The second-instance hearing in the case of Jiangsu Lianyungang citizen Wu Qiang, sentenced to one year in the first instance, will be held behind closed doors on June 5, 2026
On May 26, 2026, this outlet learned that the second-instance hearing in the case of Jiangsu Lianyungang citizen Wu Qiang, who was sentenced to one year in the first instance, will be held behind closed doors on June 5, 2026.
Wu Qiang, a citizen of Lianyungang, Jiangsu, is an original video blogger on Weibo and Douyin. Straightforward in character and with a sense of justice, he mainly focuses on social and livelihood issues. Wu once attracted widespread public attention after media reports on his denunciation of 32 tons of counterfeit beverages. Afterwards, Wu Qiang became someone who speaks out for vulnerable groups.
On July 5, 2024, Wu Qiang quickly attracted media attention for reposting a video exposing possible fraud in a sewage treatment project in Punan Town, Haizhou District. Subsequently, Wu Qiang and the person who filmed the video were summoned by the Haizhou Sub-Bureau on the grounds of “fabricating facts and disrupting public order,” illegally detained for 16 hours at the Taiping Coastal Defense Police Station, and forced to sign involuntary guarantees.
On April 11, 2025, Wu Qiang was criminally detained by the Haizhou District Sub-Bureau of the Lianyungang Municipal Public Security Bureau on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble. He was subsequently formally arrested and prosecuted, and detained at the Lianyungang City Detention Center. He was subjected to torture in the detention center.
On March 20, 2026, Wu Qiang was sentenced to one year in prison; dissatisfied with the verdict, he filed an appeal. On April 10, 2026, Wu Qiang was placed under residential surveillance at a designated location for a period of six months.
This outlet will continue to follow the case of Jiangsu Lianyungang citizen Wu Qiang being convicted for his speech.
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