Two human rights activists, Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan, were arrested by Chinese authorities on Friday while en route to the European Union’s embassy in Beijing. The arrest took place as they were scheduled to meet with the EU’s Ambassador to China and another senior EU official. The EU promptly lodged a protest with the Chinese foreign ministry, demanding the release of the detained activists as well as three others.
This development came shortly after the EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, issued a blog post cautioning China against any changes to the status quo in Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own. Borrell’s planned visit to Beijing was cancelled at the last minute after he tested positive for COVID-19, but the EU’s diplomat in charge of the Asia Pacific region, Gunnar Wiegand, proceeded with his visit and met with a senior Chinese official, as confirmed by a tweet from the EU’s mission to China.
The timing of the arrests suggests that the Chinese authorities were aware of the planned meeting between the EU officials and the human rights activists, according to Commission Spokesperson Eric Mamer, who spoke at a daily media briefing. Yu Wensheng had previously been sentenced to a four-year prison term from 2018 to 2022 for “subverting state power” and has alleged that he was subjected to torture in prison. Xu Yan, on the other hand, had been prohibited from visiting her husband in prison until 2021 and had been under close surveillance by the regime, as reported by human rights organizations.
A second commission spokesperson expressed concern over the repression of human rights activities in China, stating that it was a known issue to the EU. The arrests of Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan highlight the ongoing challenges faced by human rights activists in China and the need for continued efforts to protect and promote human rights in the country.
