A coalition of press freedom and human rights NGOs, headed by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Amnesty International, has called for the Chinese regime to guarantee the full freedom of journalist Sophia Huang Xueqin, a leading figure in China's #MeToo movement. While she is due to be released in the coming days, she is likely to face surveillance and travel restrictions.
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On Friday, 18 September 2026, journalist Sophia Huang Xueqin will complete her prison sentence, but will still be deprived of her political rights, which bars her from practising journalism and travelling abroad, and subjects her to ongoing surveillance by the authorities. The coalition of 60 NGOs is calling on the Chinese authorities to guarantee her immediate release and to ensure that, once released, she can continue her journalism free from surveillance, harassment, retaliation, or any other restrictions.
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“After years of relentless harassment and abuse, it is time for the Chinese authorities to end their persecution of Sophia Huang Xueqin and restore her full freedom," says Aleksandra Bielakowska, Advocacy Manager at RSF Asia-Pacific
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Sophia Huang Xueqin's case exemplifies the Chinese regime's persecution of independent journalism. Authorities often persecute journalists after they have completed their sentences, as illustrated by the case of Zhang Zhan. After serving an initial four-year prison term, this journalist, who covered the outbreak of COVID-19, whose fate and whereabouts remained unknown following the completion of her sentence in 2024. Thanks to international mobilisation, she was released in May 2024, before being arrested again in August 2024, just a few months later, on fabricated charges. She was then sentenced to four more years in prison.
China is the world’s largest jailer of journalists, with 120 currently detained, and ranks 178th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2026 RSF World Press Freedom Index.
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