In July 2018, Dong Yaoqiong, 29, recorded herself splashing black ink on a poster of the Chinese leader in Shanghai.
The woman who became known as “ink girl” for defacing a poster of Chinese leader Xi Jinping in public remains missing after nearly four years.
The Hunan province native was soon arrested, and was committed to a psychiatric ward, in 2018 and again in 2020.
Advocacy group Weiquanwan (Rights Protection Network) on Sunday released report in Chinese saying there had been no news since her third and final institutionalization in February 2022—188 weeks ago—and it’s unknown whether she is still alive.
Such disappearances are common in China. This is especially true of dissidents, who are often detained without due process and face secretive trials and indefinite detention when they challenge the Chinese Communist Party.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry via written request for comment.
