Li Qiaochu: Statement on My Efforts to Secure the Right to Marry Xu Zhiyong and on Xu Zhiyong’s Situation in Prison (August 1, 2026)

I am fighting for the right to marry Xu Zhiyong, while over the past two months his correspondence, outdoor time and other activities in prison have been restricted; his outdoor time was even scheduled for the high-temperature period at noon. I called the prison to communicate but was unsuccessful, leaving me no choice but to resort to legal documents.

On the morning of July 29, I called Lunan Prison. After the call connected, I had just identified myself and said I wanted to speak to the section chief about correspondence when a great deal of static began as I continued speaking, and the other party said they could not hear clearly. I tried five times but could not say a complete sentence; the static seemed to follow me wherever I went. I helplessly asked, “Is this happening whenever I speak?” In the end, I could only repeat simply, “Please ask the section chief to call me back.” The other party heard even these two sentences clearly amid the tremendous static.

By the end of work that day, I had not received a return call—which was different from before. When I went to the prison at the end of March, the section chief had said that problems that could be resolved by telephone communication did not all need to be elevated to legal proceedings. Yet now, for some reason, the consultation channel he had verbally promised has been closed to me. Unable to get through by telephone, on July 30 I mailed an inquiry letter and a government information disclosure application to Lunan Prison.

The inquiry letter asks the Prison Administration Section: As the recipient of the mail, what is the proper procedure for learning about the withholding and handling of correspondence? During the call, I explicitly requested that the head of the Prison Administration Section call me back. Has this request been registered and conveyed?

In the information disclosure application, as a party to the marriage application, I requested disclosure of the arrangements for outdoor time during the summer high temperatures, as well as whether there are circumstances in which individual prisoners are separately restricted from outdoor time and the basis for such restrictions—my concern is whether, while I have been fighting for the right to marry and pursuing lawful procedures over the past nearly two months, Xu Zhiyong has consequently been treated differently with regard to basic rights such as outdoor time.

What is the purpose of the outdoor-time system? It is to let people get some air, move around and see daylight. But if it is scheduled for the most intense midday period and they in fact still cannot go outside, even if they really were allowed out—isn’t it too easy to suffer heatstroke or sunburn in the midsummer midday sun, at its most brutal? The prison’s discretion in managing outdoor time has never been without limits. Knowing that high temperatures are harmful to health, deliberately choosing the period and form most damaging to people, and merely going through the motions—doesn’t this constitute abuse? How am I supposed to understand these actions by the prison? Is it making Xu Zhiyong bear the cost of everything we are seeking through lawful means, so that I will give up sooner out of concern for his circumstances?

During the marriage application process, every legal procedure I have undertaken and every disclosure of information have been exercises of basic rights in accordance with the law. These legitimate actions should not become grounds for restricting Xu Zhiyong’s basic rights, let alone abusing him.

The legal documents I sent are shown in the images. I would appreciate everyone’s attention.