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Xinjiang Uyghur singer and White Paper Movement participant Yashar Shohret, sentenced to three years, has completed his sentence
On August 10, 2026, the Rights Defense Network Information Center reported that Uyghur rapper and songwriter Yashar Shohret, also known as “Uigga,” had completed a three-year prison sentence. He was arrested in Bole, Xinjiang, on August 9, 2023, and sentenced by the Bole Court on June 20, 2024, for promoting extremism and illegally possessing items promoting extremism. He had been held at Wusu Prison.The Case of Hunan Human Rights Defender Li Yuanfeng (Legal Name: Li Weizhong) Will Be Tried at the Yiyang Intermediate People’s Court on August 13, 2026
The Rights Defense Network Information Center reported on August 10, 2026, that Hunan human rights defender and independent journalist Li Yuanfeng, also known as Li Weizhong, will be tried at 9 a.m. on August 13 at the Yiyang Intermediate People’s Court. Police took him away on October 10, 2024; after administrative detention, he was criminally detained and later placed under residential surveillance on suspicion of inciting subversion of state power.Zion Family Letter—Prayer Letter from Tong Hong, Wife of Elder Wang Zhong
Wang Zhong’s wife says his case has entered trial, and the procuratorate has recommended a suspended sentence and a change to his compulsory measures. She asks the court to expedite review because Wang’s 96-year-old father is in critical condition in intensive care and may die soon. She says Wang will comply with bail conditions and requests humanitarian consideration to allow him to see his father.White Paper Movement documentary filmmaker Chen Pinlin, sentenced to 3 years and 6 months for “Urumqi Middle Road,” spends his 35th birthday in prison
Chen Pinlin, filmmaker of the White Paper Movement documentary “Urumqi Middle Road,” spent his 35th birthday in prison on August 8, 2026. He uploaded the documentary on November 27, 2023, and was arrested the following day. The Baoshan District Court of Shanghai sentenced him on January 6, 2025, to three years and six months for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. His sentence runs until May 27, 2027.Record of Shaanxi Citizen Lü Dongli’s Passport Applications
Shaanxi citizen Lü Dongli repeatedly sought a passport from the Qianyang County Public Security Bureau beginning in October 2015, but his applications were not processed. He filed multiple lawsuits and received notices of non-issuance or non-acceptance, with courts citing restrictions on leaving the country. After another application was rejected in March 2023, the Baoji Intermediate People’s Court dismissed his case in June 2024. In January 2026, Lü petitioned the Ministry of Public Security and received its response on February 26.Case Details and Biography of Ms. Niu Guifang, a Falun Gong Practitioner from Shenbei New District, Shenyang, Liaoning, Sentenced to 1 Year and 6 Months
Niu Guifang, a Falun Gong practitioner from Shenbei New District, Shenyang, Liaoning, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison, according to the Rights Defense Network Information Center. Police arrested her at home on August 27, 2025, after which she was detained, formally arrested and indicted. Niu had previously been sentenced to three years in 2012. Her current sentence ends on February 26, 2027.Punished for Speech: Hunan Zhuzhou Self-Media Writer Yin Jiangen Yin Jiangen Sentenced to 2 Years and 3 Months by Anhui’s Hexian County Court on August 6, 2026
Yin Jiangen, a self-media writer from Zhuzhou, Hunan, was sentenced by Anhui’s Hexian County Court on August 6, 2026, to two years and three months for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” He was arrested by Hexian police on August 11, 2025, after refusing to delete an article criticizing Liyang Town Party secretary Liu Ying. The case concerned more than 450 WeChat posts criticizing local officials and institutions.Wang Yajun: Open Letter to the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Calling for a Filing Review of the Constitutionality and Legality of the “Persuasion” Clause in Article 2, Paragraph 3 of the Regulations of the State Council on Exit and Entry Administration
Wang Yajun submitted a filing review proposal to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress concerning Article 2, Paragraph 3 of State Council Order No. 841, effective September 15, 2026. The proposal argues that the clause allowing authorities to dissuade citizens from traveling to high-risk regions could become a de facto exit ban and conflict with the Exit and Entry Administration Law, Administrative Compulsion Law, Legislation Law and Constitution.Materials for the Real-Name Report by 550 People on Corruption and Criminal Syndicates Behind Judicial Injustice in the Exercise of Public Power in Shaanxi Province
A joint petition from 550 representatives in Shaanxi Province alleges unlawful treatment and judicial corruption in wrongful, false and erroneous cases. The group says its cases include 65 homicide cases, 36 reports of official crimes and 430 prolonged legal appeals, alongside property violations and forced demolitions. It urges national authorities to investigate the cases through the anti-organized-crime campaign, protect victims, pursue officials and provide written responses to real-name reports.Case Details and Biography of Tang Zhifei, a Falun Gong Practitioner and Software Engineer from Hefei, Anhui, Sentenced to 8 Years
On August 7, 2026, the Rights Defense Network Information Center reported details about Tang Zhifei, a Falun Gong practitioner and software engineer from Hefei, Anhui. Born in 1982, Tang was arrested at home on August 3, 2023, after police accused him of bypassing the Great Firewall and posting Falun Gong-related videos overseas. He was sentenced to eight years and imprisoned at Suzhou Prison in 2024, where the report says he suffered abuse. His sentence ends August 2, 2031.Latest Developments in the Zion Church Case: When “Law” Becomes a Fast-Track Script—What Exactly Is Law in the Eyes of the Public Security, Procuratorates and Courts?
