Censorship of the Police Torture and Murder of Sun Renze

On January 13, 2023, the PRC state-sponsored media outlet Caixin published an article titled "The Death of Suspect Sun Renze" (嫌疑人孙任泽之死) authored by Wang Heyan (王和岩). The article chronicled how eight PRC police officers tortured Sun in an effort to force a confession out of him. According to the article, a PRC court found that the police had tortured Sun using the following methods:

• Suspending him from a beam;
• Beating him with PVC pipes;
  
• Hanging soda bottles filled with water from his genitals;
• Pinching his genitals;
• Applying electric shocks using an old fashioned hand-cranked telephone, which the police just happened to have on hand;
  
• Waterboarding him.

The foregoing is just a partial list. The goal of the police in torturing Sun was to force him to provide statements that could be used against another person who was the target of a high-profile investigation.

Other noteworthy aspects of the article:

• Initially, the police claimed that Sun had died because he choked to death while drinking water. This excuse recalls similarly ridiculous police claims in 2009 that an inmate, Li Qiaoming, had died when he hit his head playing "elude the cat" (躲猫猫 - hide and seek) with other inmates, when an investigation later found that actually the inmates had deliberately beaten him to death.
• The original autopsy said Sun's cause of death was simply "multiple organ failure." So his mother paid for another autopsy, which found that Sun's death was the result of violence, and that he had suffered from multiple injuries, including broken bones, internal bleeding, and burns.
• In an effort to get Sun's mother to drop the case, the police offered her money and other incentives. When these efforts failed, the police followed and surveilled her and her family, made threatening phone calls to her, and tried to discredit her by spreading rumors about her.
  
• In an effort to cover up their crimes, the police destroyed and falsified evidence, going so far as to fabricate fake video surveillance.
• The article concludes by noting that the court judgment for the case that led to Sun's arrest in the first place cannot be located on the China Judgments Online database - another example of the PRC government's failure to keep the transparency commitments it made over a decade ago (see http://blog.feichangdao.com/2022/11/censorship-of-court-judgments-in-prc.html).

As these screenshots show, within 24 hours the Caixin article had been deleted.

 The article was originally available here: https://china.caixin.com/2024-01-13/102156070.html (Archive: https://archive.ph/sWNH2). The full text was reposted on the China Digital Times website here: https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/704159.html. 

As these screenshots show, other articles discussing the Caixin article were also censored, such as this one titled "Why You Must Pay Attention to the Death of Sun Renze" (你为什么必须关注孙任泽之死).

 Original URL: https://www.163.com/dy/article/IOHJIAA705566HKT.html

Archive: https://archive.ph/aRZZg

These screenshots of a Sina Weibo search for "Sun Renze" taken one day apart show that Sina Weibo posts discussing the Caixin article were also censored.

This screenshot was taken on January 16, 2024, and shows that Sina Weibo had banned users from establishing a topic on "Sun Renze."

A full translation of the article can be found below the following brief summary.

Sun Renze was a young man from Yining City, Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. He was the only child of Ren Tingting, a police officer's widow.

In March 2018, Sun was criminally detained by the Yining Municipal Public Security Bureau on suspicion of disturbing the peace (寻衅滋事). Sometimes translated as "picking trouble and provoking quarrels," this "pocket crime" has been the subject of criticism by both scholars and the PRC Supreme People's Court.

On September 27, 2018, Sun fell into a coma after being interrogated by police officers at the Huocheng County Detention Center in Yili Prefecture. He was later transferred to a hospital. According to the Caixin article this is what Sun's mother saw when she saw her son in the ICU:

His right arm was exposed, and there was a purple-red scar on his wrist and shoulder blade, which were deeply sunken. I pulled away the sheets on his body, and his whole body was naked. His left arm and calf were splinted. There were scars, many scabs, and his testicles were red and swollen.

On November 9, 2018, Sun, who had been in the ICU for 43 days, succumbed to his injuries and died.

The initial autopsy concluded that Sun's death was caused by multiple organ failure. However, his mother believed that he had been tortured to death by police officers, and she fought for years to bring her son's killers to justice. 

In 2023, eight police officers were convicted of intentional injury and sentenced to between 3 and 13 years in prison.

Full Translation of Caixin's "The Death of Suspect Sun Renze" (嫌疑人孙任泽之死), by Wang Heyan (王和岩).

Throughout the trial Ren Tingting had sat weeping at the table. Just prior to the court adjourning, Ren Tingting suddenly stood up from the prosecution table and shouted at the eight suspects in the audience: "Murderers, I will never forgive you." There was a commotion, and the judge hurriedly spoke out to stop her. Ren Tingting was over 50 years old and lived in Yining City, Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Her husband was a senior police officer who had died in the line of duty. Her only son, Renze, had been criminally detained on March 27, 2018 on suspicion of disturbing the peace, and had been held at the Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County Detention Center in Yili Prefecture.

In the early morning of September 27, 2018, Sun Renze fell into coma after being interrogated by police officers at the Huocheng County Detention Center in Yili Prefecture for more than seven hours. He was later transferred to the ICUs of multiple hospitals. On November 9, Sun Renze, who had not been able to wake up, finally died of his injuries. He was not yet 31 years old.

The police claimed that during the interrogation Sun Renze had asked for water and had choked, causing him to fall into coma, and the interrogators were not responsible. Ren Tingting, who had seen her son unconscious and bruised on the hospital bed, could not accept such a conclusion. Over the next five years, she would endure pressure from all sides as she campaigned over the death of her child, until finally the truth came to light. On November 6, 2023, in a case of death caused by police officers violently extorting confessions, the Kuitun City Court in Yili Prefecture quietly pronounced the eight defendants guilty of intentional injury and sentenced them from to 3 to 13 years imprisonment.

The eight defendants in this case, Bai Zhenhua, He Defu, Wu Xuechun, Liu Xianyong, Shi Donghua, Jin Bowen, Cui Liang, and Zhu Shede, were all police officers of the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau and the municipal and county public security bureaus under its jurisdiction. Bai Zhenhua, born in August 1976, was the former captain of the Criminal Investigation Team of Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau. He Defu, born in November 1962, was the former deputy captain and fourth-level senior police officer of the Legal Affairs Brigade of Kuitun City Public Security Bureau. Wu Xuemin, born in December 1986, was former deputy director of the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau and director of the Qingshuihe Branch. Liu Xianyong, born in May 1991, was former third level of the Criminal Investigation Intelligence Information Brigade of the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau Police Captain. Shi Donghua, born in August 1983, was the former instructor of the Criminal Police Brigade of Xinyuan County Public Security Bureau. Jin Bowen, born in January 1985, was the former deputy captain of the Economic Investigation Brigade of Huocheng County Public Security Bureau. Cui Liang, born in July 1985, was the former deputy captain of the Economic Investigation Brigade of Huocheng County Public Security Bureau. Zhu Sheide, born in October 1976, was the former captain of the Food and Drug Environmental Investigation Team of Gongliu County Public Security Bureau.

The Kuitun City Court found that the defendants, Bai Zhenhua, He Defu, Wu Xuewei, Liu Xianyong, Shi Donghua, Jin Bomin, Cui Liang, and Zhu Jiande, had committed acts of physical force such as binding, hanging, beating, and dousing with water, that resulted in the death of the victim, Sun Renze, in the course of investigating a criminal gang-related case five years earlier. The court held that the eight defendants, as police officers who had served for many years, should have been able to foresee the possible consequences of extorting confessions through torture. However, in order to obtain evidence, they tortured to extort confessions, which ultimately led to the serious consequences of the death of the victim. Their actions were in violation of the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law on the crime of intentional injury. The facts of the crime were clear and the evidence was sufficient, and constituted the crime of intentional injury. After the verdict was pronounced, five defendants, including Bai Zhenhua, He Defu, Wu Xue, Liu Xianyong and Zhu Yi, refused to accept the verdict and filed an appeal, which was heard before the Intermediate People's Court of Yili Prefecture.

“The Police Said the Man Died From Choking on Water.”

Ren Tingting remembered that at around 8 pm on September 27, 2018, she received a call from a stranger. The caller claimed to be Cui Liang, a police officer from the Criminal Investigation Team of the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau, and said that the leader of the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau wanted to see her, and asked her to accompany them momentarily.

Ren Tingting had been living alone since her husband, a policeman, had died in the line of duty many years before. Seeing that it was getting late, Ren Tingting did not respond. About half an hour later, Cui Liang drove a non-police Mitsubishi car to the community where Ren Tingting's home was located, and the two parties met at the entrance. Cui Liang said that the leadership was coming to her to get an understanding of the situation. Ren Tingting insisted that she would not be able to go until tomorrow. During this period, “for a long time Cui Liang kept making long distance phone calls.”

Six months prior, in March 2018, Ren Tingting’s son Renze had been criminally detained by the Yining Municipal Public Security Bureau on suspicion of disturbing the peace. He was later arrested and detained at the Qapqal County Detention Center. According to Ren Tingting, Sun Renze was an only child in the family and was favored since he was a child. When he was in junior high school, his father suddenly died of a heart attack at work. Without his father's discipline, Sun Renze became increasingly unruly. Although he later attended the police academy, he did not join the police force and continued to do business and eventually open a bar. According to Caixin’s understanding, Sun Renze was fond of socializing, most of his contacts were with people from somewhat complex social backgrounds, and he had been taken in by authorities several times over the past few years.

Ren Tingting remained at a stalemate with the police until 10:30 pm, when the police insisted on leaving immediately. Ren Tingting had no choice but to call the lawyer she had hired for her son to accompany her to Huocheng. As midnight approached, he entered Huocheng County and drove straight to the entrance of the clinic building of Huocheng County First People's Hospital (referred to as Huocheng County Jiangsu Hospital). Cui Liang asked Ren Tingting and her lawyer to go to the ICU on the second floor, but he himself did not go in. Meanwhile, another man remained standing alone some distance away.

Ren Tingting would later learn that that man's name was Wu Xuemin, and he was then the deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Team of the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau. "When I got to the ICU entrance, my legs were weak," Ren Tingting said, "My son was covered with a sheet and lying on the hospital bed with tubes inserted into his body. I cried and called Renze, Renze, but there was no response. His right arm was exposed, and there was a purple-red scar on his wrist and shoulder blade, which were deeply sunken. I pulled away the sheets on his body, and his whole body was naked. His left arm and calf were splinted. There were scars, many scabs, and his testicles were red and swollen..." Ren Tingting said that she later learned that the purple scars on his shoulder blades and wrists were caused by his having been tied up with military belts and suspended for a long time, and the scabs had been caused by electric shocks. "I asked them was his left arm broken? They said that my son had choked on some water and fell to the ground, and that it had pulled out when they were pulling him up."

The police took out a medical parole form and asked Ren Tingting to sign it. Ren Tingting remembered that the medical records stated that investigators reported that in the early morning of September 27, the suspect choked on his drink and fell to the ground, and that the patient had not eaten for several days and was in a very poor mental state.

"There are so many injuries, why aren't they written down in the medical records?" Ren Tingting asked.

The leader of the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau that Cui Liang had previously mentioned never showed up, and Wu Xuemin said that the leader was not in the county. Ren Tingting refused to sign, "Wu Xuemin was extremely anxious, pacing back and forth and constantly making phone calls, like an ant on a hot wok."

At two or three o'clock in the middle of the night, Ren Tingting returned to her home in Yining. "My eldest sister had been waiting for me. I was shaking all over and cried when I told my eldest sister about this." Ren Tingting said that she and her family didn't sleep that night.

After dawn, Ren Tingting, her family, and her lawyer went to the First People's Hospital of Huocheng County. An auxiliary police officer stood at the entrance of the ICU and refused to let them in. Ren Tingting found Dr. Ma Mouna, who had participated in treating her son. "When she heard that I was Sun Renze's mother, she said she didn't know anything and ran off. I chased after her to stop her, telling her she was also a mother, and if she had seen her son is like this, would she want to find out what happened? She said I should go find the director.” Ren Tingting did not find the hospital director. The doctors involved in treating her son told her that the police said the person died from choking on drinking water and that his arm was dislocated when they attempted to rescue him.

After negotiations, the leadership of the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau finally agreed to see them in the afternoon. Ren Tingting and her lawyer came to the public security bureau and "we were not allowed to take anything with us. They searched us all over our bodies." At that time, Bai Zhenhua, who was also the deputy leader of the criminal investigation team of the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau, and a disciplinary inspection secretary surnamed Xu of the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau met Ren Tingting. The person who received the lawyer was Deputy Director Wang of the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau in charge of criminal investigations.

"From the outset Bai Zhenhua was trying to get close to me, saying that my husband has been his superior when he worked at the Yining County Public Security Bureau." Regarding Sun Renze's situation, Bai Zhenhua's rhetoric was the same as that of the police who had escorted her to the hospital. He said that the injuries on his wrists and legs were caused by wearing handcuffs and shackles. "I knew it was a lie as soon as I heard it. My son was a criminal suspect, not a death row inmate. Why would he always be wearing handcuffs and shackles in the detention center?" Ren Tingting asked to see the video surveillance. At first, Bai Zhenhua said that there was surveillance video, but that it was impossible to show it to her, but afterwards he changed his tune saying we'd talk about it later. Deputy Director Wang replied to the lawyer that he needed to ask for permission if he wanted to watch the video.

“We Did Everything We Could”

On September 29, the third day after Sun Renze's incident, the hospital director told Ren Tingting that they had invited the ICU director of Urumqi Xinhua Hospital for a consultation. The patient was already brain dead and would still be in a vegetative state even if he had been resuscitated. Ren Tingting recalled that she asked if the purple circles on her son's body had been caused by defibrillating him during a resuscitation attempt. The hospital director said that the patient was not breathing when he arrived, so there was no point in defibrillating. She asked to see the medical records, but the hospital director said that the hospital couldn't do that and needed permission from the police. While she was negotiating in the director’s office, Wu Xuechun remained standing at the door. “After that, whenever my family and I went to the hospital to visit my son or consult a doctor, the police were always present and following.”

