Right Advocates of “the Shaoyang Foundlings” Detained on Prostitution Charges

• Author: Zhao Hejuan et al

Yang Libing and Zhou Yinghe are two men who together form the backbone of the so-called “Shaoyang Foundlings” advocacy group- a team of parents who appeal to courts to protect their rights and the rights of their children, the latter of whom had been seized by the local government under the authority of the PRC’s birth control policy. Recently, both Yang and Zhou were accused of having solicited prostitutes in Shaoyang City. Their hotel was raided by police, and both men received fifteen days of administrative detention. Yang Libing’s younger brother is convinced that Yang has been set up by the government.

According to eyewitness accounts, on June 21, several parents arranged to go together to Shaoyang City to seek the help of the courts for their children, who had been snatched by the government. There, a mysterious figure contacted Yang...