Ji Xiaolong (季孝龙), also known in some English-language reporting as Harvey Ji, is a Shanghai-based rights activist. He has been in state custody since August 31, 2022 and was sentenced on October 27, 2023 to four years and six months in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
Ji was detained two days after publishing an open letter, issued as a blockchain NFT to resist censorship, calling on then-Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang to take responsibility for the city’s strict spring 2022 COVID lockdown and the hardship it caused residents. The letter also restated his earlier opposition to the constitutional amendment removing presidential term limits.
Ji was formally arrested on September 23, 2022. The Pudong New District Procuratorate indicted him on March 17, 2023. He was tried at the Shanghai Pudong New District Court on June 21, 2023 and sentenced on October 27, 2023 to four years and six months. Ji appealed; a second trial took place on March 21, 2024. The outcome of the appeal has not been publicly documented in the sources reviewed here.
Ji had previously faced detention for his activism. In 2015 he was administratively detained for ten days. In July 2018 he wrote political slogans in public toilets in Shanghai during the “Toilet Revolution” campaign. He was detained on July 27, 2018 and later sentenced in January 2019 to three years and six months for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” serving the term at Baimaoling Prison until February 9, 2022.
During the spring 2022 lockdown, Ji was repeatedly summoned by police over his criticism of the authorities’ handling of the restrictions. His father, Ji Xinghua, attended his trial and publicly supported his son’s actions, according to Radio Free Asia.
Supporters and lawyers have also reported overcrowding, dental-treatment problems, and abuse in detention. Those allegations have not been independently verified and are presented here as source claims.
Rights Defense Network’s Issue 131 roster, dated August 31, 2026, lists Ji Xiaolong among reported current-custody cases.
Related reading: Ji Xiaolong (季孝龙): Media Profile & Archive