Huang Xueqin’s and Wang Jianbing’s appeal rejected without due process
In a decision dated 10 September 2024, the Guangdong Provincial High Court rejected human rights defenders Huang Xueqin’s and Wang Jianbing’s appeal and upheld the original verdict. However, the court failed to give advance notice to the lawyers of both human rights defenders regarding its decision to not convene a trial to consider their appeal, and its plan to announce the verdict on 10 September.
On 14 June 2024, the Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict in the first-instance trial of human rights defenders Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing. Both were found guilty of “inciting subversion of state power” under Article 105 of the Criminal Law. Huang Xueqin was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by four years of “deprivation of political rights.”
On 22 September 2023, human rights defenders Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing were tried at the Guangzhou Intermediate Court, Guangdong Province. The trial ended in the afternoon on the same day. The verdict, which was not delivered, will be announced by the court at a later, unspecified date.
According to the latest information published by the Free Xueqin and Jianbing Campaign (the Xuebing Campaign), woman human rights defender Huang Xueqin has suffered several worrying health conditions. Since her detention began in September 2021, she has experienced hormonal imbalance. She has also symptoms which may amount to secondary amenorrhea, a temporary absence of menstrual periods, which lasted for approximately five months. While she weighed about 50kg at the time of her detention, she subsequently lost about 5kg in the first six months in detention alone. In the last year, she has also suffered from a severe calcium deficiency, low glucose levels (hypoglycemia), low blood pressure, and has experienced pain in her lower back. Weight loss and emotional stress are among the possible causes of secondary amenorrhea.
In mid-April 2022, woman human rights defender and journalist Huang Xueqin’s close friend and lawyer Wan Miaoyan was shown a letter, dated 16 April 2022 and supposedly signed by the human rights defender, indicating that Huang Xueqin has dismissed her as her defence lawyer.
Today marks 80 days since woman human rights defender Huang Xueqin and labour and disability rights defender Wang Jianbing were both taken by local police from Wang Jianbing’s residence in the city of Guangzhou, in southern China, on 19 September 2021. Between late October and early November 2021, Huang Xueqin’s and Wang Jianbing’s families respectively received a formal arrest notice, dated 27 October 2021, indicating that they were arrested on suspicion of “inciting subversion of State power” under the law of the People's Republic of China, and are detained in Guangzhou No. 1 Detention Centre.
Huang Xueqin (黄雪琴) is a journalist and woman human rights defender from Guangdong province. She has worked to promote women’s rights, and to document and expose sexual harassment against women and girls in the workplace and in educational institutions. She was also previously detained from October 2019 to January 2020 after she published writings about the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
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- 17 September 2024 : Huang Xueqin’s and Wang Jianbing’s appeal rejected without due process
- 14 June 2024 : Huang Xueqin Sentenced to Five Years in Prison
- 29 September 2023 : Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing tried in Guangzhou, verdict pending
- 16 February 2023 : Huang Xueqin subjected to sleep deprivation as her health continues to deteriorate
- 18 August 2022 : Family-appointed lawyer dismissed
- 4 April 2022 : Police seek prosecution of Huang Xueqin
- 9 December 2021 : Human rights defenders Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing facing “inciting subversion” charge
In a decision dated 10 September 2024, the Guangdong Provincial High Court rejected human rights defenders Huang Xueqin’s and Wang Jianbing’s appeal and upheld the original verdict. However, the court failed to give advance notice to the lawyers of both human rights defenders regarding its decision to not convene a trial to consider their appeal, and its plan to announce the verdict on 10 September.
The verdict was delivered to Guangzhou Municipal No. 1 Detention Centre on 12 September. On 13 September, one of Huang Xueqin’s defence lawyers found out about the verdict when he met the woman human rights defender at the detention centre. In the afternoon of 12 September, one of Huang Xueqin’s lawyers telephoned the responsible judge at the Guangdong High Court to request for an open trial to consider the appeal, on the basis that new testimonies from new witnesses have been collected and submitted to the court. However, during the phone call the judge did not inform the lawyer that a verdict had already been reached.
Article 202 of China’s Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that verdict announcements are all to be conducted publicly, and that verdicts must be delivered to the defendants and their defence lawyers at the same time. In an official notice issued in 2019, the Supreme People’s Court and the Ministry of Justice have instructed courts to inform defence lawyers in a timely manner of important procedural decisions, including decisions to not convene a trial to consider appeals and to announce verdicts. The Supreme People’s Court’s 2021 interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law further clarifies that if a court decides to announce a verdict at a set time, it must notify all parties, including defence lawyers, the time and location of the announcement ahead of time. Once the announcement is completed, the written verdict must be immediately sent to the parties.
19 September 2024 marks three years since Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing were arbitrarily detained.
