A Chinese human rights activist serving a three-year prison sentence in Henan Province has been placed under heightened surveillance as he continues to challenge his conviction, with his family saying prison officials monitored his latest visit and restricted what he could share about conditions inside the facility.
Xing Wangli, convicted of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a broadly worded offense often used against dissidents, was recently transferred to the medical ward in prison, where he has been assigned laundry work.
During a visit on Nov. 10, Xing’s wife and lawyer were allegedly subjected to surveillance by prison security personnel, according to Xing’s son. They said the authorities described Xing as resisting prison rehabilitation, while repeatedly denying reports, including by The Epoch Times, about his mistreatment.
Xing’s son, Xing Jian, who lives in exile in New Zealand, told The Epoch Times that prison officials appeared to deliberately delay the visit by meeting with the lawyer first. His mother also said the meeting was shorter than previous visits.
“What they call resisting rehabilitation is actually that my father has never considered himself a criminal,” Xing Jian said.
“He insists on appealing against the wrongful judgment and protesting the unlawful ruling. As a result, he refuses prison labor, does not comply with the prison’s unreasonable demands, refuses to admit guilt, and continues to appeal his conviction.”
Disturbing Prison Visit
Xing Jian said his mother, Xu Jincui, visited the prison and asked how her husband was being treated. His father replied that prison officials had forbidden him from discussing his living conditions and only told her that he had been transferred to the medical ward to do laundry.
Xu urged him to stop working, but he told her that prison labor could help reduce his sentence and asked her to raise the possibility of a sentence reduction with prison officials.
When she subsequently approached prison officials about a possible sentence reduction, they told her that he would have to admit guilt to qualify.
Xing Jian said seven or eight other families were visiting prisoners in the same hall, but prison officials assigned a separate security officer to monitor only his mother’s meeting with Xing Wangli.
Xing Jian said the family’s lawyer had also faced pressure and threats from prison officials before meeting his father. During the meeting with prison authorities, the lawyer raised alleged legal violations by the police who handled the case, but prison security personnel repeatedly insisted that Xing Wangli was resisting rehabilitation.
Xing Jian said the monitoring appeared to violate China’s revised Prison Law, which took effect on Nov. 1. Article 70 states that meetings with their defense lawyers must not be monitored.
“Having prison officials meet with the lawyer and talk to him before the visit makes it difficult not to suspect that they were exerting pressure to prevent Xing Wangli from revealing the true difficulties of life inside the prison,” Xing Jian said.
He added that authorities should investigate the alleged monitoring of the lawyer’s meeting and hold those responsible accountable.
During the latest meeting, Xing Wangli again told his lawyer he intended to appeal his conviction and asked for a copy of his appeal petition, according to Xing Jian. The lawyer also asked whether Xing Wangli had received an appeal document previously mailed to him while he was held in prison. Xing Wangli said he had not received it.
Convicted After Recording Petitioner’s Arrest
Xing Wangli was detained after recording an incident involving a local petitioner in February 2025.
On the morning of Feb. 18, 2025, petitioner Yu Jun from Xixian County, Henan Province, was preparing to leave Xing Wangli’s home with several other local petitioners when government personnel allegedly used force to stop him outside the residence, knocking him to the ground.
Xing Wangli recorded the incident on his cellphone and called the Xixian County Public Security Bureau to report it.
The bureau’s public security division subsequently detained him on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Authorities later formally arrested him and filed charges.
The Xixian County Court first heard the case on May 13, 2025. However, after deliberating on the case, the court converted the hearing into a pretrial conference. According to Xing Jian, the case had no identifiable victim, police report, or formal case-filing documents.
The trial resumed on July 18, 2025. Despite the absence of a victim and witnesses, prosecutor Cui Shulin continued with the prosecution and recommended a prison sentence of four and a half to five years, according to Xing Jian.
In late August 2025, presiding judge Xu Weicheng sentenced Xing Wangli to three years in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” according to Xing Jian.
Xing Wangli has continued to challenge the conviction, maintaining that he was wrongfully imprisoned.
Previously, authorities arrested and jailed Xing Wangli in 2021 for nearly three years over libel against government officials. Before that, authorities also detained him multiple times for his rights advocacy.
Li Xi contributed to this report.
