China: Jailed journalist trial begins amid inhumane detentions

The trial of jailed journalist and women’s rights activist Huang Xueqin has begun after over two years in pre-trial detention, while supporters have raised concerns for jailed citizen journalist Zhang Zhan following her second birthday in custody. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the prolonged detention of the journalists and urges authorities to ensure their immediate release.

Journalists Huang Xueqin (L) and Zhang Zhan (R) have both been in detention since 2020. Credit: Twitter.

Following a long-awaited court appearance on September 19, the trial of independent journalist and #MeToo activist Huang Xueqin and labour rights activist Wang Jianbing commenced on September 22 at the Guangzhou Municipal Procuratorate in China’s south. According to supporters, international observers have been denied entry to the trial, with roads closed, family members restricted from attending, and law enforcement in plain clothes patrolling the area.

Huang Xueqin is reportedly charged with ‘inciting subversion to state power’. In a court notice, prosecutors indicted Huang for the publication of allegedly subversive articles and the organisation of training sessions.

Huang was first detained on September 19, 2021, after attempting to leave for the United Kingdom to study at the University of Sussex on Great Britain’s south coast. Supporters of the journalist raised concerns in February over health issues the journalist has faced in detention, with the journalist said to have suffered vitamin deficiencies, sleep deprivation, emotional stress, and hormonal imbalances, among other ailments.

Xueqin was instrumental in supporting China’s first #MeToo case in 2018, helping to bring forward allegations about a Ph.D. supervisor in Guangzhou.

In a separate incident, reports have emerged of Shanghai citizen journalist Zhang Zhan’s significant health challenges after over two years in detention. Allegedly, ongoing hunger strikes have reduced her weight by half, with Zhan being transferred to a prison hospital in July. Reports by family members to the United States-congress-funded outlet Radio Free Asia in September claim Zhang’s white blood cell count is low, with the journalist allegedly displaying tumour markers.

Zhang Zhan was arrested in 2020, after travelling to Wuhan in Central China to report on the emerging COVID-19 Pandemic. After returning to Shanghai, she was taken into police custody on a charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” in June, before being sentenced in December. She is due for release in May 2024. Since her detention, she has been denied visits from her family.

The IFJ said: “The conditions faced by Huang Xueqin and Zhang Zhan while in custody are contrary to China’s commitments to human rights and press freedom, as have been the opaque legal proceedings for journalists and media workers charged by the state. The IFJ calls on Chinese authorities to withdraw all charges against these journalists and ensure their immediate release.”