 Li became known to the international community in 2004 as a result of his efforts to promote the rights of farmers in the Tangshan protest.Along with Yu Meisun and Zhao Yan, Li provided an advice to the farmers in Hebei Province who were resettled to make way for the Taolinkou reservoir, some east of Beijing.The farmers asserted that their compensation was not received as a result of corruption and misappropriation by officials from the local Government.