Writers at Risk Database

Guo Quan

April 28, 2020

Guo was released from prison in 2018 after serving a 10-year sentence for a series of articles titled “Herald of Democracy.” He was re-detained in February 2020 on charges… More

Hu Shigen

April 28, 2020

A freelance writer, Hu was detained arbitrarily in July 2015; police did not answer his family’s enquiries as to his whereabouts. He was formally arrested in January 2016 on… More

Jin Andi

April 28, 2020

After assisting between 2000 and 2010 in the editing and publication of articles critical of Jiang Zemin, the former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Jin was sentenced to… More

Li Bifeng

April 28, 2020

In 2012, Li was convicted of contract fraud, though it is likely that he was targeted in retaliation for his peaceful activism and links with exiled writers. On April… More

Li Tie

April 28, 2020

Li was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2012 for ‘subversion of state power’ after writing critical online essays and pro-democracy leaning works. He did not have a… More

Liu Xianbin

April 28, 2020

For writing articles calling for political reform, Liu was searched and arrested in June 2010 and sentenced to ten years in prison where he was reportedly forced to labor… More

Liu Tianyi Tianyi

April 28, 2020

Graphic novelist Tianyi was sentenced to ten and a half years in prison in 2018 for making and selling obscene material. Her self-published novel Gongzhan is about a forbidden… More

Lu Jianhua Wen Yu

April 28, 2020

After a 90 minute secret trial, Lu was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2006 for leaking state secrets. Lu is a prominent sociologist and research professor, and… More

Lü Gengsong

April 28, 2020

In 2016, Lü was sentenced to 11 years in prison on national security grounds for publishing critical articles overseas and meeting with other activists. His daughter reports that his… More

Qin Yongmin

April 28, 2020

Qin Yongmin is a writer, activist, and the co-founder of the Democratic Party of China. On May 6, 2015, he was arrested for inciting subversion of state power. In… More

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