spokesperson told The First Post. "It is something that Teng Biao's actions illustrate on a daily basis. His actions not only highlight our concerns but they also help to galvanise our organisation."

The use of 300m people for cheap labour in modern China means crusading figures such as Teng will never want for exploited individuals looking for justice. But it is dangerous.

Huang Qingnan, who advises workers on their rights from an office that is repeatedly smashed to pieces by hired thugs, was recently stabbed in an attempt on his life. A female migrant worker, injured at work, told Huang how her boss had reacted when she asked for her hospital fees to be paid. The boss said it would be cheaper to have her killed. "You can never rely on the government," Huang told the BBC. "We have to stand up for ourselves."

Gao Zhisheng, a brilliant attorney who was voted one of the 10 best lawyers in China in 2001, attracted the ire of the authorities when he resigned from the Chinese Communist Party and began taking on cases which brazenly challenged the sovereignty of

central government.

Gao's abilities, and the fact that he often gave his services for free, quickly established him as the face of human rights in China. His most defiant act was to investigate the persecution of the Falun Gong group, a religious organisation that has been declared illegal by the government. Ignoring warnings to stop his activities, Gao (left) was eventually abducted by the secret police in September 2007 and hasn't been heard from since.

Jonathan Watts, the Guardian's China correspondent who interviewed Gao in 2006, told The First Post that the lawyer had always been careful to operate within the law. "He was extremely bold, almost recklessly so," said Watts, "but he insisted that he knew the law and stayed within permissible bounds." Although it is too early to assess whether Gao's work has helped advance the human rights debate in China, his courage has already encouraged others to fight the system. "He will be looked back on as a figure who played a significant part in exploring the limits of China's move towards a 'country governed by the rule of law'."