New Citizens' Movement

New Citizens' Movement
Part of Weiquan Movement
Gongmin insignia, handwriting of Sun Yatsen
Date	2010
Location	Beijing, China
Goals	Peaceful transitition to constitutionalism Greater civic rights Disclosure of official assets Equal rights for education
Methods	Peaceful activism, education to increase public awareness
Resulted in	Arrests by Chinese government security agents Heavy sentences dispensed to activists
Lead figures
Xu Zhiyong Wang Gongquan Chinese Communist Party, Ministry of Public Security
Arrest/Detentions
Arrested	4-5

The Chinese New Citizens' Movement (simplified Chinese: 中国新公民运动; traditional Chinese: 中國新公民運動; pinyin: Zhōngguó xīn gōngmín yùndòng) is a collection of numerous civil rights activists in mainland China since 2010. It is promoted by the loosely organized civil rights group "Citizens" (successor to the Open Constitution Initiative (Chinese: 公盟; pinyin: gōngméng)) with the New Citizens' Spirit: "Free, Righteous, Loving". It is a major component of the civil society movement in mainland China since the beginning of the 21st century. The New Citizen's Movement has close ties to the weiquan movement (rights defending movement), but it has clearer and higher-level charter and pursuits. It is a political movement, which hopes to facilitate a peaceful transition of the country towards constitutionalism. It is also a social movement, hoping to facilitate a transition from a "servants' society" to a civil society.

The name "New Citizens' Movement" was proposed by Xu Zhiyong, a prominent legal scholar and civil rights lawyer, in his article "China's New Citizens' Movement" in May 2012.^[1]

Chinese authorities have always tried to monitor and suppress the New Citizens' Movement. Xu Zhiyong, founder of the movement, was arrested on July 16, 2013.^[2][3][4] Another prominent businessman and financial supporter of the movement, Wang Gongquan, was arrested on Sep 13, 2013.^[5]