Concerns over China activist Wang Jianbing’s freedom persist following his release – JURIST

China labor activist Wang Jianbing was released from prison on Tuesday after serving a three-and-a-half-year imprisonment sentence. Wang was convicted in 2021 after being found guilty of “inciting subversion of state power” which is an offence under Article 105 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China.

Wang was arrested and tried alongside Huang (Sophia) Xueqin, a #MeToo activist, who was also convicted on a similar charge and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. Both Huang and Wang are subject to a period of deprivation of certain political rights including the right to vote and stand for election, the right to hold a position in a national organ, and the rights to freedom of speech, assembly, and press, in accordance with Article 54 of the Criminal Law. This supplemental punishment is usually granted to persons found guilty of offenses that endanger national security, per Article 56.

Amnesty International stated that the evidence used to convict Wang was based on his role in organizing weekly gatherings, and online posts that were flagged by the Chinese government as “sensitive”. Wang, after his trial in 2021 maintained that his concerns regarded the social issues of migrant workers in China and that he had no intention of subverting state power through activism.

Amnesty International expressed concerns about Chinese authorities harassing activists over the years even after conviction and sentencing. The Director for Amnesty International in China called for the lifting of all arbitrary restrictions on Wang and urged the Chinese authorities to grant him “full enjoyment of his human rights including to freedom of expression and association” after his release.