It was also on this day that Ren Tingting submitted complaint materials to the Yili Prefecture Political and Legal Committee, the Discipline Inspection Team of the Public Security Bureau, the Procuratorate, and other agencies.

On October 3, Sun Renze was in critical condition and his trachea was cut open. When Ren Tingting and her family went to the hospital, six police officers or auxiliary police were guarding the outside of the ICU to prevent them from seeing him. "I said that the patient's family has the right to visit, but the doctor said that they need permission from the police. An auxiliary police pushed my eldest sister, and my eldest sister instinctively grabbed him with both hands. The auxiliary police said that my eldest sister had hit him, but my eldest sister hadn't. She is almost 70 years old." Ren Tingting said, "The police shouted into the walkie-talkie, and more than ten police rushed up and surrounded us." They were taken to a local police station and listened to Ren Tingting explain the situation. Afterwards, the police at the police station sympathized with them and did not make things difficult for them. Ren Tingting went to the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the Public Security Bureau, the Procuratorate and other agencies to ask for visitation rights. After some back-and-forth, she and her family were allowed to visit once a week for one hour each time.

On October 12, half a month after Sun Renze's incident, he was transferred to the Yili Prefecture Friendship Hospital. The Friendship Hospital is located in Yining City and is one of the two tertiary hospitals in Yili Prefecture. During this period, Sun Renze had developed multiple critical symptoms, including renal failure and a lung infection. Ren Tingting recalled that the attending doctor at the Yili Prefecture Friendship Hospital told her that the patient's condition was very bad, and that if they said there was no hope then there was no hope, so the family members should be mentally prepared. Ever since Sun Renze had been transferred to another hospital, Ren Tingting has been going to Youyi Hospital to visit her son every day. Although she could only look at her unconscious son in the ICU ward through the glass from a distance, she still fully expected a miracle would happen.

On November 6, Ren Tingting came to the Yili Prefecture Friendship Hospital. Dr. Guo, director of ICU, and experts from the Autonomous Region told her that the hospital had tried its best to save the patient, but that the patient was in very bad condition and he was living only by his will, that he could pass away at any time, and she must be mentally prepared. "As for the other matter, you can do whatever you want. That is your right." Ren Tingting said, "I understood that she meant that I could sue whomever I wanted, and react however I wanted to react."  Three days later, on November 9, 2018, Sun Renze, who had been in the ICU for 43 days, succumb to his injuries and died.

"What I Want is the Truth"

After Sun Renze's incident, the Yili Prefecture police also took action. After Sun Renze was transferred to the Yili Prefecture Friendship Hospital, the Yili Prefecture and Huocheng County Public Security Bureaus proposed a civil compensation package, "on the condition that the family members admitted that the police were not at fault."

Ren Tingting recalled that on October 22, 2018, the Discipline Inspection Team of the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau had called her to the Petition Office of the Prefecture Public Security Bureau. "Wu Xuemin, Cui Liang, and Inspector Qi from the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau's Inspection Team were all present. Inspector Qi said that after an investigation, the police officers responsible for Sun Renze's death were held not responsible, but they could provide us with some judicial assistance. I did not agree. . ." Ren Tingting said that later in the lawyer's office, Bai Zhenhua, Huocheng County Public Security Bureau Discipline Inspection Secretary Xu and Superintendent Qi proposed obtaining 800,000 yuan in judicial aid for her family, but she insisted that it had to be state compensation.

Ren Tingting remembered that in December 2018 or January 2019, Lu Jianjun and Bai Zhenhua, assistant chiefs of the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau, came to Ren Tingting's home. Lu Jianjun had previously worked in the Yining County Public Security Bureau and was a subordinate of Ren Tingting’s husband. "Lu Jianjun said that according to Yining's standards, the relief funds were very small. In order to take care of our family, the State Public Security Bureau helped to obtain first-tier city standard relief, a total of 900,000 yuan." But Ren Tingting still did not agree, she said: " If my son died of illness or a car accident, as time goes by, my pain and sadness will gradually lessen. When I think of my son's body covered with scars and not knowing how he died, time will drag on and on. The older I get, the more painful it is. What I want is the truth about how my son died."

On the night of Sun Renze's death, the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau commissioned the Yili Prefecture Zhongye Forensic Authentication Center to conduct an inspection. The identification concluded that death was caused by multiple organ failure. The physical examination report did not mention anything about what caused the multiple organ failure. Ren Tingting asked the forensic doctor why he did not identify Sun Renze's physical injuries. "The forensic doctor said that he had been enduring a lot of pressure."

Ren Tingting could not accept the conclusion of such an appraisal. She hired a law firm to apply to the Yili Prefecture Procuratorate to re-identify the cause of death. After receiving the application, the State Procuratorate did not respond. Ren Tingting said that for more than four months after that, she went to the Yili Prefecture Political and Legal Affairs Bureau every week to inquire about the progress, as well as the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, etc. to expedite the complaint materials.

In the spring of 2019, the Yili Prefecture Procuratorate finally agreed to conduct a second inspection, but the appraisal fee had yet to be paid. In order to uncover the truth about her son's death as soon as possible, Ren Tingting borrowed money from various places and advanced the appraisal fee of 136,000 yuan. On March 8, 2019, Liu Liang, professor and chief forensic physician of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, arrived in Yining as assigned by the Hubei Chongxin Forensic Identification Center (hereinafter referred to as "Hubei Chongxin") to conduct an investigation into Sun Renze's cause of death. In June, the Yili Prefecture Procuratorate received an appraisal report from Hubei Chongxin. In July, an official from the state prosecutor's office told Ren Tingting that the prosecutor's office had decided to investigate the matter.

No Longer Able to Escape

Neither the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau nor the Procuratorate have released the conclusion of Hubei Chongxin’s appraisal report to the public, nor have they submitted it as evidence to the court. The conclusion of the appraisal report is unknown. However, shortly after Hubei Chongxin submitted the appraisal report to the Yili Prefecture Procuratorate, the Yili Prefecture Political and Legal Committee received a report stating that Ren Tingting and her family had met privately with appraisal agency personnel and had bribed the appraiser. The materials were quickly forwarded to the Yili Prefecture Procuratorate, and Ren Tingting was called in by the Procuratorate for an investigation. Only then did she realize that she had been monitored by everyone. “My phone calls with family members and the appraisers, bank transfers, my contacts, etc., they were all in the hands of the police."

According to the "General Principles of Forensic Authentication Procedures," judicial evaluators are not allowed to meet with litigants and their clients in violation of regulations. Ren Tingting argued that she and her lawyer did not understand the regulations at the time. She had entrusted her lawyer to pick up Professor Liu Liang at the airport, and Ren Tingting also paid the appraisal fee through Professor Liu Liang. All of that became grounds for the police to allege procedural irregularities and the inadmissibility of the appraisal report.

"(The appraiser) was originally supposed to be picked up and dropped off by the Procuratorate, but they pushed the matter to us; I asked the Procuratorate to transfer the appraisal fee (that I paid in advance), and they asked me to pay it directly to the account provided by Professor Liu Liang." Ren Tingting said that the Yili Prefecture Procuratorate investigated the clues listed in the report letter that Ren Tingting was suspected of violating laws and regulations one by one, and also sent special personnel to Wuhan to verify the matter of the appraisal fees.

With the issue of the appraisal fee clarified, Ren Tingting said that the police had filed a document on Sun Renze's cause of death, claiming that Sun Renze had suffered from epilepsy and that he collapsed during the interrogation due to an epileptic seizure and died. On that occasion, the police produced evidence that when Sun Renze was under re-education through labor in 2006, Ren Tingting, who wanted to apply for medical parole for her children, had made a statement of questioning at the police and submitted a false statement that Sun Renze had suffered from epilepsy. Ren Tingting admitted that she was concerned about saving her children and that she had lied. However, the police took Sun Renze to three hospitals in Yili Prefecture for examination and did not diagnose him with epilepsy, and Sun Renze's application for medical parole was therefore rejected, and he was released upon the expiry of his three years' re-education-through-labour term.

After this, one of Sun Renze's old cases from 2015 was brought up again. Ren Tingting explained that in 2015, Sun Renze helped businessman Zhang Huaiyuan collect debts, and he and his colleagues took the debtor Deng Xue to a hotel and held him. During the period, Deng Xue fell from the building and died. Zhang Huaiyuan, Sun Renze and others were found guilty of illegal detention by the court, but because they actively compensated the family of the victim and were forgiven, all the defendants were given suspended sentences. Among them, Sun Renze was sentenced to three years, suspended for four.

"A Party cadre named Ms. Xiao from the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau once made a special trip to my door, partly to persuade me, partly to warn me that death is not a reason to seek revenge, and that I should just let them pay the money. The criminal police are all involved in major cases, and you have no chance against such a powerful agency. If you continue to sue, the 2015 case will be brought up, and it will go very badly for your family. "Ren Tingting said that it was then rumored that she had sent money to the presiding judge so that her son could be given a lighter sentence. She ignored that and continued to pursue her complaints - at the time, she only thought that the rehashing of the Deng Xuewei fall case from a few years before was meant to deter her from pursuing the truth and close the door on her getting money as soon as possible. It was only in the public trial in July 2023 that she learned that, after the start of the 2018 nationwide special campaign to sweep out organized crime, the police in Yili Prefecture arrested a group of people involved in crime in March of that year, and Sun Renze was identified as one of the "first cases in the crackdown on crime in Yili." However, after a number of suspects, including the main culprit in the organized crime case, were arrested, the interrogation process was slow and key evidence could not be obtained. In order to take down the case, the Deng Xuejian fall case was identified by the police as a breakthrough, and Sun Renze, an important party in the Deng Xuejian case, became a key target for interrogation by the police. Sun Renze was tortured to obtain the confession they wanted.

After that there was a lot of back and forth, and it was not until 2022 that progress was made on the Sun Renze case. Due to Ren Tingting's private contact with personnel from the appraisal agency, the police questioned the fairness and legality of Hubei Chongxin's appraisal conclusion. The Yili Prefecture Procuratorate re-entrusted the Forensic Identification Center of Guangzhou Sun Yat-sen University to conduct a third investigation into the cause of Sun Renze's death.

On March 10, 2022, the Appraisal Center of Sun Yat-sen University issued an appraisal report, finding that Sun Renze had "suffered from acute cardiac dysfunction due to cardiovascular bridging and mild atherosclerosis of the left coronary artery, followed by severe pneumonia and multi-organ failure, and that the trauma suffered prior to his death could have triggered or contributed to the process of death as an adjunct to the cause of death."

On April 1, 2022, the Yili Prefecture Procuratorate ordered that Bai Zhenhua and other eight suspects suspected of extorting confessions through torture were  to be investigated by the Kuitun City Procuratorate. On April 3, six people, including Wu Xuemin, Liu Xianyong, Shi Donghua, Jin Bowen, Cui Liang, and Zhu Shede, were ordered placed under residential surveillance on suspicion of extorting confessions through torture, and they were criminally detained on April 17 of the same year. On July 18, Bai Zhenhua and He Defu were also criminally detained on suspicion of extorting confessions through torture. Only then did Ren Tingting know that from the time her son Renze was sent to the hospital for treatment and through the 43 days until his death, the Yili Prefecture Police had arranged for Liu Xianyong, Zhu Shengde, Cui Liang and other police officers to "wait day and night" in the hospital. "It turneds out to be the murderers suspected of causing Sun Renze's death through torture."

“They were called caregivers, but they were actually monitoring every move of mine and the victim’s family members to prevent insiders from the police or medical staff from coming into contact with us.” Facing reporters, Ren Tingting angrily complained that in the almost four years that had passed since those suspected of extorting confessions beat her own child to death, the police officers had taken coercive measures had been taken against them, and that over that long period of time the suspects had been in and out of the Public Security Bureau every day, and had even been promoted and given commendations, and had had sufficient time to conspire, establish alliances, and obstruct investigations.  During that time Ren Tingting had faced "round-the-clock eavesdropping, surveillance, and restrictions on her movements", with frequent visits by community police to check the house inside and out, and being forced to report in advance when leaving Yili. ......

"If You Can’t Bring Him Down, You Will Have to be the Protective Umbrella"

On March 7, 2023, the Kuitun City Procuratorate charged eight defendants, including Bai Zhenhua, He Defu, Wu Xuemin, Liu Xianyong, Shi Donghua, Jin Bowen, Cui Liang, and Zhu Side, with the crime of intentional injury causing death, and  filed a public prosecution with Kuitun City Court. On July 4, the Kuitun Court of first instance convened a hearing to hear the case. The hearing was held in the Karamay Intermediate Court's largest courtroom. The Kuitun Court used this courtroom to hold the hearing.

Caixin learned that the relevant agencies attached great importance to the trial, and that the relevant leaders of the public security and procuratorate of Yili Prefecture sat down in the Karamay Intermediate Court and watched the two-day trial via video. Not only did the court strictly control the number of observers, it allowed only two family members of the victim and each defendant to observe the trial, so that the courtroom appeared to be empty as the total of 18 observers sat in a multi-seat gallery with more than 100 seats. Relatives of the victim and the defendants were confined to separate seats in the gallery, and the bailiffs sat next to each of them at all times in order to prevent any incidents caused by the emotional state of the relatives during the trial.

Prosecutors alleged that in March 2018, the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau established a task force to investigate Zhao Xiang’s involvement in criminal gangs. Bai Zhenhua, who was then the deputy chief of the criminal investigation team of the Prefecture Public Security Bureau, served as the deputy leader of the Zhao Xiang task force, and Wu Xuemin , Cui Liang, Shi Donghua, Jin Bowen, Liu Xianyong, Zhu Shede and others were members. Wu Xueming and Cui Liang were later designated as the leaders of the interrogation team.

