FCM-PR-2026-10-05-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 5, 2026
WASHINGTON — The Free China Movement is calling for immediate transparency and medical access for Chinese entrepreneur and political prisoner Ren Zhiqiang following new reports that he is alive but in extremely poor health.
Journalist Akio Yaita said on October 5 that a trusted source had confirmed Ren is alive. Yaita reported that Ren, 75, had previously been suspected of having prostate cancer, repeatedly sought further examination and surgery, and is now in markedly deteriorated health. These medical details have not been independently verified by the Free China Movement, and current reports conflict on Ren’s precise custodial location.
Those uncertainties make official transparency more urgent, not less.
The Free China Movement calls on the authorities in mainland China to:
- publicly disclose Ren Zhiqiang’s current location and custodial status;
- release accurate and current medical information, with Ren’s consent or through his family;
- permit an independent examination by qualified medical specialists;
- provide immediate diagnostic testing and treatment medically indicated by his condition;
- transfer him to a properly equipped civilian hospital if prison medical facilities are inadequate; and
- grant medical parole or another lawful form of medical release if necessary to protect his life and health.
“No government may turn imprisonment for speech into a sentence of medical abandonment,” the Free China Movement said. “The authorities should act now, before uncertainty becomes another preventable tragedy.”
The Movement urges governments, the United Nations and international human-rights organizations to seek verified information about Ren’s health and to press for immediate access to appropriate medical care.
Media contact: press@freechina.live
Free China Movement · freechina.live