A Chinese filmmaker has been sentenced by authorities to more than three and a half years in prison for producing a documentary about the country’s Covid-19 lockdown protests., according to reports.
Chen Pinlin was initially charged in early 2024 for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” over the release of his documentary, Not the Foreign Force.
Mr Pinlin was handed down the sentence by a Shanghai court on Monday after a three-hour trial, according to sources speaking to CNN.
The filmmaker and director initially released the film to mark the first anniversary of the “White Paper” movement after thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the Chinese government in 2022.
The mass demonstrations were triggered by an apartment fire in which 10 people perished after reportedly being prevented from leaving the premises due to Covid-19 controls.
At the time, the country had faced several years of nationwide lockdowns, mass testing, quarantine and strict zero-Covid policy measures.
Protestors, including Mr Pinlin, took to the streets in response, carrying with them a piece of blank white paper to symbolise China’s systematic censorship.
据维权网报道，2025年1月6日，#白纸运动 #乌鲁木齐中路 纪录片导演 #陈品霖 一审被判刑3年6个月。https://t.co/Kj0rjnP5TR
— CHRD人权捍卫者 (@CHRDnet) January 7, 2025
陈品霖于2023年11月28日被捕；2024年1月5日被以涉嫌 #寻衅滋事罪 正式批捕。https://t.co/HyMikybesw https://t.co/RMHHgpBsmF pic.twitter.com/XbCz8sQWXD
In a bold act of defiance against the authoritarian government, many called for the resignation of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.
The protests, which were named after the white paper symbol, were eventually shut down, but China lifted its Covid restrictions soon after.
Not the Foreign Force, which also goes by the title “Urumqi Middle Road,” documented the protests and featured footage captured during the demonstrations.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Mr Pinlin’s documentary - released on X and YouTube - featured “extensive protest footage, translated social media posts demanding freedom of expression, and reported that some protesters remained detained.”
Mr Pinlin’s social media profiles were swiftly removed, and he was later detained.
The director of the film also previously wrote about his motives behind releasing the documentary: “I hope to explore why, whenever internal conflicts arise in China, foreign forces are always made the scapegoat. The answer is clear to everyone: the more the government misleads, forgets, and censors, the more we must speak up, remind others, and remember.”
