Xu Caihong
Xu Caihong is a Beijing-based human rights defender who has been detained numerous times over the past number of years because of her activism. She has assisted people who have travelled to Beijing to petition the central authorities following transgressions of their rights and has previously participated in commemorations of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Human rights defenders in China work in an extremely hostile environment and under President Xi Jinping they have seen the space in which to operate further restricted. Chinese HRDs are active in many spheres, and they include lawyers, journalists, academics, transparency campaigners, housing and land rights activists, bloggers, writers, HIV/AIDS activists and those promoting the rights of ethnic minorities. Regardless of the issues they work on, HRDs who highlight abuses, challenge the authorities or network to support detained colleagues all face reprisals from the government. These range from almost daily harassment and intimidation of family members to detentions, disappearances, torture and imprisonment.
