000 words, written in a sophisticated literary style and in traditional characters, Xu criticized - without naming President Xi once - the constitutional amendment and the increasing authoritarianism in the "New Era" ( 新 时代 ) proclaimed by Xi . In China, Xu said, people (including the “bureaucratic class”) are increasingly concerned about the direction in which the country will develop and are also worried about their own security. The essay attracted a lot of attention in and outside of China. The Chinese internet censorship blocked access to it after a short time. A little later an English translation appeared under the title Imminent Fears, Immediate Hopes Abroad. In December 2018 and January 2019, Xu published three thematically related papers addressing the recent history of China and the role of the Communist Party (CCP) during that period. He described the CCP as an obstacle to modernization for China on the way to a just and democratic society. Xu also warned that China under Xi Jinping was a threat to the international community. In the following years further essays with a similar focus followed.

His writings were indexed in China in 2018 but circulated on the internet and were available in Hong Kong . In March 2019, he was fired from Tsinghua University and banned from teaching and research.

In February 2020, in his text Viral Alarm: When Fury Overcomes Fear, which was also translated into English, he criticized the Chinese government's handling of the corona virus and accused it of cover-up and disinformation. In this context, Xu also renewed his criticism of the restrictions on freedom of expression in China. The government's suppression of civil society and freedom of expression and exchange has left the Chinese public in the dark about the problems and risks for far too long.

Temporary detention

On July 6, 2020, the government critic was alleged dealings with prostitutes during a visit with friends in Chengdu ( Sichuan detained). Chris Buckley ( New York Times ), like Chongyi Feng ( University of Sydney ), sees Xu's imprisonment in July 2020 as a clear attempt to silence liberal critics of the regime. The alleged allegations of dealing with prostitutes are ridiculous and an attempt to morally discredit the accused. The detention coincides with the entry into force of the National Security Act to extend Beijing's control over Hong Kong . The detention was heavily criticized by Amnesty International China. Other authors such as Ren Zhiqiang and Xu Zhiyong had also previously been arrested. After six days, Xu was released on July 12, 2020. Compared to the Chinese service of Deutsche Welle, acquaintances Xus expressed the assumption that his temporary arrest had something to do with his book 戊戌 六章  - "Six Chapters from Wuxu ", which had recently appeared on the self-publication platform Blurb, Inc.

Publications

  • The Confucian Misgivings - Liang Shu-ming's Narrative About Law ; Springer Singapore; 2017; ISBN 978-981-10-4529-5 .
  • Viral alarm: when fury overcomes fear . In: Journal of democracy. Vol. 31 (2020), 2 (April), Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Univ. Press. Pp. 5-23. ISSN  1045-5736 . [1]

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d e f Chongyi Feng: 'The rot goes right up to Beijing': Why detained professor Xu Zhangrun is such a threat to China's leadership. Retrieved July 7, 2020 .
  2. a b c d 许 章 润. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019 ; Retrieved July 12, 2020 (Chinese (simplified), short biography on Xu's former website at Tsinghua University).
  3. a b c d e f g h i j Chris Buckley: Seized by the Police, an Outspoken Chinese Professor Sees Fears Come True . In: The New York Times . July 6, 2020, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed July 7, 2020]).
  4. Zhangrun Xu: The Confucian Misgivings - Liang Shu-ming's Narrative About Law . Springer Singapore, 2017, ISBN 978-981-10-4529-5 ( springer.com [accessed July 7, 2020]).
  5. 【重溫】 許 章 潤 : 我們 當下 的 恐懼 與 期待 ("Revisited: Xu Zhangrun: Our Current Fears and Our Hopes"). theinitium.com, July 6, 2020, accessed July 7, 2020 (traditional Chinese).
  6. Christoph Giesen: An essay against Xi Jinping. Süddeutsche Zeitung, August 3, 2018, accessed on July 7, 2020 .
  7. Rowan Callick: China's age of anxiety. insidestory.org.au, August 7, 2018, accessed July 7, 2020 .
  8. a b Viral Alert: When Fury Overcomes Fear. February 10, 2020, accessed on July 7, 2020 .
  9. ^ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): New security law: exemption from detention rejected | DW | 07/06/2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020 .
  10. Xu Zhangrun 許 章 潤 Archives. In: China Heritage. Retrieved July 7, 2020 (American English).
  11. Viral Alert: When Fury Overcomes Fear. February 10, 2020, accessed on July 7, 2020 .
  12. ^ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): New security law: exemption from detention rejected | DW | 07/06/2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020 .
  13. Professor Xu Zhangrun, critical of the government, arrested. deutschlandfunk.de, July 6, 2020, accessed on July 6, 2020 .
  14. Xu Zhangrun: Outspoken professor freed after six days. BBC News, July 12, 2020, accessed July 12, 2020 .
  15. William Yang: 时政 风云 许 章 润 因 “嫖娼” 被捕 友人 : 北京 毫无 下限 的 诬陷. Deutsche Welle, July 6, 2020, accessed on July 29, 2020 (Chinese).