Joint Statement September 15, 2026
China: Ensure Sophia Huang Xueqin’s Release and Guarantee Her Freedom from Arbitrary Restrictions
As journalist and prominent #MeToo activist Sophia Huang Xueqin approaches the end of her unjust five-year prison sentence, we, the undersigned civil society organizations, call on the Chinese authorities to ensure her immediate release and guarantee that, once released, she can carry out her journalism and human rights work without surveillance, harassment, retaliation or other restrictions.
Sophia Huang Xueqin is widely recognized for her work on human rights and commitment to press freedom. She is a journalist and one of the most prominent figures associated with China’s #MeToo movement. For years, she reported on and advocated for gender equality and supported survivors of sexual harassment and gender-based violence.
In September 2021, Sophia was preparing to start graduate studies in the UK. However, she and a friend, human and labour rights activist Wang Jianbing, were arrested in Guangzhou, China on 19 September, and detained incommunicado for more than five months. While in detention, both Sophia and Jianbing were reportedly subjected to ill-treatment, with negative impacts on their health.
During their trial in September 2023, the prosecution focused on their role in co-organizing weekly gatherings with fellow activists, as well as their participation in an online course on non-violence and online posts they had published or shared on issues deemed “sensitive” by the Chinese government.
Their convictions in June 2024 for “inciting subversion of state power” were based solely on the permissible exercise of their human rights, including the rights to freedom of the press and expression as well as association. Their case is emblematic of the Chinese government’s ongoing crackdown on journalists, human rights defenders, feminist activists and civil society voices calling for social justice and respect for human rights.
Wang, who was sentenced to three and a half years, was released in March 2025.
While Sophia Huang Xueqin is expected to be released on 18 September, we are concerned that she will face restrictions after leaving prison. She was subject to a “supplemental sentence” of four years’ deprivation of political rights, a punishment that is routinely imposed on human rights defenders and journalists to restrict their ability to speak, publish and organize long after their prison terms end. The legal provisions permitting this punishment are incompatible with international human rights standards, not to mention the fact that no one should be punished simply for exercising their human rights.
We call on the Chinese authorities to:
- Ensure Sophia Huang Xueqin is released immediately and is not subjected to any further arbitrary detention and allowed to move freely;
- Guarantee her rights to freedom of expression, press, association and peaceful assembly, alongside her right to participate in public life, including her ability to communicate freely with family, friends, supporters and civil society groups;
- Ensure she is not subjected to surveillance, harassment, intimidation, retaliation or restrictions on her movement and communications; and
- Amend domestic laws, notably the Criminal Law, to ensure their compliance with international law and standards, and prevent the misuse of legal provisions to restrict the rights of human rights defenders and others.
Sophia Huang Xueqin’s journalism and advocacy have inspired countless people both inside and outside China. Sophia Huang Xueqin should never have been imprisoned for her human rights and journalism work. As she approaches the end of her sentence, she deserves not only release, but freedom from any and all undue restrictions on her rights.
Signatory organizations:
1. Alliance for Citizens Rights
2. Amnesty International
3. ARTICLE 19
4. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
5. Bay Area Friends of Tibet
6. Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM)
7. Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association (CamboJA)
8. Center for Uyghur Studies (CUS)
9. China Deviants
10. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
11. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
12. Dandelion Solidarity
13. European Values Center for Security Policy (EVC)
14. Fortify Rights
15. Freedom House
16. Front Line Defenders
17. Georgetown Center for Asian Law
18. Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities
19. GreatFire
20. Grupo de Apoio ao Tibete-Portugal
21. Hong Kong Committee in Norway
22. Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor
23. Hong Kong Media Overseas
24. Hong Kong Watch
25. Hongkonger in Deutschland e.V. 香港人在德國協會
26. Hongkongers in Britain (HKB)
27. Hongkongers in Lothians
28. Human Rights Foundation (HRF)
29. Human Rights in China (HRIC)
30. Human Rights Watch
31. Humanitarian China
32. Independent Chinese PEN Center (ICPC)
33. Index on Censorship
34. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
35. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
36. International Tibet Network
37. International Women’s Media Foundation
38. Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV)
39. Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD)
40. No Business With Genocide
41. Northern California Hong Kong Club
42. PEN America
43. PEN Nederland
44. PEN Sweden
45. Reading UK Stands with HK
46. Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
47. Safeguard Defenders (SD)
48. Santa Barbara Friends of Tibet
49. Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center
50. Students for a free Tibet -India
51. Students for A Free Tibet Oslo
52. Students For a Free Tibet, Japan
53. Swedish Tibet Committee
54. Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR)
55. The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation
56. The Rights Practice
57. Tibet Initiative Deutschland e.V.
58. Viet Tan
59. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
60. World Uyghur Congress (WUC)
Facts Only
* Sophia Huang Xueqin is approaching the end of a five-year prison sentence.
