Tang Jitian
Introduction


**Tang Jitian** () is a human rights lawyer in the [People's Republic of China](/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_China "People's Republic of China"). Based in [Beijing](/wiki/Beijing "Beijing"), he is a prominent figure in the [Weiquan](/wiki/Weiquan "Weiquan") (rights defending) movement, and has defended victims of illegal [land requisitions](/wiki/Forced_eviction_%28China%29 "Forced eviction (China)"), [Falun Gong](/wiki/Falun_Gong "Falun Gong") adherents, [HIV/AIDS victims](/wiki/HIV/AIDS_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China "HIV/AIDS in the People's Republic of China"), and other vulnerable groups, including fellow human rights lawyers.Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers, [Tang Jitian](http://www.csclawyers.org/cases/TangJitian/). Accessed 18 May 2012\.

Due to the politically sensitive nature of Tang's cases, he has met with reprisals from Chinese authorities. In 2010, he was permanently disbarred, though he has continued his rights advocacy. He has been placed under house arrest, and detained on several occasions. In 2014, Tang and three other lawyers were detained for investigating the detention of several members of [Falun Gong](/wiki/Falun_Gong "Falun Gong"). Tang claimed to have been tortured and suffering multiple fractures during his 15\-day detention. In 2017 he was turned back by border guards at [Lo Wu Control Point](/wiki/Lo_Wu_Control_Point "Lo Wu Control Point") when attempting to visit Hong Kong for medical treatment, and was advised that he was prohibited from leaving mainland China due to national security reasons. In December 2021, Tang vanished before arriving in Beijing for a human rights event hosted by the [European Union](/wiki/European_Union "European Union") and remained missing at the start of the [2022 Winter Olympics](/wiki/2022_Winter_Olympics "2022 Winter Olympics"); his relatives believed him to be held in a form of secret detention commonly applied to dissidents in China. Tang was released in January 2023\.


What type of lawyer is Tang Jitian?