A/HRC/4/33/Add.1 Page 49 Para 30. Country Date 21/12/05 Type JAL Mandate HRD; IJL; TOR; Allegations transmitted Gao Zhisheng, a lawyer, Beijing, (the subject of a previously transmitted communication, E/CN.4/2006/95/Add.1, para. 90). On 2 December 2005, his law firm, Shenghzhi Law Firm, was ordered by the Justice Bureau, Beijing, to cease operations from 30 November 2005 to 29 November 2006. The authorities ruled that the firm improperly changed the registration of the firm when it moved office in June 2005, in contravention of Lawyers Law, article 9 (2); and, in violation of article 47 of the Lawyers Law, it failed to use the firm’s formal letterhead when it issued a letter of introduction for two of its lawyers, one of whom was not registered at the firm, to visit a client, Mr Yang Maodong, detained in Gunagzhou Panyu Police Detention Centre. Accordingly Mr Gao is required to handover the firm’s license, official stamps, financial records, and licenses of its lawyers to the authorities before 29 December, or face further penalties. Mr Gao met with the Special Rapporteur on torture during his recent mission to China, in the context of his work as a human rights defender, including in areas related to the mandate. Government Response