China: Blogger Liu Hanbin detained for one month after exposing a land seizure scandal
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Chinese regime to immediately release Liu Hanbin, a blogger detained for a month after publishing information about a protest by farmers opposing forced land seizures. Liu is the 125th journalist detained by Beijing.
This 27 December 2024 will mark one month since Chinese blogger Liu Hanbin, also known by his pen name Wen Yi Fan, has been detained by the police. He was arrested in the capital of Inner Mongolia Hohhot in northern China, and is currently being held at the city's Detention Centre No. 1.
The 52-year-old blogger has been charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, after he published a video on the Chinese social media WeChat in which he mentioned a case of farmers protesting against the seizing their land by officials. On 6 December, police denied Liu’s request for bail, claiming the case was “significant and complex.” The blogger has also been denied access to his lawyer.
“Chinese blogger Liu Hanbin was only serving the public interest by shedding light on abuses linked to land seizures, and should never be detained, let alone denied the right to meet with his lawyer. We call on the international community to build up pressure on the Chinese authorities to secure Liu’s release alongside the 124 other journalists and press freedom defenders detained in the country.
Liu is well-known for his reports on regional news in Inner Mongolia, which he shared on his WeChat account. His recent posts include reports on illegal sand mining, and various wrongdoings by local authorities, such as a recent case of police violence against a teenager.
In China, independent journalists and press freedom defenders who address issues deemed sensitive by the regime often face charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. Zhang Zhan, a journalist sentenced to four years in prison in 2020 for reporting on the Covid-19 outbreak, is an emblematic example. Released in May 2024, she has been criminally detained under the same charge since August 2024, this time after posting information on social media about the harassment of activists in China.
Since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, he has fostered a media culture reminiscent of the Maoist era, where seeking information or sharing it freely is criminalised. RSF’s report ”The Great Leap Backwards of Journalism in China”, reveals the regime’s extensive efforts to control media outlets and the dissemination of information — both domestically and internationally.
China, the world’s biggest prison for journalists and press freedom defenders with at least 125 media workers currently behind bars, is ranked 172nd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index.
