Release of Wang Gongquan keeps Chinese censors on edge

Wang Gongquan looks gaunt and worn in photos that surface online following trial of organisers of the New Citizen movement

Reading Time:2 minutes

Wang Gongquan with friend Pan Shiyi (right) appear in a photo that Pan posted on his weibo account this week. Photo: SCMP

Published: 11:00am, 3 Feb 2014Updated: 6:45am, 4 Feb 2014

Mainland censors have moved to suppress mention of civil rights advocate Wang Gongquan , who has appeared in photos online looking exhausted after his release from detention.

Wang, a venture capitalist and one of the most prominent participants in the New Citizen movement, was released on bail by a Beijing court on January 22 after being detained for more than four months on charges of disturbing the public order.

The group's founder, Xu Zhiyong, was sentenced by the Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court to four years in prison last week on identical charges. Wang and Xu have both publicly called for government transparency, respect for the constitution and equality in education in recent years. According to a court microblog, Wang confessed he had erred in aiding Xu's social campaigns.

A photo shared by 52-year-old Wang last week via an anonymous microblog account showed him looking tired. It was shared hundreds of times before it was deleted by censors.

Wang posted last week a photo of himself taken outside the Beijing detention centre where he was held for more than four months. Photo: SCMP

Up until his detention, Wang had been a prominent commentator on social issues with more than 1.5 million followers on the microblogging platform Sina Weibo.

But he has returned to a different climate for public debate, as usage of the platform has declined rapidly since his detention in September last year.