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 Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

and other high-profile individuals from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

who are known for their criticism of the

Chinese government The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...

or its policies.

Detained and jailed people

Many Chinese political

activists Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

have been detained or jailed or exiled for their pro-democracy or rights defending activities. They include the following notable activists.

Others

Michael Anti (journalist) Jing Zhao (, born 1975), also known by his pen name Michael Anti, is a Chinese journalist and political blogger, recognized for his posts about freedom of the press in China. He has been described in mid-2000s as "at one time perhaps the most fa ...

, proponent of freedom of the press in China * Chai Ling * Chang Ping * Chaohua Wang *

Chen Guangcheng Chen Guangcheng (born November 12, 1971) is a Chinese civil rights activist who has worked on human rights issues in rural areas of the People's Republic of China. Blind from an early age and self-taught in the law, Chen is frequently describ ...

* Dong Yaoqiong *

Fang Lizhi Fang Lizhi (; 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 of 1986–87 and ...

* Feng Congde * Feng Zhenghu *

Gao Xingjian Gao Xingjian ( zh, 高行健; born January 4, 1940) is a Chinese émigré and later French naturalized novelist, playwright, critic, painter, photographer, film director, and translator who in 2000 was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature, ...

, recipient of the 2000

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

* Gao Yu (journalist) *

Gao Zhisheng Gao Zhisheng (born 20 April 1964) is a Chinese Human rights law, human rights attorney and dissident known for defending activists and religious minorities and documenting Human rights in the People's Republic of China, human rights abuses in ...

Gui Minhai Gui Minhai (, formerly ; born 5 May 1964), also known as Michael Gui, is a Hong Kong-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 du ...

, 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 Cantonese language, Cantonese name Ho Wan Kwok (), Miles Guo, and Miles Kwok, is a self-exiled Chinese billionaire businessman, political activism, politica ...

, also known as Miles Guo * Han Dongfang * Jiao Guobiao, former professor of

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

and the author of ''Denouncing the Central Propaganda Department (of the Communist Party of China)'' * Li Hongkuan * Li Lu * Li Qiaochu * Lin Zhao, critic of Mao Zedong, executed during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

Li Zehou Li Zehou ( zh, s=李泽厚, hp=; 13 June 1930 – 2 November 2021) was a Chinese scholar of philosophy and intellectual history. He is considered an influential modern scholar of Chinese history and culture whose work was central to the period ...

, scholar of philosophy and intellectual history *

Liu Binyan Liu Binyan (; 7 February 1925 – 5 December 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 (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, writer and critic of censorship * Shen Tong * Su Changlan * Su Xiaokang * Tang Baiqiao * 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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' about his concerns over the current state of Tibetan culture and language in China. * Teacher Li Is Not Your Teacher * 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 criminal offense in the People's Republic of China. Law The crime first appeared under Articl ...

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

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

and

Li Keqiang Li Keqiang ( zh, s=李克强, p=Lǐ Kèqiáng; 3 July 1955 – 27 October 2023) was a Chinese economist and politician who served as the seventh premier of China from 2013 to 2023. He was also the second-ranked member of the Politburo Standing ...

Wang Ruowang Wang Ruowang (; 4 February 1918 – 19 December 2001) was a Chinese author and dissident who was imprisoned various times for political reasons by both the Kuomintang and the Communist government of China for advocating reform and liberalizat ...

* Harry Wu *

Wu'erkaixi Uerkesh Davlet (; zh, 吾尔开希·多莱特), commonly known by his pinyin name Wu'er Kaixi, is a Chinese political commentator known for his leading role during the Tiananmen protests of 1989. Uerkesh achieved prominence while studying at B ...

* Xie Wanjun, founding member of the

Democracy Party of China The China Democracy Party (CDP; ), also known as 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). The history of the DPC and its foundatio ...

Xiong Yan (dissident) Xiong Yan ( zh, c=熊焱; 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 S ...

* Xu Jiatun * Xue Fei (host) *

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 * Youming Che *

Yu Jie Yu Jie ( zh, c=余杰), is a Chinese-American writer and Calvinist democracy activist. The bestselling author of more than 30 books, Yu was described by the ''New York Review of Books'' in 2012 as "one of China's most prominent essayists and cr ...

, dissident writer * Zhang Boli * Zheng Yi (writer) * Zhou Fengsuo * Weiping Qin

References

{{Reflist, 33em

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 This list consists of activists who are known as Chinese dissidents. The label is primarily applied to intellectuals and other high-profile individuals from China who are known for their criticism of the Chinese government or its policies. Deta ...

Detained and jailed people

Others

See also

References

External links