Wang Lizhen (王丽珍), born 1978, is a rights petitioner (维权访民) from Liujia Village, Zhangdian District, Zibo City, Shandong Province. She became a petitioner after the forced demolition of her parents’ home and has been repeatedly detained in connection with her petitioning activity. As of August 31, 2026, she was listed by Rights Defense Network (维权网) among mainland China’s political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in custody, classified as detained without trial in Shandong.
Background
Wang’s family home was demolished by the local government in September 2016. Her father, Wang Yuyang, petitioned against the demolition and was subsequently detained; in March 2017 the Zhangdian District Court in Zibo sentenced him to four years in prison on a charge of “picking quarrels and provoking troubles” (寻衅滋事罪). He was released upon completing his sentence on May 18, 2020. Wang Lizhen began petitioning on her father’s behalf and for restitution of the family property, and she was herself subjected to repeated detention over the following years.
According to a case brief published by Rights Defense Network’s information center on May 10, 2023, Wang was taken away for questioning by police in Zibo’s Zhangdian District in November 2017 after she publicized a demolition standoff online, and was placed under criminal detention on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking troubles.” In January 2021 she issued a public video appeal about her father’s case and was again subjected to police harassment, including nighttime visits and a power cutoff at her home.
2023 detention
On April 29, 2023, Wang Lizhen was detained by the Zhangdian branch of the Zibo Public Security Bureau on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking troubles” and held at the Zibo City Detention Center (淄博市看守所). The detention followed her circulation, in WeChat groups, of a video recorded by her father accusing local officials in connection with the family’s long-unresolved demolition case. Radio Free Asia reported the detention on May 6, 2023, citing the monitoring organization Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch (民生观察).
On May 13, 2023, Wang was released on bail pending trial (取保候审), as reported by Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch on May 18, 2023. That report noted that a similar detention seven years earlier had also ended with bail, and that the underlying case had never been formally resolved or dropped.
Status
Rights Defense Network’s monthly report on political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in custody in mainland China, Issue 131 (August 31, 2026), lists Wang Lizhen in its “detained without trial” category for Shandong, classifying her as in custody at that date. No trial, conviction, or sentence has been publicly documented in her case.
Note on status: the most recent independent status report dates from May 2023 (bail release) and August 2026 (listed in custody); no public source confirms her whereabouts after August 31, 2026.
Sources
- Rights Defense Network (维权网), Monthly Report on Political Prisoners and Prisoners of Conscience in Custody in Mainland China, Issue 131 (August 31, 2026), § “Detained without trial” — Shandong group.
- CHRD Prisoners of Conscience Database (tenchu.org), entry for 王丽珍 / WANG LI ZHEN (record entered June 1, 2023).
- Rights Defense Network Information Center, “Case and biography of Wang Lizhen, criminally detained rights defender of Zibo, Shandong” (维权网官方博客, May 10, 2023).
- Radio Free Asia, “Shandong rights defender Wang Lizhen criminally detained on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking troubles” (May 6, 2023).
- Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch (民生观察), “Wang Lizhen released on bail on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking troubles” (May 18, 2023).
Note: The 2023 detention details rest on reporting by Rights Defense Network, Radio Free Asia, and Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch; no court judgment, trial record, or official procedural document for her case has been publicly located. Her father Wang Yuyang is a distinct person. Same-name historical records from 2000 (Shibu Town) and 2005 (Zhaoqing, Guangdong) have been assessed as different persons and are excluded here.
Media archive: Wang Lizhen (王丽珍) — Media Archive