Xu Lin (徐琳) — Media Profile & Archive

This archive gathers the available media and documentation on the cases of Xu Lin (徐琳), a Hunan-born poet, songwriter, and rights defender based in Guangzhou. It covers three decades of activism and three detentions, preserving what each source establishes, its provenance, and the limits of what is known. Note: the earlier records in this archive (2012, 2017–2020) document the same person as the current case — the 2017 urgent-action subject previously treated by some indexes as a namesake is confirmed by the prisoner database’s own case history to be the same individual.

Chronology of reported events

Late 1990s–2011. Xu writes political articles, poetry, and songs; from 2010 he joins street actions in Guangzhou and Shenzhen and collaborates with Liu Sifang on songs about freedom and human rights.
April 2012. Detained by Guangzhou police after setting dissident Zhu Yufu’s poem to music (“就是现在”); held on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power,” then placed under residential surveillance; later held three months in a secret location before a planned rally.
August 2015. Releases a song supporting the “709” crackdown lawyers; dismissed by his employer; held under house arrest for a month.
September 26, 2017. Detained in Zhuzhou while caring for his ill father; home searched; Liu Sifang detained the next day. (Amnesty International urgent action.)
November 2, 2017. Formally arrested by the Nansha District Procuratorate, Guangzhou, for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
July 27, 2018. Trial at the Nansha District People’s Court.
December 7, 2018. Sentenced to three years; appeal upheld May 14, 2019; served at Foshan Prison.
September 25, 2020. Released on completion of the sentence.
May 16, 2024. Taken away by state-security officers; home searched. (Radio Free Asia report, May 17, 2024.)
2024–. Recorded as sentenced to three years and nine months for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” held at Yingde Prison, Guangdong; term to February 15, 2028. (CHRD prisoner database.)
August 31, 2026. Rights Defense Network monthly roster lists Xu Lin in custody.

Source records

Chinese Human Rights Defenders — “Xu Lin 徐琳” profile (October 31, 2018, with earlier-case coverage). The fullest case file: charges, court, trial and sentencing dates, detention history, torture/ill-treatment concerns, and the 2012 and 2015 episodes. Includes a photograph. Covers the 2017–2020 case; does not cover the 2024 detention. URL: https://www.nchrd.org/2018/10/xu-lin/
Amnesty International — “China: Two singer-songwriter activists criminally detained: Xu Lin and Liu Sifang” (October 25, 2017, ASA 17/7336/2017). Urgent action on the September 2017 detentions; documents the seizures of property, the denial of lawyer access, and the risk of torture. URL: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa17/7336/2017/en/
Amnesty International — “China: Further information: Singer-song writer activist sentenced: Xu Lin” (December 14, 2018, ASA 17/9579/2018). Confirms the December 7, 2018 three-year sentence for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” URL: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa17/9579/2018/en/
Radio Free Asia — “歌词曲作者徐琳遭刑拘” (May 17, 2024). Reports that songwriter Xu Lin was subjected to a home search and criminal detention by Guangzhou police over online speech. Corroborates the May 16, 2024 detention. (Audio-page summary.) URL: https://shows.acast.com/m-apr/episodes/3000
CHRD Prisoners of Conscience database — 徐琳 (Xu Lin), row 1015 of the October 2026 dump. Records name, sex, birth date (1964.4.9), hometown, detention date (2024.5.16), charge, 3年9个月 sentence, Yingde Prison, term end (2028.2.15), and a detailed case history covering 2012 through the 2024 detention. An NGO database entry, not an official record.
Rights Defense Network / 维权网 — Monthly Report, Issue 131 (August 31, 2026). Lists “Xu Lin” in the “Sentenced to 3 years and 9 months” group; the report’s own Chinese edition gives 徐琳 at the identical roster position. Roster-level entry only.
Human Rights in China — interview with Xu Lin on being summoned and threatened after the “Song for Justice Lawyers.” Supplementary biographical material on the 2015 episode. URL: https://www.hrichina.org/chs/gong-min-yan-chang/zuo-jia-zheng-yi-lu-shi-zi-ge-ci-qu-zuo-zhe-xu-lin-jiang-shu-bei-chuan-huan-zao

What the record does not establish

No court verdict document for the current (2024–) sentence has been located; its length rests on the CHRD database record and the Rights Defense Network roster grouping. Xu’s own views beyond what his songs and statements express are not independently documented here. No Chinese-government or state-media account of any of the three cases was found.

Media → Person reciprocal-link insertion point: top of page — “This is the media archive for the person profile: Xu Lin (徐琳) [link].”

Multilingual preparation notes: ZH title 徐琳; EN title above. “Xu Lin” follows the CHRD database’s romanization.

Profile: Xu Lin (徐琳)

Xu Lin (徐琳) — Media Profile & Archive