Yang Tongyan (pen name: Yang Tianshui, 杨天水) is a dissident writer and member of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, and has published numerous political essays online. Since 2006, Tang has been serving another sentence in Nanjing Prison for “subversion of state power” for his role in organizing the China Democracy (read more…)
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Yang Chunlin became involved in human rights activities after he was laid off from his work in Heilongjiang Province. He was detained in July of 2007 and arrested that August on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power” for collecting signatures to endorse the open letter in the run-up to (read more…)
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Seized in February 2011 as part of the “Jasmine Crackdown,” Hangzhou activist Xue Mingkai, born on October 8, 1989, was formally arrested for “inciting subversion of state power” but later reportedly convicted of “subversion” and sentenced to four years in prison. Many details of his case, including evidence used to (read more…)
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Xu Kun, an elected director of village committee in Baihutou Village in Beihai City, led villagers in resisting forced home demolitions and requisitioning of beachfront land on which residents had operated businesses to supplement their income from fishing. Born on June 20, 1974, Xu was detained in May 2010—for “operating (read more…)
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In July of 2009, police officers in Changsha City, Hunan Province took Xie Fulin away for “investigation,” and the next month he was criminally detained on suspicion of “stealing electricity” and formally arrested. Sentenced to 6 years in prison, Xie has suffered from serious illnesses that have gone poorly treated (read more…)
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A member of the China Democracy Party and an activist since the 1970s, Xie Changfa became a victim of the nationwide crackdown on activists and dissidents in the name of “Olympics security” prior to the Beijing Games in summer of 2008. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison for (read more…)
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Xiao Yong has been active in exposing illegal, corrupt, and criminal behavior by police officers and local authorities since 2007. Previously beaten and detained for these rights defense activities, Xiao was seized in Guangzhou in late March 2012 after taking part in a demonstration that called for official transparency and (read more…)
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Wang Yonghang, a human rights lawyer fighting on behalf of Falun Gong practitioners since 2007, was barred from renewing his license in May 2008 but kept providing legal assistance to practitioners. In July 2009, Wang was taken into police custody and brutally beaten, causing a permanent injury.
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After the pro-democracy protests in Beijing in 1989, Wang Lihong became a dedicated democracy activist and human rights defender. Born October 28, 1955, she has worked on causes such as relief efforts for the “Tiananmen homeless,” and also advocated on behalf of citizens fighting land seizures in Beihai City, Guangxi (read more…)
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Tan is an activist, environmentalist, and former editor of Literati (文化人) magazine from Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. After the Sichuan earthquake in May of 2008, Tan published a number of online commentaries critical of the government. In February 2009, he released a proposal calling on netizens to investigate the quality (read more…)
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Shi Tao was a journalist and poet before he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He wrote for the daily Chinese publication Contemporary Business News, based in Hunan Province. Shi also submitted articles and supplied political commentary to overseas Chinese websites, and was later arrested and sentenced to 10 (read more…)
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Rao Wenwei was Chongqing’s youngest political and legal committee secretary before he was summoned for questioning in July 2008. After Rao was arrested the next month, a court secretly tried and convicted him in November 2008 and issued a severe sentence. Rao’s family and attorney were denied visitation throughout his (read more…)
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