New Citizens' Movement

File:自由公義愛.jpg

The New Citizens' Spirit was first established by Xu Zhiyong in his article "New Citizens' Spirit - Free, Righteous, Loving".{{cite web | author=Xu Zhiyong | script-title=zh:新公民精神——自由、公义、爱 | date=Jun 20, 2012 | publisher=Works of Xu Zhiyong | url=http://xuzhiyong2012.blogspot.com/2012/11/blog-post_6084.html | language=zh | archive-date=October 29, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193443/http://xuzhiyong2012.blogspot.com/2012/11/blog-post_6084.html | url-status=live }}

The New Citizens' logo is the word "公民" (citizen) handwritten by Sun Yat-sen. The characters are in white on a blue background. It is the common symbol of Chinese citizens' pursuit of freedom, democracy, rule of law and constitutionalism. It is often used in combination with the five Chinese characters denoting the New Citizens' Spirit.

In June 2010, a group of scholars, lawyers, journalists and activists, including Xu Zhiyong, Teng Biao, Wang Gongquan, Li Xiongbin, Li Fangping, Xu Youyu and Zhang Shihe (Laohumiao), initiated an open letter "The Citizens' Pledge", calling for the awakening and improvement of Chinese citizens' civil rights awareness.{{cite web | last=Custer | first=Charlie | title=Xu Zhiyong, et al: "The Chinese Citizens' Pledge" | date=20 June 2010 | publisher=ChinaGeeks | url=http://www.chinageeks.org/2010/06/xu-zhiyong-et-al-the-chinese-citizens-pledge/ | accessdate=26 March 2015 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326100122/http://www.chinageeks.org/2010/06/xu-zhiyong-et-al-the-chinese-citizens-pledge/ | archive-date=26 March 2015 }} This event is usually regarded as the start of the New Citizens' Movement (even though it was prior to the coinage of the term).

"Equal Rights for Education" is armed to reduce and eliminate the huge unfairness of the distribution of education resources in mainland China. One specific campaign is to abolish the hukou restriction in gaokao (college admission exam) for migrants' children in large cities. The campaign started with just four student-parent volunteers in 2010, and grew to more than 100,000 in 2012. Under the pressure, the Ministry of Education revised the gaokao policy for migrants' student children in August 2012. Subsequently, all provinces and cities except Beijing and Shanghai, removed or promised to remove the hukou constraint. This campaign was initiated by Wang Gongquan.

"Wealth Disclosure" calls for the disclosure of the wealth of government officials in mainland China. There have been public demonstrations in many cities. The notable ones include a demonstration by Yuan Dong, Zhang Baocheng, Ma Xinli and Hou Xin in Beijing's Xidan Square on March 31, 2013, and a demonstration by Liu Ping, Wei Zhongping, Li Sihua etc. in Xinyu, Jiangxi on April 23, 2013.

"Same-City Dining" is the regular dinner gathering held on the last Saturday each month. In mainland China, netizens' dinner gathering has been around for many years. Around the end of 2011, after deliberations, it was proposed to set a fixed date (last Saturday of the month) so as to strengthen the coalitions of citizens. The dinner gatherings are self-organized, generally covering social issues, but the topic and format are not fixed. At 2013, the dinner gatherings take place in more than 30 cities, including overseas Chinese. Even though dinner gatherings are low-key and not illegal, they are still under pressure in several cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Nanning and Changsha. The participants may be questioned, and sensitive persons are sometimes threatened or detained.

"Citizen Lookout" is a project to provide support for the basic needs of families of prisoners of conscience. The reference level is RMB 50,000 per year. This project was proposed by Li Huaping. It is similar to the "Songfandang" by Routangseng and "Ai-Mo-Can-Help" project by Ai Weiwei and Mo Zhixu.

Chinese authorities have frequently suppressed independent activism. In 2009, authorities disbanded Gongmeng (Open Constitution Initiative) alleging tax evasion. Many Gongmeng members subsequently joined "Citizens" to continue civil rights activism.

