Overview
Zhang Xuechun (张雪春) is a rights activist from Shenyang, Liaoning Province, known on WeChat as 海燕 (Haiyan). In August 2017 she was detained by the Shenyang Public Security Bureau’s Heping Branch on suspicion of “gathering to disrupt social order” after she took part in a collective petition in Beijing accusing local police of illegally detaining petitioners. The procuratorate approved her arrest in September 2017, and she was held at the Shenyang City No. 1 Detention Center. There has been no publicly reported news of her since.
The Beijing petition
On July 31, 2017, Zhang Xuechun traveled to Beijing as one of the elected representatives of more than 200 petitioners to submit complaints to the Ministry of Public Security and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, accusing local public-security organs of illegally detaining and re-educating through labor petitioners who had traveled to appeal their grievances, according to the CHRD Prisoners of Conscience database and reports in 访民之声 (Petitioners’ Voice). According to her daughter’s account, the representatives met with reception officials, caused no disturbance, and returned to Shenyang afterward.
Detention and arrest
On August 10, 2017, plainclothes personnel began watching Zhang Xuechun’s home, according to a report by her daughter Zhang Xin (张鑫）. The following day, August 11, officers of the Shenyang Public Security Bureau’s Heping Branch took her away; her phone was seized. The police notified the family that she had been placed under criminal detention on suspicion of “gathering to disrupt social order” (聚众扰乱社会秩序罪） in connection with the July 31 petition activity, and she was sent to the Shenyang City No. 1 Detention Center. On September 13, 2017, the procuratorate approved her formal arrest.
Lawyer access and family response
Zhang Xin retained a lawyer for her mother, but the lawyer was refused meetings at the detention center on four occasions, according to the reporting. The family maintained that her conduct in Beijing was lawful petitioning and prepared to challenge the case. No further public information about the case — whether it proceeded to trial, resulted in a sentence, or ended in release — has been found; the CHRD database record notes that there has been no news since (后音信全无）.
Status
Zhang Xuechun was last verifiably reported in custody in September 2017, detained without trial. The August 31, 2026 monthly report of the Rights Defense Network (维权网） lists her in the “detained without trial” (羁押未判） group among the political prisoners and prisoners of conscience it reports as currently in custody, but no independent confirmation of her situation since 2017 has been found. Her current whereabouts and custody status cannot be verified.
Sources and documentation
- 访民之声 (Petitioners’ Voice), August 25, 2017 — “辽宁张雪春参加集体访被以’聚众扰乱社会秩序罪’刑拘”: reports the August 11, 2017 detention, the surveillance of her home the night before, the seizure of her phone, and the blocked lawyer meetings, based on the account of her daughter Zhang Xin. Report
- 民生观察 (Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch), September 21, 2017 — “集体控告公安局违法 辽宁访民张雪春被逮捕”: reports the September 13, 2017 arrest approval, the police’s view that she was an organizer of the collective complaint to the public-security ministry and the procuratorate, and the four blocked lawyer meetings. Report
- Chinese Human Rights Defenders, Prisoners of Conscience database — record for 张雪春 / ZHANG XUE CHUN: female rights activist; detained August 11, 2017; arrest approved September 13, 2017; held at the Shenyang City No. 1 Detention Center; no sentence, no release date; no news since. CHRD Prisoners of Conscience database (search by name)
- Rights Defense Network (维权网）, Issue 131 monthly report, August 31, 2026 — lists 张雪春 in the “detained without trial” (羁押未判） group, Liaoning, among political prisoners and prisoners of conscience reported in custody. Issue 131 report
A note on sources: the charge is stated as it was given at the detention stage by the authorities and reported by the cited outlets; no conviction has been documented. Accounts attributed to family members are identified as such.
Full media archive and source record for Zhang Xuechun (张雪春）