 Weiquan lawyers have faced various challenges to their work from the Chinese government , including disbarment or suspension , violence , threats , surveillance , arbitrary detention , and prosecution . This is particularly true for lawyers who take up politically sensitive cases . Reports of harassment , intimidation , and violence against Weiquan lawyers increased in 2006 following the launch of the campaign to promote the " socialist concept of the rule of law . " Authorities have refused to renew the licenses of several dozen Weiquan lawyers , and several have effectively been banned for life from the legal profession . In 2009 , for instance , at least 17 Weiquan lawyers were not permitted to renew their legal licenses after taking on politically sensitive cases . Several Weiquan lawyers have themselves been sentenced to prison in response to their activism . A selection of notable instances of suppression are listed here : 
