On September 30, the Chinese Political and Religious Victims Support Association (Australia) and the Citizen Rights Alliance (United States) jointly announced that Xu Yan, the wife of human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng, has been awarded the 2026 China Contemporary Hero Mother Award.
Xu Yan, born in 1982 in Tianjin, is one of the family members of the 709 cases, a human rights defender, and a Christian.
The award citation pointed out that since 2014, starting from when her husband Yu Wensheng was arrested multiple times, Xu Yan began actively advocating for her husband’s rights. In 2018, after Yu Wensheng published the “Citizen Proposal for Constitutional Amendment,” he was arrested. In 2020, he was sentenced to 4 years in prison by the Intermediate People’s Court of Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, on charges of “inciting subversion of state power.” He was released upon completing his sentence in 2022. During the 4 years, Xu Yan continuously advocated for her husband’s rights and sought justice. She was also detained on charges of “obstructing official duties” for supporting her husband.
On April 13, 2023, the couple was invited to participate in a roundtable discussion by the EU delegation in China but were intercepted by the police on the way and later lost contact. On April 15, the couple was both detained on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking troubles” by the police, and their home was searched. On May 22 of the same year, they were formally arrested on the same charges. The trial of Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan began on August 30, 2024, and the verdict was announced on October 29, with Yu Wensheng receiving a 3-year sentence and Xu Yan a 1 year and 9 months sentence.
The citation read: “During the period when her husband was detained and imprisoned, Xu Yan, while advocating for rights, raised and educated their children alone, ensuring their healthy growth. While both she and her husband were in detention, their child suffered from severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Xu Yan, upon release, showed no resentment, actively seeking treatment for the child. With strong perseverance and boundless motherly love, she healed the child, setting the best example for Chinese mothers and citizens.”
Upon receiving the award, Xu Yan expressed her gratitude on her social media account, while Lawyer Yu Wensheng congratulated his wife for the award on the same platform.
After his release from prison in April this year, Yu Wensheng continues to be closely monitored by the authorities, and the family of three is prohibited from leaving the country.
The new entry and exit regulations by the Chinese Communist Party implemented on September 15 have sparked strong public backlash. On August 1, before the new regulations came into force, Yu Wensheng wrote in a post, “My wife, son, and I are all prohibited from leaving the country. The reason given is ‘leaving the country may endanger national security,’ with no written notice. I wonder if the authorities can give us a written notice after the new regulations are implemented, so we know the time limit for which we are restricted from leaving the country. We really want to leave China.”