Shandong human rights defender Li Xiangyang was arrested for helping farmers defend their rights, which had upset local corrupt officials. The case has now been transferred to the prosecutor’s office.
According to an informant, Zhao Yu (a pseudonym), on the morning of September 9, 2025, Li Xiangyang went to the Ruihai Hotel in Shandong Province where the 11th Inspection Team of the Provincial Party Committee was stationed. Upon his arrival, he was violently attacked by a group of unidentified men and then forcibly taken to the Yishui County Public Security Bureau, where he was criminally detained on charges of “obstructing official duties” and later arrested.
Zhao Yu explained that Li Xiangyang was aiding farmers and fertilizer dealers in Yishui County. These farmers had suffered crop failures on 3000 acres of land due to the use of toxic fertilizers. They sought help from the fertilizer dealer, who had failed in their attempts to reason with the government. As a result, they requested assistance from Li Xiangyang in defending their rights. With Li Xiangyang’s intervention, four suspects were apprehended, and the farmers received partial compensation, but he unintentionally offended local corrupt bureaucrats.
“Li Xiangyang led several fertilizer dealers to various departments. They went to the public security bureau, the police squadron, the criminal investigation squadron, the industrial and commercial bureau, and the petition office, which touched upon their interests, prompting some people to seek revenge,” Zhao Yu said.
After Li Xiangyang’s arrest, his family was threatened by the police. Zhao Yu mentioned, “The captain of the Yishui County Security Brigade said, ‘Don’t spread things online. We’re just charging him with obstructing official duties. If you post online and implicate him colluding with foreign forces, we will charge him with more crimes.'”
The police also hinted that if Li Xiangyang admitted his guilt, they could handle his case more leniently.
Zhao Yu stated that Li Xiangyang adamantly refused to confess, and the public prosecution knew that he had not committed any crime. “The local government is afraid that releasing Li Xiangyang would affect their performance records, so they are keeping him detained,” Zhao Yu explained.
When journalists tried to contact the Yishui County Security Brigade, the calls could not connect.
On the morning of December 4, Li Xiangyang’s interim lawyer and his wife, Liu Xiaoyan, went to the Yishui County Procuratorate for the third time but faced obstacles at every turn. The lawyer attempted to obtain core evidence – the on-site video of the incident at the hotel where the Shandong Provincial Party Committee Inspection Team stayed, but the prosecutor’s office refused to provide it.
Zhao Yu disclosed that Li Xiangyang had been under constant surveillance and monitoring, with state security personnel following him wherever he went. For over thirty years, he has fearlessly upheld his belief in “defending the dignity of the law and challenging judicial corruption” consistently.
Zhao Yu quoted Li Xiangyang saying, “In life, you must realize your own value. This environment is not acceptable, but you have to strive for it. If you don’t fight for it, won’t they continue to exploit you?”