Xu Zhiyong

Xu Zhiyong
许志永
Born (1973-03-02) March 2, 1973 (age 51)
Alma materLanzhou University (LLB)
Peking University (PhD)
Occupation(s)Legal scholar, lecturer
EmployerBeijing University of Post and Telecommunications (Previous)
OrganizationOpen Constitution Initiative (Gongmeng)
Known forCivil rights advocacy, advocacy of constitutionalism
MovementNew Citizens Movement
Weiquan movement
Criminal chargesDisruption of public order (Politically motivated)
Subversion
Criminal penaltyImprisonment (4 Years in 2014, 14 Years in 2023)
SpouseCui Zheng (divorced)
Awards
  • Foreign Policy Top 100 Global Thinkers (2013)
  • PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award (2020)

Xu Zhiyong (Chinese: 许志永; pinyin: 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 Initiative and an active rights lawyer in China who campaigned against corruption[1] and helped those underprivileged. He is the main founder and icon of the New Citizens' Movement in China. In January 2014 he was sentenced to four years in prison for "gathering crowds to disrupt public order".[2] He was detained again on February 15, 2020, in the southern city of Guangzhou after two months in hiding, for his participation in a meeting of rights activists and lawyers in Xiamen in December 2019 in which "democratic transition in China" was discussed.[3] He was sentenced for subversion to 14 years in jail on April 10, 2023.[4]

  1. ^ "China activist Liu Yuandong on trial in Guangzhou". BBC News. BBC News. January 24, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  2. ^ "China court sentences Xu Zhiyong to four years in jail". BBC News. January 25, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  3. ^ Xue, Xiaoshan (December 25, 2020). "China to Tighten Political Security Operations Targeting 'Potential' Dissent". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference nyt_20230410 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).