Ding Jiaxi

In this Chinese name, the family name is Ding.

Ding Jiaxi
丁家喜
Born	(1967-08-17) 17 August 1967 Hubei, China
Occupations	Legal scholar, lecturer
Known for	Civil rights advocacy, advocacy of constitutionalism
Movement	New Citizens Movement
Criminal charges	Disruption of public order (politically motivated)
Criminal penalty	Imprisonment (12 Years)

Ding Jiaxi (Chinese: 丁家喜; born 17 August 1967) is a Chinese civil rights activist known for co-organizing the New Citizens' Movement advocating for political change in China and having been sentenced in 2022 to 12 years in prison for his advocacy.

Ding holds a Bachelor and Master's degree in Engineering from Beihang University, specializing in aircraft manufactuering. While doing post-graduate studies in Beihang University, he simultaneously studied law and passed the law exam. In 1996, he transitioned to a legal career and worked at multiple law firms until co-founding the Beijing Dehong Law Firm in 2003 as a Senior Partner.

During his legal career, he advocated for the rights of migrant workers' children to participate in the college entrance exam locally. In 2012, he wrote a public letter together with Xu Zhiyong and others, calling on Xi Jinping and other top-level government officials to lead the way in dislosing their financial assets, which gathered over 8,000 signatures.

In April 2013, Ding was arrested on charges of "illegal gathering". In April 2014, he was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for "gathering crowds to disrupt order in public places". He was released in 2016 after serving his sentence.

Ding was again detained in 2019, along with other human rights activists, after having a dinner together in Xiamen to discuss social issues. He was then sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2022 for subversion of state power. According to Ding's wife, evidence for charges against Ding and other detainees include "participating in a Telegram group chat, articles and online posts, and organizing classes in non-violent resistance."

In 2023, Ding was awarded the 2023 Human Rights award from the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe and the U.S. Department of State's Global Human Rights Defender Award. In 2024, Ding was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the chairs of Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

Education and Career

Ding Jiaxi holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Engineering from Beihang University, specializing in aircraft manufacturing. From 1990 to 1996, he worked as an engineer at the Shenyang Aviation Industry Corporation and the Beijing Aviation Industry Corporation, during which time he also studied law and passed the bar exam. In 1996, he transitioned to a full-time legal career, practicing at various law firms in Beijing. In 2003, he co-founded the Beijing Dehong Law Firm, serving as a senior partner, with expertise in areas such as corporate mergers and acquisitions, investment, bankruptcy law, and intellectual property protection. By 2013, his law firm employed over 20 lawyers and had an annual income of 25 million yuan.

Ding has served as a member of the Corporate Restructuring Professional Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association, a member of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League, Secretary-General of the Beihang Entrepreneurs Association, and Director of the Legal Committee of the Zhongguancun International Software Incubation Association.

In 2011, Ding went to Fordham University as a visiting scholar. While outside China's Great Firewall, he had access to information previously not seen and began to see China differently than before. According to his wife, Luo Shengchun, "[Ding] completely changed. Now, everything in China was not okay."

Upon returning to China in late 2011, Ding began working with Xu Zhiyong, Teng Biao, and others to advance civil rights in China.

Arrests and imprisonment

On April 17, 2013, Ding Jiaxi was detained by the authorities on charges of "illegal assembly" and held at the Beijing No. 3 Detention Center on Tuanhe Road, Daxing District. Upon learning of Ding's arrest, some petitioners at Beijing South Railway Station staged a protest holding banners.

In April 2014, Ding was sentenced to three years and six months in prison. He was released in October 2016.

Ding was arrested in 2019 after a dinner with fellow human rights activists in which they discussed social issues. In June 2022, Ding and Xu Zhiyong were given prison sentences for "subversion of state power" for 14 and 12 years, respectively, after a closed-door trial in June 2022. The convictions were described as farcical by Human Rights Watch.

In 2024, Freedom House reported that Ding's communication with family members have been restricted to letters. Prison authorities told Ding's wife to "forget about it, Ding will never be allowed a phone call with you."

International response

Before Ding's conviction, on 18 March 2022 ahead of the EU–China summit, NGOs including Human Rights Watch, World Uyghur Congress, and Front Line Defenders sent a joint letter to the Presidents of the European Commission and European Council, urging the EU and its member states to, among other things, publicly call for the release of detained human rights defenders in China, including Ding.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated in April 2023 that "I am very concerned that two prominent human rights defenders in China – Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong – have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, at variance with international human rights law standards."

Awards

2023 Global Human Rights Defender Award, Department of State

While in prison, Ding was announced recipient of the Department of State's 2023 Global Human Rights Defender Award. His wife, Sophie Luo, received the award on his behalf.

2023 Human Rights Awards, Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE)

Ding, along with Xu and human rights lawyer Chow Hang-tung, received the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) Human Rights Award 2023 for their "courage, determination and commitment to defending human rights and the rule of law in China". CCBE President Panagiotis Perakis stated that "European lawyers will continue to closely monitor the situation and support their Chinese colleagues who need help. We will never accept that lawyers are targeted because of their legitimate activities as lawyers."

Nobel Peace Prize Nomination

Ding was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024 by chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China Christopher Smith and Jeff Merkley, commending on Ding's "deep commitment to human rights and peace in China".

See also

• Xu Zhiyong
• Weiquan movement
• New Citizens' Movement (China)