Timeline
A vertical record of major events.
Feb 9, 2026
Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years
People: Jimmy Lai
On 9 February 2026 the Hong Kong High Court sentenced Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison in his national security case.
Nov 26, 2022
White Paper protests and subsequent arrests
People: Students and citizens
After the Urumqi fire, citizens in many cities held blank sheets of paper to protest zero-COVID controls; waves of detentions and police summonses followed.
Oct 13, 2022
Sitong Bridge protest and arrest of Peng Lifa
People: Peng Lifa
Days before the 20th Party Congress, Peng Lifa hung protest banners on Beijing's Sitong Bridge and was immediately detained; his whereabouts remained unclear.
Jun 30, 2020
Hong Kong national security law and pressure on civil society
People: Hong Kong pro-democracy figures, media and civil groups
After the law took effect, pro-democracy figures faced mass prosecution, several media outlets shut down and civil society groups disbanded.
Apr 1, 2017
Mass detention and re-education camps in Xinjiang
People: Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims
From 2017 Xinjiang built a large network of detention facilities where hundreds of thousands to over a million people were held and subjected to forced indoctrination.
Jul 9, 2015
709 crackdown on human rights lawyers
People: Wang Quanzhang, Li Heping and other rights lawyers
More than 300 lawyers and activists nationwide were summoned, detained or sentenced.
May 23, 2014
Strike Hard Campaign in Xinjiang
People: Residents of Xinjiang
A counter-terrorism campaign that greatly expanded surveillance, checkpoints and criminal punishment.
Apr 1, 2013
Crackdown on the New Citizens' Movement
People: Xu Zhiyong, Ding Jiaxi and others
Activists calling for official asset disclosure and equal education rights were prosecuted for disturbing public order; several organisers were imprisoned.
Apr 1, 2010
Forced sterilisation campaign in Puning, Guangdong
People: Local women of childbearing age and their families
Family-planning officials pushed sterilisation quotas within days, detaining relatives to pressure targets into compliance.
Dec 25, 2009
Liu Xiaobo sentenced to 11 years
People: Liu Xiaobo
For co-drafting Charter 08, Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years for inciting subversion; he died in custody in 2017.
Mar 14, 2008
2008 Tibetan unrest and crackdown
People: Residents of Lhasa and Tibetan areas
Protests and riots broke out in Lhasa and elsewhere; authorities deployed armed police, imposed lockdowns and made mass arrests.
Mar 20, 2003
Sun Zhigang incident
People: Sun Zhigang
College graduate Sun Zhigang was detained for lacking a temporary residence permit and beaten to death; the case ended the custody and repatriation system.
Jul 20, 1999
Persecution of Falun Gong
People: Falun Gong practitioners
Authorities banned Falun Gong and set up a dedicated apparatus; large numbers of practitioners were detained, sent to labour camps or imprisoned.
Dec 21, 1998
Crackdown on the China Democracy Party
People: Xu Wenli, Wang Youcai, Qin Yongmin and others
After registration was refused, the party's main founders were given long sentences for subverting state power.
Jun 4, 1989
Military clearance in Beijing
People: Beijing residents and students
On the night of 3 June into 4 June, troops advanced into the city to clear the streets, causing mass casualties.
Apr 15, 1989
Nationwide student and democracy movement
People: Students and citizens across China
Mourning for Hu Yaobang grew into nationwide protests demanding an end to corruption and political reform.
Jan 1, 1980
Ongoing pressure on house churches
People: Members of unregistered religious groups
Churches outside the official system have long faced bans, fines, demolitions and detentions.
Sep 25, 1979
Coercive family planning
People: Women of childbearing age and families
Quota-driven family planning was accompanied by forced abortions, sterilisations and heavy fines.
Mar 29, 1979
Arrest and sentencing of Wei Jingsheng
People: Wei Jingsheng
After publishing “The Fifth Modernization” and other essays, Wei Jingsheng was arrested and sentenced to 15 years for counter-revolution.