The article says the Zion Church case was transferred to the procuratorate on June 18, when charges against church activities changed from “illegal use of an information network” to fraud and illegal business operations. Lawyers reportedly received the 331-volume, over-60,000-page case file only from July 3. The Beihai Yinhai District Court scheduled a pretrial conference for August 10–11 and trial for August 14–18.More Details Emerge About the Arrest of Ms. Wang Cong in the Zion Case, Part One
The Zion case was brought before the Yinhai District People’s Court of Beihai City, where the indictment stated that Wang Cong had not confessed. Wang said authorities used threats, inducements and deception, improperly restrained her, seized phones and property, and discriminated against her religious beliefs. She described arrests and interrogations from October 11 through June 24, including threats involving her husband and children, and said she refused to sign records or provide substantive answers.Wang Zang: Distorting right and wrong, shirking responsibility, and continuing to shield the village Party secretary’s wrongdoing — Pursuing accountability in the “Wang Hao Drowning Incident” [Progress Report No. 6]
On August 6, 2026, Wang Yuwen (Wang Zang), Wang Shaowei and Hou Shuzhen said they rejected Sankou Town Government’s document concerning Wang Hao’s drowning. They disputed its accounts of officials’ contacts with Hou Shuzhen, river dredging, warning signs and the handling of Wang Hao’s remains. They alleged Pan Yujun removed and disposed of the body without consent and said the burial site remains unknown after three years, four months and 26 days.Sichuan human rights defender Chen Yunfei administratively detained while traveling in Gansu
On August 6, 2026, the Information Center of China Human Rights Defenders Network reported that Sichuan human rights defender Chen Yunfei was intercepted by police at Dunhuang Railway Station while traveling to Jiayuguan, Gansu. Subei County public security authorities placed him in 12 days of administrative detention. Chen, released from prison in March 2025 after serving two sentences totaling eight years, has remained under surveillance and repeated police summonses.Paper ingots for the dead, slave labor for the living — Summary of partial leads concerning abuse of detainees at Weicheng District Detention Center in Xianyang: folding paper ingots, lead poisoning, task-based corporal punishment, and a cover-up of deaths
Wang Xiaoqin’s account alleges that her brother, Wang Xiaogang, who had a mental illness, died on July 23, 2024, after suffering gastrointestinal bleeding while detained in Weicheng District Detention Center. It also alleges authorities mishandled a September 2022 confrontation involving Ma Yongkui’s death and Wang Xiaogang’s detention, obstructed legal representation, concealed his death, and forced detainees to fold paper ingots for long hours without pay.Zion Case Pastor Wang Lin’s Letter from Prison: Absurd People and a Righteous God
In the tenth month of his detention, the author says the Yinhai District People’s Procuratorate of Beihai indicted eight people on charges of illegal business operations and fraud, while deciding not to indict their principal leader, Jin Mu, two weeks earlier. He describes the contrasting decisions as absurd, expresses faith in God’s will, notes international prayers and support, and says Christians should accept legitimate Chinese law while working toward justice and mercy.Gu Lingdi: Criminal Report Letter Concerning Organized Crime and Gang-Related Crime
Gu Lingdi, wife of Wuxi Zhendong Machinery Factory investor Zhang Jianzhong, reported officials and hired personnel from Jiangxi Subdistrict, Xinwu District, alleging that since 2012 they forged urban-management documents, harassed the family, disrupted factory operations, unlawfully detained the couple, looted equipment and materials, and demolished the 1,200-square-meter factory in November 2014. She requested investigation, prosecution of suspected offenses, and compensation.Petitioner Gu Lingdi of Jiangxi Subdistrict, Xinwu District, Wuxi, Receives No Response to Written Criminal Report on Organized Crime and Gang-Related Offenses
On June 27, 2026, Gu Lingdi of Xinwu District, Wuxi, mailed a criminal report concerning alleged organized-crime and gang-related offenses by Jiangxi Subdistrict and Qianjin Village Committee officials to multiple municipal and district departments. The report says all recipients received it by June 28, but Gu had received no acknowledgement by August 3. She alleges officials intimidated her family, demolished her factory and seized property during a 2012 relocation.Before the Zion Case Trial Begins, Families of Detained Persons and Those Released on Bail Pending Trial Face Pressure and Harassment from Authorities
