This page preserves the documented media record on Fu Changguo (付常国), the labor-rights advocate detained in connection with the 2018 Jasic workers’ movement in Shenzhen.
Chronology
- November 2015: Joins the Shenzhen Dagongzhe Migrant Workers Centre (深圳打工者中心) as staff member and labor-law consultant. (CHRD)
- May 2018: Workers at the Jasic Technology plant in Shenzhen’s Pingshan District begin pressing for better conditions and an independent union. (CHRD)
- July–August 2018: Fu visits one protest as an observer and circulates news on social media. Summoned by Pingshan police five times, July 25 – August 10. (CHRD; Worker Empowerment)
- August 10, 2018: Criminally detained at the Ailian police station on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” (CHRD; Worker Empowerment; Chan)
- August 24, 2018: State media accuses Fu of being a leader of the Jasic protests — rejected by Worker Empowerment, which says he shared news and observed in his professional capacity. (CHRD; Worker Empowerment)
- September 8, 2018: Formal arrest; charge switched to “gathering a crowd to disturb public order.” (CHRD; Worker Empowerment)
- September 20, 2018: Family-retained lawyer allowed a single meeting; further meetings denied; lawyer withdraws in November. (Worker Empowerment)
- December 2018: Mother becomes seriously ill; bail application rejected. (Worker Empowerment)
- January 10, 2019: Mother dies; Fu is not permitted to see her or attend the funeral. (Worker Empowerment)
- January 26, 2019: Transferred out of Shenzhen No. 2 Detention Center; family told only in March. (Worker Empowerment)
- March 13, 2019: CHRD files complaint with UN Special Procedures (arbitrary detention, expression, defenders) over Fu and four fellow detainees. (CHRD submission)
- May 1, 2019: UN experts issue joint communication to China (AL CHN 3/2019). (CHRD)
- May 2019: Police tell the family by phone that Fu is under “residential surveillance at a designated location”; no written notice; location never disclosed. (Worker Empowerment)
- July 25, 2019: Family asked to sign notice that the surveillance period ended; Fu still not released. (Worker Empowerment)
- August 12, 2019: Worker Empowerment’s one-year statement: Fu remains in custody; lawyers denied meetings; family denied visits; documented custody abuses. (Worker Empowerment)
- February 2020: Jenny Chan’s peer-reviewed article states Fu was detained for more than a year from August 10, 2018 and was “finally released.” (Chan, The China Review)
Media records
- Chinese Human Rights Defenders (NGO) — “Fu Changguo 付常国” (July 18, 2019). Biographical profile: born October 6, 1985, Chenzhou, Hunan; factory worker; joined Dagongzhe Centre November 2015; detention August 10, 2018; formal arrest September 8, 2018; initial charge “picking quarrels,” later “gathering a crowd to disturb public order”; five police summonses; Xinhua’s August 24, 2018 accusation and the centre’s rejection; lawyer obstruction; transfer January 26, 2019; “residential surveillance at a designated location” by May 2019; mother’s death January 10, 2019; bail rejected. Full profile
- Chinese Human Rights Defenders (NGO) — “Submission to UN on Fu Changguo, Li Zhan, Liu Penghua, Mi Jiuping and Yu Juncong” (published April 1, 2019). Filed with the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the special rapporteurs on expression and on human-rights defenders; corroborates identity, occupation, dates, charges, arrest location, and unknown custody location. Full submission
- Worker Empowerment (Hong Kong-based labor-rights group) — “One Year of Incommunicado Detention of Labor Rights Advocate Fu Changguo 付常国” (first published August 12, 2019; republished by Europe Solidaire August 15, 2019). Detailed account of the year in custody: summonses, detention, formal arrest, lawyer obstruction, mother’s death, transfer, RSDL, family’s denied visits; custody-abuse documentation. Statement (Europe Solidaire repost)
- Jenny Chan, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The China Review 20(1) (peer-reviewed journal) — “A Precarious Worker-Student Alliance in Xi’s China” (February 2020). States that Fu, a Dagongzhe Centre staff member, was detained for more than a year from August 10, 2018 and was “finally released.” Article (PDF)
- Red Balloon (劳工研究), republished via GitHub mirror — “Fu Changguo 付常国” (July 20, 2019). Lower-priority corroborating profile. Reprint
Conflicts and limitations
- Chan’s article (February 2020) states Fu was “finally released” after more than a year; the primary citation she gives (the August 2019 Worker Empowerment statement) itself says he had not been released as of August 2019. The release therefore happened between August 2019 and February 2020, but the exact date and the original evidence are not established. Release graded probable; details unresolved.
- The charge evolution (“picking quarrels” → “gathering a crowd to disturb public order”) is consistently reported across sources.
- State media’s “leader of the protests” characterization versus Worker Empowerment’s “observer/sharer” account — unresolved; recorded here as attributed claims.
- No trial, verdict, or official disposition has ever been reported.
See also
The person profile of Fu Changguo (付常国) gathers his biography, the case narrative, and current status in full.