Zhao Xiang was a well-known local real estate developer in Yili, and later established the Yining County Dongxin Small Loan Co., Ltd. and served as its legal representative. Zhao Xiang was arrested immediately after the campaign against organized crime began in early 2018. On March 27, Sun Renze, one of the criminal suspects in the gang, was also detained on suspicion of disturbing the peace.

Bai Zhenhua said during the trial that the Zhao Xiang case was known as the "first case of combating crime and eliminating evil" in Yili Prefecture. It was a case supervised by the Autonomous Region Public Security Bureau and required that an ironclad case had to be made. "The leadership required the Zhao Xiang case to be closed in October, and the autonomous region public security bureau also came to supervise the case. The Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau and the task force were under great pressure, so they handed over the campaign against organized crime to Huo Cheng Public Security Bureau." According to a local lawyer, the Huocheng Public Security Bureau is known for its strictness in handling cases. In the Yili Public Security System, when a case could not be resolved, you just use the phrase "use the methods of the Huocheng Public Security Bureau," and everyone will know what you mean.

On March 18, 2018, the public security bureaus of the counties and cities under the jurisdiction of the Yili Prefecture public security system transferred case-handling officers to form the Zhao Xiang task force. The deputy director of the prefectural public security bureau in charge of criminal investigations personally served as the team leader.

Bai Zhenhua was appointed as the deputy team leader, and Wu Xuemen and others were transferred from their respective units to the Zhao Xiang task force. In May of the same year, 55-year-old He Defu was assigned by the Organized Crime Investigation Team of the Criminal Investigation Corps of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Public Security Department to join the task force to guide the case. He Defu's working relationship was with the Legal Affairs Brigade of the Kuitun City Public Security Bureau, and he had been seconded to the Organized Crime Investigation Team of the Criminal Investigation Corps of the Autonomous Region Public Security Department for a long time.

However, until September of that year, more than half a year after the project was established, no substantial breakthroughs had been made in the investigation of the case. The task force decided to start with Sun Renze, an important suspect in the case, to achieve a breakthrough. On September 18, Sun Renze was taken out of the Qapqal County Detention Center where he had been detained. Nine days later, Sun Renze fell to the ground and passed out in the interrogation room of the Huocheng County Detention Center and never woke up.

During the trial, many defendants claimed that the purpose of extracting a confession from Sun Renze was to bring down the Zhao Xiang case. There has been no breakthrough in the Zhao Xiang case. Without a murder case and a protective umbrella, there would be no criminal organization as defined by statute. After discussion with the leaders of the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau and the person in charge of the task force, they decided to start with the Deng Xue case. If they could establish that Zhao Xiang had been involved in the Deng Xue case, the requirement of a "murder case" involving organized crime would have been met. As Zhao Xiang's subordinate, Sun Renze was one of the principal culprits in Deng Xue's illegal detention, and was identified as the key target to achieve a breakthrough in Zhao Xiang's case.

The prosecution pointed out that, during the time Sun Renze had been subjected to compulsory measures, he had never admitted that Zhao Xiang instigated him to illegally detain Deng Xuefeng. In order to obtain evidence related to the Zhao Xiang case, Bai Zhenhua, He Defu and others decided to take Sun Renze from the Qapqal County Detention Center for intensive interrogation, and divided the members of the task force into two groups of five people each to conduct the interrogation in turns. The first group was headed by Wu Xuemin, and his team members were Liu Xianyong, Shi Donghua, Jin Bowen, and Zhu Sheide. The second group was headed by Cui Liang, and there were five other members of his team.

During the trial, it was found that on September 23, after coordinating with Bai Zhenhua, the task force took Sun Renze from the Qapqal County Detention Center to the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau Traffic Police Team Case Handling Center for interrogation. From September 23 to September 25, Wu Xuemin, Cui Liang, Jin Bowen and others interrogated Sun Renze in the case handling center, using methods such as forcing him to carry a chair, tying him up, and dousing him with water. During this period, both Bai Zhenhua and He Defu went to the interrogation site.

After coordinating with Bai Zhenhua, at noon on September 25, the task force transferred Sun Renze from the case handling center of the Traffic Police Team of the Prefecture Public Security Bureau to the case handling area of the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau for interrogation. Starting from noon on September 26, Wu Xuemin, Liu Xianyong, Jin Bowen, Cui Liang and others interrogated Sun Renze in the case handling area. They hung Sun Renze on the door beam of the back room of the case handling area, forced him to carry a chair, smeared him with mustard, beat him with PVC pipes, and used old-fashioned telephone cranks to administer electric shocks and other methods to extract confessions through torture.

The court investigation showed that the reason why Sun Renze was taken away from the Qapqal County Detention Center where he had originally been detained was because the police interrogation of Sun Renze there had not been going well. In the detention center, there was an iron fence between the investigators and the suspect in the interrogation room, and that isolation was "inconvenient for interrogation." The reason why he was taken to the  case handling center in the basement of the Yili Prefecture Traffic Police Brigade and then left there was because during the interrogation, a leader of the Traffic Police Brigade said that the traffic police brigade had a lot of people coming and going and it would be easy for the news to spread. But then after the investigators transferred Sun Renze to the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau’s backyard case handling area for interrogation, “the county public security bureau chief said that Sun Renze’s cries of being beaten were reaching the front yard (office area) and were having a bad impact, so he asked the handler to take him to the detention center for interrogation."

On the morning of September 26, Bai Zhenhua and He Defu convened a meeting of all members of the task force in the case handling area in the backyard of the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau, and decided to escort Sun Renze to the Huocheng County Detention Center for interrogation. Bai Zhenhua said that he had contacted Sun Mouliang, the director of the Huocheng County Detention Center, and Chai, the deputy director, and had asked to arrange a room where there would be no video surveillance.

Wu Xuemin said in court that he had previously suggested to Bai Zhenhua, "We've been at this for more than a week, we should take a break. Bai Zhenhua said we needed to keep at it, obtain a confession, and successfully complete the task." In addition, several defendants also stated in court that at the meeting on the morning of September 26, everyone had suggested that the interrogation had gone about as far as it would go, and they should take a day off. As the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, the investigators also needed to take a rest. But they were sternly rejected by He Defu. "He Defu said that efforts needed to be intensified in order to completely break Sun Renze's will. If you lot can't bring down Sun Renze, then its you that will be the protective umbrella backing him up (or: the biggest protective umbrella for evil forces)."

One of the defendants also mentioned that He Defu had told them that a towel had been placed on a thin stick during the interrogation and that Sun Renze had been made to kneel on it, so there were no visible injuries. He Defu denied saying this, emphasizing that he himself had not been involved in the morning session on 26 September. He also claimed that he only joined the task force in June 2018 and was mainly responsible for reviewing transcripts and did not participate in any specific interrogation work, and that he was completely unaware of the torture that the other defendants had used to extract confessions. However, except for He Defu and a member of the task force who guarded Sun Renze, the other six defendants all said that He Defu had said similar things. Wu Xueming said, "I was extremely shocked at He Defu's statement that 'If you can't get results from the interrogation, then its you lot that will be the protective umbrella for organized crime.'"

The prosecutor said that on September 18, Sun Renze was transferred from the Qapqal County Detention Center to the State Traffic Police Brigade, then to the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau, and later to the Huocheng County Detention Center for interrogation, and all of these decisions had been made by Bai Zhenhua. However, Bai Zhenhua said that they never made a breakthrough on Sun Renze's confession, and that the then director and deputy director of the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau often asked about the interrogation situation and instructed them to speed up the pace of the interrogation while ensuring the safety of personnel, and strive to bring down the autonomous region's first anti-organized crime case as soon as possible, as it was being followed closely by their superiors. Therefore, he, He Defu and others suggested that Sun Renze be transferred from the Qapqal County Detention Center to the basement of the traffic police brigade of the Yili Prefecture Traffic Public Security Bureau for interrogation. The two leaders agreed and urged them to pay attention to safety.

According to Bai Zhenhua, taking Sun Renze out of custody for interrogation, "involved communication and negotiation among multiple agencies of the Yili prefectural and county level public security bureaus and detention centers, and I, as the deputy chief of the criminal police team, had no authority at all regarding those matters." He said that the deputy director of the state public security bureau arranged for him to perform these tasks after communicating with the leaders of those agencies. The transcripts of the two then-prefectural police chiefs and deputy directors stated that they had no knowledge of Sun Renze being taken out of the Qapqal County Detention Center.

Seven Fatal Hours

At about 4:00 p.m. on September 26, Wu Xuemin, Liu Xianyong, Jin Bowen, Shi Donghua, and Zhu Sheide drove Sun Renze from the case handling area of the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau to the Huocheng County Detention Center. Sun Renze's body was covered with scars. If they had followed the normal admission procedures, he would have been rejected. The task force loaded Sun Renze into an escort vehicle and entered the facility through Gate B without registering for entry.

Because Sun Renze was unable to move his legs normally due to the prior torture, Wu Xuemin and others borrowed a wheelchair and pushed Sun Renze in the wheelchair into the interrogation room. The surveillance video in the corridor of the detention center showed that the time was around 4:00 p.m. that day. For more than seven hours after that, Wu Xuemin's team of police officers involved in the interrogation, including Wu Xuemin, Liu Xianyong, Jin Bowen, Shi Donghua, and Zhu Side, jointly and individually subjected Sun Renze to various types of torture to extract a confession including binding and hanging him up, beating him, and dousing him with water. At 12:37 a.m. on September 27, Sun Renze had fallen into a coma, and was carried out of the interrogation room. From that time until his death 43 days later, Sun Renze never regained consciousness.

The court hearing showed that that interrogation room was used exclusively by the case-handling personnel of the State Security Brigade of the Huocheng County Public Security Bureau. It was commonly known as the State Security Office and was not commonly used. The interrogation room had actually had surveillance video equipment installed near the front door and rear window. The director of the detention center, Sun Mouliang, ordered the deputy director, Chai, to turn off the surveillance video in advance. However, Chai had misgivings that there might be trouble later on, and he later secretly turned on a surveillance camera near the rear window. It was Chai who "had the good fortune" to record more than seven hours of the interrogation process, and that became the key evidence that turned the case around.

Live video showed that there was a desk and two or three chairs near the door in the interrogation room. There were iron bunk beds in the room, with one end facing the door and the other leaning against the wall. There was a small window in the wall, and a surveillance camera was installed near the small window.

Several defendants stated in court that during the interrogation, they made Sun Renze carry the iron interrogation chair (commonly known as a "tiger chair") back and forth for more than 40 minutes at a time. They also tied Sun Renze, who was only wearing shorts, to the front and back ends of the iron frame bed, so that his naked body rested on the iron block, and put dumbbells on his stomach to increase the discomfort on Sun Renze's waist. They also suspended him in the air, and put a towel over his face and poured water on it.

Surveillance video showed that from 4 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., for more than seven hours, Sun Renze was subjected to waterboarding or having water directed dumped on his face over ten times, with two of those times lasting for 16 minutes and 15 minutes each. The rest of that time he was hung up and suspended in the air for more than 20 minutes at a time.

According to insiders, Sun Renze was fixed at the end of the iron frame bed near the door. The video only captured the rear portion where he was being tortured to extract a confession, and many of the images were obscured by the iron frame of the bed, but the interrogator could be seen wearing plastic gloves, and holding  soda bottles, dumbbells and a towel. "In the video, when the interrogator engaged in the action of pouring water, it was not possible to see Sun Renze's expression and reaction, but one could see the iron frame of the bed shaking violently for a long time, and one can imagine how what kind of pain he must have been suffering."

According to the defendants, during the interrogation they also slapped Sun Renze's eyes, beat his calves and heels with a white PVC pipe, and used an old-style crank telephone to apply electric shocks to his body. In order to prevent external injuries from showing, they tied Sun Renze with military belts, and his wrists and ankles were specially padded with towels. Throughout the interrogation, Sun Renze screamed loudly and begged for mercy.

Almost all the defendants claimed that Liu Xianyong, who was the youngest and was participating in the criminal investigation team for the first time, was the most excited and active among the eight defendants, and used the most "abnormal" methods to extract confession. They said that during the interrogation, Liu Xianyong used tape to yank out Sun Renze's leg hair, hung soda bottles filled with water on Sun Renze's genitals, and pinched his genitals with plastic gloves. Liu Xianyong was the one who performed most of the yanking out of pubic hair, waterboarding, and dousing of the face.

During the trial, Liu Xianyong admitted engaging in the aforementioned acts, saying: "I wanted to insult Sun Renze's character and destroy his psychic defenses."

An insider said that Liu Xianyong had not confessed since the case began. It wasn't until an interrogator mentioned his mother that he suddenly broke down and cried: The matter has been weighing on his heart like a tombstone for the past few years. He was relieved when he spoke about it.

Cui Liang, who was not on Wu Xuechun's team, entered the interrogation room at 7:39 that night, and then assisted Liu Xianyong and others in tying Sun Renze to the bed board. At about 8:41 p.m., He Defu also entered the interrogation room and saw Sun Renze tied to the iron bed. He continued to demand Wu Xueming and the others increase the intensity of the interrogation. Later, Wu Xuemin, Liu Xianyong and others confined Sun Renze in an interrogation chair, tied him to the iron bed, and repeatedly poured water on Sun Renze's face.

Jin Bowen’s recollection of Sun Renze’s last moments is: “… tied Sun Renze to the bottom of the high and low bed. After tying him up, he started to pour water on him, and put mustard on Sun Renze’s eyes and nose to make him uncomfortable. , used a soda bottle to pour water into Sun Renze's mouth. In the middle, someone brought a cork to block Sun Renze's mouth, and then continued to pour water. This happened three or four times, and Sun Renze fell into a coma during the process of pouring water."

