Rei Xia is a 27-year-old Chinese dissenter and human rights activist.
In November 2022, she was captured and briefly detained by police after participating in the White Paper movement on Shanghai Street. After her release, she shared her and other demonstrators’ experiences on Twitter. On December 5, 2022, she was arrested for allegedly spreading rumors after exposing the violent tactics and forced searches by the Tianlin Road Police Station against peaceful protesters in Shanghai. She was held in solitary confinement at the Xuhui District Detention Center for 37 days. On April 4, 2023, she was taken to the Shanghai Jingwei Forced Identification and Detention Center for the same case, and subsequently faced harassment and forced eviction by the police multiple times.
On November 16, 2023, she was again detained for 28 days in the Huangpu District Detention Center on charges of provocation and causing disturbances. During her detention, she suffered severe physical and psychological abuse by Chinese police and security forces. In early 2024, Xia escaped from China and began her life in exile. As a direct victim of the violent rule of the Chinese authoritarian government, she decided to speak out to the international community about the atrocities of the Chinese Communist Party and contribute to advancing human rights in China.
