China Human Rights Lawyers Group: Special Feature for the 11th Anniversary of 709 — The Year of 709 Iconic Figure Lawyer Zhou Shifeng

Lawyers from the China Human Rights Lawyers Group believe that, judging from lawyer Zhou Shifeng，s experiences over the past year, 709 has always been an ongoing process， as long as Communist China remains in existence， the authorities， persecution of human rights lawyers will not stop， and every year， 709 commemorative activities will always contain new material。 But our resistance and adherence to our belief in democracy and the rule of law will not change， they will be passed down continuously from generation to generation！

709Iconic Figure Lawyer Zhou Shifeng，s Year

Part One: Private WeChat Accounts Arbitrarily and Permanently Banned Five Times， with No Avenue for Judicial Redress

July 9， 2026， marks the 11th anniversary of the “709 Great Persecution” that shocked the world。

However， on the eve of that day， lawyer Zhou Shifeng， a core figure in 709， was once again “disappeared”——his WeChat account was permanently banned on the evening of July 2， and all social functions（including one-to-one chats） became unusable。

According to several friends familiar with Zhou Shifeng， this is the fifth WeChat account of his to be permanently banned in the past year。

The first three WeChat accounts were banned because he exposed in his Moments the political-persecution cases fabricated by Sun Lijun， political faction and pointed out that the faction， s influence in the political and legal system remained powerful， while providing a large amount of evidence。 After the three WeChat accounts were banned， Zhou Shifeng filed lawsuits with the Beijing Internet Court。 After accepting the materials， the court failed to issue any legal document for as long as six months。 He subsequently reported the matter to the central inspection team， but the Beijing Internet Court replied “review terminated”， effectively depriving him of his right to sue； after he reported the matter again， the court replied that it had “completed processing”。

Based on information provided by several friends， Zhou Shifeng strongly suspects that the internet department of the Anyang Municipal Public Security Bureau imposed the ban on his WeChat account。 He immediately wrote to the secretary of the Henan Provincial Party Committee， the secretary of the provincial discipline inspection commission and the secretary of the provincial political and legal affairs commission， accusing the relevant departments of allegedly acting as enforcers for Sun Lijun， political faction and opposing the Party Central Committee。 The discipline inspection commission then forwarded the letter to the Anyang Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission， which in turn forwarded it to the disciplinary inspection department of the municipal public security bureau， but Zhou Shifeng has still received no reply。

After going to great lengths to register a fourth WeChat account， Zhou Shifeng stopped posting on Moments， reposting or liking posts， but the account was nevertheless permanently banned soon afterward。

After the fourth WeChat account was banned， he filed lawsuits separately with the Nanshan District People， s Court in Shenzhen and the Beijing Internet Court。 In April 2026， he again filed a case online（with the cause of action adjusted to a network service contract dispute）， but the Beijing Internet Court required the “mobile phone number of the defendant， s legal representative or principal person in charge” and the “landline telephone number of the defendant， s principal person in charge”。 The defendant， s principal person in charge, s identity-document type was marked as “required——these requirements openly obstruct citizens from suing Tencent Corporation， because information concerning Tencent， s legal representative Ma Huateng is personal privacy and ordinary citizens cannot obtain it。 Even after he entered his own mobile phone number and submitted the application， the court ultimately refused to docket the case on grounds including that the “defendant， s domicile is not in Beijing”。

When he submitted the case online to the Nanshan District Court in Shenzhen， he likewise encountered required fields such as the “mobile phone number of the defendant， s legal representative or principal person in charge”， and the court does not accept in-person or postal filing。 This arrangement effectively deprives citizens of their basic right to sue Tencent Corporation。

The above conduct shows that the Beijing Internet Court and relevant courts in Shenzhen are providing special protection to Tencent Corporation， while also acting as enforcers for the lingering influence of Sun Lijun， political faction。

It is worth noting that the court system， s special protection of Tencent Corporation far exceeds its protection of the State Council——when citizens sue the State Council， they do not need to provide the mobile phone number of the premier of the State Council。 This privileged treatment above that afforded to the general public seriously harms the national interest， tramples China， s image in the international community， and further seriously obstructs China， s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership（CPTPP）， because one of the agreement， s core principles is “competitive neutrality”。 The courts， granting Tencent Corporation a special litigation status surpassing that of ordinary market entities essentially denies its status as an equal competitor。

On July 2， lawyer Zhou Shifeng， s fifth WeChat account was again permanently banned。

Part Two: Continued Tracking， Surveillance， Monitoring and Restrictions on Personal Freedom

On the eve of the 11th anniversary of the 709 incident， Zhou Shifeng also endured experiences difficult for ordinary people to accept。

