China's Government Intensifies Pressure on Human Rights Activists and Their Associates

The sentencing of a prominent Chinese feminist activist to over three years in prison is seen by some analysts as Beijing's revenge against those connected to imprisoned activists. A court in Shandong province sentenced Li Qiaochu to three years and eight months in prison for what was termed 'inciting subversion of state power.' The court also stated that Qiaochu was 'heavily influenced' by her boyfriend, another imprisoned activist, who received a 14-year sentence on similar charges. Patrick Poon, a visiting researcher at the University of Tokyo, told Voice of America that this case illustrates how someone can get into trouble for being closely connected to an arrested activist and expressing concern for them. He added that this case shows that speaking about other human rights defenders in China has become a red line for the government. Some activists say Qiaochu's heavy sentence is a clear retaliation for her revelations about the torture her boyfriend experienced while in detention. Lu Shengchun, the wife of Ding Jiaxi, a detained human rights lawyer, also told Voice of America that Chinese authorities are retaliating against Qiaochu for exercising her fundamental right and freedom of expression. This sentence was issued after a closed trial last month. Lu described the length of the sentence as 'unjust and disgusting.' Li Qiaochu, who has long been a labor rights and feminist activist, has been in detention since February 2021. Although the time she has spent in detention counts towards her sentence, Lu remains concerned about her mental health. Lu stated that Li Qiaochu is suffering from depression and that the treatment she has received during detention has led to hallucinations for this imprisoned activist. Besides Li Qiaochu, her boyfriend, Shou Ziyong, and Ding Jiaxi, the imprisoned lawyer, were sentenced to over ten years in prison for participating in a private gathering in Xiamen, China, in December 2019, and were deprived of contact with their lawyers and families for several months. Lu Shengchun told Voice of America that the families of these individuals are also facing multiple threats to refrain from informing about their cases, and officials regularly postpone their meetings with their lawyers. Some view the Chinese authorities' decision to target individuals connected to imprisoned activists and deprive them of their right to meet with lawyers or family members as part of a broader effort by the Chinese government to increase pressure on activists. Yaqiu Wang, director of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan research at Freedom House, told Voice of America that the Chinese government hopes to diminish the influence of detained activists by cutting off their connections to the outside world. Wang stated, 'When Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel laureate, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, many people knew what achievements he had despite the repression of Chinese authorities. But today, the Chinese government is doing everything it can to limit the influence of activists by cutting off all communication channels.' Besides Li, several human rights activists are still awaiting court rulings in China. Patrick Poon, a visiting researcher at the University of Tokyo, says that as support for imprisoned human rights activists becomes much more difficult for the people of China, the expression of concern by activists abroad about these cases is very important. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to Voice of America's request for comment on Li's sentence or the concerns raised by the European Union before the publication of this report.