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Su Changlan (; born ) is a prominent civil rights activist, who has worked in particular on women's rights, from
Foshan Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...
,
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...
, China.


Background

Su was born in Guangxi, and worked as an elementary school teacher for over a decade. She became involved in human rights activism after local authorities seized farmland in her home village, Sanshan in Foshan, in 2005. She taught herself law, and later began to help other women seek land rights protection. Over the next few years, Su campaigned for improving the government's response to other women's rights issues, including domestic violence, sex trafficking and sexual assault, and provided legal advice to victims in those cases. Between 2014 and 2017 she served a three-year prison sentence in
Nanhai Detention Centre Nanhai () may refer to: *''Nanhai'', the Chinese name for the South China Sea, one of the Four Seas * Nanhai Commandery, the former Chinese administration over Liangguang *''Nanhai'', the Chinese name for the South China Sea Islands *The '' Nanha ...
for "inciting subversion of state power" after posting messages on social media supporting the pro-democracy
Umbrella Movement The Umbrella Movement () was a political movement that emerged during the Hong Kong democracy protests of 2014. Its name arose from the use of umbrellas as a tool for passive resistance to the Hong Kong Police's use of pepper spray to dispe ...
in Hong Kong.


Imprisonment

Su was questioned by police on 12 September and 5 October 2014. On 27 October 2014 she was detained and taken to Nanhai Guicheng local police station by four police officers on suspicion of "
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 ...
". Information about her whereabouts was withheld from her family. On 3 December 2014, Su was formally charged with “inciting subversion” and was tried alongside fellow activist Chen Qitang in the
Foshan City Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of t ...
Intermediate People's Court on 31 March 2017. Su's guilty verdict and three-year sentence, which was dated from the first day of her detention, were announced that same day. On 8 June 2017, the Court denied her request for an appeal hearing. Su was held with between 50 and 70 other inmates in an 80 square-metre cell, with a sleeping space of little more than 50 cm wide, and inadequate hygiene facilities. She suffered from hyperthyroidism, heart arrhythmia, and tremors, and was hospitalized several times during her detention. Authorities denied multiple requests by Su's lawyer for bail on medical grounds. In March 2017, Chinese Human Rights Defenders awarded Su the 2017 Cao Shunli Memorial Award for Human Rights Defenders. On 26 October 2017, Su was released from Nanhai Detention Centre.


International response

Amnesty International considered her a Prisoner of Conscience, held solely for peacefully exercising her human right to freedom of expression. They issued an Urgent Action and campaigned on her behalf. The
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
judged Su's detention as "arbitrary", and called on the Chinese government to release and compensate her.


References


External links


Su Changlan's entry on the Human Rights in China website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Su, Changlan 1970s births Living people Women human rights activists Chinese women activists Chinese women's rights activists Workers' rights activists