The Liberty File · All Reports
Liberty
The Zion Church case will hold a pretrial conference from August 10 to 11, 2026, with a public trial from August 14 to 18
The Zion Church case is scheduled for a pretrial conference on August 10–11, 2026, and a public trial on August 14–18. Eight pastors and co-workers remain detained in Beihai, Guangxi, facing charges of fraud and illegal business operations. The case was indicted on July 17, less than a month after transfer for review, while some lawyers reportedly had only recently received 300 volumes of case files.Rights Defense Commentary: Feng Zhenghu: That “May Choose Not to Inform”—The Significance of Article 6 of the New Exit-Entry Regulations
The article examines Article 6 of the State Council’s Provisions on the Administration of Exit and Entry, promulgated July 31, 2026, and effective September 15. It says authorities generally must inform people of exit prohibitions and available relief, but may withhold information when national security, criminal investigations or other circumstances may be affected. The article warns that undefined exceptions could weaken legal remedies and urges clearer limits, records, time limits and oversight.Case Details and Biography of Ms. Wan Taoying, a Falun Gong Practitioner from Jinxian County, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, Sentenced to One Year and Three Months
Wan Taoying, a Falun Gong practitioner born in March 1962 from Jinxian County, Jiangxi Province, was previously subjected to reeducation through labor and sentenced to prison twice, where she reportedly suffered torture. On August 5, 2025, police from Fuzhou’s Cangshan District detained her and raided her home. In late July 2026, Minqing County Court sentenced her to one year and three months, ending November 4, 2026.Hunan Zhuzhou self-media writer Yin Jiangen, arrested across provincial borders for his words, to receive first-instance verdict in Anhui’s Hexian County Court on August 6, 2026
Yin Jiangen, a self-media writer from Zhuzhou, Hunan, is scheduled to receive a first-instance verdict at Hexian County Court in Anhui Province on August 6, 2026. Hexian police arrested him across provincial borders on August 11, 2025, over an article criticizing Liyang Town Party secretary Liu Ying. He faces a “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” charge related to more than 450 WeChat posts.Update on the Prison Conditions of Zhejiang Independent Writer Zan Aizong, Sentenced to 3 Years
On August 3, 2026, the outlet reported that Zhejiang writer Zan Aizong was transferred on May 14 from Hangzhou’s Gongshu District Detention Center to Hangzhou Dongjiao Prison to serve a three-year sentence for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” over a July 2024 sea memorial for Liu Xiaobo. The prison has kept him in its admission unit after he refused to sing revolutionary songs and preach the Gospel to inmates.Li Qiaochu: Two-Year Period of Deprivation of Political Rights Ends
The speaker says they were deprived of political rights from August 3, 2024, to August 2, 2026, and that the additional punishment was fully served on August 3. They say they now again enjoy all legal rights and that any continuing restrictions would lack legal basis. Recalling their release from detention two years earlier, they describe personal transformation and share hand-drawn illustrations celebrating the occasion.Hunan Zhuzhou citizen and democracy activist Cheng Xiaofeng, sentenced to 3 years and 6 months, has been transferred to Hunan Chishan Prison to serve his sentence
Cheng Xiaofeng, a Zhuzhou, Hunan democracy activist and former criminal police officer, was detained on July 6, 2024, on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” He was sentenced in January 2026 to three years and six months, ending January 5, 2028. In August 2026, he was reportedly transferred from Zhuzhou City Detention Center to Hunan Chishan Prison.Case Details and Profile of Ms. Han Yujie, a 73-Year-Old Falun Gong Practitioner from Kuancheng District, Changchun City, Jilin Province, Sentenced to 1 Year and 6 Months
On August 2, 2026, the Rights Defense Network Information Center reported that Han Yujie, a 73-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Kuancheng District, Changchun City, Jilin Province, was arrested on July 10, 2025, while working as a nanny in Nong’an. Detained at Weizigou Detention Center, she was secretly tried there in June 2026, sentenced to 1 year and 6 months, and fined 5,000 yuan.Xi’an Zion’s Light 516 Case to Hold Pretrial Conference on August 10, 2026
The Xi’an Zion’s Light 516 case is scheduled for a pretrial conference on August 10, 2026. Pastor Gao Quanfu, his wife Pang Yu, and Pastor Tang Bingyi have been detained since May 16, 2025, and indicted on fraud charges by the Beilin District Procuratorate. Authorities allege that more than two million yuan in church offerings and related payments were fraudulently obtained.Ms. Luo Chuanmei, a Falun Gong practitioner from Urumqi, Xinjiang, was persecuted to death at Xinjiang No. 2 Prison
