China state TV airs confession by lawyer who helped Christian groups

A well-known Chinese rights lawyer has appeared on state television confessing to crimes after a months-long disappearance, the latest case in China's widening crackdown on dissent. Zhang Kai had represented a group of Christians who were detained for suspected financial crimes last year after they resisted the demolition of crosses. Heavily Christian Wenzhou, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, was the site of protests in 2014 over a government campaign to demolish crosses. On a news programme on state-controlled Wenzhou TV on Thursday night, Zhang confessed to encouraging Christians to come together to "protect their rights" after the authorities removed crosses from churches. "I really regret doing these things, I feel very remorseful," Zhang said. "These things violated China's law and violated my personal integrity as a lawyer, and they harmed societal structure and national security." Police in Wenzhou could not be reached for comment, and Zhang's exact location was not clear. In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said: "Such confessions are counter to the standards of a rule-of-law society. ... We urge China to release Zhang and others detained for seeking...

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