Sichuan human rights defender Chen Yunfei transferred to Chengdu public security authorities after completing administrative detention during trip to Gansu; whereabouts currently unknown

（Rights Defense Network Information Center report）On August 19, 2026, this website learned that half a month ago, Sichuan human rights defender Chen Yunfei was intercepted and arrested by police at Dunhuang Railway Station while traveling to Jiayuguan, Gansu. On August 5, 2026, he was placed under administrative detention for 12 days by the Subei County public security authorities. On August 17, when the administrative detention period expired, Chen Yunfei was transferred that afternoon from the administrative detention center to the Chengdu public security authorities, on the charge of “endangering national security”. After being taken away from the administrative detention center, Chen Yunfei’s whereabouts became unknown. His current situation remains unclear.

In recent years, Chinese public security authorities have combined the administrative punishment powers they control （administrative detention） with their criminal investigative powers. Their purposes are: 1) to extend the period of “lawful” detention of victims without informing the procuratorate; 2) to subject victims to greater psychological pressure.

Chen Yunfei has been imprisoned twice, serving a total of eight years. After being released from prison in March 2025, he continued to be subject to constant surveillance by the authorities and was repeatedly forcibly summoned by police.

Chen Yunfei’s biography: Born on August 13, 1967, he is from Daxian County, Dazhou City, Sichuan Province; an individual farmer and agronomist, a democratic “amateur animal trainer,” a Sichuan “democratic performance artist,” a prominent rights-defending citizen, dissident, and political prisoner.

In 1989, he participated in the “1989 student movement.” After the June Fourth crackdown, he returned home to make a living but continued to uphold democratic ideals and carried out various rights-defense activities to assist petitioners locally. He was later subjected to long-term surveillance and threats by Chengdu police because he repeatedly attempted to travel to Beijing to pay respects to former Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang.

On June 4, 2007, he was arrested by Chengdu police for placing an advertisement in the Chengdu Evening News paying “tribute to the mothers of the resilient June Fourth victims.” He was subsequently placed under residential surveillance for six months on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power.”

In 2008, he was warned and threatened by police for donating blood under the name of an initiator with rights-defending citizens Tan Zuoren, Ran Yunfei, and others to commemorate June Fourth.

In 2011, he was placed under house arrest for several days because he was suspected of participating in the “Jasmine Revolution.”

On January 26, 2013, dissatisfied with and protesting the authorities’ prohibition on his traveling abroad, he held an unusual funeral ceremony for his passport and his travel permits for Hong Kong and Macao, thereby pioneering this type of funeral ceremony in China.

On March 5 of the same year, he was refused acceptance after submitting to the Sichuan Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee an “Open Letter to Mr. Xi Jinping and Others,” a “Citizen Proposal Calling on the 205 Most Powerful Chinese Officials at the Ministerial Level and Above to Publicly Disclose Their Assets,” and a list of signatures from 7,033 valid citizens.

On May 13, 2013, after he was forcibly evicted by the authorities acting jointly with organized crime in connection with the rental of a residence, he was beaten by thugs and threatened and attacked by violent police during the move, ultimately suffering serious physical injuries.

From February to March 2015, the authorities again came to resent him because he launched a “one-day tour route from downtown Chengdu to the Sinopec plant in Pengzhou,” and his activities were immediately disrupted and sabotaged by Chengdu police.

On March 25, 2015, after he and more than 20 rights-defending citizens went to Xinjin County, Chengdu, to sweep the graves of Xiao Jie and Wu Guofeng, students who died in the June Fourth incident that year, he was surrounded and intercepted by more than 100 armed special police officers while returning. On March 26, he was criminally detained by police in Xinjin County, Sichuan Province, on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power” and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”

On April 30, 2015, he was formally arrested on the same charges. The procuratorate later dropped “inciting subversion of state power” and prosecuted him only for picking quarrels and provoking trouble.

On March 31, 2017, Chen Yunfei was sentenced to four years in prison by the Wuhou District Court of Chengdu for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” He was released after completing his sentence on March 25, 2019.

On March 25, 2021, Chen Yunfei was arrested again and subsequently prosecuted for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. During his trial on December 3, 2021, the charge was suddenly changed and he was sentenced to four years in prison. His sentence was due to end on March 24, 2025. He suffered torture and abuse in prison.

This website will continue to follow Chen Yunfei’s situation.