After the prominent former lawyer Yu Wensheng was released from prison， he traveled through more than 20 provinces in China within two months and met with many friends。 Yu Wensheng and Zhou Shifeng have been close friends for many years， and the two had agreed dozens of days earlier to meet in Anyang， Zhou Shifeng， s hometown。

However， one day before Yu Wensheng arrived in Anyang， Beijing state-security personnel rushed to Anyang and forcibly prevented the two from meeting。 This not only severely restricted Zhou Shifeng， s personal freedom， but also destroyed his basic emotional connections and constituted a serious violation of humanity。

At present， the outside world is unable to contact Zhou Shifeng directly and does not know his true feelings at this moment。

Since his release from prison on September 24， 2022， Zhou Shifeng has long been subjected to tracking， surveillance and restrictions on his personal freedom。 When ordinary friends went to visit him at his Beijing residence， state-security officers would violently block them； friends were also stopped when they invited him to meals， and even when a court civil judgment declared the restrictions lifted， state-security officers attempted to force their way in， seriously damaging his personal dignity as a party to civil litigation。

During the Central Government， s sixth round of inspections in 2025， Zhou Shifeng reported to the inspection team that the 709 case was a fabricated case created by Sun Lijun， political faction， and that state security， knowing he was a victim， continued to monitor him and had in substance become enforcers for Sun Lijun， political faction。 Restrictions on him eased somewhat afterward。 But state security， s forceful prevention of his meeting with Yu Wensheng this time once again inevitably raises the question: How did state security obtain information so quickly， and did it receive information from certain “remnants of Sun Lijun”？

Part Three: Resistance as a Victim of the Political Factions of Sun Lijun and Fu Zhenghua

Zhou Shifeng has continued to forcefully expose serious problems involving the lingering political influence of Sun Lijun and Fu Zhenghua：

Reporting the serious problems involving the lingering political influence of Sun Lijun and Fu Zhenghua to the 16 inspection teams dispatched nationwide during the Central Government， s sixth round of inspections；

Reporting to the inspection team stationed at the Tianjin Procuratorate by the Supreme People， s Procuratorate the residual poison of Sun Lijun in Tianjin， s procuratorial system；

Reporting to the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee the serious problems caused by the lingering political influence of Sun Lijun in Tianjin， s political and legal affairs commission， courts， procuratorates， public security and prison systems；

In June 2025， immediately after the Supreme People， s Procuratorate， s Procuratorial Investigation Department was inaugurated， Zhou Shifeng， as a core 709 figure， filed complaints with that department and the Complaints Department；

In late April 2026， immediately after the Central Government， s seventh round of inspections entered the inspected units， Zhou Shifeng carried nine sets of complaint materials to report to the inspection team that the lingering political influence of Sun Lijun and Fu Zhenghua remained rampant， and copied the procurator-general of the Supreme People， s Procuratorate。

Under the supervision of the central inspection team， the Supreme People， s Procuratorate has transferred the materials to the Tianjin procuratorial authorities for handling。 According to an informed source inside the system， because the problems Zhou Shifeng reported in the political and legal system involve high-ranking levels， numerous personnel and serious circumstances， the central inspection team has very likely reported the materials to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection for collective study。

Part Four: Concern for Social Fairness and Justice

Issuing a statement on behalf of Guo Hongying， who was criminally prosecuted for calling for justice for her deceased elder brother in prison；

Writing and issuing a statement on behalf of Li Xiangyang， a prominent rights-protection citizen in Shandong who was arrested for reporting problems to the inspection team；

Writing specifically to the director and a Party committee member of the public security bureau of a certain municipality directly under the central government to express his views on behalf of prominent lawyer Yu Kai， who was arrested for holding up a sign calling for reforms to the lawyers， association；

After prominent citizen journalist Liu Hu was arrested， an open letter defending him circulated online under Zhou Shifeng， s name， but Zhou Shifeng denied it when questioned by Beijing police。 This incident still needs to be verified with Zhou himself。

Part Five: Sharing the Same Breath and Fate as Fellow 709 Supporters

In October 2025， the mother of 709 lawyer Xie Yang， who was still in detention at the time， died， and Zhou Shifeng traveled more than 1,000 kilometers by various means to a small mountain village in Shaoyang to attend her funeral；

In January 2026， the mother of prominent human rights defender and 709 figure Dr. Liu Sixin died， and Zhou Shifeng went to Xiangyang to see the elderly woman off。

There are certainly many other deeds of great significance that are unknown to us and that history will need to tell us about！

Lawyers from the China Human Rights Lawyers Group

July 10， 2026