Lü Gengsong, a Chinese writer and civil rights activist, author of a book about corruption in the Communist Party of China, was arrested on August 24, 2007 on charges of "incitement to subvert state power" and "illegally possessing state secrets." A history graduate from Zhejiang University, Lü taught at the Zhejiang Higher Professional School of Public Security before being expelled in 1993 because of his pro-democracy activities. He went on to become a freelance writer, and has published several books on political reform, including A History of Chinese Communist Party Corrupt Officials in 2000. Lü is known for his reporting on human rights violations and his political commentaries published on the internet. He is also an active member of the banned China Democracy Party. Lü was tried in a one-day closed door trial in January 2008.

Lü was released from prison in August 2011 after serving his sentence. He has since then been placed under police guard during the trials of other pro-democracy activists.