Last month, Chinese authorities arrested and detained several prominent Chinese women's rights activitists for organizing an allegedly illegal protest against sexual harassment on public transportation. The activists timed their demonstrations to coincide with International Women's Day. Five women remain in detention, reportedly for the offense of "picking quarrels and provoking troubles." The women staged previous demonstrations in support of China's first draft law on domestic violence, currently pending before China's National People's Congress.
On 24 March 2015, police officers raided the Beijing Yirenping Center, an organization that promotes gender equality. As reported in the New York Times, the organization’s founder, Lu Jun, said the raid was due in part to the international attention the center is trying to raise about the recent detention of the five female activists.
Compiled from: Jacobs, Andrew, China Raids Offices of Rights Group as Crackdown on Activism Continues, The New York Times (March 26, 2015); Sheehan, Matt, China Celebrates International Women's Day By Arresting Women's Rights Activists, The World Post (March 9, 2015).