Huang Xueqin (黄雪琴), also known in English-language reporting as Sophia Huang Xueqin, is a Chinese investigative journalist and a prominent figure associated with China’s #MeToo movement.
Journalism and advocacy
Rights-group records describe Huang as born in 1988 in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province and as a former investigative reporter for New Express and Southern Metropolis Weekly. Her reporting and advocacy included women’s rights and sexual-harassment cases.
2019 detention
Huang was detained in October 2019 after writing about the Hong Kong protests. Rights organizations report that she was placed under residential surveillance at a designated location and released on bail in January 2020.
2021 arrest, trial and sentence
On September 19, 2021, Huang and labor-rights activist Wang Jianbing were detained by Guangzhou police. Rights organizations report that Huang had been due to travel to Britain for graduate study. She was later formally arrested on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power.”
Huang and Wang were tried at the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court on September 22, 2023. On June 14, 2024, Huang was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, four years’ deprivation of political rights, and a 100,000-yuan fine; Wang received three years and six months. The Guangdong Higher People’s Court rejected their appeals on September 12, 2024.
Term completion and release status
Huang’s five-year prison term was calculated to end on September 18, 2026. Rights groups and Free China Movement coverage around that date called for her release without arbitrary restrictions. As of the latest reviewed reporting, her physical release and homecoming had not been independently confirmed. This profile therefore does not describe her as confirmed released.
Media Profile & Archive: Huang Xueqin / 黄雪琴 — Media Profile & Archive.