Dr. Teng Biao on the State of Human Rights in China

This program has taken place. Find the event recap here »

Schedule

Thursday, October 6, 2022
6 p.m. Drinks Reception
7 p.m. Program
7:45 p.m. Audience Q&A

This October, the Chinese Central Committee Political Bureau will convene the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress in Beijing. President Xi Jinping is expected to secure an unprecedented third leadership term, establishing himself as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong. President Xi, who assumed office in November 2012, has steadily worked over his tenure to increase the power of the Chinese Communist Party and stifle any voices of dissent.

One of those voices of dissent is Dr. Teng Biao, a human rights attorney who has taken on some of the most difficult cases in China, such as the death of a young migrant while in police custody. He has also advocated for the rights of Tibetans and other ethnic and religious minorities. As a result of his advocacy, Dr. Teng has been targeted by the Chinese government: he has been arrested, kidnapped, and tortured before he was ultimately forced into exile. Even now, while living in the United States, he continues to receive death threats and faces near-constant surveillance.

Dr. Teng Biao joins Asia Society Texas and the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston to discuss the human rights realities of ordinary Chinese citizens, including expansive high-tech surveillance methods and their implications for freedom of speech and political dissidence.

About the Speaker

Dr. Teng Biao is a human rights lawyer and academic who specializes in the Chinese criminal justice and political system. Before moving to the United States in 2014, he was detained and tortured by secret police in China when he took a vocal stance against human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party.

Teng is a Hauser Human Rights Scholar at Hunter College, the City University of New York, and a Pozen Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago. He has been a lecturer at the China University of Politics and Law (Beijing), a visiting scholar at Yale, Harvard, NYU and Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study. He co-founded two human rights NGOs while in Beijing: The Open Constitution Initiative and China Against the Death Penalty, in 2003 and 2010, respectively. He is one of the earliest promoters of the Rights Defense Movement in China and the manifesto Charter 08, for which Dr. Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Teng has received various international human rights awards including the Human Rights Prize of the French Republic (2007) and NED’s Democracy Award (2008). His work has been published in several publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, and the Wall Street Journal. He is completing a book on the human rights movement and political transition in China.

About the Moderator  

Ronan O’Malley is the Director of Programs for the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston, where he oversees the large variety of speakers and events hosted by the Council. He also teaches continuing education classes at the Council on global affairs and U.S. foreign policy. He has a BA in International Studies and History, and an MBA in International Business. In his over ten years with the Council, he has had the privilege of interviewing a wide array of foreign policy leaders, decision-makers and authorities from the U.S. and other nations, including General Jim Mattis, 26th Secretary of Defense of the United States, Jake Sullivan, 28th (Current) United States National Security Advisor, and Susan Rice, 24th United States National Security Advisor & 27th U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.

Asia Society Texas Business & Policy Programs, Endowed by

Huffington Foundation

Business and Policy programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by Bank of America, Muffet Blake, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and United Airlines. Major support comes from Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, Nancy Pollok Guinee, and Mary Lawrence Porter, as well as The Brown Foundation, Inc. and Houston Endowment. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Asia Society Texas Center, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing the best in public programming.

Business & Policy Presenting Sponsors

Presenting Partner

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.