Li Changping (Chinese: 李昌平; born 1963)[1] and originally from Dongting Lake, was a rural cadre and is now a researcher in Beijing.
[1][3] In 1999, he completed a master's degree in Economics and returned to Hubei as a party secretary.
[1] He gained fame after writing a letter to then Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, expressing his concerns about the management of farm workers by local officials.
[3] The letter was published in the newspaper Southern Weekend, and its readers voted Li as the 'Man of the Year'.
"[citation needed] Li was described by The Guardian in 2002 as "China's most famous advocate for peasant rights".