Zhu Xide's recollection was: "... we tied Sun Renze to the bottom of the bunk bed. After tying him up, we began to pour water on him. We also smeared mustard on Sun Renze's eyes and nose to make him uncomfortable. We used a soda bottle to pour water into Sun Renze's nose. While that was going on, someone brought over a towel to cover Sun Renze's mouth and nose, and we then continued to pour water. This happened three or four times. Sun Renze fell unconscious while we were dousing him with water."

At 12:37 a.m. on September 27, 2018, after more than seven hours of continuous torture to extract a confession, Sun Renze fell into a coma. The interrogators took Sun Renze down from the tiger chair. They felt that his pulse was not beating, and there was no response when he slapped his face. Liu Xianyong put Sun Renze on the ground and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Wu Xueming asked someone to call the detention center doctor, and then sent him to the hospital for emergency treatment. The admission records of Huocheng County Hospital show that at 1:30 a.m. on the 27th, the patient was brought in with no breathing or pulse and dilated pupils. The police who sent him to the hospital said that the patient had asked for water and fell into a coma after choking.

Ren Tingting said that the director of the hospital involved in the resuscitation attempt told her on September 28 that Sun Renze was brain dead and would remain in a vegetative state even if they were able to revive him. Hospital records showed: “The patient had stopped breathing for more than 40 minutes during attempts to revive him. He was defibrillated to perform cardiac resuscitation, but due to the length of time involved, he was already brain dead…”

In his transcript Wu Xuemin confessed that before being sent to the hospital Sun Renze was in a coma, with no pulse, heartbeat, or breathing. In court, Wu Xueming said that he was not a professional and could not judge whether a person was brain dead.

The victim's lawyers and family members argued that the changes in Wu Xuemin's statement, including his subsequent collusion, was an attempt to cover up the fact that Sun Renze had actually died in the detention center. The death of a suspect in a detention center and the death of a suspect in a hospital are completely different in nature, and the legal offense and sentence would be very different.

Sun Renze had three physical examinations and one supplementary physical examination. In the first two examinations, the public prosecution did not accept the objections raised by the victim’s family and the police. During the trial, the public prosecution submitted to the court as evidence an appraisal report signed by Professor Luo Bin, deputy director of the Forensic Authentication Center of Guangzhou Sun Yat-sen University and others (hereinafter referred to as the "third appraisal report") and a supplementary examination report.

Professor Luo Bin has been engaged in forensic identification work for more than 30 years and has conducted more than 6,000 examinations. The third appraisal report issued on March 10, 2022 stated that Sun Renze met the criteria for acute cardiac dysfunction caused by myocardial bridge and mild atherosclerosis of the left coronary artery, followed by severe pneumonia and death from multiple organ failure. The trauma he suffered prior to his death could have induced or promoted the development of his death process, which would make it an auxiliary cause of death.

In March 2022, Chai, deputy director of the Huocheng County Detention Center, voluntarily handed over the interrogation video under pressure in order to reduce his guilt. Afterwards, the Yili Prefecture Procuratorate submitted the interrogation video to Luo Bin’s team at the Forensic Authentication Center of Sun Yat-sen University, asking them to determine the responsibility for Sun Renze’s death. On March 2, 2023, Luo Bin and his assistant issued a supplementary appraisal report. The report stated: Sun Renze met the criteria for suffering from the basic diseases of myocardial bridge and left coronary atherosclerosis, combined with trauma, cold, and dampness, and being covered with a towel and drenched with water, causing mechanical asphyxia and central nervous system dysfunction, and he eventually died of multiple organ failure. In the determination of the cause of death, covering the nose and mouth with a towel and drenching it with water was the main factor, contributing 60%; The contribution of trauma and a cold and wet environment was 25%; The contribution of his personal illnesses was 15%.

According to insiders, the interrogation video was played on the spot during the pre-trial meeting. “After watching it, all the lawyers left in a somber mood, and no one spoke.”

"It Never Occurred to Me"

The trial showed that Bai Zhenhua and He Defu did not participate in the specific interrogations, and they always denied any knowledge that torture was used to extract confessions. The other six defendants said that during the interrogation of Sun Renze, Bai Zhenhua and He Defu would organize a meeting every day or every few days to report on the preceding day’s interrogation and interrogation methods.

Bai Zhenhua argued that he was not only the deputy leader of the task force, but also the deputy leader of the criminal investigation team of the State Public Security Bureau. He was also responsible for other cases in the team, and his work required him to handle matters for both teams, so he was not often with the task force. He was not aware of the methods used by his subordinates to extract confessions through torture. "I just told them that they should pay attention to strategy during the interrogation. They were supposed to play good-cop/bad cop. One time Wu Xuechun said that Sun Renze was afraid of water. I asked why, and they said they were pouring water on Sun Renze, and I called a halt to that." He said that it was okay to slap and kick a few times during the interrogation, but he did not know that they were using such cruel methods to extract confessions.

Bai Zhenhua said that a meeting was organized for all personnel on the morning of September 26, and members of both groups participated. He said that he would convene a meeting every morning to listen to a report on the interrogation the night before. When he was away, it was He Defu who was responsible for convening the meetings. He announced to the team members that they were to follow He Defu while he was away, and He Defu would represent him. Other defendants confirmed that Bai Zhenhua had indeed said that Brigadier He was an expert from the provincial department and that when he was away, everyone had to listen to Brigadier He.

He Defu denied this statement. He said that he was the last one to join the task force, and there was never an official document appointing him, nor was he appointed verbally by his superiors. He was only responsible for reviewing the transcripts and had no knowledge of the interrogations. He did not know that they tortured Sun Renze until he watched the video. He Defu was the only defendant among all the defendants who insisted on pleading not guilty and who refused to compensate the victims' families.

The prosecutor and the judge asked several defendants: what did He Defu mean when he said that the interrogation intensity should be increased? They replied: Just use the aforementioned methods to increase the intensity of torture to extract a confession. 

He Defu's defense lawyer said that He Defu was the deputy captain of the Legal Affairs Team of Kuitun City Public Security Bureau. Because of his outstanding work, he was placed on extended secondment to the Criminal Police Team of the Autonomous District Public Security Department. He Defu was assigned to the task force only to check the transcripts and be in charge of the materials team. Because the requirements for record keeping were particularly strict, he repeatedly pointed out that the records of the other defendants did not meet standards, which made the others resentful and unanimously accuse him out of retaliation. The lawyer emphasized that the surveillance video of the interrogation scene on September 26 showed that He Defu stayed at the crime scene for no more than 4 minutes. After the incident, the other defendants formed an offensive and defensive alliance and colluded with each other to confess, but He Defu was not involved. "This fully shows that He Defu and they were not part of the same group." 

He Defu was released on bail pending trial because he suffered from tuberculosis. During the trial, he always wore a mask and often spoke out of breath. The judge repeatedly reminded him to speak louder. In the auditorium, Sun Renze's wife often said angrily: "He’s pretending to be dead."

Zhu Shengde was one of the defendants who had confessed that he rarely participated in torture to extract confessions. He repeatedly emphasized during the trial that he was a passive observer of the interrogations. Surveillance video showed that Zhu Shengde slapped Sun Renze with his hand.

Zhu Shengde said in his statement that he had been conscientious in his work since he joined the public security force. During those days in the detention center, he kept thinking, what if from the beginning... He had been a passive observer during the interrogation. From the first day he entered the police force, he knew to obey orders and obey the organization. It had become second nature to him over the years. When the lawyer asked Zhu Shengde, had he ever thought that it was illegal to torture a suspect to extract a confession? He said: “It never occurred to me.”

The trial also revealed that after Sun Renze had been sent to the hospital for treatment in the early morning of September 27, the interrogators, realizing that his situation was not good, began to intensively destroy and falsify evidence. On that day, Wu Xuemin and others stayed in the hospital to keep watch, while Cui Liang was assigned to quickly return to the interrogation room of the Huocheng County Detention Center to remove the torture tools and other items that had been left at the interrogation scene.

The indictment stated that in order to cover up the truth about Sun Renze entering the Huocheng County Detention Center, Bai Zhenhua, He Defu, Wu Xuemin and others also shot fake videos and submitted them to the Discipline Inspection Team of the Yili Prefecture Commission for Discipline Inspection stationed in the Prefecture Public Security Bureau in an attempt to cover up the truth and get away with it.

Bai Zhenhua said that he reported Sun Renze's incident to the leaders of the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau, and it was the leaders of the bureau who proposed to make fake videos to deal with the investigation by the disciplinary inspection department. Following this instruction, he notified Chai, deputy director of the Huocheng County Detention Center, to provide the shooting location, and asked Cui Liangtou, who had a similar body shape to Sun Renze, to cover himself with a black mask, pretend to be Sun Renze, pretend to enter the detention center normally, and create a fake video. However, the bureau leader denied any knowledge in the transcript.

The emergence of fake videos seriously interfered with and delayed the investigation of the prosecutorial department. It was not until March 2022 that the Judicial Identification Center of Sun Yat-sen University submitted the autopsy report and Chai took the initiative to hand over the interrogation video. On March 8, the Yili Prefecture Procuratorate officially established the "9.27 Case" task force. Starting at that point the suspects had their movements restricted.

The prosecutor believed that Bai Zhenhua, He Defu, Wu Xuemin, Liu Xianyong, Shi Donghua, Jin Bowen, Cui Liang, and Zhu Shengde, as officers of the court, had failed to perform their duties in accordance with the law and had engaged in the violent extortion of confessions, resulting in death. Their actions violated Articles 1, 247(2), and 234 of the Criminal Law which stipulate that if the criminal facts are clear and the evidence is reliable and sufficient, a person shall be held criminally responsible for the crime of intentional injury. In this case, the eight defendants cooperated with each other and colluded to commit a joint crime. Among them, the defendants Bai Zhenhua and He Defu were the leaders of the organization, and the defendants Wu Xuemin and Liu Xianyong had actively violently extorted confessions. The four of them played a major role in the joint crime and were the primary culprits. The defendants Shi Donghua, Jin Bowen, Cui Liang, and Zhu Shengde had played  secondary or auxiliary roles in the joint crime, and were accessories.

Occupational Conduct or Intentional Harm?

All of the suspects had remained in criminal detention from the initiation of the case on September 27, 2018, to July 2022. Over the preceding four years, the eight suspects suspected of serious criminal crimes, including Bai Zhenhua, had been promoted for their meritorious service in the Zhao Xiang case. Among them, Bai Zhenhua received second-class merit and was promoted to captain of the Criminal Police Detachment of the Yili Prefecture Public Security Bureau. "During that time, they took advantage of the opportunity and ample time to perform their duties normally. On the one hand, they concealed the destruction and made false statements while remaining in motion, exploiting various relationships and public powers to monitor every move of Sun Renze's family, and attempting to use taxpayer money to thoroughly get things settled." Ren Tingting said that the trial showed that, except for He Defu, the other defendants had made two successive confessions, and of those could not be verified afterwards because they had colluded and coordinated their stories. Ren Tingting’s litigation attorney also stated that from the filing of the case to April 2022, most of the defendants’ first three transcripts were collusive confessions.

One defendant once said in court, "On the day when Sun Renze's incident happened, everyone in the hospital felt very somber." But what Ren Tingting remembers is that when faced with the family members of the victim who rushed to the hospital, the defendants displayed something more like indifference, bordering on contempt. "At the gate of the county hospital, Wu Xuemin directly threatened us saying we should go ahead and sue, it was no matter to him."

There were two rounds of court arguments. At the end of the trial, after the prosecutor issued his prosecution opinions and sentencing recommendations, he made a special speech which served as an "educational warning": The two-day trial had been a serious lesson in law for all the defendants, the law enforcement officers who participated in the trial, and the observers. The defendants sitting there had been decorated people's police officers the day before, but  today they had become defendants. They had been in the police force for many years and held leadership positions. But knowing the law and breaking the law, using violence to fight violence and employing such cruel methods, where is the law? Their behavior tarnished the image of the Party and the people's police, had a negative influence on the public, caused irreparable pain to the relatives of the victims, and even caused harm to their own families. Several relatives of the defendants in the auditorium covered their faces and sobbed.

During the noon recess on the first day of the trial, Zhu Shengde's daughter in the gallery shouted "Daddy" loudly as her father was about to leave the court. The gray-haired Zhu Shengde turned to look at his wife and daughter in the gallery. Several family members of the defendants shouted words of encouragement to their relatives. When the prosecutor spoke the next day, he condemned the outbursts: During the court hearing yesterday, many family members of the defendants ignored the pain of the family members of the victim and shouted words of encouragement in court. Where is your conscience?

During the trial, the court had to adjourn due to Ren Tingting's sudden physical discomfort. The bailiff took Wu Xuemin to the bathroom. Ren Tingting, who was resting, saw him and became emotional. She shouted “murderer” and tried to rush over, but was firmly restrained by the doctor waiting nearby.

Ren Tingting's husband had worked in the police system for a long time before his death and also served in the criminal investigation department. Ren Tingting claimed to have some understanding of the nature of criminal investigation work. "I can understand that the public security (officers) might slap criminal suspects around. I didn't expect that they would beat my son to death." She said, "I am also a mother, and I can feel mercy. But no one on the prefectural police has ever offered the slightest apology to me.”

During the final presentation, only Jin Bowen had prepared a written statement. He choked up when he read from it: "After having been a police officer for more than ten years, I have taken off my beloved police uniform." He expressed guilt and remorse and was willing to actively compensate the victim's family. Cui Liang, Zhu Shengde and the other defendants bowed to Ren Tingting and said they were sorry. He Defu pleaded not guilty, while Bai Zhenhua, Wu Xuemin, Liu Xianyong, and Zhu Shengde believed that while they had committed the crime of extorting confessions through torture, they had not committed the crime of intentional injury.

Bai Zhenhua disputed the criminal facts and the offense charged in the indictment. He said that he disagreed with the public prosecution agency identifying the task force as a criminal gang, and that the misconduct of individual police officers in handling cases could not be regarded as the behavior of the case handling team. As the appointed team leader, he had merely handed down instructions, and his job was to report to the leadership, and he had no knowledge of torture being used to extract a confession: "We had no common intent to cause harm, no common intentional motive and purpose, and objectively no joint conduct resulting in harm." 

