On 24 August, James Lin, a human rights activist in the Netherlands, posted a notification of arrest issued on 7 July by the affiliated sub-bureau directly under the Hengyang Public Security Bureau. It states that Yang has been arrested on charges of “inciting subversion of the state power” and is currently detained at the Hengyang Youth Detention Center. It shows that the Laos government had allowed the arrest to take place, as outlined in Safeguard Defenders’ more detailed post on his arrest in the Laotian capital by both Chinese and Laotian police officers.

The CCP’s involuntary returns operations on foreign soil directly threaten the safety of Chinese activists living in exile and host countries’ national and judicial sovereignty. Victims of China’s involuntary returns will not be given a fair trial, human rights activists say.