(LONDON, May 7, 2025)—On May 7, 2025, U.K. government ministers Baroness Jennifer Chapman and Catherine West MP responded to questions raised about the U.K.government’s engagement with China on the continued arbitrary detention of Chinese activist Dr. Wang Bingzhang. The two ministers affirmed that the government is collaborating with international partners to hold China accountable for human rights violations. Lord David Alton and Blair McDougall MP submitted questions on April 23 and April 28 , respectively. Earlier, on April 16, 2025, Jim Shannon MP tabled an “Early Day Motion” on Dr. Wang Bingzhang’s detention, which received two signatures as of July 28, 2025. Fortify Rights assisted the MPs in drafting the respective questions and motion.
Eight U.K. parliamentarians also sent a letter, which Fortify Rights assisted with, to U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy MP on May 26, 2025 about Dr. Wang Bingzhang’s detention. On July 9, 2025, Catherine West MP responded, stating that the UK remains committed to collaborating with partners and engaging in multilateral forums to end arbitrary detention. To bring further attention to Dr. Wang Bingzhang’s detention, on June 3, 2025, Fortify Rights published a news release advocating for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Wang Bingzhang.
The 77-year-old prodemocracy activist has spent 23 years in solitary confinement following his abduction from Vietnam in 2002 and life sentence in China. He founded the pro-democracy magazine China Spring and is a leader of the overseas Chinese pro-democracy movement. In the news release, Fortify Rights raised concerns about his health in detention and how his detention is a violation of international law. Dr. Wang has permanent residency status in the U.S.