This list consists of activists who are known as Chinese dissidents. The label is primarily applied to

intellectuals An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or ...

who "push the boundaries" of society or criticize the policies of the government. Examples of the former include Wei Hui and Jia Pingwa, whose sexually explicit writings reflect dissent from traditional

Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...

rather than the laws of the state.

Detained and jailed people

Many Chinese political activists have been detained or jailed or exiled for their

pro-democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

or rights defending activities. They include the following notable activists.

Others

* Michael Anti (journalist), proponent of freedom of the press in China *

Chai Ling Chai Ling (; born April 15, 1966) is a Chinese psychologist who was one of the student leaders in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. She is the founder of All Girls Allowed, an organization dedicated to ending China's one-child policy, and t ...

* Chang Ping * Chaohua Wang * Chen Guangcheng *

Fang Lizhi Fang Lizhi (also Li-Zhi; February 12, 1936 – April 6, 2012) was a Chinese astrophysicist, vice-president of the University of Science and Technology of China, and activist whose liberal ideas inspired the pro-democracy student movement ...

Feng Congde Feng Congde (, born 5 March 1966 in Sichuan) is a Chinese dissident and Republic of China Restoration activist. He came into prominence during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 as a student leader from Peking University, which placed him onto ...

* Feng Zhenghu * Gao Xingjian, recipient of the 2000

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

* Gao Yu (journalist) * Gao Zhisheng *

Gui Minhai Gui Minhai (, formerly ; born 5 May 1964), also known as Michael Gui, is a Chinese-born Swedish book publisher and writer. He is an author of many books related to Chinese politics and Chinese political figures; Gui authored around 200 books ...

, publisher and writer of books on Chinese politics *

Guo Wengui Guo Wengui (; born May 10, 1970—self claim or October 5, 1968), also known under the names Guo Haoyun (), Miles Guo, and Miles Kwok, is an exiled Chinese billionaire businessman who became a political activist and controls Beijing Zenith Hold ...

, also known as Miles Guo *

Han Dongfang Han Dongfang (韓東方, born 1963) is a Chinese advocate for workers' rights. Han was born in the impoverished village of Nanweiquan in Shanxi and first came to international prominence as a railway worker in Beijing. He helped set up the Be ...

* Jiao Guobiao, former professor of

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...

and the author of ''Denouncing the Central Propaganda Department (of the Communist Party of China)'' * Li Hongkuan *

Li Lu Li Lu (born April 6, 1966) is a Chinese-born American value investor, businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of Himalaya Capital Management. Prior to emigrating to America, he was one of the student leaders of the 198 ...

* Li Qiaochu * Li Zehou, scholar of philosophy and intellectual history *

Liu Binyan Liu Binyan (; February 7, 1925 – December 5, 2005) was a Chinese author, journalist, and political dissident. Many of the events in Liu's life are recounted in his memoir, ''A Higher Kind of Loyalty''. Early life Liu Binyan, whose family hails ...

Alex Liu The Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars (IFCSS) was founded on August 1, 1989, when over 1000 Chinese student representatives from more than 200 Chinese Students and Scholars Association in major U.S. universities held their ...

(Yongchuan Liu), data scientist * Lu Jinghua, former merchant who became involved in the Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation in 1989. She later lived in New York. Attempted to return to Beijing in June 1993 but was refused entry and sent back to US. *

Murong Xuecun Murong Xuecun (, born 1974) is the pen name of the Chinese writer Hao Qun (郝群). His debut work ''Leave Me Alone: A Novel of Chengdu'' (), which was distributed online, propelled him to stardom. On July 22, 2008 Murong made the long list for the ...

, writer and critic of censorship *

Shen Tong Shen Tong (Simplified Chinese: 沈彤; Hanyu Pinyin: Shěn Tóng) (born 1968) is an American impact investor, activist, and writer. He founded business accelerators FoodFutureCo in 2015 and Food-X in 2014, the latter of which is recognized by Fas ...

* Su Changlan *

Su Xiaokang Su Xiaokang (; born 1949) is an intellectual, writer, journalist, political activist and in 1989 was named one of China's seven most-wanted dissident intellectuals. His most notable work '' River Elegy'' paved the way to the Tiananmen Square prote ...

