Veteran Beijing independent publisher Tu Jincan sentenced to 3 years and 6 months for “illegal business operations”

On March 31, 2026, this outlet learned that on March 24, 2026, in the case in which veteran Beijing independent publisher Tu Jincan was charged with “illegal business operations,” after nearly two and a half years of detention beyond the statutory limit, he was finally sentenced to 3 years and 6 months by the Chinese Communist Party-controlled Beijing Haidian District Court for “illegal business operations”; the other defendant in the case, Wu Dongfa, was also sentenced to 2 years and 6 months for the same offense.

Profile of Tu Jincan: 1962, he was born in Xiaogan City, Hubei Province, worked as a teacher, and later embarked on a cultural enterprise. In 2008, Tu Jincan founded a “genealogy and biography institution” in Beijing, engaging in the publication of private genealogies, family histories and biographies. During the 15 years before his arrest on November 21, 2023, he had compiled and published genealogy, family history and personal biography books for more than 5,000 ordinary families. His work was featured in special reports by official media including Xinhua News Agency, China Youth Daily and the overseas edition of China Daily. In May 2015, then-Premier Li Keqiang visited Entrepreneurship Avenue in Haidian District and also visited Tu Jincan’s “Beijing Genealogy and Biography Cultural Museum.”

During the three years of pandemic lockdowns from 2020 to 2022, Tu Jincan’s private publishing business suffered a major blow and he was barely able to keep it operating by borrowing money. After the pandemic lockdowns were lifted in 2023, he had expected the business to recover somewhat, but the authorities’ cultural controls and economic extortion followed one after another. Before his arrest, Tu Jincan had been summoned for questioning multiple times by Haidian District cultural and public security departments. The Haidian District Public Security Bureau and Zhongguancun Police Station sealed his company’s book warehouse. After a book titled He Family Genealogy, commissioned by the company, had been mailed and shipped, it was seized by customs, and a fine was imposed on that basis. However, after three years of the pandemic, Tu Jincan and his company were heavily burdened with debt, the company’s daily operations had become extremely difficult, and there was simply no money to pay the fine. When the authorities’ economic extortion failed to achieve its goal, they brazenly resorted to judicial measures, arresting Tu Jincan on criminal charges and sealing the “Beijing Genealogy and Biography Institution,” causing the company to suspend operations and its employees to lose their jobs.

On March 24, 2026, in the case in which Tu Jincan was charged with “illegal business operations,” after nearly two and a half years of detention beyond the statutory limit, he was finally sentenced to 3 years and 6 months by the Chinese Communist Party-controlled Beijing Haidian District Court for “illegal business operations”; sentence period: November 21, 2023, to May 20, 2027.

For relevant background, see “Weiquan Wang” (Rights Defense Network):

“Beijing Publisher Tu Jincan Criminally Detained for ‘Illegal Business Operations’”

https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2024/01/blog-post_25.html

“The Crime of Authoritarianism: Analysis of the Case in Which Beijing Independent Publisher Tu Jincan Was Charged with ‘Illegal Business Operations’”

https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2024/08/blog-post_26.html

“Case in Which Veteran Beijing Independent Publisher Tu Jincan Was Charged with Suspected ‘Illegal Business Operations’ Referred Back to Public Security for Supplementary Investigation Again”

https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2024/10/blog-post_16.html

“Veteran Beijing Independent Publisher Tu Jincan Refuses Authorities’ Demand That He Sign a Confession of Guilt”

https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2024/11/blog-post_6.html

“Trial Held but No Verdict Issued in Case in Which Veteran Beijing Independent Publisher Tu Jincan Was Charged with ‘Illegal Business Operations’”

https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2025/04/blog-post_55.html

“Veteran Beijing Independent Publisher Tu Jincan Detained Beyond the Statutory Limit for 2 Years and 4 Months”

https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2026/03/24.html