Ren Jianping, Sentenced to 10 Years in the “Tear Down the Wall Alliance Case,” Spends His 62nd Birthday in Yongchuan Prison

(Rights Defense Network Information Center report) On August 5, 2026, Mr. Ren Jianping, who was sentenced to ten years yesterday, spent his 62nd birthday in prison. Ren Jianping was a principal initiator of the “Tear Down the Wall Alliance.” On April 24, 2019, he was arrested by Chongqing police; on March 20, 2023, he was sentenced to 10 years for subversion of state power; he has been tortured in prison for refusing to plead guilty and for advocating for the rights of other prisoners. He is currently being held at Yongchuan Prison in Chongqing Municipality.

Previously, Ren Jianping’s health had already deteriorated at Yongchuan Prison, and serious heart problems were discovered. Because Ren Jianping refused to plead guilty and defended the rights of detainees in his prison block, he was retaliated against last summer by the deputy head of the second prison block at Yongchuan Prison, where he had previously been held. The retaliation included corporal punishment and beatings, verbal abuse, and the destruction of his English-language books. Teacher Ren wrote to the prison authorities to complain, and shortly afterward was transferred from the second prison block to the strict-management block.

It is currently known that Teacher Ren’s health has deteriorated. Serious heart problems have been discovered, and he has to wear very thick clothing to keep warm even in weather that is not cold. He is listless and dispirited. Before entering prison, Ren Jianping was very optimistic and had almost no health problems. Ren Jianping is serving a 10-year sentence, with more than two years remaining before the end of his sentence. We appeal to the public to pay greater attention to his situation.

Ren Jianping’s biography: Born on August 4, 1964, originally from Mianyang, Sichuan Province; a citizen residing at Unit 2, No. 22, Nanfang Xiangxie Li residential compound, Shapingba District, Chongqing; a democratic activist; a principal initiator of the “Tear Down the Wall Alliance (LTDW)”; a victim in the “Tear Down the Wall Alliance Case”; and a Chinese political prisoner.

At the end of 2017, because he was dedicated to pursuing a path toward democratic constitutional government in China, he joined forces and collaborated with numerous participants in China and overseas, actively planned and established a Twitter group, and on April 4, 2018, named the Twitter group the “Tear Down the Wall Alliance (LTDW) @LTDW2025.” Its stated purpose was to “uphold the concepts of modern democratic politics, overthrow dictatorship and autocracy and the principle of rational resistance, advance together through alliance and cooperation, and strive to achieve freedom, democracy, human rights, and constitutional government in China,” and “tearing down the wall” meant “overthrowing the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.” His “tear down the wall” ideas and positions quickly received the support and response of numerous Twitter users in China and overseas. More than 200 people soon joined, and more than 10 “tear down the wall” subgroups, including the “Democracy Group,” the “Freedom Group,” and the “N5 Group,” quickly emerged. Because he and numerous group members actively participated online in multiple rights-defense and democracy-related events and disseminated various human-rights and democracy-related messages to enlighten the broader public, they were discovered by the Chinese Communist Party’s online trolls. This made the authorities extremely nervous and angry about the information and sensitive information they disseminated. Because it touched upon the interests of those in power and the authoritarian ideology they promoted, the authorities classified the matter as a major and important case and conducted a secret investigation into the participants.

On April 24, 2019, during the large-scale arrests in the “Tear Down the Wall Alliance Case,” he was taken from his home by police in Shapingba District, Chongqing Municipality, and his home was searched and confiscated. The next day, he was criminally detained at the Shapingba District Detention Center in Chongqing on suspicion of “inciting subversion of the state government.” On May 7 of the same year, police formally arrested him on the same charge.

On March 31, 2020, he and four other members of the Democratic Party were prosecuted by the local procuratorate as co-defendants in the “Tear Down the Wall Alliance Case,” on suspicion of “subversion of state power.” They were accused of using online social-media communities to publish large amounts of content endangering national security and the socialist system, inciting people to commemorate June 4, sensationalizing sensitive domestic incidents, attacking the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and its current political system, insulting Party and state leaders, and inciting the overthrow of the Chinese Communist regime. The “subversion” case against the five people was subsequently transferred by the procuratorate to the Chongqing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court for review. The trial opened on November 25, 2020, but did not reach a result, and was subsequently postponed repeatedly.

On March 20, 2023, his case was finally adjudicated together with the others by the Chongqing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court for “subversion of the state government.” The five people were sentenced to prison terms ranging from four to 10 years. Ren Jianping, because of his status as an initiator, received the heaviest sentence: 10 years in prison and deprivation of political rights for four years, with his sentence ending on April 23, 2029. It is reported that because the Chongqing authorities have maintained a tight information blockade around the case and intimidated the families, the families remained completely unaware of the arrests, sentencing, and the five people’s physical and mental health in prison. He is currently serving his sentence at Yongchuan Prison in Chongqing Municipality.

Our outlet will continue to follow Mr. Ren Jianping’s situation in prison.