Nanjing human rights defender Shao Mingliang, sentenced to 5 years, spends his 59th birthday in prison

(Rights Defense Network Information Center report) On July 2, 2026, this website learned: Shao Mingliang, a Nanjing human rights defender sentenced to 5 years, is spending his 59th birthday in prison today. Shao Mingliang was convicted for his speech, was confined to his home for long periods, and was detained and forcibly committed to psychiatric hospitals multiple times; in 2019, he was sentenced to 4 years for the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and was tortured in prison; on September 22, 2023, he was arrested again, and on April 14, 2025, he was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months for the crimes of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and assaulting police officers.

Profile of Shao Mingliang: Born on July 2, 1967, he is from Pukou District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, and is a resident of No. 19-1, Xiangtang Village, Huaguang Community, Jiangpu Subdistrict, Pukou District, Nanjing City; he is a dissident with disabilities, the founder of the “China Democratic Restoration Party,” and a Chinese political prisoner. Because of his opposition to Marxism-Leninism, he has consistently and openly opposed communism and has faced extreme suppression and persecution by the Chinese Communist authorities, being confined for long periods in his home in Xiangtang Village and prohibited from going out to shop, seek medical treatment, and so on;

In 2013, he was beaten by police for holding placards promoting constitutional government, democracy, freedom, and human rights outside Nanjing Audit University, in a busy area of Pukou District, and in front of the Pukou District government; afterward, he was forcibly sent by police to psychiatric hospitals for confinement multiple times. On January 25, 2014, he was run over across his entire body by a vehicle in front of the Pukou District government in Nanjing, with the government’s tacit approval, resulting in two years of hospitalization and permanent disabilities (fractures to the pelvis, sacrum, pubic bone, ribs, spine, cervical spine, and sternum, as well as injuries to the head, lungs, and spinal cord); he can live only with the aid of a wheelchair;

In March and June 2016, he was criminally detained twice more for anti-Party statements, and thereafter was continuously confined at home;

On October 17, 2017, when his residence was searched, officers found inside it the words “Topple the three mountains of communism, socialism, and collectivism” and “Bring to trial Mao, Deng, Jiang, Hu, and Xi and the principal culprits of their criminal ruling group,” while the front wall outside the house bore slogans including “The Democratic Restoration Party commemorates June 4, 1989” and “The Democratic Restoration Party is China’s own political party.” He was placed under 10 days of administrative detention by Nanjing police;

On March 14, 2018, during the Chinese Communist Party’s Two Sessions, he was placed under 14 days of administrative detention by Nanjing police for posting anti-Party statements and remarks mocking the constitutional amendments, and was violently beaten by police during that period;

On March 16, 2019, he was arrested again by police in Pukou District, Nanjing City, and was unreachable from then on. On April 22, 2019, the Pukou District Procuratorate formally approved his arrest on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” and he was held at the Pukou District Detention Center in Nanjing. The charge was based on the claim that his posting of WeChat messages and dozens of tweets online containing demands for democracy and constitutional government constituted illegal conduct;

On July 24, 2019, his case was heard at the Pukou District Court in Nanjing, and he was subsequently sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Dissatisfied with the verdict, he said he would appeal;

In January 2020, following a second-instance ruling by the Nanjing Intermediate People’s Court of Jiangsu Province, the original judgment was upheld, with his sentence running until March 15, 2023. During Shao Mingliang’s imprisonment, one of his hands was beaten to the point of permanent disability. After his release, he continued to be under close surveillance and was unable to receive medical treatment;

In the early hours of June 17, 2023, Shao Mingliang was illegally arrested and detained by the Zhujiang Police Station of the Pukou Branch. During that period, he was subjected to torture and abuse, and afterward he was never given a written administrative punishment decision. After Shao Mingliang was sent back home, he continued to be placed under house arrest and besieged at home, and no one was allowed to visit him;

On the afternoon of July 6, 2023, Shao Mingliang, unable to cook for himself because of his physical disability, ordered a meal delivery online. But when the delivery worker brought the food to his door, police officers from the police station forcibly took the worker away, and they also smashed the doorframe of his home, ultimately leaving Shao Mingliang with no food to eat;

On September 22, 2023, Shao Mingliang was arrested again by Nanjing police and has been detained ever since. He is currently being held at Nanjing No. 2 Detention Center (following the merger of the former Gulou District and Jianye District detention centers), at No. 19 Xiawei Village, Jianye District, Nanjing City;

At 9 a.m. on April 14, 2025, the case of Shao Mingliang from Nanjing, Jiangsu, on charges of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and assaulting police officers was heard at the Pukou District Court in Nanjing. That day, the public gallery was filled with people occupying seats to attend the hearing, while his defense counsel insisted on presenting a not-guilty defense. The collegial panel found Shao Mingliang guilty of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and assaulting police officers and imposed a combined sentence of 5 years and 6 months. His sentence runs until March 21, 2029.