Source: www.ChinaAid.org
Date: December 9, 2022
ChinaAid is pleased to announce Ms. Xu Qin as the winner of the 2022 Lin Zhao Freedom Award.
Ms. Xu is a well-known activist who served as the secretary general of the civil organization "China Human Rights Watch" and a spokesperson for Rose Team (玫瑰中国), a group committed to promoting political dialogue. Despite the arrests of her coworkers Qin Yongmin and Liu Xinglian in 2015, she remained unafraid and continued her work, paying close attention to human rights affairs, deeply participating in rights protections, and forming close relations with other petitioners and activists.
On February 9, 2018, before the trial of Qin Yongmin's case of subversion of state power, Chinese officials criminally detained Ms. Xu. On March 11, she was placed under residential surveillance at a designated location and released on bail for the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, an unfounded charge often used by the Chinese Communist Party to silence dissidents. She was also indicted on April 24, 2020, on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power” and placed under residential surveillance in May 2021. She was ultimately arrested on November 4, 2021 and is currently detained in the Yangzhou City Detention Center.
Watch a ChinaAid video about the heroic human rights work of Xu Qin
The Lin Zhao Freedom Award is awarded in honor of Lin Zhao, a Chinese Christian who was murdered for her dissent against the Communist Party.
On the 50th anniversary of Lin’s death in 2018, ChinaAid established the Lin Zhao Freedom Award to be given to Chinese citizens who show an exemplary commitment to Chinese civil society and the progression of rule of law. All five members of the award selection committee voted unanimously for Ms Xu Qin after a challenging deliberation process because all ten nominees were highly qualified for the award.
“Ms. Xu exemplifies the legacy of Lin Zhao in her commitment to her faith and pursuit of a free democratic China even at great cost to herself,” Dr. Bob Fu, Founder and President of ChinaAid, said of this year’s recipient. He continued, “We admire her courage and pray for justice for her case. We urge the world to do the same.”
ChinaAid is committed to honoring activists, leaders, and prisoners of conscience like Xu Qin who the Chinese Communist Party tries and fails to silence.