A Rights Defense Network Information Center report dated August 2, 2026, said Luo Chuanmei, a 69-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Urumqi, Xinjiang, died at Xinjiang No. 2 Prison on October 3, 2025. Authorities allegedly cremated her body before notifying her family. The report said police abducted her in March 2025, and she was later sentenced to three years and eight months in prison after more than two decades of repeated detention and sentencing.Famous human rights defender Guo Feixiong (formerly Yang Maodong), sentenced to 8 years, spends his 60th birthday in prison
Human rights activist Guo Feixiong, whose real name is Yang Maodong, turned 60 on August 2, 2026. He has been imprisoned three times for his rights work, serving sentences totaling 19 years. On May 11, 2023, he was sentenced to eight years for inciting subversion of state power, a verdict upheld on appeal. He is detained at Zhaoqing Prison in Guangdong Province, where his health has deteriorated.Case Details and Profile of Ms. Song Lijie, a Falun Gong Practitioner from Jinzhou, Liaoning, Sentenced to One Year
According to the Rights Defense Network Information Center, Song Lijie, a Falun Gong practitioner from Jinzhou, Liaoning, was born in March 1957 and resides in Guta District. Domestic Security police arrested her and raided her home on October 14, 2025, before detaining her at Jinzhou Women’s Detention Centre. In August 2026, she was reported sentenced to one year and transferred to Liaoning Women’s Prison.Case Details and Biography of Ms. Gao Xia, a Falun Gong Practitioner from Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison
On August 1, 2026, the Rights Defense Network Information Center reported that Gao Xia, a Falun Gong practitioner from Guta District, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, was sentenced to two years in prison. Domestic security police arrested her and raided her home on October 14, 2025. She remains detained at the Jinzhou City Women’s Detention Center, with her sentence scheduled to end on October 14, 2027.Falun Gong practitioner Wang Guiling from Jinzhou, Liaoning, sentenced to 5 years, abused at Jinzhou Nanshan Prison: septuagenarian placed in a small cell for 20 days
The Rights Defense Network Information Center reported on August 1, 2026, that Wang Guiling, a 70-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Jinzhou, Liaoning, was placed in a small cell for 20 days at Jinzhou Nanshan Prison after allegedly refusing medication. Relatives said he had lost more than ten jin and appeared severely emaciated. Wang is serving a five-year sentence ending April 14, 2029.Li Qiaochu: Statement on My Efforts to Secure the Right to Marry Xu Zhiyong and on Xu Zhiyong’s Situation in Prison (August 1, 2026)
The writer says she is seeking permission to marry Xu Zhiyong and that his correspondence and outdoor time at Lunan Prison have been restricted for nearly two months. She reports that a July 29 call to the prison was disrupted by static and received no callback. On July 30, she mailed an inquiry and government information disclosure application concerning correspondence procedures, summer outdoor-time arrangements and possible individual restrictions.Human Rights Watch: Interpretation of China’s Policies, Laws and Regulations (July 2026) (Issue 23)
The issue reviews eight Chinese measures on internet governance, livestreaming, artificial intelligence, minor protection, disaster information, lawyers’ practice and cyberbullying. It describes public consultations, the “Clean Cyberspace” campaign, rules for anthropomorphic AI services and judicial protection involving older people. Its analyses acknowledge stated protections for privacy, minors and online order while criticizing vague definitions, broad enforcement powers, weak appeals and risks to lawful expression and public supervision.Wang Xiaoqin: Joint Accountability Application Regarding Zhang Minghui, Former Director of Weicheng District Detention Centre, Disappearing Out of Fear of Punishment; Current Director Ma Hongwei Deflecting Responsibility by Saying “People Die in Hospitals Too”; and the Weicheng District Public Security Bureau Refusing to Issue a Written Response
Wang Xiaoqin petitioned the Xianyang Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision to investigate officials from the Weicheng District and Xianyang public security bureaus over her brother Wang Xiaogang’s death in custody on July 23, 2024. She alleges delayed medical treatment and supervisory failures at the Weicheng District Detention Centre, concealment and mishandling of the case, and refusal to provide a written response or lawful compensation.Rights-Protection Commentary: Concerns and Questions Surrounding the Anti-Cyberbullying Law (Draft for Public Comment)
