Rights lawyer Lu Siwei still under close surveillance a year after prison release: police check at Xiamen guesthouse, four-man tail in Chengdu; wife says monitoring is 'particularly severe'
ChinaAid reported on October 27, 2026 that Chinese human rights lawyer Lu Siwei, 53, says surveillance has continued more than a year after his release from prison: on October 11, police visited his guesthouse on Dadeng Island, Xiamen, Fujian Province, to verify his identity shortly after he checked in (according to a video posted to X that day); on October 13 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, four unidentified individuals followed him, and one verbally abused him when Lu confronted the person in the front seat of their vehicle. Lu said: 'The person-to-person surveillance of me has resumed. It seems the stability-maintenance plan circulating online is real. Their surveillance skills are just so poor that I noticed them as soon as I stepped outside.' His wife Zhang Chunxiao said authorities have intensified their surveillance and harassment of her husband, both when he travels outside Chengdu and when he returns, and described the monitoring of Lu as particularly severe. [1]
Why it matters
This episode is worth recording for four reasons. First, it shows the full chain of 'release does not mean freedom': Lu was released in August 2025, yet remains banned from leaving China, is tailed on the street, and faces police identity checks when he checks into a guesthouse — administrative surveillance seamlessly succeeding the completed prison term, a typical pattern for released rights lawyers in China. Second, the timeline itself carries evidentiary value: in the April Chengdu hotel tail, one follower described the surveillance as government-mandated 'assistance and education'; in late September, the Chenghua District Court in Chengdu deducted the 10,000-yuan fine directly from Lu's bank account, which Lu believes was retaliation for complaints he filed against officials; the two October incidents, two days apart and spanning Fujian and Sichuan, indicate organised cross-regional following rather than an isolated encounter. Third, Lu's profile gives the case weight: he represented the 'Hong Kong 12' case, the 'June 4th Liquor Case', and defenders Yu Wensheng and Wang Zang, is known among peers as a 'lawyer's lawyer', lost his licence in 2021, and was arrested in Laos and deported in 2023 in a case that drew international attention — continued surveillance of him reflects the living space left to the whole rights-lawyer community after release. Fourth, the conservative boundaries are equally clear: the followers' identities and the source of any surveillance orders are unconfirmed by officials, and Lu's complaints against officials (naming the Sichuan governor, the Chengdu mayor, the Chengdu public security chief and the Chengdu intermediate court president) are his personal allegations, expressly flagged by the source as 'not independently established'; this record reports only ChinaAid's reporting and the parties' statements, not the allegations as established facts, hence 'under ongoing verification'. [1]
Full report
According to ChinaAid on October 27, Lu said two incidents this month marked the resumption of person-to-person surveillance: on October 11, police arrived to verify his identity shortly after he checked into a guesthouse on Dadeng Island in Xiamen, Fujian Province, according to a video posted to X that day; on October 13 in Chengdu, he spotted four people sitting inside a vehicle following him, and when he confronted someone in the front seat, the individual verbally abused him. Lu said: 'The person-to-person surveillance of me has resumed. It seems the stability-maintenance plan circulating online is real. Their surveillance skills are just so poor that I noticed them as soon as I stepped outside.' To the man who cursed at him, he said: 'Don't worry — I've already memorized your face.' [1]
His wife Zhang Chunxiao said authorities have intensified their surveillance and harassment of her husband, both when he travels outside Chengdu and when he returns; although other human rights lawyers face similar restrictions, she described the monitoring of Lu as particularly severe. Without a permanent residence in Chengdu, Lu sometimes stays in hotels; he and his wife say government personnel continue to monitor his movements, creating significant psychological pressure and making everyday life increasingly difficult. This connects with the April Chengdu hotel incident, when two men followed Lu and one reportedly described the surveillance as government-mandated 'assistance and education'. [1]
Lu's legal career and suppression history frame the case: he previously represented clients in several high-profile cases, including the 'Hong Kong 12' case involving pro-democracy activists and the 'June 4th Liquor Case', as well as rights defenders Yu Wensheng and Wang Zang. In January 2021, the Sichuan Provincial Department of Justice revoked his licence to practise law following statements he published online. On July 28, 2023, Lao police arrested him as he attempted to travel through Thailand to the United States to reunite with his family; he was deported to China in September 2023 and detained. In April 2025, a Chinese court sentenced him to 11 months in prison and fined him 10,000 yuan (approximately $1,400) for illegally crossing the national border; although released in August 2025, he remained subject to restrictions on his movement, including a ban on leaving China, and maintains that his conviction was politically motivated and continues to appeal for the judgment to be overturned. [1]
Post-release financial and medical pressures were also reported: ChinaAid reported in October 2025 that Lu had been diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer and was unable to travel to the United States, where his wife and daughter live; in late September, the Chenghua District Court in Chengdu deducted the 10,000-yuan fine from Lu's bank account, according to his wife. In July, after prolonged restrictions on overseas travel and what he described as a court's refusal to accept his administrative lawsuit, Lu submitted formal complaints accusing senior provincial and city officials of abusing their authority and violating the law — naming Sichuan Governor Shi Xiaolin, Chengdu Mayor Chen Shuping, Chengdu Public Security Bureau Director Hu Guomin, and Chengdu Intermediate People's Court President Yang Cheng; the source expressly notes that these allegations 'have not been independently established'. [1]
Verification note and links to this site's records: the core facts — the October 11 Xiamen identity check, the October 13 Chengdu four-man tail, the wife's account of intensifying monitoring, the April 'assistance and education' tail, the fine deduction and the July complaints against officials — all come from ChinaAid's single October 27 report; the followers' identities and the source of any surveillance orders are unconfirmed by officials, and the abuse-of-authority complaints are Lu's personal allegations, with attribution preserved throughout this record. Lu's September joint action with six other lawyers challenging alleged legal violations in the prosecution of three unregistered-church leaders is a separate episode from the Xi'an Zion Church lawyers' confrontation at the September 15 pretrial conference (reported October 20, outside this round's 24-hour window, so no separate record this round), though it involves the same group of lawyers. This record is graded 'under ongoing verification' and will follow Lu's appeals, complaints and surveillance situation. [1]
Links above point to the original publishers of the cited reports or articles. Their conclusions are attributed in the text and do not imply that this site has independently verified every factual claim.