Profile
Zhang Wenhe (张文和）, born 1954, is a Hui resident of Tongzhou District, Beijing, and a long-time participant in China’s democracy and human-rights activism. He took part in the Xidan Democracy Wall movement in 1978–79 and was detained by Beijing authorities for one year and seven months in 1979. In the 1990s he founded and ran a crafts company, “张文和工艺品有限公司” (Zhang Wenhe Crafts Co.).
Over the decades Zhang has been confined to psychiatric hospitals five times, a pattern documented by the rights-monitoring outlet 维权网 (Weiquanwang) and by 民生观察 (Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch):
- October 1980 – June 1981: about 8 months
- October 2, 2007 – end of December 2008: about 15 months
- September 3, 2009 – May 2012: about 32 months
- March 4, 2014 – November 18, 2015: 20 months at Changping Mental Healthcare Center
- October 22, 2021: taken from his home and placed in a psychiatric hospital
According to 维权网’s reporting, on October 22, 2021, officers from the Zhongcang police station in Tongzhou searched Zhang’s home in the early hours and took him away; he was placed in a psychiatric hospital the same day and his family was denied visits. His wife, Wang Sue （王素娥）, learned on October 25 that he was being held at Tongzhou District Psychiatric Hospital; she was told a judicial assessment was scheduled for October 28 and that he might be transferred afterward. Zhang himself has said that the authorities never gave him a written diagnosis or any written documents for these confinements.
In 2018, Zhang left for Bahrain to escape pressure from the authorities, but was arrested there on September 26, 2018 after his visa expired and was deported back to China.
Current situation
Zhang Wenhe was most recently reported to be held at Beijing Tongzhou District Psychiatric Hospital, with no charge or sentence on record (CHRD Prisoners-of-Conscience record, entered October 31, 2021). The 维权网 monthly report of August 31, 2026 listed him among 259 persons detained without trial in the Beijing (Tianjin) group. Developments after August 2026 are unverified.
Family
Zhang is married to Wang Sue （王素娥）, who has publicly campaigned for his release. His son is Zhang Chi （张驰）, who negotiated his release from the 2014–15 confinement.
Sources
- 维权网 (Weiquanwang), “北京民运人士张文和第五次被警方送进精神病院 妻子王素娥剃发明志 誓言维权到底”, October 29, 2021 — link
- 民生观察 (Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch), “停止”被精神病” 释放张文和”, October 26–27, 2021 — link
- ChinaAid, “Beijing house church member confined to home after release from mental hospital”, January 29, 2016 — link
- 中國政治犯關注 (CPPC), “張文和（CPPC編號：01070）”, November 3, 2021 — link
- CHRD Prisoners-of-Conscience database record for 张文和 / ZHANG WEN HE, entered October 31, 2021 — CHRD database search