The crackdown on China's 'moderate' rights voices: How tweets are now landing people in prison

Activist Wang Aizhong was taken into custody and charged by authorities in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble ” in May last year.

But Wang Aizhong is one of what observers say are a growing number of “moderate” human rights advocates detained in recent years whose activities were limited to, at most, small community groups. Unlike before, these individuals are typically low-profile, and their cases often fly under the radar. Bachelet said in an address to the Human Rights Council in March that she “remained concerned about the treatment of individuals who speak up on human rights issues that are deemed critical of Chinese policies”, and that her office had raised a number of such cases with the government.

“Due to the family members of prisoners of conscience being unwilling to go public in some instances due to fear of retaliation and widespread media and social media censorship, these figures are potentially just the ‘tip of the iceberg’.” He was the founder of the Southern Street Movement in Guangzhou, which called for the abolition of one-party rule in China, greater political freedoms and public disclosure of government officials’ wealth.

They have yet to face a court and Huang’s lawyers said they so far have been unable to meet with her or get access to case files. Ou Biaofeng, from the central Chinese province of Hunan, was detained in December 2020 on the charge of inciting subversion of state power, soon after lent his support to “Ink Girl” Dong Yaoqiong who was held in a psychiatric facility for splashing ink on a picture of President Xi Jinping.

Robert Cheng, a friend of Huang and Wang Jianbing who now lives abroad, said he was worried about the activists’ mental and physical health. Li Xuewen, a dissident writer and independent political researcher based in the central city of Wuhan, said Huang and Wang Jianbing “have been moderate NGO activists for years” and had no “political intentions”.

Until recently, prison sentences were generally reserved for activists seeking to mobilise broader support for a cause, according to a human rights lawyer who requested anonymity due to security concerns.

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