This archive collects the source record concerning Wang Meiyu (王美余), a Hunan activist who died in custody on September 23, 2019.
Source chronology
- 2018: Wang carried out solo protests in Hunan calling for political reform and elections.
- July 8, 2019: He was arrested at Changsha Railway Station and later held at Hengyang City Detention Center.
- September 23, 2019: Wang’s wife was notified that he had died at PLA No. 169 Hospital in Hengyang.
- September 26, 2019: Chinese Human Rights Defenders called for an independent investigation and reported the family’s questions about the death.
Conflicts and evidentiary limits
Police reportedly pressed the family to accept an account describing the death as an accident following an acute illness. Family observations of injuries are attributed eyewitness accounts, not forensic findings. No public autopsy or independent medical determination is available.