Chen Yunfei | Status: Detained | China
Chen Yunfei is a performance artist who works at the intersection of human rights activism and art. His art is overtly political, promoting the Chinese pro-democracy movement. More
Virtual Solidarity Reading to Honor Imprisoned Women Writers and Activists
On Thursday, May 27, PEN America—in partnership with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Amnesty International USA, and the makers of the documentary film NASRIN—will host a virtual reading in… More
Gui Minhai | Status: Imprisoned | China
Hong Kong publisher and Swedish national Gui Minhai was disappeared from his vacation home in Pattaya, Thailand on October 17, 2015. He remained in Chinese detention for more than… More
PEN America: China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey Remain World’s Top Jailers of Writers
In PEN America’s annual census of detained writers worldwide, The Freedom to Write Index, the literary and free expression group found that in 2020, at least 273 writers, academics,… More
Yang Licai
In December 2019, artist Yang Licai was arrested on charges of inciting disruption. His arrest was closely linked to posts he made online in support of Hong Kong protesters.… More
Zhang Wenfang
Zhang Wenfang posted poems about the Wuhan lockdown due to COVID-19. She was first detained on “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and later sentenced to six months in prison… More
Zhang Xuezhong
Zhang Xuezhong was detained by the police after he published a letter calling on the National People's Congress to draft a new constitution and criticized their handling of the… More
Chai Xiaoming
Chai was detained on March 21, 2019 for publishing a politically sensitive article on Red Reference, a magazine where he worked as an editor. He was held for six… More