Ding Jiaxi ( zh, s=丁家喜; born 17 August 1967) is a Chinese civil rights activist known for co-organizing the New Citizens' Movement advocating for political change in China. Ding was detained, along with other human rights activists, in 2019 after having a dinner together in

Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

with other human rights activists to discuss social issues. He was then sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2022 for subversion of state power. According to Ding's wife, evidence for charges against Ding and other detainees include "participating in a

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

group chat, articles and online posts, and organizing classes in non-violent resistance." Ding was the recipient of the U.S.

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

's Global Human Rights Defender Award in 2023. In 2024, Ding was nominated for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

due to his "commitment to human rights and peace in China" by the chairs of

Congressional-Executive Commission on China The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) is an independent agency of the U.S. government which monitors human rights and rule of law developments in the People's Republic of China. The commission was given the mandate by the U.S. C ...

Conviction

In June 2022, Ding and

Xu Zhiyong Xu Zhiyong ( zh, s=许志永, p=Xǔ Zhìyǒng; born March 2, 1973) is a Chinese civil rights activist and formerly a lecturer at the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications. He was one of the founders of the NGO Open Constitution I ...

were given prison sentences for 14 and 12 years, respectively, after a closed-door trial in June 2022. The convictions were described as farcical by

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

International response

Before Ding's conviction, on 18 March 2022 ahead of the EU–China summit, NGOs including

World Uyghur Congress The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is a international organization of exiled Uyghur groups that claims to "represent the collective interest of the Uyghur people" both inside and outside of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's ...

, and

Front Line Defenders Front Line Defenders, or The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, is an Irish-based human rights organisation founded in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in 2001 to protect those who work non-violently to uph ...

sent a joint letter to the Presidents of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

and

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

, urging the EU and its member states to, among other things, publicly call for the release of detained human rights defenders in China, including Ding. The

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

Volker Türk Volker Türk (born 27 August 1965) is an Austrian lawyer and United Nations official. He has been the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights since October 2022. Career Early years In 1991, Türk became a UN Junior Professional Officer and ha ...

stated in April 2023 that "I am very concerned that two prominent human rights defenders in China – Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong – have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, at variance with international human rights law standards." Ding, along with Xu and human rights lawyer

Chow Hang-tung Tonyee Chow Hang-tung (; born 24 January 1985) is a Hong Kong activist, barrister and politician. During the crackdown by authorities on the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which began in June 2021 and ...

, received the

Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) is an association gathering together bar associations of 32 countries in Europe (those of the European Union, of the European Economic Area and of Switzerland), The United Kingdom, and an add ...

(CCBE) Human Rights Award 2023 for their "courage, determination and commitment to defending human rights and the rule of law in China". CCBE President Panagiotis Perakis stated that "European lawyers will continue to closely monitor the situation and support their Chinese colleagues who need help. We will never accept that lawyers are targeted because of their legitimate activities as lawyers." Ding was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024 by chairs of the

Christopher Smith and

Jeff Merkley Jeffrey Alan Merkley (born October 24, 1956) is an American politician who is the junior United States senator from Oregon. He was first elected to the Senate in 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1999 to 2009 as the repres ...

, commending on Ding's "deep commitment to human rights and peace in China".

References

Living people Chinese human rights activists Chinese anti-communists Chinese dissidents Weiquan movement Chinese prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of the People's Republic of China 1967 births People from Hubei {{China-activist-stub

Conviction

International response

See also

References