Human Rights Watch says several Chinese ‘white paper’ protestors still in detention

Human Rights Watch said in a report on Thursday that several demonstrators who were apprehended for publicly protesting China’s then-current zero-COVID policy remain detained, face charges, or have not been heard from.

Protests erupted across China in late November, calling for an end to the country’s nearly three-year-long strict enforcement of the zero-COVID policy. Many protesters held up blank sheets of white paper as a symbol of their discontent.

Protesters also chanted slogans calling for the ouster of President Xi Jinping or the ruling Communist Party.

Numerous individuals were apprehended and subsequently released, protesters, lawyers and academics told at the time, adding that they were concerned that some could face consequences later.

Human Rights Watch researchers identified four Beijing protestors – editor Cao Zhixin, accountant Li Yuanjing, teacher Zhai Dengrui, and journalist Li Siqi – as having been formally arrested for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a charge punishable by up to five years in prison.

According to Human Rights Watch, the whereabouts of two protestors who demonstrated on Wulumuqi Road in Shanghai, Li Yi and Chen Jialin, are unknown.