Xu Zhiyong

Xu Zhiyong (Chinese: 许志永; pinyin: Xǔ Zhìyǒng; born 1973) is a Chinese civil rights activist and formerly a lecturer at the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications. He was one of the founders of the NGO Open Constitution Initiative and an active rights lawyer in China who helped those underprivileged. He is the main founder and icon of the New Citizens' Movement in China. In January 2014 he was sentenced to four years in prison for "gathering crowds to disrupt public order".

Xu was born in Minquan County, Henan Province in 1973. He is married to Cui Zheng (崔筝), a journalist. Their daughter was born on January 13, 2014, while Xu was in a detention center facing trial.

Xu received his Bachelor of Law degree from Lanzhou University in 1994 and Doctor of Law degree from Beijing University in 2002.

The Gongmeng era

In 2003, he was elected to the Haidian District People's Congress as an independent. He won the re-election in 2006. However, in the 2011 election, Xu's name was pulled off the candidate list, but he still gathered more than 3,500 votes out of 22,000 voters in his district.

Unlike other human rights activists, Xu firmly and carefully pushed his calls for political change and social justice in existing laws, and his group has been regarded as relatively cautious and conservative. In his recent interview before his arrest, he described his dream

The 2009 Gong Meng incident

In 2009, July 29, he was arrested at his home, and detained by Chinese authorities on charges of tax evasion. At the same time Xu's colleague Zhuang Lu was also arrested by authorities.

The Open Constitution Initiative, which Xu co-founded, was fined 1.46 million RMB on July 14, 2009 for 'dodging taxes' and was shut down by the authorities by declaring it "illegal".

Xu Zhiyong was released on bail on August 23, 2009. The Australian newspaper The Age reported that the release of Xu, Zhuang and another Chinese dissident, Ilham Tohti, was in part due to pressure on Beijing from the administration of American President Barack Obama.

Post-Gong Meng era and the New Citizens Movement

After Gong Meng was shut down, Xu Zhiyong and supporters adopted the name "Citizens" to continue their cause. In May 2012, Xu formally established the "New Citizens' Movement" and "New Citizens' Spirit" as the high-level concept of their activism.

In 2013, Xu Zhiyong was placed under house arrest for more than three months, before being formally arrested on August 22. His trial started on Jan 22, 2014. Xu and his lawyer Zhang Qingfang remained silent throughout the trial (except for his closing statement) to protest the violation of basic legal procedure. Xu's closing statement was cut short by the judge, but the text was circulated on the internet and raised tremendous support. On January 26, 2014, Xu was sentenced to four years in prison for "gathering crowds to disrupt public order".

Xu is listed in 2013's Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy.

• Xu Zhiyong's closing statement in court (Jan 22, 2014) Chinese English (translated by ChinaChange.org)
• The Last Ten Years, China's rights movement through the work of Gong Meng. Chinese English (translated by ChinaChange.org)
• A trip to Ngaba, (the Tibetan prefecture in Northern Sichuan province where many Tibetans have self-immolated over the last four years or so. A shorter version of the essay was published in the New York Times in December, 2012). Chinese English (translated by ChinaChange.org)
• New Citizens Movement, a "manifesto" published on May 29, 2012. Chinese English(translated by ChinaChange.org)