Min Liangchen (闵良臣), who writes under the pen name Xie Tian (谢天), is an essayist and commentator from Henan Province. Rights-monitoring records report that he was sentenced in January 2026 to three years in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” in connection with articles published overseas.
Background
Rights Defense Network and Chinese Political Prisoner Concern report that Min was born in August 1956 in Shangcheng County, Xinyang, Henan, and worked for many years as an editor and commentator at Chinese newspapers and literary publications. Those sources attribute to him a large body of essays, reviews and commentary published in mainland and overseas outlets.
2024 detention and 2026 sentence
Monitoring reports state that Min was detained in Zhengzhou in April 2024 and formally arrested on May 8, 2024. Authorities accused him of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” reportedly based on approximately 290 articles published overseas.
In January 2026, the Zhongyuan District Court sentenced him to three years in prison. He appealed, and monitoring organizations report that the Zhengzhou Intermediate People’s Court upheld the verdict.
Prison transfer and status
Rights Defense Network reported in July 2026 that Min had been transferred to Henan No. 2 Prison in Xinxiang. Sources differ slightly on the term endpoint, giving April 2027 or May 7, 2027. This profile preserves that discrepancy rather than selecting one date.
Media Profile & Archive: Min Liangchen / 闵良臣 — Media Profile & Archive.