On 14 June 2024, the Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict in the first-instance trial of human rights defenders Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing. Both were found guilty of “inciting subversion of state power” under Article 105 of the Criminal Law. Huang Xueqin was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by four years of “deprivation of political rights.” Wang Jianbing was sentenced to three years and six months, followed by three years of “deprivation of political rights.” The court also ordered the confiscation of Huang Xueqin’s personal assets amounting to 100,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately 12,759 Euros).
Huang Xueqin immediately stated in court that she would appeal the decision in its entirety. Wang Jianbing subsequently decided to appeal parts of the decision.
On 22 September 2023, human rights defenders Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing were tried at the Guangzhou Intermediate Court, Guangdong Province. The trial ended in the afternoon on the same day. The verdict, which was not delivered, will be announced by the court at a later, unspecified date.
Huang Xueqin (黄雪琴) is a journalist and woman human rights defender from Guangdong province. She has worked to promote women’s rights, and to document and expose sexual harassment against women and girls in the workplace and in educational institutions. She was also previously detained from October 2019 to January 2020 after she published writings about the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Wang Jianbing (王建兵) is a labour rights and disability rights defender originally from Gansu province. After graduating from university in 2005, he began to work in the non-profit sector promoting youth education and rural development. In 2014, he joined an NGO in Guangzhou and implemented projects to promote youth development and empowerment of people living with disabilities. In 2018, he began to advocate for the rights of workers with occupational diseases through legal and community support. He is also a strong supporter of China’s #MeToo movement.
The two human rights defenders are accused of “inciting subversion of State power” under article 105(2) of the Criminal Law of China. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison. However, article 105(2) allows the court to impose a sentence of more than five years, without an upper limit, if the judges deem the offence to be “major” or if they consider the defendants to be “ringleaders”. The Criminal Law does not define or give further clarification as to the terms “ringleader” or “major”.
On the day of the trial, the courthouse was heavily guarded by security officers. Foreign diplomats who attempted to observe the trial, which was nominally public, were barred from entering the court. Family members of both defenders were able to observe the trial.
According to the Guangzhou Municipal Procuratorate’s indictment of the two human rights defenders, the prosecutors accused Huang Xueqin of publishing articles or making comments online that “misrepresented”, “attacked”, and “slandered” the Chinese government. The prosecutors also accused Huang Xueqin of participating, and inviting others to participate, in online workshops on non-violent movements. Similarly, the indictment also accused Wang Jianbing of publishing or reposting articles online that criticised the Chinese government and of attending an online workshop to discuss non-violent movement while he was studying in the UK. Finally, the prosecutors accused both defenders of organising regular gatherings at Wang Jianbing’s residence in Guangzhou to discuss social issues.
Defence lawyers representing the two human rights defenders argued in court that the activities in question do not constitute “inciting subversion of State power”.
Ahead of the trial, Front Line Defenders joined more than 30 other civil society organisations around the world in a joint appeal calling on the Chinese government to immediately and unconditionally release Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing.
Front Line Defenders reiterates its concern at the ongoing trial of the Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing since it believes that the detention and charges against them are an act of reprisal for the peaceful and legitimate exercise of their rights to freedom of assembly and association.
According to the latest information published by the Free Xueqin and Jianbing Campaign (the Xuebing Campaign), woman human rights defender Huang Xueqin has suffered several worrying health conditions. Since her detention began in September 2021, she has experienced hormonal imbalance. She has also symptoms which may amount to secondary amenorrhea, a temporary absence of menstrual periods, which lasted for approximately five months. While she weighed about 50kg at the time of her detention, she subsequently lost about 5kg in the first six months in detention alone. In the last year, she has also suffered from a severe calcium deficiency, low glucose levels (hypoglycemia), low blood pressure, and has experienced pain in her lower back. Weight loss and emotional stress are among the possible causes of secondary amenorrhea.
The woman human rights defender has also been subjected to frequent random interrogations in the middle of the night without prior warning. These interrogation sessions amount to sleep deprivation and are believed to have contributed to her health concerns.
Since the woman human rights defender is now represented by a government-imposed lawyer, and because her family faces strict surveillance and harassment, it is difficult to obtain and sufficiently verify further details about her case and her health status. The case is believed to have been sent back to the police or the prosecutors for supplementary investigations several times. A trial has not yet been announced.
In mid-April 2022, woman human rights defender and journalist Huang Xueqin’s close friend and lawyer Wan Miaoyan was shown a letter, dated 16 April 2022 and supposedly signed by the human rights defender, indicating that Huang Xueqin has dismissed her as her defence lawyer.
Wan Miaoyan was hired by Huang Xueqin’s family in late March 2022. The woman human rights defender herself affixed her signature on her family’s letter appointing Wan Miaoyan to be her defence lawyer on 2 April 2022. Wan Miaoyan also represented Huang Xueqin in 2019 when she was detained in Guangzhou.