Bai Zhenhua’s defense lawyer said that the appraisal opinion in this case could be used as a basis for finalizing the case, and that it was clearly improper to treat the criminal investigation task force of the public security agency as a criminal group. Bai Zhenhua, as the deputy head of the task force, worked under the leadership's commands and directions, reporting the case to the senior levels and conveying the leadership's instructions to the lower levels. He said that there was nothing wrong with taking a confession in the process of working a case, and he had told them to stop using methods that might cause harm to the person being interrogated. As for getting other defendants to intensify their efforts and increase their interrogation methods, that was up to the personal judgment of those actually doing the interrogating. Bai Zhenhua did not go to the scene of the interrogation and did not carry out any acts involving torture. He should  not be held liable for criminal responsibility, and at most he was only responsible for dereliction of duty as a leader.

He Defu objected to the criminal facts and the offense charged in the indictment. He believed that he had no subjective intent to carry out physical torture or to conceal physical torture of the victim, nor did he engage in torture to extract a confession. He insisted that he was innocent. His defense lawyer argued that the victim in this case did not die immediately after being tortured to extract a confession, but had died more than a month after being treated. The third and fourth appraisal reports concluded that multiple causes and one effect led to the victim's death, and the prosecutor's office determined that the death was intentional. There was a factual error in determining that he had died from his injuries, and this case was an accidental death. The evidence used by the public prosecution to prove He Defu's crime of intentional injury was first, the confessions of the other defendants, proving that He Defu was either the primary offender or an instigator, and second, the video evidence. It had been proven that He Defu was ultimately present at the scene, but the Criminal Law stipulated that a defendant cannot be found guilty based merely on an oral confession without other evidence, and the angry words said during the meetings could not be used as evidence. He Defu had transferred in from elsewhere, and as an outsider without any station, it was impossible that he was the one leading the task force. The confessions of other defendants were highly consistent, and there was a possibility of these being false confessions. The criminal acts should be those of the task force member who  directly engaged in extracting confessions through torture. He Defu was on the material evidence team, and lacked the means to engage in torture to extract confessions. He was not a leader and had no authority to instruct the task force. It was the team members who had employed torture to extract a confession, and therefore He Defu could not be found guilty of a crime.

Wu Xuemin had no objection to the criminal facts charged in the indictment, but had objections to the offense charged. He believed that he was guilty of extorting a confession through torture but that this did not constitute the crime of intentional injury. His defense attorney argued that Wu Xuemin had no subjective intent to cause intentional injury and death, and that all of his actions were done pursuant to assignments made by the team members. On September 26 and 27, prior to the incident, everyone, including Wu Xuemin, had proposed backing off for a bit. He had no subjective intent to pursue torture to extract a confession, and the torture of the victim to extract a confession had gone on for many days, and it was wrong to judge by the situation based on what happened on the final day. The prosecutor had no evidence to prove that Wu Xuemin played a prominent role in all the processes of participating in torture to extract a confession. There were no specific arrangements for torture to extract confessions, and there was no way to be sure of the direction, intensity, methods, and times of the interrogation. He was a passive participant in the interrogation team, with the attributes of a clear accessory, but without the intent of an active participant, and his actions were mitigated by his confession. His behavior was a confession, and he should be given a lighter punishment. In addition, in terms of the characterization of the case, his defense lawyer argued that the judicial appraisal opinion was inconsistent with the facts. The fact that the victim had been taking drugs for a long time and choked on water had not changed. The victim was indeed foaming at the mouth at the time. The cause of death could not be ruled out beyond a reasonable doubt as having resulted from epileptic seizures. And it was impossible to rule out the reasonable suspicion that his death was caused by his own heart and brain disease.

Liu Xianyong had objections to the criminal facts and the offense charged in the indictment, and did  not agree with the prosecutor's accusation that he was the principal offender, active participant, and perpetrator. His lawyer's defense opinion was that if a person was tortured to extract a confession, resulting in disability and death, those were the prerequisites for a conviction based on intentional injury and intentional homicide. The necessary prerequisite for it be elevated to an offense of torture to extract a confession should be that the perpetrator had a subjectively indifferent attitude towards the disability and death of the person from whom the confession was extracted. Liu Xianyong said there was no intentional negligence or indifference to the death of the victim, otherwise he would not have been given two cardiopulmonary resuscitations. After the victim fell into a coma, defendant Liu Xianyong actively performed artificial respiration and sent the victim to the hospital for treatment, and these actions reflect that he fought to keep the victim from dying. In addition, although Liu Xianyong had poured water on the victim's face, the injury to the victim's lower limbs had not been caused by defendant Liu Xianyong, and that conduct had also contributed to the victim's multiple organ failure.In addition, the defense attorney also argued that Liu Xianyong’s circumstances did not constitute him being a principal offender. In the task force, which was commanded by leaders above and involved leaders of various branches below, Liu Xianyong, unlike other defendants, did not subjectively seek quick success and instant gain, and objectively did not provide any tools to commit murder and extort confessions. If there was no common intent, the person should be punished as an accessory.

Zhu Shengde had objections to the basic facts and the offense charged in the indictment. He believed that he had been made to passively and actively participate in the torture to extract confessions. He was executing and obeying orders, and had no subjective intent to harm the victim. He emphasized that the police are a special group, and his actions were all done pursuant to his professional duties. The "People's Police Law" and other provisions stipulate that if the execution of an order results in consequences, the person who issued the order shall bear responsibility. His defense attorney argued that it was inappropriate to pursue criminal responsibility against defendant Zhu Shengde for the crime of intentional injury. The defendant lacked the intent to cause intentional injury. His participation in the task force and interrogation work was based on the particularity of his own work, and he completed the work tasks assigned by the leadership uncompromisingly and unconditionally. The assigned work task, the four-day torture to extract a confession, was for the sole purpose of obtaining a confession, not to intentionally harm anyone’s health or cause death. There were multiple factors that led to the death of the victim, and his conduct in extracting a confession was understandable given the specific historical circumstance in which he had obeyed orders and acted in concert. They recommended that defendant Zhu Shunde be convicted of the crime of extorting a confession by torture and be exempted from criminal punishment.

The two-day trial was tense and heated. At around 8 pm on July 5, the presiding judge adjourned the trial. Caixin learned that after more than a month, the case was heard for another half day in response to the defendants’ questioning of the appraisal procedures and qualifications of the Sun Yat-sen University Appraisal Center during the trial.

Ren Tingting was dissatisfied with the defendants’ family members who had "no sense of guilt" when they attended the first hearing. She proposed playing the video surveillance in court, "Let them see how a good son, a good father, and a good husband in their eyes beat my son to death. After hearing this, they all kept saying that wasn’t necessary, and not one of them had the courage to look at it."

A defense lawyer said that he had experienced a lot of feelings during the two-day trial. "I was also once a public security officer, and what happened in this case weighed heavily on me." He said that the defendants were all key case handlers who had worked on the public security front for many years. He hoped that in view of "the special situation of cracking down on gangs and evil in 2018" the defendants could be given a lighter punishment. Several other lawyers also expressed their hope in the defense that the court would take into account the special circumstances of cracking down on crime at that time and, in accordance with the criminal law principle of restraint, grant leniency to the defendants as appropriate.

In the end, the Kuitun City Court’s first-instance judgment on November 6, 2023 found the eight individuals, Bai Zhenhua, He Defu, Wu Xuemin, Liu Xianyong, Shi Donghua, Jin Bowen, Cui Liang, and Zhu Shengde, guilty of intentional injury. The court held that the eight defendants were all police officers who had been in the police force for many years and should have been able to foresee the possible consequences of using torture to extract confessions. However, in order to obtain evidence, they resorted to torture to extract a confession, which ultimately led to the serious consequence of the death of the victim. They should be prosecuted and held criminally liable for intentional injury. The eight defendants were members of the task force in the Zhao Xiang case. They jointly tortured the victim to extract a confession, and they jointly participated in the crime. Defendants Bai Zhenhua and He Defu, as the main leaders of the task force, although they did not actually participate in the act of extorting a confession through torture, knew that the members of the team had carried out acts of extorting a confession through torture. They adopted a laissez-faire attitude and did not stop it, which ultimately led to the victim's death as a result of the torture. Therefore, the two defendants should bear criminal responsibility for the consequences, and as the principal offenders they were sentenced to 13 years in prison. Defendants Wu Xuemin and Liu Xianyong actively carried out violent acts to extract a confession during torture and played a major role in the joint crime, and as principal offenders were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonments of 10 years and 12 years respectively. Defendants Shi Donghua, Jin Bowen, Zhu Shengde, and Cui Liang played a minor or auxiliary role in the joint crime, and as accessories were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonments of 5 years, 5 years, 4 years, and 3 years, respectively.

In the Zhao Xiang case, which was the trigger for Sun Renze's torture and death, the police failed to get confirmation from Sun Renze that it was Zhao Xiang who instigated him to illegally detain Deng Xuefei and cause Deng to fall to his death, thereby convicting Zhao Xiang of being a gangster. In 2021, however, Zhao Xiang was still identified by the Yili Prefecture Intermediate People's Court as the leader of an organized criminal enterprise, and had been punished for several crimes, and had been sentenced to 25 years in prison. Zhao Xiang, who is currently serving his sentence in prison, refused to accept the sentence and has been appealing.

A local lawyer in Yili said: At first, the police announced with great fanfare that this case was the largest gang-related case in Yili Prefecture. After a long investigation, the murder case was not confirmed, and the protective umbrella was not found. In the end, those responsible for eliminating "evil" became themselves a force for evil. Zhao Xiang was sentenced to 25 years, and more than 40 other accomplices were sentenced. When the Zhao Xiang case came to trial, the relevant agencies organized many people to attend the trial and publicized it extensively. However, no information about the trial and judgment in the Zhao Xiang case could be found on either  the official website of Yili Prefecture or on the China Judgment Online Database.

Caixin learned that the director of the Huocheng County Detention Center, Sun Mouliang, and the deputy director, Chai Mou, who were handling separate cases, were charged with dereliction of duty and have been tried in Kuitun City Court. The two received letters of clemency from the victim's family due to their having made restitution. Their verdict has not yet been announced.

Caixin's Farewell to People We Lost in 2023 Censored

On December 30, 2023, Caixin (财新), a PRC state-sponsored media outlet well known for publishing articles that are subsequently censored by authorities, published an online tribute to people who passed away in 2023. The feature was titled "The Farewells We Said in 2023: On the Occasion of Bidding Farewell to the Old and Welcoming the New,  We Commemorate Those Who Have Passed Away and Reluctantly Bid Farewell. Keep Them in Mind as We Move Forward." (2023终有一别: 在辞旧迎新之际 纪念逝去的人 不舍的告别 铭记在心 向前走) It comprised photos of famous politicians, celebrities, and academics.

The feature was originally published at this URL: https://china.caixin.com/2023-12-24/102149416.html. But by December 31, 2023 that link was redirecting to a 404 page.

Archives of a Google cache version are available here:

• https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Rdwbte7ToGAJhttps://china.caixin.com/2023-12-24/102149416.html
• https://archive.ph/ULM0b

Around the same time that the feature was censored, Hu Shuli (胡舒立), the founder and publisher of Caixin, took her Sina Weibo (https://weibo.com/u/1497882593) offline. This screenshot was taken on January 2, 2024, and shows that her Sina Weibo had over 5 million followers and 34,000 posts, but was only displaying a notice saying "No Content at the Moment." (archived at https://archive.ph/cAlE6)

These screenshots were taken on January 2, 2024, and show that none of the PRC's major search engines could find any result containing the full title of the Caixin feature "2023终有一别."

These screenshots were also taken on January 2, 2024, and show that in addition to providing users with cached versions of the Caixin feature, foreign search engines, such as Bing and Google, were able to find many results containing the full title of the Caixin feature.

At this time its not known why the feature was censored or why Hu Shuli took her Sina Weibo offline. However, several of the people featured had been the subjects of PRC censorship in the past. For example:

AIDS Whistleblower Gao Yaojie (高耀洁) 

 In the 1990s, tens of thousands of people in Henan were infected with HIV / AIDS after repeatedly selling their blood to collection stations that pooled it into a tub and then injected it back into them after taking the plasma. After initially covering up the incident, in 2001 the government claimed that 30,000 to 50,000 people may have been infected.

On November 30, 2010, the website of Aizhixing, a China-based NGO that advocates on behalf of people who have contracted AIDS, published an open letter from Chen Bingzhong to Hu Jintao. The letter, dated November 28, called asked Hu to launch an investigation into two senior officials for their role in the blood-selling AIDS scandal in Henan in the 1990s.

Chen's letter mentioned two activists that were instrumental in bringing the incident to light: Wan Yanhai, who fled to the United States in 2010 with his family because he said he feared for his safety, and Dr. Gao Yaojie.

According to Wikipedia: 

In 1999, the Ministry of Education named Gao "a model person concerned with the next generation," but did not invite her to the award ceremony. In 2001, Gao was awarded the Jonathan Mann Award for Health and Human Rights. In 2002, she was named Time Magazine's Asian Heroine. In 2003, she was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service in Manila, Philippines. In both instances she was denied permission to travel outside China to accept the awards. She was also designated one of the "Ten People Who Touched China in 2003" by China Central Television. 

In February 2007, Gao was reported to be under house arrest and unable to travel. She had been pressured by local officials to sign a statement that she is "unable to travel due to poor health".

In May 2009, Gao fled to the United States, after fearing she would be placed under house arrest again.

This screenshot was taken on September 2, 2010, and shows that Baidu had banned users from setting up a Tieba (PostBar) forum about Gao Yaojie.

This screenshot was taken on December 8, 2010, and shows that Baidu was censoring search results for "Chen Bingzhong Open Letter."

