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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Qi Chonghuai was a reporter and former Shandong Bureau Chief for the Fazhi Morning Post, and known for his articles exposing local corruption, social injustice, and human rights violations. In April 2007, Qi drew widespread attention when he posted photos and an article online about construction of luxury government office (read more…)
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Ni, a Beijing housing rights activist, has suffered repeated arbitrary detention, torture, intimidation and harassment since 2002. Her home was forcibly demolished in 2008 when authorities in Beijing’s Xicheng District retaliated against her for her human rights activism. She suffers from a number of medical conditions as a result of (read more…)
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Ma Lijun, a petitioner from Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, was sent to 18 months of Re-education through Labor (RTL) for “disrupting public order” in retaliation for her longtime petitioning at Zhongnanhai. Ma was serving a 10-day administrative detention for the same alleged offense when the RTL decision was issued.
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Lü Jiaping, a dissident military scholar, has been serving a 10-year verdict for “inciting subversion.” In sentencing him in May 2011, a court cited as “evidence” 13 works Lü composed between 2000 and 2010. In particular, the verdict is believed to come in retaliation for Lü’s writings about scandals involving (read more…)
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Lü Jiangbo, a businessman-turned-village chief from Jinjiang City, Fujian Province, organized residents of Keren Village to defend their rights in the face of illegal land requisition by government officials. Among his activities, he co-authored a public letter to then-Premier Zhu Rongji complaining of the land grabs.
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Liu Xiaobo, the Beijing-based writer, intellectual, dissident, and human rights activist, died on July 13, 2017, not long after being issued medical parole, and over eight-and-a-half years into an 11-year prison sentence. In October 2010, the imprisoned Liu became the first Chinese citizen awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
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