Nie Minzhi (聂敏之) was a Zhejiang democracy activist whose political life spanned the unofficial-publication networks of the late-1970s Democracy Wall era and the later China Democracy Party movement.
Nie was detained in late 2000 and subjected to administrative reeducation through labor. Sources differ on whether the stated term was one year or two years. Memorial and human-rights sources report that he became seriously ill during confinement and returned home before his death in Hangzhou on October 7, 2001.
Custody-status note
Available sources place Nie’s death after his release and return home. This memorial therefore does not characterize him as having died in custody, and it makes no claim about the medical cause of his death, which is not documented in the sources reviewed.
His final testament
In September 2001, after discharge from Qingchun Hospital, Nie dictated a final testament in Zhejiang. In it he thanked his wife, Jin Shunzhu (金顺珠), who he said had sold their house to pay his medical bills, reflected on decades of political persecution and democratic activism, and expressed his love for his children. The testament was later translated and published by the Jamestown Foundation’s China Brief.
Related records
Person Profile: Nie Minzhi
Democracy Wall and Zhejiang Democracy Activist — profile & source record
Source
Jamestown Foundation / China Brief — “The Deathbed Testament of Nie Minzhi,” January 17, 2002