Quoting from the BBC: https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-64714365
Protesters of China's "Blank Paper Movement" face repercussions after autumn crackdown; several participants missing or arrested
As China declared victory in its pandemic control measures, the iconic protest against the "zero tolerance" policy in November last year has started to fade from people's memories.
Despite the progress made by the entire country, many people who participated in the demonstrations have disappeared. They were taken away by the authorities in a quiet crackdown on dissidents.
During the so-called "Blank Paper Movement," thousands of people gathered on the streets, holding up blank paper at night to oppose the COVID-19 lockdown policy. Such criticism of the ruling Communist Party of China and its leader, Xi Jinping, was rare.
At the time, the police did not make any mass arrests. However, Chinese activists say that many protesters have been detained by the police several months later. One organization estimates that more than 100 people are now imprisoned.
Chinese authorities have not commented on the detention issue, but the BBC has been able to verify the names of 12 people arrested in Beijing through interviews with some protesters' friends and lawyers.
At least five of these people have been released on bail pending trial. Among those who are still in detention, four women—Cao Zhixin, Li Siqi, Li Yuanjing, and Zhai Dengrui—have been formally charged with "picking quarrels and provoking trouble." This is a notorious vague charge with a maximum sentence of five years, which critics say is often used to suppress dissent.
Many of the detainees are well-educated, some of whom have studied at universities in the UK and the US. Their identities include writers, journalists, musicians, teachers, and finance professionals.
Most of the detainees in Beijing come from a loose circle of friends who share a love for the arts and often meet at book clubs, film screenings, and salons.
Many of them are women, and there have been reports that the police have asked if they are feminists or have participated in "feminist activities." In recent years, China's authorities have been increasingly cracking down on or investigating feminist activists.
Although these people have social awareness, and some members have expressed support for the "MeToo" movement's figure "Xianzi," their friends insist that they are not activists.
"They are just a group of young people who care about society... My friends are interested not only in feminism but also in human rights and the rights of vulnerable groups. This has nothing to do with feminist-related activities," said a friend of one of the detainees.
One of the detainees created a Telegram group that expanded from a few members to over 60 people, many of whom used registered phone numbers. Two days later, some of them were interrogated by the police.
"She was taken away while we were on the phone," said the boyfriend of one of the detainees. "She told me that some of her friends had been taken away and disappeared. She was trying to delete some things from her phone, but she was taken away before she could finish."
According to activists, the arrest operations seemed to accelerate in December and January as one friend after another was detained.
Before her arrest, Cao Zhixin sent a video of herself speaking to the camera to her friends. The video also included an explanation that the film would be posted on the internet when she disappeared.
"When our fellow citizens die, we have legitimate emotions to express," Cao said in the video, which has been widely circulated on overseas social media. "We don't want to disappear into thin air... If it's just because we went to mourn at the scene out of sympathy, then how much space is there in this society for our emotions?"
援引BBC的消息：https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-64714365
中国“白纸运动”抗议者遭秋后算账 多名参与者失踪或被捕
随着中国宣布疫情防控取得胜利，去年11月反对“清零”政策的标志性抗议活动已经开始淡出人们的记忆。
尽管整个国家已向前迈进，但许多参与示威活动的人却失踪了。他们在当局悄悄加强对异议人士的打击行动中被带走。
在所谓的“白纸运动”中，有数以千计的人在街头集会，在夜晚手举白纸反对新冠封控政策。这种对执政的中国共产党及其领导人习近平的批评相当罕见。
当时警方并未进行大规模拘留。但中国活动人士表示，在几个月后的现在，有众多抗议者被警方拘留。一家组织估计，已经有100多人身陷囹圄。
中国当局尚未就有关拘留问题置评，但通过采访部分抗议者的朋友和律师，BBC得以核实在北京被捕的12人的姓名。
这些人中至少有5人已被取保候审。在仍被拘留的人中，四名女性——曹芷馨、李思琪、李元婧和翟登蕊——已因“寻衅滋事”被正式批捕。这是一项恶名远扬的模糊控罪，最高刑期为五年，批评者称这一指控经常被用来压制异见。
许多被捕者受过良好教育，其中一些人曾就读于英国和美国的大学，他们的身份包括作家、记者、音乐家、教师和金融业专业人士。
北京的大多数被拘留者源自一个松散的朋友圈，他们都热爱艺术，经常在读书会、电影放映会和沙龙上见面。
其中的许多人是女性，有报道称，警方曾询问她们是否是女权主义者或参与过“女权活动”。近年来，中国当局对女权活动人士的打击或审查愈演愈烈。
虽然这些人具有社会意识，一些成员也对“#MeToo”运动的人物“弦子”表示过支持，但她们的朋友坚持认为，她们并非活动人士。
“她们只是一群关注社会的年轻人……我的朋友不仅对女权感兴趣，还对人权和弱势群体的权利感兴趣。这与女权相关的活动无关。”其中一名被拘留者的朋友说。
其中一名被拘留者创建了一个Telegram群组，该群组从几个成员扩大到60多人。而他们中的许多人使用了实名登记的电话号码。两天后，他们中的一些人接受了警方的讯问。
“她被带走时，我们正在打电话。”一名被拘留者的男朋友说。“她告诉我，她的一些朋友被带走失联了。她正想从手机上删掉一些东西，但还没删完就被带走了。”
据活动人士称，在12月和1月，抓捕行动似乎在加速，因为有一个接一个的朋友被拘留。
曹芷馨在被捕之前，给她的朋友们发了一段自己面对镜头说话的影片。影片中还附带有解释，称该片将在她失踪时在网上公之于众。
“我们的同胞遇难时，（我们）有合理的情绪想要表达。”曹芷馨在这段已在海外社交媒体广为流传的影片中说道。“我们不想凭空被消失……如果仅仅是因为我们出于同情去了悼念现场，那么这个社会还有多少可以容纳我们情绪的空间？”
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