SARS Whistleblower Jiang Yanyong (蒋彦永)

China's state sponsored media hailed Jiang Yanyong's whistleblowing: "Referring to his speaking out, Professor Jiang said: 'I believe what I did as a doctor has played a certain role in combating the epidemic.'" People's Daily, May 21, 2003,  http://en.people.cn/200305/21/eng20030521_117004.shtml. But as shown by the screenshot below taken on March 8, 2015, Baidu was still censoring search results for "Jiang Yanyong" (蒋彦永).

Legal Scholar Jiang Ping (江平)

 On October 11, 2010, 23 Chinese Communist Party elders submitted an open letter to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress calling for an end to restrictions on expression in China. The signatories included Li Pu (李普) former deputy director of Xinhua News Agency (he passed away the next month at the age of 92), Jiang Ping (江平) former President of China University of Political Science and Law, and member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and Li Rui (李锐) Mao Zedong’s former secretary. The letter included the following statement:

61 years after the founding of our nation, after 30 years of opening and reform, we have not yet attained freedom of speech and freedom of the press to the degree enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong under colonial rule. Even now, many books discussing political and current affairs must be published in Hong Kong. This is not something that dates from the [territory's] return, but is merely an old tactic familiar under colonial rule. The “master” status of the people of China’s mainland is so inferior. For our nation to advertise itself as having “socialist democracy” with Chinese characteristics is such an embarrassment.

建国61年，搞了30年改革开放，我们还没有得到香港人殖民地时代就有的言论出版自由。现在有些参政议政的书籍，要拿到香港出版，这不是回归祖国的福荫，是沿袭殖民时代的旧法。大陆人民的“当家作主”地位实在太窝囊。国家宣称的有中国特色的“社会主义民主”实在太尴尬。 

The letter concluded with a list of eight specific demands:

• Abolish the requirement that media outlets must have government sponsors.
• Respect journalists and make them strong.
• Abolish restrictions on investigative journalism and ensure that journalists can report freely throughout the country.
• Abolish the “Fifty-cent Party” and remove restrictions on anti-censorship technologies.
• Eliminate the taboos concerning the history of the Communist Party’s history. 
• Privatize Southern Weekly and Yanhuang Chunqiu.
• Permit the free circulation within the mainland of books and periodicals from the already returned territories of Hong Kong and Macao. 
• Transform the functions of various propaganda agencies from ones that assist corrupt officials in suppressing and controlling stories that reveal the truth to ones that support the media in monitoring Party and government organs.

This screenshot was taken on October 15, 2010, and shows that Baidu censored search results for the name Jiang Ping plus "open letter."

For more on this, see https://blog.feichangdao.com/2012/11/blast-from-past-censorship-of-responses.html.

On the morning of December 27, 2012, the state sponsored Caxin published an article entitled "People Take Notice of 'Proposal for Consensus on Reform'." ("改革共识倡议书"受关注).  An excerpt:

Recently, a "Proposal for Consensus on Reform" signed by scholars has been making the rounds on the Internet. The 72 signatories include Beijing Law School professors Zhang Qianfan and He Weifang, legal scholars Jiang Ping and Guo Daohui, lawyer Zhang Sizhi, and modern historian Zhang Lifan.

The Proposal believes that, while China's economy has achieved enormous progress over the last 30 years of reform, China's society has also seen the appearance of many problems. Owing particularly to the inability of political reforms to keep pace, bureaucratic corruption, abuses of power, an expanding wealth gap, and other issues have become increasingly severe, and are trigger strong disatsifaction in society.
. . . .
The signatories proposed six reforms that include promoting constitutional governance, holding democratic elections, respecting freedom of expression, deepening the market economy, implementing judicial independence, and ensuring compliance with the Constitution. The Proposal believes that this "should comprise a consensus for reform for all rational citizens. 

近日，一份由学者联署的《改革共识倡议书》在网上流布。参与联署的有北大法学院教授张千帆、贺卫方、法学家江平、郭道晖、律师张思之、近代史学者章立凡等72人。
倡议书认为，改革三十多年来，中国经济获得了巨大发展，但是中国社会也出现了诸多问题。尤其是由于政治改革未能同步进行，官僚腐败、公权滥用、贫富差距拉大等现象日趋严重，引发了强烈的社会不满。
. . . .
联署者就此提出推进依宪执政、落实选举民主、尊重表达自由、深化市场经济、实现司法独立、保障宪法效力等六项改革主张。倡议书认为，这“应构成所有理性公民所认同的改革共识”。

This screenshot, taken on the evening of December 27, shows that the article, originally available at this URL - http://china.caixin.com/2012-12-27/100477502.html - had already been deleted and replaced with a notice saying "Sorry, page not found." (对不起，页面没有找到)

For more on this, see: https://blog.feichangdao.com/2012/12/a-proposal-for-consensus-on-reform.html. 

Poisoned Student Zhu Ling (朱令)

On May 6, 2013, the state-sponsored Global Times published an article entitled "Cold Case Petition Grabs US Attention." An excerpt:

A poisoning case that permanently paralyzed a former Tsinghua University student has triggered an online petition on the White House's website, the newest development to a matter that has remained unsolved for 19 years so far. 

Zhu Ling, the victim and then chemistry major, suffered severe brain damage after being allegedly poisoned by thallium in 1994 by her roommate, Sun Wei, or Jasmine Sun, who now lives in the US.

PRC media initially called for new investigations (http://globaltimes.cn/content/779695.shtml), then the PRC government went to great lengths to censor discussion of it on social media. The following screenshots were taken on May 3, 2013, and show that Sina and Tencent were censoring searches for "Zhu Ling" (朱令). 

For more on this, see: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/05/sina-and-tencent-weibos-censor.html

Not the First Time

This is not the first time a New Year feature has been censored in a major PRC media outlet. On  January 3, 2013, posts began circulating on Sina Weibo saying that the Southern Weekend's  “New Year’s Greeting” (新年献词) was originally written by Dai Zhiyong (戴志勇) and entitled “China’s Dream, the Dream of Constitutionalism” (中国梦,宪政梦), but that the version that was ultimately published had been re-written by Tuo Zhen (庹震), the head of Guangdong Party Propaganda Department, without the knowledge or consent of editors. That version was entitled “We Are Now Closer to Our Dream Than Ever Before” (我们比任何时候都更接近梦想). 

On January 4, a group of prominent former Southern Weekly journalists published an open letter sharply criticizing Tuo's actions. The letter was published and translated by the China Media Project here - http://cmp.hku.hk/2013/01/04/30311. An excerpt:

The [original] theme of the New Year’s special edition of Southern Weekly was, “Blazing a New Trail with Untiring Determination: My Dream.” On January 2, after Southern Weekly had signed off on the final proofs, and completely without their knowledge, Guangdong CCP Standing Committee member and propaganda chief Tuo Zhen (庹震) directed that many alterations and replacements be made to the New Year’s special edition. This resulted in numerous errors and accidents. 

This unconscionable act resulted in the forced insertion of a text rife with errors in a New Year’s letter that is a longstanding tradition at Southern Weekly, including a grade-school error on the front page, “2000 years ago King Yu combatted the floods.” (This should be 4,000 years ago). 

南方周末2013年新年特刊主题为“筚路蓝缕、不懈不止：家国梦”。1月2日，在南方周末已经签版定样、编辑记者休假、完全不知情的状态下，广东省委常委、宣传部长庹震，指示对新年特刊做出多处修改、撤换，并导致多处错误、事故。

恶劣无极者，当属在南方周末经典性的新年献词中强行塞入错误频出的文字，以致头版出现“2000年前大禹治水”（应为4000年前）的低级错误。

These screenshots show that at that time Baidu began restricting search results for the original title of the Southern Weekend New Year's Greeting - "Chinese Dream, The Dream of Constitutionalism" (中国梦 宪政梦) - to its broad white list.

For more on the Southern Weekend New Years Greeting censorship, see these previous blog posts:

• https://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/01/websites-delete-articles-block.html
• https://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/01/baidu-and-other-search-engines-join.html

Internet Censorship on the First Anniversary of the White Paper Movement

The White Paper Revolution, also known as the White Paper Movement, A4 Revolution, Blank Paper Protests, was a series of protests that occurred across China in November 2022. Protesters used blank sheets of paper as a form of silent protest to symbolize the government's censorship and suppression of free speech, and chanted slogans such as "End zero-COVID," "We want human rights," and "Down with the Communist Party!"Several factors contributed to the rise of the White Paper Revolution:

• Frustration with the zero-COVID policy: The policy's strict measures, including mass lockdowns, travel restrictions, and mandatory quarantines, had caused significant economic disruption and social unrest. Many people felt that the policy was no longer sustainable and that the government was prioritizing control over people's well-being.
• Anger over the Xinjiang fire: The protests were further fueled by a deadly fire that occurred in Urumqi, Xinjiang, on November 24, 2022. Ten people died in the fire, which many blamed on the lockdown restrictions that prevented residents from escaping the blaze. The incident sparked public outrage and reignited long-standing grievances about the government's treatment of minorities, particularly Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
• Erosion of civil liberties: The Chinese government's tightening grip on dissent and freedom of expression in recent years also played a role in the protests. Many young people felt increasingly disillusioned with the political system and saw the protests as an opportunity to demand change.

These screenshots were taken in the morning on November 28, 2022 and show Tencent-owned Sogou and Qihoo, were censoring "White Paper Revolution" (白纸革命) and "White Paper Protests" (白纸抗议).

At that time Baidu's censorship was initially harder to spot, so I've annotated these screenshots so its easy to see: these screenshots were taken on November 28, 2022, and shows Baidu was restricting results for "White Paper Revolution" (白纸革命) to government and Party operated websites. "Black Paper Revolution" returns many more results from more diverse sources.

This screenshot shows by December 7 Baidu was completely censoring results for "White Paper Revolution" (白纸革命).

The following screenshots show how PRC websites were continuing, and in some cases increasing, censorship of this topic one year later.

Screenshots taken on December 1, 2023, showing Sogou and Qihoo were completely censoring search results for White Paper Protest, Movement, and Revolution.

Screenshots showing that in the year since the White Paper Movement Baidu went from restricting search results for that phrase to government and Party operated websites in 2022 to completely censoring search results in 2023.

Screenshot taken on December 1, 2023 showing Sina Weibo censoring searches for the hashtag "White Paper."

 

In the face of this extreme censorship, some Internet users in China nevertheless attempted to commemorate the anniversary online, as shown by these comments that, as of December 1, 2023, had not been censored by Baidu's Tieba (PostBar) forum operators.

Additional Information

• Timeline of the White Paper Revolution: https://www.newsweek.com/china-white-blank-paper-a4-revolution-covid-protests-1762736
• Images of the White Paper Revolution: https://www.gettyimages.com/editorial-images/news/event/anti-government-protests-continue-in-hong-kong-ahead-of-china-national-day/775413685
• Videos of the White Paper Revolution: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IbdCaaW2cDc
• Articles about the White Paper Revolution: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/white-sheets-11302022143251.html
• Baidu Tieba Archives: https://tieba.baidu.com/f/search/res?qw=白纸&sm=2&cf=1&ie=utf-8
  

Xu Zhiyong's Statement at His Final Appeal

 On November 24, 2023, former PRC civil rights lawyer Teng Biao posted the following statement:

In the cases of lawyers #Xuzhiyong and #Dingjiaxi, the Shandong High Court just announced its second-instance judgment, rejecting the appeal and upholding the original judgment. 14 years for Xu and the 12 years for Ding. 

The Council of the Bar Associations in Europe (CCBE) awarded this year’s Human Rights Award to imprisoned human rights lawyers Zou Xingtong, Xu Zhiyong, and Ding Jiaxi. 

Two days from now it will also be the first anniversary of the White Paper Movement.

Dr. Xu Zhiyong said loudly when he arrived at the court that it was almost dawn and the Communist Party only had a few days left. After that he was restrained.
When the judge read out the ruling, Dr. Xu said: Ridiculous!
He also knew he had won the European Bar Association’s Human Rights Award.

#许志永 和 #丁家喜 律师案，山东高院刚刚二审宣判，驳回上诉，维持原判。许14年，丁12年。
欧洲律师协会委员会(CCBE)将本年度的人权奖颁给在囚的人权律师邹幸彤丶许志永及丁家喜。
两天后也是白纸运动一周年

许志永博士在到达法庭时大声说，天快要亮了，共产党没几天了。之后被制止。
在法官宣读裁定书时，许博士说：荒谬！
他也知道自己获得了欧洲律师协会的人权奖。

Ding Jiaxi's wife wrote that the judgment was subject to a confidentiality agreement, and was not provided to the family (判决书受制于保密协议，不得交给家属).

Sources:

https://twitter.com/tengbiao/status/1727902062392779185

https://twitter.com/tengbiao/status/1727913452377616830

https://twitter.com/luoshch/status/1727921120123158958 

The same day the following statement was posted on the China Citizens Movement website (English translation mine):  https://cmcn.org/archives/55286

Whither China? —Xu Zhiyong’s Appeal

Published on November 24, 2023 Editor Ling Jiangfeng

You judge us, and the people judge you. The actual appeal is not to the humble Shandong High Court, but to the people and to history. After the epidemic, with the world's economies booming, why are China's industries struggling? After a short rebound, consumption is shrinking, investment is weak, exports are in decline, employment is dire. What is root cause of this exhausting economic crisis? Where is the way out?

The root cause lies in the decade's reversal and collapse of national confidence.

Economic issues are, in essence, political issues.

Advance the State, diminish the people. State-owned enterprises are made bigger and stronger, the living space for private enterprises is made smaller, high-tech private enterprises are made state-owned, and outstanding private entrepreneurs are retired. Everywhere bureaucratic capital and one dominant family compete with the people for profits. Resources, energy, communications, electricity, and even tourism and travel are all profitable industries with state-owned enterprises. Bureaucratic capital dominates and competes with the people for profits. They keep claiming fair competition, but the ideology of the Communist Party is to eliminate private ownership. They keep saying that all subjects are equal, but without democracy, how can officials and citizens be equal?