Jul 29, 1975
Shadian incident in Yunnan
People: Hui villagers of Shadian
Troops entered Shadian and neighbouring Hui villages, causing large numbers of civilian deaths.
Jul 26, 1968
Binyang massacre
People: Residents of Binyang County
Organised mass killings in Binyang County over several days left thousands dead.
Jul 1, 1968
Wuxuan cannibalism incident
People: Victims in Wuxuan County
During the Cultural Revolution, victims in Wuxuan County, Guangxi were killed at struggle sessions and their bodies eaten.
Aug 13, 1967
Daoxian massacre in Hunan
People: So-called “black categories” and their families in Daoxian
More than 9,000 people, mostly rural families labelled class enemies, were killed in Daoxian and nearby counties within two months.
Aug 1, 1967
Yangjiang massacre in Guangdong
People: Residents of the Yangjiang area
Amid Cultural Revolution factional conflict, large-scale killings took place in the Yangjiang area.
Jan 1, 1967
Guangxi Massacre during the Cultural Revolution
People: Residents across Guangxi
Organised massacres occurred across Guangxi; later official investigations recorded well over 100,000 deaths.
Aug 27, 1966
Daxing massacre
People: Residents of Daxing County, Beijing
During “Red August”, communes in Daxing County killed entire “black category” families, including the elderly and infants.
May 16, 1966
Cultural Revolution
People: The population nationwide
A decade-long political campaign that produced mass persecution, struggle sessions, imprisonment and unnatural deaths.
Nov 1, 1959
Xinyang incident
People: Farmers in Xinyang, Henan
Under grain requisition and blockades, around a million people starved in the Xinyang area while officials reported bumper harvests.
Mar 10, 1959
1959 Tibetan uprising and military suppression
People: Lhasa residents and monks
The Lhasa uprising was suppressed by force and the Dalai Lama fled to India.
Jan 1, 1959
Great Chinese Famine
People: China's rural population
A nationwide famine from 1959 to 1962 with excess deaths estimated in the tens of millions.
Aug 1, 1958
People's commune movement
People: The rural population
Private property, food rations and labour were collectivised; communal canteens deepened the later famine.
Apr 24, 1958
Xunhua incident in Qinghai
People: Salar residents of Xunhua
Local protests were suppressed by the military; many residents were killed or imprisoned.
Jan 1, 1958
Great Leap Forward
People: The population nationwide
A campaign built on steel targets and inflated grain figures that directly caused mass famine.
Oct 1, 1957
Jiabiangou
People: “Rightists” sent to labour camps in Gansu
People labelled rightists were sent to Jiabiangou farm for re-education through labour; most died of starvation and forced labour.
May 13, 1955
Hu Feng “counter-revolutionary clique” case
People: Hu Feng and associated writers
A literary dispute escalated into a nationwide purge implicating over 2,000 people; Hu Feng spent decades in prison.
Jan 26, 1952
Five-anti campaign
People: Private business owners
Investigations, denunciations and confiscations targeting private capitalists drove many to bankruptcy or suicide.
Dec 1, 1951
Three-anti campaign
People: Party and government officials
A purge of state organs in the name of fighting corruption, waste and bureaucracy.
Sep 1, 1951
Thought reform campaign for intellectuals
People: University teachers and intellectuals
Intellectuals were required to make public self-criticisms and denounce one another to enforce ideological conformity.
Oct 10, 1950
Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries
People: Those labelled counter-revolutionaries
A quota-driven nationwide campaign in which official figures alone acknowledge more than 700,000 executions.
Jun 30, 1950
Land reform movement
People: Landlord and rich-peasant families
Land reform featured widespread struggle sessions and executions, killing large numbers of landlords.
May 23, 1948
Siege of Changchun
People: Civilians inside Changchun
A five-month siege and blockade caused large numbers of civilian deaths from starvation.
Jan 1, 1941
“Special goods” trade in the Shaan-Gan-Ning base area
People: Base-area economic authorities
To relieve fiscal pressure, the base area traded opium referred to as “special goods”, documented in research and archives.