From the end of 2012 to 2013, many citizens took to the streets in Shenzhen, Beijing, Jiangxi and other cities, demanding that Chinese government officials disclose their wealth, which led to several arrests. Between March 31 and April 17, 2013, authorities arrested 10 citizens: Yuan Dong, Zhang Baocheng, Ma Xinli, Hou Xin, Ding Jiaxi, Zhao Changqing, Sun Hanhui, Wang Yonghong, Li Wei and Qi Yueying. Also arrested in Beijing were Zhang Xiangzhong, Li Gang, Li Huanjun, Song Ze and Xu Zhiyong. Three Xinyu citizens, Liu Ping, Wei Zhongping, Li Sihua were arrested in Jiangxi on April 28, 2013. Five citizens, Yuan Fengchu (Yuan Bing), Yuan Xiaohua, Huang Wenxun, Chen Jianxiong (Chen Jinxin), and Li Yinli were arrested in Hubei on May 25.

The trial of Liu Ping, Wei Zhongping and Li Sihua began in late 2013.[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/chinese-citizens-rights-activist-wang-gongquan-is-formally-arrested/2013/10/21/888909ca-3a73-11e3-b0e7-716179a2c2c7_story.html In China, citizens rights activist Wang Gongquan is formally arrested] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208182138/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/chinese-citizens-rights-activist-wang-gongquan-is-formally-arrested/2013/10/21/888909ca-3a73-11e3-b0e7-716179a2c2c7_story.html |date=2017-02-08 }} The Washington Post 21 October 2013 They had been in detention since April.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}} The three were indicted on a charge of illegal assembly in July, with additional charges of "gathering a crowd to disrupt order in a public place" and "using an evil cult to undermine law enforcement" given to Liu Ping and Wei Zhongping in September.[http://www.hrichina.org/content/6973 Lawyers Call for Release of Three Asset Transparency Advocates, Challenge Legality of Trial Delay] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021145531/http://www.hrichina.org/content/6973 |date=2013-10-21 }} Human Rights in China 15 October 2013

On July 16, 2013, after being under house arrest for more than three months, Xu Zhiyong was detained for allegedly "amassing a crowd to disturb order in a public space". The arrest was covered in the news and drew great attention both domestically and internationally. On August 22, Dr Xu was formally charged.{{cite news|title=Chinese citizens movement leader arrested|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/chinese-citizens-movement-leader-arrested|newspaper=Associated Press|author=Gillian Wong|date=Aug 23, 2013|access-date=October 25, 2013|archive-date=October 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131028191029/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/chinese-citizens-movement-leader-arrested|url-status=live}}

On July 18, Chuan-Zhi-Xing ("Transitions"), a Beijing-based NGO/thinktank was closed due to its involvement with civil rights research.

Dr Xu's arrest caused wide-scale protest. Mao Yushi, Wang Gongquan, Xiaoshu, He Sanwei, Yang Zili published an open letter demanding the release of Dr Xu and other arrested citizens. More than 3000 people signed the open letter.{{cn|date=June 2022}}

On August 8, Guo Feixiong, a main organizer of New Citizens' Movement in southern China, was arrested. On August 11, Li Huaping, a main organizer of New Citizens' Movement in eastern China, was arrested.

On September 13, Wang Gongquan was detained by Beijing police for "disturbing order in public space". On October 20, he was formally charged.

On January 26, 2014, the Beijing Number One Intermediate People's Court sentenced Xu Zhiyong to a four-year prison sentence. The conviction was for assembling crowds with the intent to disrupt public spaces.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/beijing-confronts-a-new-kind-of-dissident-1390752551|title=Beijing Confronts a New Kind of Dissident|first=Eva Pils and Joshua|last=Rosenzweig|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=January 26, 2014|via=www.wsj.com|access-date=August 3, 2019|archive-date=August 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803115931/https://www.wsj.com/articles/beijing-confronts-a-new-kind-of-dissident-1390752551|url-status=live}}

In April 2014, Ding Jiaxi and Li Wei were put on trial for 'disrupting public order'. Foreign diplomats attended, but were not admitted to the hearing.[http://rthk.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/news.htm?englishnews&20140409&56&998265 Anti-corruption activists in the dock] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413144659/http://rthk.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/news.htm?englishnews&20140409&56&998265 |date=2014-04-13 }}, RTHK, 9 April 2014

• New Citizens' Movement Official site: {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20140416035434/http://xgmyd.com/ xgmyd.com]}}
• [http://chinachange.org/2012/07/11/china-needs-a-new-citizens-movement-xu-zhiyongs-%E8%AE%B8%E5%BF%97%E6%B0%B8-controversial-essay/ Xu Zhiyong: The New Citizens’ Movement in China]
• {{in lang|zh}} [http://xuzhiyong2012.blogspot.com Collected Works of Xu Zhiyong]

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Category:Political movements in China

Category:Movements for civil rights

Category:Human rights in China