China released the Anti-Cyberbullying Law (Draft for Public Comment) nationwide on July 29, 2026. The commentary supports tackling doxxing, rumors, harassment and coordinated attacks but warns that vague definitions of “concentrated,” “sustained” and “inciting opposition” could subject legitimate criticism, reporting and public-opinion oversight to enforcement. It urges quantifying key terms, adding exemptions for fact-based expression, and strengthening rights remedies to balance governance with freedom of expression.Rights Defense Network: Monthly Report on Political Prisoners and Prisoners of Conscience in Mainland China (July 31, 2026), Issue No. 130 (1,642 people in total)
The Rights Defense Network’s Issue No. 130 monthly report, published July 31, 2026, documents political and conscience prisoners in mainland China. It records 1,642 people in custody and says its database contained information on 4,306 prisoners as of July 29. The issue reports 49 releases, updates on 25 prisoners, seven new criminal detentions, 29 new sentences, and one previously listed prisoner reportedly persecuted to death in prison.“10·9” Zion Church Case Progress Report: Eight Zion Church Pastors and Co-workers Face False Criminal Charges of “Fraud” and “Illegal Business Operations” (July 30, 2026)
The Rights Defence Network Information Centre reported that, as of July 30, 2026, eight Zion Church pastors and co-workers remained detained in Beihai, Guangxi, on fraud and illegal business operations charges. The case was transferred for prosecution on June 18 and brought to court on July 17. The indictment alleged more than 10 million yuan in offerings and over 2 million yuan from course packages. Pastor Jin Mingri rejected the accusations.Former Hong Kong University Students’ Union president Sun Xiaolan, sentenced to 4 years and 9 months, released after completing her sentence on July 29, 2026
Sun Xiaolan, former president of the Hong Kong University Students’ Union, was released on July 29, 2026, after completing a 4-year-and-9-month prison sentence. She was among 12 protesters convicted of rioting in the “Legislative Council Occupation riot case” linked to the 2019 anti-extradition bill protests. Sun served as union president in 2016 and publicly supported Hong Kong independence during her term.Three Believers from Panshi Bible Christian Church in Yueyang, Hunan, Transferred to Criminal Detention; Families and Lawyers Report Restricted Meetings
Sources at Panshi Bible Christian Church in Yueyang, Hunan, said Pastor Huang Lei, Yang Jianjun and Hu Hongtao were detained on July 11, 2026, for allegedly “illegally organizing religious activities.” After 15 days, they were transferred to criminal detention over alleged illegal use of information networks. Huang has met a lawyer; Yang and Hu have not. Yang has secondary pulmonary tuberculosis. Authorities have not issued further public information.Pastor Zhou Songlin and Elder Ding Zhongfu, sentenced to 4 years and 6 months and 4 years respectively in the Hefei Ganquan Church case, both transferred to Xuancheng Prison to serve their sentences
Pastor Zhou Songlin and Elder Ding Zhongfu of Hefei Ganquan Church were transferred to Xuancheng Prison in July 2026 to serve sentences for fraud. Zhou was sentenced to four years and six months and fined 30,000 yuan; Ding received four years and a 28,000-yuan fine. Their convictions followed their November 30, 2023 arrests and February 13, 2026 judgments. On May 7, 2026, their appeals were rejected.Shandong Zaozhuang rights activist Zhang Chao arrested on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble
On June 4, 2026, Shandong rights activist Zhang Chao, also known by the Dharma name Shi Daoguo, photographed the area outside Tiananmen Square’s railings and posted the images with a mourning poem on social media. Zaozhuang state security officers took him from Beijing early June 5; he was criminally detained June 6 and formally arrested June 18. He is held at Zaozhuang No. 1 Detention Center.Feng Zhenghu: Guide and Template for Writing a Demand Letter Concerning a Court’s Failure to Register a Case Within the Statutory Period
The article explains that under Articles 51 and 52 of China’s Administrative Litigation Law, a court must either register a claim within seven days or issue a reasoned ruling refusing registration. It describes demand letters as non-statutory reminders that preserve evidence and support subsequent remedies. It outlines their structure, including factual chronology, legal grounds, demands, attachments and notice of possible complaints to higher courts, procuratorates and people’s congresses.
Page 11 of 30, 743 reports