Zhang Zhongshun (张忠顺)
Mr. Zhang Zhongshun (张忠顺), born August 19, 1967, is a human rights defender from Penglai City, Shandong Province, and a participant in the “12·13 Xiamen Citizens’ Gathering case.” A former teacher at Yantai University and a Fudan University–University of Hong Kong IMBA graduate, he was placed under residential surveillance on December 26, 2019 for attending the December 2019 Xiamen gathering of rights lawyers and activists; after a second round of residential surveillance in September 2022 and criminal detention from January 2023, the Linyi City Intermediate Court tried him in secret in April 2024 and sentenced him in November 2024 to four years and six months in prison for “subversion of state power” and “illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.” He was admitted to Shandong Jiteng Prison in December 2024, where he spent his 59th birthday on August 19, 2026. The Rights Defense Network’s (维权网) monthly political-prisoners report (Issue 131, August 31, 2026) carries him in its in-prison developments bulletin for 25 already-sentenced prisoners, confirming he remains in custody serving his term.
Background
The “12·13 Xiamen Gathering case” (厦门公民聚会案) takes its name from a December 2019 dinner gathering in Xiamen attended by more than twenty rights lawyers and human rights defenders — including legal scholar Xu Zhiyong (许志永) and lawyer Ding Jiaxi (丁家喜) — to discuss social issues. From December 26, 2019, the authorities’ “12.13 special task force” detained participants; Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi were later sentenced to 14 and 12 years respectively after closed trials in April 2023. Amnesty International has designated Xu and Ding prisoners of conscience and called for the release of all those punished for attending the gathering.
The 2007–2010 case
Mr. Zhang’s first imprisonment predates the Xiamen case. While teaching at Yantai University’s School of Economics and Business Administration, he showed a video of the 1989 Tiananmen events during a public-ethics class and was reported by a student’s parent. On August 24, 2007, Laishan District police in Yantai secretly seized him and searched his home; on August 28 he was criminally detained on suspicion of a “cult” offense and held at the Jinan Armed Police General Hospital (Jinan Xinkang Prison); on September 30, 2007 he was formally arrested for “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement” and held at the Yantai City Detention Center. On February 28, 2008 the Laishan District Court sentenced him to three years on the same charge; the Yantai Intermediate Court upheld the verdict on appeal, and he was transferred to a Shandong prison on August 12, 2008. Released in February 2010, he was expelled from Yantai University the following month, and his home was demolished.
The Xiamen gathering case (2019–2024)
In early December 2019, Xu Zhiyong, Ding Jiaxi, and more than twenty other rights lawyers and human rights defenders gathered in Xiamen; Zhang Zhongshun was one of the participants. On December 26, 2019 he was placed under residential surveillance by the “12.13 special task force” on suspicion of “subversion of state power” and released nearly six months later. After he provided testimony to the defense lawyers for Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, Yantai police placed him under residential surveillance a second time on September 23, 2022 on the same charge in the same case, and searched his residence again. On January 9, 2023 he was transferred to the Linshu County Detention Center in Linyi City, Shandong, under criminal detention. In April 2024 the Linyi Intermediate Court tried him in a secret hearing without notifying his family beforehand. In November 2024 the court sentenced him to four years and six months for subversion of state power and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. In December 2024 he was admitted to Shandong Jiteng Prison (山东省济滕监狱).
Current status
The Rights Defense Network’s Issue 131 monthly report (August 31, 2026) lists 张忠顺 in its in-prison developments bulletin (25人狱中动态信息通报) — a section reserved for already-sentenced prisoners with status updates, not new sentences. The bulletin reports that he spent his 59th birthday (August 19, 2026) in prison and confirms he is serving his term at Shandong Jiteng Prison. Amnesty International’s December 2024 statement on the Xiamen case independently records that 张忠顺 was sentenced to four and a half years in November 2024. No release, transfer, sentence change, or appeal outcome has been reported. No release date is stated in any source.
A note on sources
The case chronology above draws on the Rights Defense Network’s (维权网) Issue 131 monthly report in both its Chinese and English editions, corroborated on the sentence, sentencing month, and case linkage by Amnesty International’s December 2024 statement on the Xiamen gathering case. Factual claims — dates, courts, charges, and the prison placement — are recorded here as reported by these publications; no court document, state-media account, or independent wire-service reporting on his individual case was found.
Sources
- Amnesty International, “中国｜五年过去了，2019年厦门聚会案中被判入狱的人权捍卫者必须获释” (December 2024) — Xiamen gathering background; records 张忠顺 sentenced to four and a half years in November 2024
- 维权网 (Rights Defense Network), “维权网：中国大陆在押政治犯、良心犯月度报告（2026年8月31日）第131期” (Chinese edition, August 31, 2026) — full 张忠顺 passage: 59th birthday in prison, 4.5-year sentence, complete bio and case timeline, Shandong Jiteng Prison placement
- 维权网 (Rights Defense Network), English edition of the same report (August 31, 2026) — parallel “Zhang Zhongshun” passage: 59th birthday, four years six months for subversion and illegal firearms possession, 2019/2022 surveillance and 2023 detention timeline
Media profile & archive: Zhang Zhongshun (张忠顺) — Media Profile & Archive
Related case coverage: Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi — fellow 12·13 Xiamen Gathering case defendants.