Activist disappeared in Laos confirmed detained in China for inciting subversion; lawyer detained in Laos
Qiao Xinxin (乔鑫鑫), who launched the BANGFW Movement against internet censorship, was formally arrested for inciting subversion on July 7. In late May 2023, he went missing from his home in Vientiane, where he had lived for years and worked with other overseas activists and volunteers to help Chinese people circumvent the Great Firewall. His repatriation to China sparked international concerns over China’s cross-border law enforcement operations.
Qiao, now aged 37, is currently held in a juvenile detention center in Hunan’s Hengyang City.
In early August, Laos police also detained human rights lawyer Lu Siwei (卢思位), who fled China in July. Dozens of rights groups have signed an open letter urging the Laos government not to repatriate Lu to China. Lu’s wife and daughter left China nearly two years ago and now reside in the United States.
Ethnic Korean activist fled to South Korea
Quan Ping (权平), also known as Kwon Pyong, is an ethnic Korean hailing from Jilin. He arrived in Incheon, South Korea, on August 16 after travelling over 300km by jet ski with a life vest and a helmet across the Yellow Sea from Shandong, China. South Korea’s coast guard confirmed that it had arrested Quan for illegally entering the country. South Korean activist Lee Dae-seon said Quan is not a regular illegal immigrant but an influential, persecuted dissident. Quan is considering applying for refugee status in South Korea or choosing a third country.
Quan is a graduate of Iowa State University. On March 31, 2018, he completed an 18-month prison sentence for inciting subversion. His imprisonment stemmed from him posting pictures of himself on social media wearing a satirical t-shirt which likened Xi Jinping to Adolf Hitler. Quan had attempted to leave China in 2019 but was banned from doing so.
Anhui petitioner facing picking quarrels charge, as parents once did
Zhu Yuzhen (朱玉珍), a well-known petitioner from Anhui, has been in detention in Huainan since January 2023 for picking quarrels and provoking trouble (PQPT), the same crime once used to convict her parents.
Zhu Yuzhen started her own petition when her home was forcibly demolished in 2021. She was detained after she traveled to Beijing in September 2022 and posted several short videos on DouYin (TikTok in China). Zhu is also known for lending support to other petitioners in similar situations.
Zhu is the daughter of Zhu Jinyong and Shi Xianyun. The elderly couple, in their late seventies, became well-known when they were detained for PQPT in 2016. The elders were petitioning for their son who was convicted for gang-like activities. Their case drew wide attention from the media and across society. Nonetheless, the two were convicted by the Huainan Xiejiaji District Court in December 2018 and given suspended sentences.
A recently released study by the Supreme People’s Court concluded that the PQPT is being applied excessively by local officials to prevent petitioners from filing complaints about their aggrievances.
Elderly Falun Gong practitioner granted clemency in Henan
Xie Junhua (聂俊花), a Falun Gong practitioner in her late sixties or early seventies, was allowed to temporarily serve her sentence outside of prison by the provincial prison bureau because she is ailing from an undisclosed serious illness. The clemency decision was issued in November 2022. Xie was sentenced in January 2022 by the Zhengzhou Taiyuan District Court to five years in prison for using a cult to undermine implementation of the law. The sentence was originally set to expire in June 2026.
Last of the HK12 completed prison sentence in China, facing new charges in Hong Kong
Tang Kai-yin (邓棨然) was among a group of 12 Hong Kong activists caught by a Chinese coast guard vessel in August 2020 as they traveled by speedboat to escape prosecutions related to the 2019 civil protests. On August 22, Tang completed his three-year prison sentence for “organizing an illegal border crossing” in Guangdong’s Conghua Prison. He was handed over to Hong Kong police on the same day and is facing a criminal charge of “conspiracy to endanger life by explosives with intent” relating to the 2019 protests.
An interlocutor confirmed to Dui Hua that Tang was treated for bronchial disease before his return to Hong Kong.