In the days following the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize for Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波), Human Rights in China (HRIC) has continued to receive information on individuals being subjected to surveillance, restriction of communications and movement, house arrest, and forced departure from place of residence. These cases include:

October 8-9, Beijing

Xu Yonghai (徐永海), leader of the Sheng’ai Christian Fellowship (圣爱团契), a Beijing-based house church, was under police surveillance. Officers were stationed outside Xu’s home and prohibited him from going out. Following negotiations, police allowed Xu and his wife to leave to buy food and take a walk in the park with a police escort. The officers also told Xu to not attend any gatherings, but Xu refused. (Surveillance, restriction of movement)

October 9, Beijing

Sheng’ai member Yang Jingdi (杨靖弟) was forcibly taken from his home by police, who said that they were taking him to Pinggu District in the outskirts of Beijing. (Forced departure from place of residence)

Dissident and Sheng’ai member Hu Shigen (胡石根) was placed under house arrest. Police told him to not attend Sheng’ai’s gatherings, which Hu refused. (House arrest)

October 10, Beijing

Due to police restrictions, Gao Hongming (高洪明), Gao Yuxiang (高玉祥), and Yan Zhengxue (严正学) were unable to attend Sheng’ai Christian Fellowship’s Sunday gathering. (Surveillance, restriction of movement)

October 12, Beijing

Liu Xia’s (刘霞) new cell phone account was deactivated. Several of her friends, including Liu Di (刘荻), Mo Zhixu (莫之许), and Wang Jinbo (王金波), were also placed under house arrest and could not be reached. (Restriction of communication, house arrest)

Rights defense lawyer Jiang Tianyong’s (江天勇) home door lock was filled with glue, making it impossible for him to leave his home. A similar incident occurred on September 14 as well. (Harassment, restrictions on movement)

Freelance writer Liu Di’s home was guarded by 3-4 plainclothes police officers. Liu was kept under round-the-clock surveillance. (Surveillance)