Xu Wenli. and Qin Yongmin were each sentenced to over 10 years in prison allegedly for "attempting to overthrow state power" because of their roles in the Democratic Party. China took great strides to keep overseas dissidents out of China. In April. less than an hour after her arrival at her parents home. Li Xiaorong. a research scholar at University of Maryland. who was traveling on a US passport with a valid visa. was taken into custody. Her crime. according to police. was that her work in the US on behalf of human rights in China was unacceptable. Similarly. in October.