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Guo Quan (郭泉) — Former Nanjing Normal University associate professor and founder of the China New Democracy Party

Guo Quan (郭泉) — Former Nanjing Normal University associate professor and founder of the China New Democracy Party

Status: Released. Freed on 30 January 2024 after completing a second prison sentence. No new detention had been reported as of 17 October 2026. (Sources: RFA, 1 Feb 2024; Independent Chinese PEN Center; PEN America; interviews published in 在野党 (Opposition Party magazine), March 2026.)

Summary

Guo Quan (郭泉, born 8 May 1968 in Nanjing) is a scholar, former judge and democracy advocate from Jiangsu Province, PRC (Mainland). In late 2007, after publishing open letters to the country’s leaders calling for multi-party elections, he was removed from his post as an associate professor at Nanjing Normal University and announced the founding of the China New Democracy Party (中国新民党). In October 2009 the Suqian Intermediate People’s Court convicted him of “subversion of state power” and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. He was released in November 2018. He was detained again in January 2020 after writing online about the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. In December 2022 he was sentenced to four years for “incitement to subvert state power” and was released on 30 January 2024. In 2012 the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found his first imprisonment arbitrary.

Background

According to a 2026 profile in 在野党 (Opposition Party magazine), Guo Quan entered university in 1987. He worked in a state enterprise and the Nanjing municipal government, and served as a judge at a Nanjing court. He earned a master’s degree (1996) and a doctorate in philosophy (1999) at Nanjing University, completed post-doctoral research at Nanjing Normal University, and then taught there as an associate professor of literature and master’s-student supervisor. He is a Protestant Christian.

On 14 November 2007 he published an open letter to Hu Jintao and Wu Bangguo calling for “multi-party elections under a comprehensive welfare system”. Further letters on laid-off workers, demobilised soldiers and the “re-education through labour” system followed. On 6 December 2007 the university’s Party committee stripped him of his associate professorship and moved him to a library job. On 14 December the state-sanctioned China Democratic League expelled him. On 17 December 2007 he posted the charter of the China New Democracy Party online, with himself as acting chairman. Over the next year he published 347 essays in a series called Herald of Democracy (《民主先声》).

Case timeline

  • 14 Nov 2007 — Publishes open letter to national leaders calling for multi-party elections.
  • 6 Dec 2007 — Removed as associate professor at Nanjing Normal University.
  • 14 Dec 2007 — Expelled from the China Democratic League.
  • 17 Dec 2007 — Announces the China New Democracy Party, as acting chairman.
  • May 2008 — Held for about 10 days after criticising the official response to the Sichuan earthquake (U.S. State Department).
  • 13 Nov 2008 — Criminally detained by Nanjing police on suspicion of subversion.
  • 19 Dec 2008 — Formally arrested.
  • 7 Aug 2009 — Tried by the Suqian Intermediate People’s Court, Jiangsu.
  • 16 Oct 2009 — Convicted of “subversion of state power” and sentenced to 10 years in prison plus 3 years’ deprivation of political rights. According to the court, he organised an “illegal” party online, recruited members and published articles aimed at overthrowing the socialist system. His lawyers argued that his activities were protected by Article 35 of the PRC Constitution.
  • Dec 2009 — The Jiangsu High People’s Court rejects his appeal without opening a hearing.
  • 23 Jan 2012 — His wife Li Jing and their son arrive in the United States. Li Jing testifies before the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China on 14 Feb 2012.
  • 20 Nov 2012 — The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (Opinion No. 59/2012) finds his detention arbitrary and says the remedy is release and compensation.
  • 12 Nov 2018 — Released from Jiangsu Pukou Prison at the end of his sentence.
  • 31 Jan 2020 — Detained again by Nanjing police after writing online about the COVID-19 outbreak. Formally arrested in February 2020 on suspicion of “incitement to subvert state power”.
  • 9 Sep 2021 — Tried by video link. He pleaded not guilty and defended his writings as protected speech.
  • 20 Dec 2022 — Sentenced to four years in prison for “incitement to subvert state power”, after nearly three years in pretrial detention.
  • 30 Jan 2024 — Released from Jiangsu Pukou Prison on completing the sentence, after about 14 years in prison across the two cases.
  • Mar 2026 — Gives interviews to 在野党 (Opposition Party magazine), an overseas democracy magazine, saying he continues to write in the PRC (Mainland).

Current status (as of 17 October 2026)

Released. Guo Quan completed his second sentence on 30 January 2024 and returned home to Nanjing. Interviews published in March 2026 in 在野党 (Opposition Party magazine) indicate he remains in the PRC (Mainland) and continues to write. No new detention had been reported as of 17 October 2026. His circumstances, including any restrictions or surveillance, cannot be independently confirmed.

See also: Guo Quan — Media Profile & Archive

Sources