Opinion | Online campaign for release of Guangdong democracy activist Liu Yuandong gathers pace

An online campaign calling for the release of a jailed Guangdong activist is facing roadblocks from Chinese censors as supporters’ weibo posts have for the most part been promptly deleted since February.

Pictures of people holding banners demanding that Liu Yuandong be freed keep appearing on Sina Weibo, but many of the posts are not seen for long.

Liu, 35, was detained in February after he participated in a protest in the provincial capital of Guangzhou condemning North Korea’s nuclear test. His arrest has incited a movement online.

In one photo, a group of seven men are seen at night holding a white banner with black handwritten characters. "What crime has Liu Yuandong committed when protesting against the nuclear test?" the banner said. "We ask the authorities to release him without charges."  

One photo, dated April 7, shows three men holding a red banner that reads: "Release Liu Yuandong, stop political persecution." Another shows a man named Yu Gang calling for Liu's release outside a Shenzhen subway station. 

Liu’s arrest came 11 days after North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on February 12. Within several hours of Pyongyang’s rocket launch, news of the earthquake triggered by the test close to the Chinese border led to an outpouring of concern in China over nuclear contamination.