Yang Li

Yang Li (; born ) is a Chinese human rights activist. She is known for her petitioning in support of land rights in Jiangsu, for which she has been persecuted by Chinese authorities, including serving a custodial prison sentence between 2024 and 2025 and being prohibited from accessing medical care.

Biography

Activism Yang is from Jintan, a district in the city of Changzhou in Jiangsu.

In 2014, following local authorities' attempts to seize land from Yang and her parents, she began campaigning against land expropriation, forced evictions, demolitions and the subsequent displacement of people in Jiangsu, in addition to the inadequate compensation provided to people impacted by the policies. She became known for her frequent petitions in respect of land rights, petitioning various local authorities including the Jintan Public Security Bureau, the Jintan Procuratorate, and the Jiangsu High People's Court and the National Complaints and Proposals Administration.

As a result of her activism, Yang and her family experienced reprisals from local authorities, including being placed under surveillance, harassment, arbitrary detention, physical assaults and threats.

Arrest and imprisonment In 2024, Yang and her father, Xu Dongqing, were arrested in relation to their "persistent petitioning", charged with "disrupting the work order of state organs".

Subsequent harassment After her release from prison, Yang was initially detained in custody at a local police station where her mobile phone was confiscated before returning home. On 9 January 2026, Yang attempted to dismantle a police surveillance shack built to monitor her family using farm tools; she was able to successfully retrieve her phone and arrange to receive medical care in Beijing.