Distort the market. There are high subsidies for electric vehicles and relentless promotion of 5G communications, the authorities lead banks around by the nose and the stock market is manipulated to death by black hands. The hand of power can do whatever it wants, so where does the market play a decisive role?

Deplete the people's energy. Monopolize land, riase housing prices, and turn people into housing slaves. Monopolize oil, raise oil prices, and turn citizens into car slaves. A truck costs 1,000 yuan a day for gasoline and 1,000 yuan for tolls. Logistics costs are seldom seen in this world. There are central enterprises at the top and city investment at the bottom. The national economy and people's livelihood are monopolized are wielded as blood-sucking tools. How can the people consume when they are heavily in debt?

Make waste with haste. The financial crisis of 4 trillion yuan in 2008 came at just the right time. If the market had been respected and the society had been opened, China's economic growth rate would have been degraded, but more sustainable, until it became a developed country. But economic growth is the only basis for the legitimacy of the Communist Party of China. If you care too much about GDP figures, high-speed rail, highways, and cross-sea bridges, no matter how redundant they are, and no matter how valuable they are, they far exceed 4 trillion yuan every year. Fifteen years of destructive efforts have hollowed out China with fiscal overdrafts and bank deficits, which have been passed on to the people, leaving China heavily in debt.

Three years of prevention and control. On New Year's Day 2020, CCTV refuted the rumors eight times a day. The totalitarian system successfully blocked the news, causing the epidemic to spread globally. Once again its the totalitarian system, and with a single order cities, villages, and countries were sealed off. At first, the overreaction was understandable, but half a year later, the global mortality rate was very low, and the world economy began to recover. Why did it take three years for China to get the message? Such is the curse of dictatorship. Thousands of companies have closed down and hundreds of millions of people have become unemployed, leading to a full-blown crisis today. God willing, the novel corona virus has dealt the final blow to the communist totalitarianism.

When all is said and done, there are no restrictions and power is arbitrary. If Hitler had lived forty more years, his empire would have declined and perished, which is the inevitable fate of a totalitarian system.

The fundamental problem is one of direction.

Through reform and opening up, China has emerged from the abyss of a publicly owned planned economy and moved in the direction of a modern civilization, private property rights, and a free market, bringing about more than thirty years of prosperity and progress. But in the past ten years, we have gone against the grain, holding high Marx, and following the example of Kim Jong Un. The people are confused and their confidence has collapsed.

Where is China going? Is it a market economy or a planned economy? Is it democracy and freedom or dictatorship? Is it the United States or North Korea? Is it a broad road or a cliff? Should we thrive with the tide or perish against it?

China has a clear future with true democracy, multi-party competition, universal suffrage, independent judiciary, and freedom of speech. In a true market economy, private property rights are the main body, and the market determines resource allocation. It is a universal trend of human civilization, and China cannot be an exception.

Of course China has its own characteristics, this is a fact common to every nation. The United States has a president, Japan has an emperor, and India has a prime minister. However, the four fundamental principles of the democratic system are everywhere the same. Democracy does not distinguish between doctrines, between East and West, only between truth and falsehood. There is competition among multiple parties and the people have choices. This is true democracy. One candidate getting 100% of the votes is fake democracy. What we oppose is not so-called socialist democracy, but fake democracy. What we pursue is not so-called capitalist democracy, but true democracy.

The modern civilization of the Chinese nation is by no means a combination of Marxism-Leninism and imperial power, or Western dross contaminating Chinese dross. Rather, it is scientific democracy supported by benevolence, justice, propriety, trustworthiness, and Western civilization complementing Chinese civilization. After the end of autocracy, a China that is free and democratic with 1.4 billion people will burst out with passion and vitality, creating the most advanced technology, the most prosperous economy, and the most splendid culture in the world. A glorious China will lead a new era of human civilization.

Originally, they had the right direction, privatizing state-owned enterprises that competed with the people, gradually withdrawing their power over the market and opening up democratic elections. The general direction was correct, and the people  regained hope and confidence.

Twenty years ago, I made sincere suggestions, and ten years ago, I spoke out loudly. But it seems that China is going further and further in the wrong direction. Advocating for people to conduct themselves as true citizens is punished with severe sentences, and calling for active participation in the election of National People's Congress deputies can also be used as evidence of guilt. All democratic sprouts have been strangled, and all room for improvement has been blocked. Their destiny and role is to be the last generation of totalitarianism, and no one can stop them from running towards the cliff.

Economic collapse. State-owned enterprises have monopolized people's livelihood, distorted the market with the help of power, and drained the national treasury. The Xiongan New Area is riding a tiger, and the Belt and Road Initiative has yielded no gains. Three years of harsh epidemic prevention and control and a series of major and continuous wrong decisions have led to economic collapse. But they could not help themselves, and continued to make waste in their haste and  and to quench their thirst with poison.

Political regression. Village-level democracy has been reduced to a Party monopoly, separation between the government and the Party has been reduced to comprehensive Party leadership, and collective leadership has been reduced to a one-man dictatorship. Political regression has been comprehensive, totalitarianism continues to expand, stability maintenance continues to swell, and these mountains are crushing China.

Cultural decay. Cultural prosperity is not about digging ancient tombs and building monuments, but about creating splendid culture to share with mankind. Freedom is the lifeblood of culture. The Communist Party regards freedom as its enemy. Once upon a time, this Western evil spirit took as its mission the destruction of Chinese culture, destroying the mausoleum of Emperor Yan, digging up the tomb of Confucius and disinterring China's ancestors. Nowadays, its layers of censorship are like a dismemberment, and film, television, art, and culture are on the verge of death.

Societal suffocation. There can be no self-confidence without democratic elections. The closer you come to the end of the line, the more sensitive you become, the more taboos you have. Actors, Internet celebrities, writers, singers, etc. are all blocked for the slightest infractions. Everyone lives in fear, like a thousands of horses standing lifeless and mute, and the Chinese nation is gradually losing its vitality to the point that it is practically a zombie.

Marxism elevated. A ghost, a ghost wandering aimlessly through Europe, a virulent infectious disease, was transmitted to China through Soviet Russia, bringing with it a huge tragedy of more than 30 million people starving to death, and a decade of catastrophe that destroyed Chinese culture. In the twentieth century it brought unprecedented disasters to mankind, and it still brings endless slavery, famine and suffering to the North Korean people. Is it possible for a dystopian doctrine, a doctrine of total failure, to be held up as a model for all mankind?

Those who were born from the Cultural Revolution are now obsessed with a return to the Cultural Revolution. Woe to China!

The Constitution amended. Can anyone be so virtuous as to be a dictator for life? The fate of the country and the nation depends upon a single person, and the sages are still worried, so what is wrong with this blockhead? In the past, there were changes of leadership every ten years, and even though it was a single party, there remained a glimmer of hope. Now there is endless darkness and complete despair. One person's dictatorship has reversed course for ten years, causing hundreds of industries to wither and become trapped in innumerable difficulties. The evil spirit of Marxism-Leninism has poisoned China and gone against the tide of the times, making people resentful and angry. An emperor has once again ascended the throne, and the sky is filled with yellow sand. Hebei, Beijing, and Tianjin are in hot water, suppressing all efforts and oppressing people's livelihoods. All under heaven is confusion and worry, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The country is misled by a dictator, such is the peril facing China!

China needs a revolution.

Revolution in China is inevitable. Only revolution can destroy autocracy, only revolution can save China, only revolution can bring democracy and freedom, only revolution can bring fairness and justice, only revolution can bring human dignity, and only revolution can bring the rebirth of China. Only when there is no Communist Party will there be a New China.

Not a violent revolution. If the people are unarmed, violence will hardly bear the fruits of freedom. When the communist regimes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe collapsed, there were no violent revolutions, only peaceful civil revolutions, without exception.

In August 1991, the conservative forces of the Soviet Communist Party launched a coup, and troops took to the streets of Moscow. However, there was no strongman in the ruling group, and the military hesitated and waited. Three days later, the Communist Party collapsed and the democrats won. At the last moment of the end of communist totalitarianism, the only mission and role of the military was to wait and see.

Revolutions are fueled by anger. But the color of the raging flames is not hatred but love. Drive out the evil spirit of Marxism and Lenin, save our Chinese compatriots, redeem every Chinese, do not hate any individual, do not attack others, do not destroy property, and do not give excuses for brutal violence and suppression. The greater power is ours, and it is not hate, but love.

China will not fall apart. The provinces in the mainland are highly integrated and have a deep-rooted national identity, but some border areas have deep grievances. During the transformation, our philosophy is clear and firm: freedom is the direction, and all regions will have democratic autonomy. Justice must be defended and no violence will be allowed. Negotiate the future peacefully and heal wounds with love.

China will not become turbulent and disorderly. Soviet Russia was undergoing political transformation, and its economy and society were unprepared. China has had a market economy for 40 years and has gradually matured forces yearning for freedom and democracy. Massive rallies and marches will assemble, the Communist Party will disappear, and within a few months a referendum and a constitutional election will be held.

The 1989 Tiananmen democracy movement failed. At that time, the ruling group had a charismatic strongman, and the vast majority of the military obeyed. The democrats had no leader, and lacked direction and rhythm. The international community still has hope for China's reform and opening up. Social conditions are not yet mature, as the people can still share the dividends of reform and opening up.

Today, there is no strongman in the ruling group. At this turning point in history, soldiers will hesitate and wait and see. Should they follow him? It will be sufficient to remain on the sidelines. The democrats have a mature leadership team, a clear direction, and a feasible path. The international community has clearly seen the nature of the CPC, and the Cold War has resumed. Social conditions have matured. In these last days of totalitarianism there is depression, unemployment, poverty, despair, people's resentment is boiling, and the tinder lies everywhere. No one knows when, where ,or which spark will ignite the revolution, but that spark will definitely appear.

My compatriots, the dawn in the east is about to break through the sky, the earth's fire is rushing, and the lava is gathering. China will not perish in silence, but will explode from silence.

The most precious thing is courage.

The courage to tell the truth, the courage to defend freedom, the courage to go to jail, the courage to take to the streets.

Thanks to the lone brave man Peng Lifa for coming forward. In the darkest hour before the dawn, the smoke column on the Sitong Bridge was a dazzling light. Thousands of citizens have been awakened, and you never were, and never will be, alone.

Thank you young students. Thirty-three years later, the Chinese nation has heard your cry again. Upon the white paper you held up will eventually be written a vast history. To the girl holding a sign at the door of the Peking University cafeteria, thank you. I am proud to have a classmate like you. Thirty-four years later, the Chinese nation is once again placing its hope in you. Peking University, your soul has returned!

Thank you to our democratic predecessors, from the Democracy Wall in 1979 to Tiananmen in 1989 and then to the Democratic Party in 1998. Generations of people with lofty ideals and benevolence hold high the banner of democracy and freedom. At that time, you needed more courage. Wei Jingsheng, Qin Yongmin, Liu Xianbin . . . serving out so many years in prison, paying such a price for China to be reborn? I'm honored to join you.

Thank you Christians. For decades, you have silently preached the love of Christ in this land of suffering, injustice, and anxiety. I once witnessed the prayers in the heavy snow at the entrance of Haidian Park when Shouwang Church was being persecuted. Both the Haotian God worshiped by the Chinese ancestors is like Jehovah, they are both the one true God of mankind.

Thank you to the practitioners of truthfulness, kindness, and patience. In December 2021, Mr. Liu Jinguo in the cell next to mine was shackled and fixed to the bed board for a month because of his hunger strike. For more than two decades, the suffering all of you have endured is shocking, but it has enriched the history of the Chinese nation.

Thank you to all those who fight for freedom, democracy, justice, and dignity. Under autocracy, no matter how humiliating it is, the majority remain silent. However, tens of thousands of brave Chinese people have still stood up and said no to power. Their posts were deleted, their accounts were blocked, and they were thrown into black jails, detained, and imprisoned. It is these brave people who have created the unyielding backbone of China.

Thank you to the citizens who have walked with me over the past twenty years. Have the courage to resist and the wisdom to build a glorious China of freedom, justice, and love. One day, every Chinese will become a true citizen and enjoy universal freedoms such as freedom of speech and the right to vote. That will be a China that truly belongs to the people, our lifelong dream and struggle.

My fellow citizens,

One hundred and twelve years ago, the Revolution of 1911 overthrew the Manchu Dynasty and established the Republic of China, Asia's first republic. Unfortunately, after decades of internal and external troubles, the Republic of China fell and autocracy returned. Another seventy years have passed. The political landscape of the world has been turned upside down. The tide of democracy has swept across the world, and dictatorial regimes have come to an end. Even Africa has had universal suffrage for many years. My ancestral land, however, remains under the dictatorship of one party and one man. It is this which is truly the Chinese nation's greatest shame.

The people of China live a life of suffocation.

There was a time when pots and pans were melted to make steel and the fields were left barren. During three years of good weather more than 30 million people died of starvation. Now this unprecedented famine is gently brushed away by the textbooks as "three years of natural disasters." During the great revolution in Chinese culture, countless cultural relics were destroyed. Ask for instructions in the morning and report in the evening, dance the loyalty dance, and raise loyalty pigs. Amid great terror, the whole country went insane.

There was a time when "unauthorized birth strike teams" roamed the land. When a woman was seven or eight months pregnant, a team of men would be forcibly pushed her to the ground and drag her to the backyard of the county hospital. They injected poison into the child's head. If the child was still alive after birth it was tossed into a nearby  large pot of boiling water. For forty years, thousands of Chinese mothers have watched their children being brutally killed, crying without tears and wailing silently.

