Wei Xiaobing
Wei Xiaobing (卫小兵) is a human rights defender who advocates for the rights and wellbeing of Chinese farmers and prisoners of conscience. Since 2011, when he joined protests calling for the release of illegally detained human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng, he has led advocacy and food delivery programs for several detained human rights defenders including Tan Zuoren, Huang Qi, Li Xiaoling, and Guo Feixiong. In 2013, Wei Xiaobing assisted over 200 farmers in Lufeng, Guangdong Province in securing their right to compensation following massive crop failures due to faulty seeds sold by a local government office. This amounted to some three million yuan (~€370,000). He has also called for government accountability in the disappearance and unlawful detention of political dissidents and government critics.
Chinese human rights defenders work across a wide spectrum of issues, engaging with rights violators on numerous levels. Many of China’s most prominent and most stringently prosecuted defenders have worked to protect the health and well-being of victims of physically harmful government and corporate practice, including forced abortion, food health scandals, environmental pollution, and corrupt or negligent government action leading to preventable loss of life. Other Chinese HRDs work to protect the economic rights of Chinese citizens, advocating for victims of property appropriation, forced demolition, and violation of labour contracts. Still others take on cases of freedom of expression for China’s ethnic and religious minorities.
