Zhang Chao, Rights Defender from Zaozhuang, Shandong, Sentenced to 1 Year and 2 Months for Picking Quarrels and Provoking Trouble
(China Rights Defense Network Information Center report) On October 14, 2026, this outlet learned that Zhang Chao, a rights defender from Zaozhuang, Shandong, was arrested on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble after taking photos outside the perimeter fence of Tiananmen Square on June 4, 2026, and posting them to WeChat Moments with a poem of remembrance. It was recently learned that Zhang Chao was sentenced to 1 year and 2 months for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. Sentence ends: August 4, 2027.
Zhang Chao’s profile: Male, born in 1970, Dharma name Shi Daoguo, a rights defender from Zaozhuang, Shandong. He became politically aware while working in Beijing in his early years and spent many years promoting democratic ideas online. In 2014, he was detained for 37 days for sending Beijing-based rights defenders alerts about searches and arrests. He later took tonsure and became a monk, traveling widely. While practicing and studying Buddhism, he did not forget online civic education or helping fellow activists in distress, with the result that he was expelled from every temple where he sought shelter. On July 24, 2019, Zhang Chao was arrested by the Shanting Branch of the Zaozhuang Public Security Bureau and was immediately placed under criminal detention on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble.
On June 4, 2026, Zhang Chao took photos outside the perimeter fence of Tiananmen Square and posted them to WeChat Moments with a poem of remembrance. In the early hours of June 5, 2026, state security officers from Zaozhuang, Shandong, took him away from Beijing; he was placed under criminal detention the following day. On June 18, 2026, he was formally arrested, and was later sentenced to 1 year and 2 months for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. He is currently held at the Zaozhuang No. 1 Detention Center. Sentence ends: August 4, 2027.
This outlet will continue to follow Zhang Chao’s situation.
Source
- Outlet
- 维权信息中心报告
- Original report
- https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2026/10/12.html
- Original publication
- Oct 14, 2026
- Retrieved
- Oct 14, 2026
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