Chinese human rights lawyer Lu Siwei has faced retaliation after publicly accusing some government officials in Sichuan Province of misconduct such as favoritism and abuse of power. Meanwhile, Xie Yang, who is still being persecuted in prison, has been denied visitation rights.
Xie Yang, who was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of “inciting subversion of state power,” has been deprived of visitation rights since August this year.
Xie Yang is also one of the key lawyers affected by the “709 crackdown” incident, where he was detained for two years on charges of “inciting subversion of state power.” After being released, he was subjected to long-term house arrest and surveillance. In 2022, he was tortured while in detention for supporting teacher Li Tiandian. Towards the end of 2025, Xie Yang sent a message through a friend stating, “I would rather lose my head than bow down,” expressing his steadfast stance.
Xie Yang’s ex-wife, Chen Guiqiu, revealed that Xie Yang is held at Chishan Prison in Hunan Province, and his brother and sister-in-law visited him in July. Despite applying for video visits since September, the Dongkou County Judicial Bureau has consistently denied the requests. Chen Guiqiu said, “I believe this is where they are breaking the law, depriving Xie Yang of the right to see his family. We don’t know if he has received the letters we sent as there has been no response.”
Lu Siwei’s wife, Zhang Chunxiao, told The Epoch Times that on October 10, Lu Siwei was harassed by local police shortly after checking into a guesthouse on Dadeng Island in Xiamen. “Possibly because he recently reported various levels of officials in Sichuan Province, the authorities have taken a series of retaliatory actions against him.”
Lu Siwei wrote on his WeChat moments, “The Chenghua District Court Enforcement Bureau forcibly deducted ten thousand yuan from me, claiming it as a fine. This is another escalation of economic persecution against me, as retaliation for my recent accusations against Sichuan Governor Shi Xiaolin, Chengdu Mayor Chen Shuping, Chengdu Public Security Bureau Director Hu Guomin, and Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court President Yang Cheng.”
Lu Siwei stated, “While my life is in distress, my accusations against the illegal and criminal acts of officials at all levels in Chengdu and Sichuan Province will not stop! Fight for rights!”
Siwei reported Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court President Yang Cheng, Chengdu Public Security Bureau Director Hu Guomin, Chengdu Mayor Chen Shuping, and Sichuan Governor Shi Xiaolin by name!
Lu Siwei is a well-known human rights lawyer in China and was one of the key affected lawyers in the “709 crackdown” incident in 2015, representing numerous sensitive cases related to rights protection and politics, including the “Hong Kong 12 case,” the “June 4 Liquor Case,” and the defense of individuals such as Yu Wensheng and Wang Zang. His lawyer’s license was revoked by the CCP in 2021.
On July 28, 2023, Lu Siwei was detained by Laotian customs on his way from Laos to Thailand and deported to China. In October 2024, he was sentenced to eleven months in prison and fined ten thousand yuan by the CCP for “illegal border crossing”. He was released on August 5, 2025.
Zhang Chunxiao said that from the end of 2019 to the present, Lu Siwei has been restricted from leaving China and under surveillance by the authorities. After the court verbally refused to accept his administrative lawsuit, in July this year, Lu Siwei filed complaints against multiple officials in Sichuan Province and Chengdu City. The authorities’ harassment of him has become more frequent.
Recently, whether traveling outside the city or in Chengdu, authorities have intensified their monitoring of Lu Siwei. On October 13, four unidentified men in Chengdu closely followed him, with one of them hurling insults at him.
Zhang Chunxiao mentioned that among human rights lawyers, including Bao Longjun, the husband and wife Wang Yu, Zhou Shifeng, Wang Quanzhang, and the husband and wife Yu Wensheng, are also under strict surveillance.
She urged the international community to continue focusing on the plight of human rights lawyers and prisoners of conscience, particularly those still imprisoned such as Ding Jiaxi, Xu Zhiyong, Zhang Zhan, Chen Yunfei, and Xie Yang, who are facing persecution.
“Since Siwei’s license was suspended on January 13, 2021, there hasn’t been a single day without coercion. Not only him, but our entire family, each day has been spent in tension, anxiety, and pain,” Zhang Chunxiao stated.
On the evening of the 10th, human rights lawyer Lu Siwei stayed at a guesthouse on Dadeng Island in Xiamen and was immediately harassed by local police officers from the Xiamen police station. Upon his arrival at the guesthouse, local authorities came to disturb him shortly.
When civil rights are not protected and respected, China is nothing more than a large-scale prison.