* Civil society organizations call on Chinese authorities to ensure her immediate release.
* They request that upon release, she can carry out journalism and human rights work without surveillance, harassment, retaliation, or other restrictions.
* In September 2021, Sophia and Wang Jianbing were arrested in Guangzhou and detained incommunicado for more than five months.
* Both individuals reportedly experienced ill-treatment during detention.
* During their trial in September 2023, the prosecution focused on their role in co-organizing weekly gatherings and participation in an online course and posts deemed "sensitive" by the Chinese government.
* They were convicted in June 2024 for "inciting subversion of state power."
* The convictions were based on permissible exercise of human rights, including freedom of the press, expression, and association.
* Wang Jianbing was sentenced to three and a half years and was released in March 2025.
* Sophia Huang Xueqin is expected to be released on September 18.
* Advocates cite a "supplemental sentence" of four years of deprivation of political rights imposed on human rights defenders and journalists.
Executive Summary
Journalist and #MeToo activist Sophia Huang Xueqin is approaching the end of a five-year prison sentence in China and civil society organizations are calling for her immediate release. These organizations request that Chinese authorities ensure she is released and free from any further restrictions upon release, allowing her to pursue journalism and human rights work without surveillance or retaliation.
Sophia Huang Xueqin is recognized for her work on human rights and press freedom, including advocating for gender equality and supporting survivors of harassment. In September 2021, she and Wang Jianbing were arrested in Guangzhou and detained incommunicado for over five months, reportedly facing ill-treatment. Their trial in September 2023 focused on their involvement in organizing gatherings and participation in online activities deemed sensitive by the Chinese government. They were convicted in June 2024 for "inciting subversion of state power," convictions based on exercising rights to freedom of expression and association.
The advocates express concern that Sophia Huang Xueqin may face restrictions after her release, citing a "supplemental sentence" of four years of deprivation of political rights, which they argue is incompatible with international human rights standards. They call for the Chinese authorities to guarantee her rights to freedom of expression, press, association, and peaceful assembly, as well as freedom of movement and communication. Furthermore, they request amendments to domestic laws, such as the Criminal Law, to align them with international law to prevent the misuse of legal provisions against human rights defenders.
Full Take
The narrative functions by framing the legal process—specifically a conviction for "inciting subversion of state power"—as an unjust punitive action against exercising fundamental human rights, particularly freedom of expression and association. The core tension lies between the state's assertion of sovereignty and the international norms governing the protection of civil society actors within that state.
The pattern observed is the strategic deployment of legal terminology (like "inciting subversion") to delegitimize legitimate advocacy work by journalists and activists, positioning their exercise of rights as an act of political threat rather than a protected liberty. The demand for amendments to domestic law connects the specific case to a broader structural critique: that existing legal frameworks are incompatible with international human rights standards, suggesting a systemic disregard for established global norms in sentencing human rights defenders.
The implication is that freedom is not guaranteed by the sentence length alone; the true restriction lies in the post-release environment—the threat of arbitrary detention or post-release restrictions, symbolized by the supplementary political deprivation. This forces an analysis of cognitive sovereignty: how can activists and journalists operate within a system where judicial outcomes are divorced from international human rights commitments? The call for security and freedom over mere release suggests that the primary objective is not absolution but establishing a functional space for future agency, challenging the premise that state control over narrative equates to legitimate governance.
Bridge Questions: What specific mechanisms exist for civil society organizations to effectively challenge post-release restrictions imposed by the Chinese state? How can international legal frameworks be more immediately enforceable in preventing supplementary political penalties against dissidents? What alternative narratives of justice must be developed to account for the lived realities of activists who operate under severe constraints on expression and assembly?