China accused of increasing pressure on Five Feminists

Beijing, Sep 24: A women’s rights activist, who was detained along with four other feminists for 37 days by China earlier this year, has accused the government of trying to get her evicted from her home, the media reported on Thursday.

Li Tingting, 25, told EFE news that the police have stepped up pressure on her landlord to have her move out. In a statement, Li urged the authorities to leave her in peace and explained what happened.

“The proprietor of my house told me he recently received a call from the housing committee (of the district) and a police officer surnamed Guo telling him to evict me from the apartment where I live. They said my case was related to matters of national security,” she said.

“I don’t know why the police is still after me. The only thing I do is campaign for gender equality and women’s rights, and at times work for the interests of minority groups. What has this to do with national security,” Li wondered.

Besides the five women, their friends have also been “pressurised” by the authorities, said Chinese NGO Yireping’s co-founder Lu Jun, with whom most of the arrested feminists collaborated. “A friend of the five feminists was intimidated by the police this week. The officers warned that the feminists continue to be suspected of harming the security of the state,” Lu said. This recent case of linking the feminists to crimes related to national security has alarmed human rights experts.