Tang Baiqiao Baiqiao Tang (; born 11 August 1967, Yongzhou; sometimes spelled ''Tang Boqiao'') is a Chinese political dissident from Hunan province who led student protests during the 1989 democracy movement. After the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and mas ...

* Tashi Wangchuk, sentenced to 5 years in prison in May 2018 for "inciting separatism" after speaking to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' about his concerns over the current state of Tibetan culture and language in China. * Wang Bingzhang * Wang Meiyu (王美雨), democracy activist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances in September 2019 after having been arrested for "

picking quarrels and provoking trouble Picking quarrels and provoking trouble () (also translated as picking quarrels and stirring up trouble or picking quarrels and making trouble) is a crime under the law of the People's Republic of China. The official translation of this crime is ...

" in July 2019 when he was protesting for universal suffrage and calling for the resignation of

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

and

Li Keqiang Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) is a Chinese politician who is the outgoing premier of China. An economist by profession, Li is head of China's executive branch as well as one of the leading figures behind China's Financial and Economic Affa ...

* Wang Ruowang * Wu Fan *

Harry Wu Harry Wu (; February 8, 1937 – April 26, 2016) was a Chinese-American human rights activist. Wu spent 19 years in Chinese labor camps, and he became a resident and citizen of the United States. In 1992, he founded the Laogai Research Foun ...

Wu'erkaixi Örkesh Dölet ( ug, ئۆركەش دۆلەت, zh, 吾尔开希·多莱特; commonly known by his pinyin name Wu'erkaixi) is a political commentator known for his leading role during the Tiananmen protests of 1989. Of Uyghur heritage, he was bo ...

Xie Wanjun Xie Wanjun () (born July 10, 1967) a Chinese political activist who has fled to the United States. He is currently the chairman of China Democracy Party. He was an active student during the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989. On October 17, 1996, h ...

, founding member of the

Democracy Party of China The Democracy Party of China (DPC; ) is a political party that started in the People's Republic of China, and was banned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).Gittings, John. ''The Changing Face of China: From Mao to Market''. (2005). Oxford Univ ...

Xiong Yan (dissident) Xiong Yan (; born 1 September 1964) is a Chinese-American human rights activist, military officer, and Protestant chaplain. He was a dissident involved in 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Xiong Yan studied at Peking University Law School from 19 ...

Xu Jiatun Xu Jiatun (; 10 March 1916 – 29 June 2016) was a Chinese politician and dissident. He was the Chinese Communist Party secretary of Jiangsu Province from 1977 to 1983 and the Governor of Jiangsu from 1977 to 1979. After sympathising with the 1 ...

Xue Fei (host) Xue Fei () is a Chinese host and educator. Biography After graduating from Communication University of China in 1982, he was assigned to China Central Television to host ''Xinwen Lianbo''. Xue was forced to resign for expressing sympathy when ...

Yan Jiaqi Yan Jiaqi (; born December 25, 1942) is a Chinese political scientist and dissident. Biography Yan was born on 25 December 1942 in Wujin District, Changzhou, Jiangsu, during the Chinese Civil War. In 1959, he entered the University of Science ...

Yang Jianli Yang Jianli (born Lanling County, Linyi, southern Shandong, China, August 15, 1963) is a Chinese dissident with a United States residency. He is the son of a Communist Party leader. Yang was detained in China in 2002 and was released in 2007 ...

* Youming Che * Yu Jie, dissident writer *

Zhang Boli Zhang Boli (, born 1959) is a Chinese dissident. Biography Zhang Boli was born in Wangkui County, Heilongjiang Province. He worked as a journalist after graduating from a three-year college in Heilongjiang Province. He attended a short trai ...

* Zheng Yi (writer) *

Zhou Fengsuo Zhou Fengsuo (; born October 5, 1967) is a Chinese human rights activist, investor, and former student leader during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. He was listed number 5 on the government's most wanted and forced into exile in the Unit ...

References

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External links

* hina: List of Political Prisoners Detained or Imprisoned as of November 5, 2017 (1,414 cases) http://www.cecc.gov/sites/chinacommission.house.gov/files/documents/CECC%20Pris%20List_20171105_1414.pdfbr>List of top Chinese dissidentsHuman Rights in ChinaIFEX: Monitoring Censorship in ChinaPhotos of Chinese dissidents
Chinese dissidents Chinese dissidents

Detained and jailed people

Others

See also

References

External links