China Frees 3 Imprisoned Feminist Protestors, 2 Still Behind Bars

The five were arrested just before International Women’s Day on March 8, when they’d planned to protest sexual harassment on public transportation. Since their incarceration, international outcry has swelled and spread around the world but, until today, the Chinese government has largely ignored requests for the five’s freedom, including a plea from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Said Kerry via CNN:

“Each and every one of us has the right to speak out against sexual harassment and the many other injustices that millions of women and girls suffer around the world,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement Friday.

“We strongly support the efforts of these activists to make progress on these challenging issues, and we believe that Chinese authorities should also support them, not silence them.”

Now Rongrong and Tingting may be charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a favorite charge of President Xi Jinping’s regime to rope in protesting detractors.