1st September 2021 – (Nanning) Fang Ran, a full-time PhD student at HKU Sociology has been arrested by police in China. His friends said that he has disappeared for at least 5 days. His father said that Fang Ran was detained by police in the city of Nanning in southwestern Guangxi region last Thursday. He was accused of “suspicion of subverting state power.” It is understood that Fang Ran studied at Tsinghua University in Beijing. In 2018, he went to Hong Kong University to study for a Ph.D. and has been engaged in labour research. In 2018, he visited Shenzhen human rights protection workers.
Hong kong Alliance Vice Chairman Tonyee Chow posted a post on Facebook this morning, stating that Fang Ran, a PhD student in the Department of Social Sciences of the University of Hong Kong, was placed under residential surveillance for “suspicion of subverting state power” in Nanning, Guangxi on 26th August. Chow said that Fang Ran is a labour rights activist and his research is on the labour movement in China. He also wrote a book review on Chinese investment in Africa.
Fang Ran received his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Tsinghua University, and has worked as interns at a non-government organisation and a social media which focus on China labor issue.
In response, Hong Kong University said in a statement that it is “aware of the matter and actively looking into it”.