Pioneering Law Group Faces Closure II

Just to add to Austin’s post below, Teng Biao, who with Xu Zhiyong co-founded the Open Constitution Initiative ,  sent out a text message yesterday. In it he describes how the group (actually a registered company because, as he says, the laws restricting restablishment of NGOs are so tight they had no choice but to set up a private company)  has been shut down by the huge fine and had their office computers, telephones, even chairs and desks taken away by police. He closes on a defiant note: “Using this method of  pressuring civil society groups is not only illegal, it’s stupid. Perhaps it is the darkness before dawn? In any case, our commitment to the pursuit of freedom cannot be changed.”