Friends, rights groups worry for Chinese #MeToo activist's life after jail

Rio once joined his friend, jailed Chinese #MeToo activist Sophia Huang Xueqin, for weekly group discussions on social issues and shared struggles, and now worries about how she will navigate life after prison.

Huang, a journalist, has been behind bars since 2021, when she and labour activist Wang Jianbing were detained for co-organising those meetings, among other charges.

A Chinese court sentenced Huang to five years in prison, saying in 2024 that the pair had "incited participants' dissatisfaction with Chinese state power under the pretext of discussing social issues".

Though Huang is due to be released on Friday, Rio and rights groups say they are concerned that she will remain under the thumb of Chinese authorities.

Speaking to AFP from the United States, Rio -- who wanted to provide only his English name -- recalled joining the meetings six years ago, which he described as a safe space for wide-ranging chats.

Huang had endured solitary confinement, lost over five kilograms and went four months without menstruating while in detention, her supporters said, citing sources such as former inmates who had met the activist.

Amnesty International warned this week in an open letter signed by more than 50 rights organisations that Huang would continue to face "restrictions" even after leaving prison.

Huang will be deprived of her political rights for four years after her release -- a "supplemental sentence" that is "routinely imposed on human rights defenders and journalists to restrict their ability to speak, publish and organise long after their prison terms end", it said.

For Huang, the restrictions on her freedom of speech and her movements within China will be a heavy burden, Rio told AFP.

"Sophia is a journalist, and as a journalist, if you don't have freedom of expression... you've stripped away their primary tool," he said.

"We can foresee that her right to express herself freely online in the future will likely be heavily monitored."

- #MeToo symbol -

Huang was an outspoken supporter of women's rights, writing on social media about experiencing workplace sexual harassment at a Chinese news agency in the wake of the global #MeToo movement.

Women's rights is a sensitive topic in China, where authorities have suppressed almost every form of feminist activism over the last decade.

Since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012, Beijing has also tightened its grip on civil society and free speech, stamping out all forms of dissent.

The court sentencing Huang said she had repeatedly published "inflammatory articles and statements that distort facts and attack the Chinese government".

But Rio recalled the gatherings with Huang and their friends, often held in Wang's cramped living room, provided a "safe, comfortable space when you could open up".

The group at times drew as many as 30 members for discussions on issues ranging from gay migrant workers to activism.

Huang was arrested the day before she was due to fly to the United Kingdom for studies.

She had been excited after finally receiving a new passport from the authorities, viewing it as a "positive signal", Rio said.

"So we were all in shock" when she got detained, he said.

While Huang has been emblematic of women's rights in China, Rio feels she "shouldn't have to shoulder the heavy burden" of keeping the movement alive.

"I think what we really hope for is that she takes care of her own physical and mental well-being first."

Rio said Huang's friends were all "tremendously" relieved that she will soon be released.

"After five years, it's finally over for her. She can finally step out and catch her breath."

"The Xueqin we know... is someone with incredible energy, someone we'd call a fighter."