Du Bin (; born 1972) is a Chinese journalist, photographer, poet and documentary film-maker. Self-taught in photography, Du has worked as a contract photographer for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' since 2011, and has also been published in the '' International Herald Tribune'', ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'', and ''

the Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. He is originally from Tancheng, Shandong, China, and is based in Beijing. Du was detained by Beijing authorities in June 2013 after releasing a feature-length documentary about the Masanjia Labor Camp.

Notable works

Du wrote the first biography of the artist

Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei (, ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly c ...

, called ''God Ai'' (). In 2013 he released ''Above the Ghosts' Head: The Women of Masanjia Labour Camp'' (), a documentary on torture and other abuses in China's Masanjia Labor Camp. The film was banned in mainland China, but was shown at least once in Hong Kong and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and then posted online. He also had a 600-page book on the 1989 military crackdown published, called ''Tiananmen Square Massacre'' (). The book, which compiles a number of already published accounts of 4 June crackdown, was published in late May by Mirror Books.

2013 detention

On 1 June 2013, soon after the release of the book and the film, Du Bin was detained by state security agents in Beijing. Friends say that they found two unsigned police warrants in his home for "disturbing public order." Under Chinese administrative statutes, police could use the charge to hold Du for up to 15 days, after which he should either be released, sent to a re-education through labor camp, or formally charged with a crime. As of 13 June, Du was still being held at the Fengtai District detention center. Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders called for his release. Du Bin was released on bail on 8 July 2013, but his freedom is tenuous. He could still face formal charges for " picking quarrels and making trouble," and he expects that his movements will be monitored. The Chinese government has

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

his name from Sina Weibo.

2020 detention

Du Bin was detained in December 2020. He was charged with "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" and is being held at a detention centre in

Daxing District Daxing District () is a district of Beijing, covering the southern suburbs of the city. It borders the Beijing districts of Tongzhou to the east/northeast, Fangshan to the west, Fengtai to the northwest, Chaoyang to the northeast, and the Heb ...

. His family had been warned not to speak to the media. He was detained a month before his book on

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

was due to be released. The

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journ ...

have called for his release.

Books

* Petitioners: Living Fossils Who Survived China's Rule of Law (上訪者 : 中國以法治國下倖存的活化石)(2007) * Shanghai Calvary () (2010) * Beijing's Ghosts () (2010) * Toothbrush (牙刷 : 紅色星球上人類最後的進化) (2011) * Chairman Mao's Purgatory () (2011) * God Ai () (2012) * Mao Zedong's Regime of Human Flesh () (2013) * Tiananmen Square Massacre () (2013) * Vaginal Coma () (2014) * Roar of Masanjia (2015) * Changchun Hunger Siege 1947.11.4-1948.10.19 (2017)

External links

Above the Ghosts' Head: The Women of Masanjia Labour Camp

Amnesty International article

PDF download of Toothbrush in Chinese and English

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Du, Bin Writers from Linyi Film directors from Shandong Chinese photographers 1972 births Living people Chinese prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of the People's Republic of China People's Republic of China journalists People's Republic of China poets Poets from Shandong Chinese film directors