RSF Demands Release of Chinese Blogger Liu Hanbin Amid Media Suppression

Reporters Without Borders calls for the release of Chinese blogger Liu Hanbin, detained for highlighting farmers' protests in Inner Mongolia. Liu faces charges of "picking quarrels," a tactic used to suppress dissent. RSF urges global action as China intensifies its crackdown on independent journalism.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has issued a call for the immediate release of Chinese blogger Liu Hanbin, who has been detained for one month after sharing a video spotlighting a farmers' protest against forced land seizures in China's Inner Mongolia. Liu, writing under the pseudonym Wen Yi Fan, was arrested in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia's capital, on November 27 and is currently held at the city's Detention Centre No. 1.

The 52-year-old blogger is charged with "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," a broadly defined accusation that can result in up to five years of imprisonment. This charge is linked to a video he disseminated on WeChat, detailing protests by farmers against the forced land seizures by local authorities. Despite the severity of the situation, police have denied bail and prevented Liu from meeting his lawyer, citing the investigation's complexity. Cedric Alviani, RSF's Asia-Pacific Bureau Director, condemned Liu's detention and declared, "Liu Hanbin was carrying out a public service by exposing government misconduct on land seizures. He shouldn't have been detained or deprived of legal counsel. We call on the international community to pressure Chinese authorities for Liu's release and that of the other 124 journalists and defenders of press freedom currently imprisoned in China."

Liu has earned a reputation for his investigative journalism on critical issues in Inner Mongolia, including illegal sand mining and government corruption, often targeting local authorities for their treatment of marginalized communities. Beyond his coverage of farmer protests, Liu has recently reported on police violence and abuse of power by local officials. Since President Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012, China has tightened media controls and cracked down on independent journalism. The government typically accuses journalists and activists of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," deploying this ambiguous charge to stifle dissent. Liu's plight echoes the case of Zhang Zhan, a journalist who received a four-year prison sentence for her early COVID-19 outbreak reports and was later apprehended again in August 2024 for documenting activists' harassment.

(With inputs from agencies.)