FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — September 10, 2026
The Free China Movement calls on democratic governments, international media organizations, press-freedom groups, women’s-rights organizations, universities and human-rights defenders worldwide to press the Mainland Chinese Communist Government to ensure the genuine release of investigative journalist and women’s-rights advocate Huang Xueqin (黄雪琴) when her five-year prison sentence is expected to conclude on September 18, 2026.
Huang has already lost almost five years of her freedom. There must be no extension of that punishment outside the prison walls.
A journalist imprisoned after pursuing difficult truths
Before her imprisonment, Huang worked as an investigative journalist covering subjects including sexual harassment, gender discrimination and other social issues. She became an important participant in China’s #MeToo movement and helped bring experiences that had often remained hidden into public discussion.
On September 19, 2021, Huang was detained shortly before she was reportedly due to leave China for postgraduate study in Britain. She was eventually convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
September 18 must mean genuine freedom
The Free China Movement urges governments and international organizations to raise Huang’s case before September 18, rather than waiting to discover afterward whether she has disappeared from public view.
Diplomatic missions, elected officials, journalists and human-rights organizations should seek independent confirmation that Huang has left prison safely and is able to communicate with family, friends and the outside world.
Completing a prison sentence must mean freedom. A person has not genuinely been released if a prison cell is replaced by secret detention, forced disappearance or arbitrary confinement.
Celebrate the courage that imprisonment could not erase
We call upon journalists, journalism schools, universities, women’s organizations and civil-society groups throughout the world to recognize Huang’s courage.
Huang represents a fundamental tradition of investigative journalism: go to the people affected, ask difficult questions, investigate what happened, verify the evidence and tell the truth.
The international community should prepare not only to monitor Huang’s expected release but, when her freedom is independently confirmed, to celebrate her bravery, recognize her contribution to investigative journalism and women’s rights, and preserve the legacy of her pursuit of truth and adherence to principle.
The world should be watching
Between now and September 18, the Free China Movement calls for sustained international attention to Huang’s case.
Has Huang Xueqin left prison? Is she safe? Can she communicate freely? Can she see her family and friends? Can independent observers confirm that she is genuinely free?
Until those questions can be answered, international attention should not disappear.
The world should act now to help ensure that September 18 brings freedom—not another form of imprisonment.
Free China Movement
A Free China for a Better World