Dissidents and rights activists in various regions of China have been warned by the Chinese regime’s police not to accept interviews from foreign media, not to post on overseas social media platforms, and not to leave their homes during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to China, according to social media posts and Chinese citizens who spoke with The Epoch Times.
Chinese regime authorities routinely tighten control, especially over what they call “sensitive individuals,” such as dissidents, rights activists, and petitioners, during international events, the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) major meetings, or foreign leaders’ visits.
Gao Yu, a prominent senior journalist who resides in Beijing, posted on X on May 13 that police officers and state security agents visited her home on the same day and told her, “Trump is about to arrive; the authorities’ directive is that you should refrain from posting on X for the next few days.”
She wrote that she refused to comply and that for the next three days, “the authorities would continue to enforce restrictions the same as during previous U.S. presidential visits to China“ and that she would ”not be able to leave home.”
Liu, a rights activist in Beijing who gave only his surname out of fear of reprisal, told The Epoch Times on May 14 that a deputy director from the local police station came to his home and warned him “not to grant interviews to foreign media and not to post comments on X” because “the current period is particularly sensitive.”
“He further warned me not to leave Beijing for the time being or to wander around the embassy district,” Liu said.
Petitioners Threatened
He, a petitioner from Liaoning Province staying in Fangshan District on the outskirts of Beijing, gave only her surname out of fear of reprisal.
She told The Epoch Times that public security officials have recently warned her multiple times not to enter Beijing during Trump’s visit.
“They told me not to go to the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration to file complaints or not to entertain any thoughts of complaining to Trump,” she said, referring to her grievances against local officials.
“They even warned me that if I were caught entering the city at this time, I would face detention,” she said.
“I told them: ‘My family’s unjust case has remained unresolved despite my appeals to you for more than ten years. All I want to do is go to the U.S. Embassy to make an appeal and urge Trump to pay attention to human rights in China.’”
The Chinese regime established its petition system decades ago, allowing citizens to submit grievances directly to central authorities regarding local officials. Each year, numerous citizens from across the country travel to Beijing to file petitions; some even remain in Beijing for years because their grievances have not been addressed by the authorities.
Authorities and police in Beijing often harass, detain, and send petitioners back to their hometowns. Local officials also send police or hire guards to intercept petitioners, block their entry into Beijing, and send them to black jails, where they are often beaten or tortured.
Gu, a dissident in Shanghai who gave only his surname out of fear of reprisal, told The Epoch Times that online speech in China has been severely controlled.
He said that officers from the local police station had already warned him because they had begun preemptive “stability maintenance”—the CCP’s descriptor for its authoritarian approach in sustaining its rule in China—some time ago.
“They told petitioners in Shanghai not to go to Beijing during Trump’s visit, not to cause trouble for the state or for themselves,” Gu said.
He said that a petitioner from Wuhan told him that she, too, had received a notice from local police warning that if she went to Beijing, she would face 15 days of detention. In severe cases, such actions would be classified as “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” resulting in imprisonment, he noted. “Is this not tyranny?”
Gu said the authorities are afraid that someone might post content online or give interviews to foreign media. He also said the police warned him not to “discuss topics related to U.S.–China relations or the countries’ leaders—not even to offer praise.”
Police and security guards are seen around the perimeter of a hotel where U.S. President Donald Trump is set to stay in Beijing, ahead of the U.S. leader’s arrival, on May 13, 2026. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images
Petitioners Welcome Trump
Prominent rights activists Tian Ye, Wang Guoping, and Dong Kuihong are from Jilin Province and have lived in Beijing for years to seek justice for their families and themselves.
They told The Epoch Times that they arrived early on the morning of May 14 at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing to welcome Trump and urge him to pay attention to human rights in the country. They made a banner, took a photo of it, and shared it with the publication.
Chinese petitioners Tian Ye (C), Wang Guoping (L), and Dong Kuihong (R) pose in front of a banner they made to welcome U.S. President Donald Trump to China, in Beijing on May 14, 2026. The banner reads, “Long live the friendship between the Chinese and American people,” and urges Trump to address human rights issues in China. Courtesy of Tian Ye, Wang Guoping, and Dong Kuihong
Meanwhile, at 9 a.m. on May 14, the second day of Trump’s visit, more than a hundred petitioners had already been detained and brought to the holding hall of the Fuyou Street Police Station in Beijing to await processing and return to their hometowns, according to Jiang Jiawen, a petitioner from Liaoning Province.
Jiang told The Epoch Times that the petitioners, despite being detained, were in high spirits, shouting in unison: “Welcome Trump!” “Long live Trump!” “President Trump, please focus on human rights in China!” and “Trump, pay attention to China’s political prisoners!”
“In mainland China, we have grievances but nowhere to voice them, and injustices for which there is no avenue for redress,” said Jiang, who was among those detained at the police station.
“Many petitioners have traveled thousands of miles to Beijing—braving the risks of interception and arrest along the way—to welcome President Trump, the representative of the free world, and to express our hope that he will pay attention to the human rights situation in China!”
Wang Xin and Li Xi contributed to this report.
