The Chinese government marked International Human Rights Day by barring many dissenters from leaving their homes, to prevent them from possibly meeting Western diplomats.

But that didn’t stop Shi Minglei, the wife of a mainland activist, who managed to attend an event organized by the European Union Delegation to China, where she spoke about the arbitrary prosecution faced by her husband, Cheng Yuan. Shi later said she received encouragement from the diplomats she met from EU member states, Britain, the U.S. and Canada.

Cheng was among a trio arrested last year for allegedly subverting state power through their work with Changsha Funeng, an organization that has long advocated for the rights of people with disabilities. It has also lodged lawsuits related to HIV/ AIDS and planned parenthood.

Shi said she has no idea about when or where her husband’s trial will be held.

Shi described the arbitrary nature of Chinese law in the planned parenthood program, citing the experience of Wu Gejianxiong, a fellow Changhai Funeng activist. Before Wu was born in 1994, his father assembled all the necessary documents to comply with the program. However, authorities still punished him with a 3,000 yuan (US$458) fine, which represented 30 months of his salary, Shi said.

Officials said the certificate issued to Wu’s father was only valid for the calendar year 1995, but Wu was born on 14 Dec., 1994. “Your son should have been born in [1995]”, Wu’s father was told, according to Shi.

Shi said non-governmental organizations no longer have much hope of operating in China, following a crackdown in 2015 that saw more than 200 activists detained. Shi said she has been reminding her husband to “keep safe”.

Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy in China marked International Human Rights Day with messages encouraging people to “Speak Out, Stand Up”, posted on the popular social media platform Weibo.

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