Some Of China's Freed Labor Activists Start New Lives, But State Pressure Lurks
At least 15 Chinese workers' rights advocates who were rounded up in recent years have been released from detention, some taking on new identities and jobs, on condition that they abandon activism.
It was a dramatic crackdown, even by China's standards: Dozens of young labor organizers and student activists were rounded up and disappeared in 2018 and 2019. Now, at least 15 of the activists have been released from detention, some taking on new identities and jobs, according to five acquaintances of the activists.
The acquaintances, who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by authorities, say the activists were released only after they agreed to abandon their activism. They allege that the activists had been held in apartments where family members, former teachers and classmates made emotional entreaties
