This archive gathers the available reporting on the case of Guo Xingmei （郭兴梅）, a Chongqing rights activist sentenced to three years in prison on October 30, 2025, and transferred to Chongqing Daping Prison on January 21, 2026.
Case chronology
- April 2003: Land and homes are seized in Heishizui, Ertang, Jingkou Town, Shapingba District, Chongqing — the start of her petitioning.
- May 20, 2024: Guo Xingmei attends a citizens’ dinner celebrating Lai Ching-te’s inauguration as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan); a video of the gathering circulates online.
- June 28, 2024: Criminally detained by Chongqing Shapingba police on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”; held at Shapingba detention center.
- August 3, 2024: Formally arrested (approval by the Yubei District People’s Procuratorate; executed by Shapingba police).
- November 2, 2024: Shapingba police transfer the case to the Yubei procuratorate for review and prosecution. The prosecution alleges that between 2018 and 2020 she used X (Twitter) and Weibo accounts to spread false information that was widely forwarded and commented on, and that she disrupted public order in public places.
- December 2024 – May 2025: The review-and-prosecution period is extended three times (December 3–17, 2024; February 17 – March 3, 2025; May 4–18, 2025), and the case is twice returned to police for supplementary investigation (December 17, 2024 – January 16, 2025; March 3 – April 3, 2025) over unclear facts and insufficient evidence.
- July 1, 2025: The procuratorate formally indicts and transfers the case to the Yubei District People’s Court.
- July 29, 2025: Trial at the Yubei District People’s Court (one family member admitted; supporters turned away).
- October 30, 2025, 14:30: First-instance verdict — 3 years’ imprisonment for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” The prosecution charged her over 23 X (Twitter) posts from two accounts.
- January 21, 2026: Transferred from the Yubei detention center to Chongqing Daping Prison （重庆市大坪监狱一监区）, per family information.
Archived reports
- 民生观察 (Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch), July 2, 2024 — “重庆郭兴梅因发布聚餐视频被刑拘”: first independent report of the June 28, 2024 detention, the detention notice details, the May 20 dinner-video link, and her petitioning history from 2003 onward. The strongest single media source on the detention. https://msguancha.com/a/lanmu4/2024/0702/23591.html
- 民生观察， February 4, 2026 — “郭兴梅被送入大坪监狱服刑”: sentencing and transfer record — trial date, verdict, term dates, the 23-post X prosecution basis, the extension/supplementary-investigation timeline, and the Daping Prison address and mailing address. The strongest single source on the sentence and current facility. https://msguancha.com/a/lanmu4/2026/0204/25078.html
- CHRD Prisoners of Conscience database — 郭兴梅 / Guo Xingmei record (entered 2024-08-17; updated through the January 21, 2026 transfer): the identity anchor — exact name match, birth date, address, and the sequential case record from the 2003 land seizure through sentencing and transfer. https://tenchu.org
Evidentiary limitations
- The stated end of the three-year term differs by one day between sources: CHRD records the term to 2027.6.27; 民生观察 states 2024.6.27–2027.6.26. Both agree on a three-year term from late June 2024; the discrepancy is recorded as stated by each source, not resolved.
- The indictment narrative — the prosecution’s framing of her X posts and public-order disruption — is reported only by CHRD; it is the prosecution’s stated case, not an independently verified finding.
- Whether an appeal was filed against the October 30, 2025 verdict: no source reports an appeal.
- Independent corroboration of the January 21, 2026 prison transfer, beyond the family’s report as carried by 民生观察， was not located.
- No PRC state-media, court-published judgment, or diplomatic/consular coverage of this case was located; the 2024–2025 detention, trial, and sentencing are documented only by monitoring sources.
Return to the Guo Xingmei （郭兴梅） person profile.