On August 6, 2026, the outlet reported that families of detained people and church workers released on bail in the Zion Case were facing continued harassment, pressure and summonses as judicial proceedings advanced. A video showed police and plainclothes personnel repeatedly knocking at relatives’ homes. The case’s pretrial conference is scheduled for August 10–11, with hearings from August 14–18. Pastor Jin Mingri also requested return of confiscated belongings and release of eight detained pastors and workers.Anhui self-media writer Wu Huaiyun, who was previously imprisoned for 3 years and 10 months for her speech, arrested again on the eve of the 2026 Spring Festival and currently detained at the Lu’an Detention Center in Anhui Province
Wu Huaiyun, an Anhui self-media writer known on Twitter as “Xinyue Baiyun,” was arrested again on the eve of the 2026 Spring Festival and is detained at Lu’an Detention Center. She previously served 3 years and 10 months after being convicted by Huoshan County Court in September 2023 of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” over Twitter posts. After her release, police repeatedly questioned her about online activities.Ren Jianping, Sentenced to 10 Years in the “Tear Down the Wall Alliance Case,” Spends His 62nd Birthday in Yongchuan Prison
Ren Jianping, a principal initiator of the “Tear Down the Wall Alliance,” was arrested in Chongqing on April 24, 2019, and sentenced by the Chongqing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court on March 20, 2023, to 10 years in prison for subversion of state power, with his sentence ending April 23, 2029. Held at Yongchuan Prison, he reportedly has serious heart problems and has faced retaliation for refusing to plead guilty and advocating prisoners’ rights.Jiangsu Wuxi human rights defender Shen Aibin taken from home by Guangyi Police Station officers on August 4 for allegedly violating supervision and management regulations, whereabouts unknown since
On August 4, 2026, Jiangsu human rights defender and citizen journalist Shen Aibin was taken from his Wuxi home at 11 a.m. by officers from Guangyi Police Station for allegedly violating supervision and management regulations; his whereabouts were unknown as of August 5. Shen, born October 15, 1973, has repeatedly faced detention, prosecution and imprisonment for rights advocacy, most recently after a 2025 criminal detention and residential surveillance.Wuhan citizen Zhang Yi arrested on July 28, 2026, on suspicion of “inciting secession” and currently detained at the Lhasa City Detention Center
According to the Rights Defense Network Information Center, Wuhan citizen Zhang Yi was criminally detained by the Lhasa Municipal Public Security Bureau on July 18, 2026, and formally arrested on July 28 on suspicion of “inciting secession.” He is held at the Lhasa City Detention Center. Zhang, born in 1965, is a pro-democracy dissident and rights defender who previously served a prison sentence after participating in the 1989 pro-democracy movement.Report on the Meeting with Zhang Chao, a Rights Defender from Zaozhuang, Shandong, Who Has Been Charged with the Crime of Picking Quarrels and Provoking Trouble
On August 5, 2026, the Rights Defense Network Information Center reported that Zhang Chao’s lawyer was finally allowed to meet him at Zaozhuang No. 1 Detention Center after repeated refusals. Zhang said he was arrested at his Beijing residence on June 5 by 15–16 plainclothes officers after posting messages and visiting Tiananmen Square. He was formally arrested June 18 and is being held while his case is handled by the Shanting District Procuratorate.Yang Zewei (online name Qiao Xinxin), initiator of the Firewall-Dismantling Movement and news media professional who was arrested across borders by CCP authorities and later sentenced to five years, spends his 40th birthday in prison
Yang Zewei, also known online as Qiao Xinxin, spent his 40th birthday in prison, according to an August 4, 2026 report. Chinese police allegedly abducted him in Laos on May 31, 2023, and took him to Hengyang, Hunan. He was arrested on July 7, 2023, for “inciting subversion of state power,” sentenced to five years, and transferred to Hunan Chishan Prison in September 2024, where he reportedly suffered torture.
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