Shanghai Human Rights Defender Ji Xiaolong Spends His 50th Birthday in Prison

(Information Center of the China Human Rights Defenders report) On July 11, 2026, this website learned that July 10, 2026, was the 50th birthday of human rights defender Ji Xiaolong.

In 2018, he launched the Toilet Revolution; in 2019, he was sentenced to three years and six months in prison and was later released after completing his sentence. In August 2022, during Shanghai’s COVID-19 lockdown, he sent a real-name petition to Li Qiang, then secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, demanding that he step down and assume responsibility for major accidents; he was subsequently arrested and, in 2023, sentenced to four years and six months for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. He is currently serving his sentence at Tilanqiao Prison in Shanghai.

Ji Xiaolong’s biography: Born on July 10, 1976, he is from Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province, a resident of Mingdu Garden in Yangshe Town, Zhangjiagang City, a Christian, a democrat, a human rights defender, and a political prisoner held in China.

In June 2015, he was summoned by police in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for publicizing democratic ideas, and was placed under administrative detention for 10 days;

On July 20, 2018, he posted articles online calling on democrats to respond to the “Toilet Revolution.” He wrote slogans on the doors of toilets in public places such as hospitals and universities with a marker, including “Serious illness is unaffordable to treat; Fat Xi recklessly squanders money; recklessly amending the Constitution to proclaim himself emperor; when will the suffering end? Down with the Communist Party. Return power to the people and end the people’s suffering. Overthrow Xi the core and refuse to take the Cultural Revolution road.” Many people responded within a short period of time. On July 27, 2018, he was criminally detained by police in Pudong New Area on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”; on August 25 of the same year, he was placed under residential surveillance at a designated location; on September 30 of the same year, he was formally arrested on the same charge and held at the Pudong New Area Detention Center in Shanghai. During his detention, police repeatedly tried to force him to confess by threatening to make him “die” and exposing him to cold temperatures, causing him to become physically weak, fall ill, and vomit blood; his family’s attempts to send him a down jacket and a copy of the Bible were refused.

On November 30, 2018, the Pudong New Area Procuratorate in Shanghai brought his case before the Pudong New Area People’s Court in Shanghai; on January 14, 2019, the court ultimately sentenced him at first instance to three years and six months in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” He was subsequently sent to the seventh prison ward of Baimailing Prison in Shanghai to serve his sentence and was released after completing it on February 9, 2022. He was subjected to abuse while serving his sentence.

Ji Xiaolong was released from prison in 2022 during the pandemic. During Shanghai’s lockdown that year, he continued to speak out for Shanghai residents, publicly posting online a petition titled “Stop Campaign-Style Epidemic Prevention Immediately, Alleviate Difficulties and Issue Relief,” calling on the authorities to stop campaign-style epidemic prevention measures and demanding real-name accountability from Li Qiang, then secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and now premier, as well as demanding that he step down and assume responsibility for major accidents. On August 31, 2022, he was again taken from his home by police from the Meiyuan Xincun Police Station in Shanghai and was subsequently criminally detained by police in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”; on September 23 of the same year, he was formally arrested by the Pudong New Area Procuratorate on the same charge. In October 2023, Ji Xiaolong was sentenced at first instance to four years and six months for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. The prosecution cited his public criticism of national leaders on Twitter as evidence of the crime. In March 2024, the second-instance trial was held secretly, and in April the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court upheld the original verdict in its final judgment. In 2022, Ji Xiaolong received that year’s “Young Chinese Human Rights Award.” Ji Xiaolong is currently serving his sentence at Tilanqiao Prison in Shanghai, with his sentence ending on February 28, 2027.

This website will continue to follow Mr. Ji Xiaolong’s situation in prison.