On 22 April 2022, Wan Miaoyan made an online appointment to meet Huang Xueqin at a Guangzhou detention centre in order to verify the authenticity of the dismissal letter. However, the detention centre told the lawyer that she could not see Huang Xueqin due to COVID-19 reasons. Wan Miaoyan also asked the Guangzhou Municipal Procuratorate to arrange for her to review the case files. Despite satisfying all COVID-19-related requirements at the Procuratorate, she was told she could not review the case files because her appointment by Huang Xueqin’s immediate family has been deemed invalid.
The authenticity of the dismissal letter has been questioned and there are concerns that the dismissal was not voluntary and likely made under duress.
On 27 March 2022, the police in Guangzhou transferred the case against woman human rights defender Huang Xueqin and labour rights defender Wang Jianbing to the Guangzhou Municipal Procuratorate for review and decision on prosecution. Huang Xueqin is currently detained at the Guangzhou Municipal No. 1 Detention Centre. Both human rights defenders are facing the charge of “inciting subversion of State power”. In the period between their detention in September 2021 and the transfer of the case to the Procuratorate, neither human rights defender was allowed access to legal counsel of their choice.
Under China’s Criminal Procedure Law (CPL), the Procuratorate must make a decision on whether to prosecute a case within one month after receiving it from the police. In “major or complicated cases”, a concept not defined by the CPL, the deadline may be extended by 15 days. The Procuratorate may also send the case back to the police for supplementary investigation, which must be completed in a month and only two rounds of such investigation are allowed. Under the CPL, as soon as the Procuratorate begins reviewing a case for prosecution, defense lawyers have the right to read, copy and reproduce case file materials.
Today marks 80 days since woman human rights defender Huang Xueqin and labour and disability rights defender Wang Jianbing were both taken by local police from Wang Jianbing’s residence in the city of Guangzhou, in southern China, on 19 September 2021. Between late October and early November 2021, Huang Xueqin’s and Wang Jianbing’s families respectively received a formal arrest notice, dated 27 October 2021, indicating that they were arrested on suspicion of “inciting subversion of State power” under the law of the People's Republic of China, and are detained in Guangzhou No. 1 Detention Centre.
Huang Xueqin (黄雪琴) is a journalist and woman human rights defender from Guangdong province. She has worked to promote women’s rights, and to document and expose sexual harassment against women and girls in the workplace and in educational institutions. She was also previously detained from October 2019 to January 2020 after she published writings about the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Wang Jianbing (王建兵) is a labour rights and disability rights defender originally from Gansu province. After graduating from university in 2005, he began to work in the non-profit sector promoting youth education and rural development. In 2014, he joined an NGO in Guangzhou and implemented projects to promote youth development and empowerment of people living with disabilities. In 2018, he began to advocate for the rights of workers with occupational diseases through legal and community support. He is also a strong supporter of China’s #MeToo movement.
Wang Jianbing had originally planned to accompany Huang Xueqin to Shenzhen where she was to travel onwards to the Hong Kong airport for a flight on 20 September 2021 to the United Kingdom for her graduate studies. In the afternoon on 19 September 2021, Guangzhou public security officers arrived at Wang Jianbing’s residence and took both him and Huang Xueqin into custody. The police also searched the two defenders’ residences and confiscated their personal belongings.
The grounds for their detention appear to be connected to multiple private gatherings at Wang Jianbing’s residence. Following Wang Jianbing and Huang Xueqin’s detention, local police in Guangzhou and in other provinces repeatedly visited and interrogated more than 40 of their acquaintances. During these interrogations, the police reportedly demanded the acquaintances to confirm the identity of people who had gathered at Wang Jianbing’s residence, to testify that the discussions at these gatherings were political in nature, and to sign pre-written testimonies falsely accusing the two human rights defenders of attending political assemblies that “subvert State power.” Many of them also had their electronic devices searched and data copied by the police.
In the weeks between the two human rights defenders’ arrest and the issuance of the formal arrest notice, neither of their families had received any legal notices confirming their arrest, their whereabouts or the charges against them. Wang Jianbing’s family visited multiple police offices in Guangzhou in an attempt to locate him, without success. They then submitted complaints to the district, municipal and provincial public security offices without receiving any meaningful response. When the family submitted complaints against the police to the Guangzhou Municipal Procuratorate, on 30 September 2021, the office refused to intervene. Also, the Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau has so far rejected twice, in October and November, Wang Jianbing’s lawyer’s requests to meet with the human rights defender and to have him released on bail.
On 30 September 2021, three unidentified persons, suspected to be state security officers, summoned Wang Jianbing’s family for interrogation at a police station without showing any official identification or warrants. They told the family that the Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau is responsible for the arrest of Wang Jianbing, but they could not reveal the charges against him nor the location of his detention. They ordered the family to stop contacting government offices and warned them not to conduct public advocacy.
The latest research published by Front Line Defenders and partner organisations highlights the systematic misuse of vague national security provisions in order to arbitrarily detain human rights defenders for their peaceful activities.
Front Line Defenders believes the detention and charges against Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing are a reprisal for their peaceful and legitimate exercise of their rights to freedom of assembly and association.
