September 24, 2026 — FreeChina.live News & Editorial
Chinese rights defender and Early Rain Covenant Church member Chen Yunfei (陈云飞) was formally arrested by police in Chengdu’s Wenjiang District on September 23 on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” according to reports by Rights Campaign / China Human Rights Service Center and ChinaAid.
The reported arrest came one day before Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s September 24 White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Reuters reported that Trump welcomed Xi to Washington for a state summit on Thursday, their second meeting of 2026.
From administrative detention to formal arrest
According to the September 23 report, Chen was detained while traveling in Gansu on August 5 and given 12 days of administrative detention. When that term expired on August 17, he was transferred to Chengdu police and then held in criminal detention. His relatives reportedly learned from state-security personnel that he had now been formally arrested, but the family had not yet received a written arrest notice at the time of publication.
ChinaAid separately reported the arrest and said Chengdu authorities had not publicly disclosed the specific conduct underlying the accusation.
A long record of detention
Chen, born in 1967, participated in the 1989 democracy movement and later became known for rights advocacy. He was detained in 2015 after taking part in a memorial visit for students killed in the 1989 crackdown, sentenced in 2017 to four years on a “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” charge, and released in 2019. He was detained again in 2021 and received another four-year sentence, which ended in March 2025, according to the Rights Campaign report.
Why the timing matters
The timing places a domestic rights case alongside a highly visible diplomatic summit. Reuters reported that President Trump and Xi were meeting at the White House on September 24 amid talks on the broader U.S.–China relationship.
FreeChina.live will continue to document Chen’s case, including whether his family receives formal notice, whether counsel is permitted access, the factual basis alleged by authorities, and any subsequent prosecution.