Zan Aizong (昝爱宗), born in October 1969 in Taihe County, Anhui, is an independent writer and former journalist who has long lived in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. He previously worked for China Ocean News, including as head of its Zhejiang reporter station, and has written on freedom of expression, press freedom, religion and civil liberties.
Media record: Zan Aizong — Media Profile & Archive.
Writing and public activity
Zan has been identified by PEN organizations as a writer and journalist and is a member of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre. Radio Free Asia documented his public advocacy for press freedom as early as 2009. Reporters Without Borders’ copy of Charter 08 lists Zan among its signatories as a Zhejiang journalist.
His public activity repeatedly brought restrictions and police attention. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that authorities placed him in seven days of administrative detention in August 2006 after he wrote about clashes involving Christians protesting a church demolition. Radio Free Asia reported in March 2009 that authorities prevented him from traveling to Hong Kong for a writers’ conference.
2024 detention and 2026 sentence
On July 13, 2024, Zan joined others at the Qiantang River estuary in Haining, Zhejiang, to commemorate Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo on the seventh anniversary of his death. Police took several participants away the following day. Zan and Zou Wei remained detained; Zan was formally criminally detained on July 20 and arrested on August 29 on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
On February 13, 2026, a Hangzhou court sentenced Zan to three years’ imprisonment. Radio Free Asia reported the verdict on February 19. PEN America lists his case as active and his status as imprisoned. Rights Defense Network reporting, republished by China Truth, states that he was transferred on May 14, 2026 from Gongshu District Detention Center to Hangzhou Dongjiao Prison and gives a projected sentence end date of July 19, 2027. Those custody details are source-attributed and may change.
Why this case matters
Zan’s record spans journalism, independent writing, religious freedom concerns and peaceful memorial activity. His imprisonment followed a commemorative gathering and publication of photographs from that gathering. PEN International has called for his conviction to be overturned and for his immediate and unconditional release.