As a police officer sits in the hallway outside her home, watching her day and night, would-be prospective candidate Wang Xiuzhen was compelled to halt her campaign activities. It was her third time seeking election as a deputy in her home district of Chaoyang in the past decade. Once again, her hope has faded. Wang is just one of 14 grassroots citizens in Beijing who now have to give up their bid to run in district elections—the only opportunity every five years for citizens to cast their votes in the communist-ruled country—out of concern for their own safety. Many of the 14 are Chinese wives supporting their imprisoned husbands who are prominent human rights lawyers, including Li Wenzu, Wang Qiaoling, and Liu Ermin. The idea of running for the local elections as independent candidates stemmed from their firsthand experience of being refused by authorities while seeking justice. “[We] have deeply …