‘PROVOCATION’

University of Minnesota Student Imprisoned in China Over Tweets

Sen. Ben Sasse called the move “ruthless and paranoid totalitarianism.”

A student at the University of Minnesota was arrested in China this past summer and has since been sentenced to six months in prison for tweets he posted while in the United States, some of which allegedly contained “unflattering” portrayals of a “national leader,” Axios reported. Republican Sen. Ben Sasse on Thursday called for 20-year-old Luo Daiqing’s release and described his arrest as “ruthless and paranoid.” Chinese court documents obtained by Axios show authorities believed Luo “used his Twitter account to post more than 40 comments denigrating a national leader’s image and indecent pictures,” which “created a negative social impact.” In November, he was sentenced to six months in prison for “provocation.”