The grave removal movement has arrived, and ancestral graves have been bulldozed, and the dead who have been laid to rest in their graves have been forcibly disinterred. Except for high-ranking officials, everyone's destination is a small half-meter square grid, densely packed and without dignity.

An environmental storm has arrived, and the coldest month of winter, heating stoves are forcibly dragged away. Thousands of private enterprises are ordered to close down. For those have spent most of their lives struggling and lose everything there is no recourse to the law.

The epidemic has arrived, and with one order they silenced the doctors and CCTV "refuted the rumors." The whole country was rendered speechless, and with another order cities, villages, and countries were locked down. Work, life, and dreams, everything was shattered by idiotic prohibitions.

Another order was given, and without any preparation, everyone was suddenly released. One billion people were unable to find medicine, and a long queue formed in front of the funeral parlor.

A plane crashes, and no one is qualified to know the truth, let alone reflect on it. There is a flood, and no one is qualified to know how many people lost their lives. If you want to donate to earthquake-stricken areas, you can only donate to a few government-run organizations such as the Cross Society, and you are not eligible to check the whereabouts of the donations. Discussing national affairs already leaves you on the verge of breaking the law. Praise the emperor's new clothes loudly, even though everyone knows that he has no clothes on. Facing unbearable injustice I sought to petition. I turned off my mobile phone and didn't take the train. I was like a guerrilla who snuck into the imperial capital, only to be caught in front of the National Bureau of Petitions and Calls.

People are political animals. We are not qualified, however, to live a normal human life, because without elections, the country does not belong to the people, but rather to the Communist Party. We are still on our knees with pigtails on the back of our heads. Even if in the past few years one could say that  we have been able to have just enough to eat to console ourselves like pigs, today even that proposition has become questionable. When will the time come when we no longer endure this?

What kind of China should we leave for future generations? Let them continue to kneel as slaves, or should we step forward bravely today?

This absurd nation, this shameful nation, this nation where power runs rampant, this nation where humanity is lost, this nation where the dictator is aloof and the people are as humble as ants, this nation of sadness, numbness, despair and sinking into the abyss of hell. This nation is my ancestral home. I will devote all my life to saving her, saving my Chinese nation, and ushering in the glorious rebirth of Chinese civilization.

The curtain has already opened on an era of greatness. In the darkest hour, dawn is approaching. When despair lies flat, passion must fly. This is our era, the era of citizens, the era of the people. Say goodbye to the ghost of communism, say goodbye to the millennium of autocracy, and welcome in the civil revolution. This is the most magnificent chapter in human history. Compatriots, are you ready?

Citizen Xu Zhiyong
August 2023 

中国向何处去？——许志永上诉书

发表于 2023年11月24日 编辑 凌江峰

你们审判我们，人民审判你们。真正的上诉，不是面向卑微的山东高院，而是面向人民，面向历史。疫情过后，世界经济欣欣向荣之际，为何中国百业凋敝一片萧条？短暂反弹之后，消费萎缩，投资乏力，出口下降，就业艰难，衰竭式经济危机，根源何在？出路何在？

根源就在十年倒车，国民信心崩塌。

经济问题本质是政治问题。

国进民退。做大做强国有企业，压缩民企生存空间，高科技民企被国有，优秀民营企业家被退休。官僚资本，一家独大，处处与民争利。资源、能源、通讯、电力、甚至旅游、出行，凡赚钱行业均有国企。官僚资本一家独大处处与民争利。口口声声公平竞争，可共产之党的意识形态，是要消灭私有制的。口口声声主体平等，可没有民主，官民何曾平等？

扭曲市场。电动汽车高额补贴，5G通信强硬推广，银行被权力牵着鼻子，股市被黑手操纵致死。权力之手呼风唤雨为所欲为，市场到哪里起决定作用？

耗竭民力。垄断土地，推高房价，沦国民为房奴。垄断石油，抬高油价，沦国民为车奴。一辆货车一天汽油费千元，过路费千元，物流成本世所罕见。上有央企，下有城投，国计民生皆被垄断，皆成吸血工具，人民负债累累，何以消费？

拔苗助长。2008年金融危机四万亿恰逢其时。如果之后尊重市场，开放社会，中国经济增速降格，更为持久，直到成为发达国家。可经济增速是共产党执政合法性的唯一基础。过于在意GDP数字，高铁、高速公路、跨海大桥，不管是否重复，不管多大价值，每年远超四万亿。十五年拔苗助长掏空了中国，财政透支，银行亏空，转嫁到人民头上，负债累累。

三年防控。2020年元旦，央视一天八遍辟谣，极权体制成功封锁了消息致疫情爆发祸及全球。又是极权体制，一声令下，封城、封村、封国。起初过激反应尚可理解，可半年后全球死亡率很低，世界经济开始复苏，为何中国一封三年？独裁之祸。万千企业倒闭，亿万国民失业，至今日全面危机。天意吧，新冠给共产极权最后一击。

一言蔽之，没有制约，权力任性，假如希特勒多活四十年，他的帝国也一定衰竭而亡，极权体制的必然宿命。

根本问题是方向问题。

改革开放，中国走出公有制计划经济深渊，朝向现代文明方向，私有产权和自由市场，带来了三十多年的繁荣进步。可过去十年，倒行逆施，高举马克思，看齐金三胖。国民一片迷茫，信心崩塌。

中国向何处去？是市场经济还是计划经济？是民主自由还是独裁专制？是美国还是北朝鲜？是康庄大道还是悬崖绝壁？是顺潮而兴还是逆流而亡？

中国有清楚的未来，真正的民主，多党竞争，全民普选，司法独立，言论自由。真正的市场经济，私有产权为主体，市场决定资源配置。人类文明普世潮流，中国不可能例外。

中国当然有自己的特色，各国皆有。美国有总统，日本有天皇，印度有总理。但民主制度根本四原则，天下大同。民主不分主义，不分东西，只分真假。多党有竞争，人民有选择，是真民主。一个候选人，得票百分百，是假民主。我们反对的，不是所谓社会主义民主，而是假民主。我们追求的，不是所谓资本主义民主，而是真民主。

中华民族现代文明，绝不是马列主义同流帝王权术，西方糟粕合污中华糟粕，而是民主科学相辅仁义礼信，西方文明相成中华文明。专制结束之后，自由民主的中国，十四亿人迸发出激情活力，创造出世界上最发达的科技，最繁荣的经济，最灿烂的文化。美好中国，引领人类新文明时代。

本来他们有正确的方向，与民争利的国有企业私有化，权力逐步退出市场，逐渐开放民主选举。大方向对了，人民重见希望，重拾信心。

二十年前，我曾真诚建言，十年前也曾大声疾呼。可眼看中国在错误方向上越走越远。倡导国民做真正的公民被判重刑，号召积极参选人大代表也能成罪证。所有民主萌芽都被扼杀，所有改良空间都被堵死。他的天命和角色就是极权末代，无人阻止其奔向断崖。

经济衰竭。国有企业垄断民生，权力之手扭曲市场，拔苗助长掏空国库，雄安新区骑虎难下，一带一路不见收获，疫情防控苛政三年，一系列重大的持续的错误决策使经济衰竭。而他们束手无策，继续拔苗助长，饮鸩止渴。

政治倒退。村级民主退到“一肩挑”，政党分开退到全面领导，集体领导退到一人独裁。政治全面倒退，极权全面扩张，维稳不断膨胀，一座大山压垮中国。

文化凋残。文化繁盛不是挖古墓建古迹，而是创造灿烂的文化为人类分享。自由是文化的生命线。而共产党视自由为大敌。曾经这个西方邪灵以毁灭中华文化为己任，毁炎帝陵，挖孔子墓，掘中华祖坟。如今，它的层层审查宛如凌迟，电影、电视、艺术、文化奄奄一息了。

社会窒息。没有民选，极不自信。大限将至，愈加敏感，愈多禁忌。演员、网红、作家、歌手等等，一不留神就被封杀，人人自危，万马齐喑，华夏民族渐失生机活力，几近僵尸矣。

高举马克思主义。一个幽灵，一个在欧陆无处徘徊的幽灵，一种烈性传染病，经苏俄传染到中国，带来了三千多万人饿死的巨大悲剧，毁灭中华文化的十年浩劫，带给人类二十世纪空前的灾难，至今仍给北朝鲜人民无止尽的奴役、饥荒与苦难。一个荒诞的主义，彻底失败的主义，高举此赤旗向全人类示威乎？

从文革中来，念念不忘回到文革中去，哀哉中华！

修改宪法。何德何能妄独裁终身。国家民族命运系于一人，圣贤尚忧，草包何堪？过去每十年换人，虽是一党，总还抱有一线希望。如今黑暗无尽彻底绝望。一人独裁，十年倒车，百业凋敝，千重困局。马列邪灵，荼毒华夏，倒行逆施，人怨天怒。帝再登基，黄沙漫天。河北京津，火热水深，率扼众力，民生多艰。昏忧天下，长夜无边。独裁误国，中华危矣！

中国需要革命。

中国必将爆发革命。惟革命才能灭专制，惟革命才能救中国，惟革命才有民主自由，惟革命才有公平正义，惟革命才有人的尊严，惟革命才有中华重生。没有共产党，才有新中国。

不是暴力革命。人民没有武装，暴力也很难结出自由的果实。苏联、东欧共产党政权垮台，没有暴力革命，无一例外都是和平的市民革命。

1991年8月，苏共保守势力发动政变，陈兵莫斯科街头。然统治集团没有强人，军人犹豫观望，三天后共产党垮台，民主派胜利。共产极权终结的最后时刻，军人唯一的使命和角色就是犹豫观望。

革命为愤怒点燃。但熊熊烈焰的颜色，不是仇恨而是爱。驱马列邪灵，救中华同胞，救赎每一个中国人，不仇恨任何个体，不攻击他人，不破坏财产，不给野蛮暴力打压的借口。更强大的力量属于我们的力量，不是仇恨而是爱。

中国不会四分五裂。内地各省高度融合，国家认同根深蒂固，但个别边疆地区积怨太深。转型中，我们的理念清晰而坚定：自由是方向，各地区都会民主自治；公义必须捍卫，绝不允许任何暴力；和平协商未来，用爱抚平创伤。

中国不会动荡失序。苏俄政治转型，经济社会几乎没有准备。中国有四十年市场经济，有逐渐成熟的向往自由民主的力量。大规模集会游行，共产党烟消雾散，几个月内全民公决宪法大选。

1989年天安门民主运动失败了。当时统治集团有魅力型强人，绝大多数军人服命。民主派没有领袖，缺少方向和节奏。国际社会对中国改革开放还抱有希望。社会条件还不成熟，人民尚能分享改革开放的红利。

今天，统治集团已没有强人，历史转折时刻，军人会犹豫观望，跟他行吗？犹豫观望就够了。民主派已有成熟的领导团队，有清楚的方向，有可行的道路，国际社会已看清中共本质，冷战再起。社会条件已经成熟，极权末世萧条失业、贫困、绝望，民怨沸腾，遍地干柴。没有人知道何时何地哪个火星引爆革命，但那个火星一定会出现。

同胞们，东方黎明即将划破长空，地火在奔突，熔岩在汇聚，华夏不在沉默中灭亡，必在沉默中爆发。
最可贵的是勇气。

说真话的勇气，捍卫自由的勇气，不怕坐牢的勇气，走上街头的勇气。

感谢孤勇者彭立发挺身而出。黎明前的至暗时刻，四通桥上的烟柱是一束耀眼的光。万千国民已被唤醒，你绝不孤单。

感谢青春学子们。三十三年后，华夏民族再次听到了你们的呐喊。你们举起的白纸，终将汇成浩瀚历史。北大食堂门口那个举标语的女孩，谢谢你，我为有你这样的学妹而骄傲。三十四年后，华夏民族再次寄望于你们。北大，魂兮归来！

感谢民主前辈们，79民主墙到89天安门再到98民主党。一代一代志士仁人高举民主、自由的旗帜。那个年代你们更需要勇气。魏京生、秦永敏、刘贤斌……千年刑期啊，华夏要多少代价才得新生？我很荣幸加入你们的行列。

感谢基督徒们。数十年来，你们在这苦难、不义、焦灼的土地上，默默传扬基督的爱。我曾见证守望教会遭逼迫时，海淀公园门口漫天大雪中的祈祷。我信仰华夏祖先信仰的昊天上帝和耶和华一样，都是人类唯一的神。

感谢真善和忍耐的修炼者。2021年12月，隔壁监室刘金果先生因为绝食，被镣铐固定四肢于床板上长达一个月。二十多年来，你们承受的苦难惊天地鬼神，厚重了华夏民族的历史。

感谢所有为自由、民主、公正和尊严抗争的人们。专制之下，无论多少屈辱，沉默的是大多数。可还是有千千万万勇敢的中国人站起来了，向强权说不，被删帖、被封号、被黑监狱、被拘留、被判刑，正是这些勇敢的人铸就了华夏不屈的脊梁。

感谢二十年来陪我一起走过的公民们。有勇气反抗，有智慧建设，一个自由、公义、爱的美好中国。有一天，每一个中国人都会成为真正的公民，享有言论自由、选举权等普世的自由权利。那是真正属于人民的中国，我们一生的梦想和奋斗。

同胞们，

一百一十二年前，辛亥革命推翻满清王朝，建立中华民国，亚洲第一个共和国。不幸的是，数十年内忧外患之后，民国沦陷，专制重来。又七十多年了。世界政治版图天翻地覆，民主大潮席卷全球，独裁政权纷纷落幕，连非洲也已普选多年，可我的祖国依然在一党专制、一人独裁之下，实为华夏民族最大耻辱。

中国人活得太憋屈。

曾经，把锅碗瓢盆拿去大炼钢铁，任田地荒芜，风调雨顺的三年里，三千多万人饿死，亘古未有的大饥荒，被教科书一句“三年自然灾害”轻轻带过。大革中国文化之命，无数文物亦惨遭浩劫。早请示、晚汇报，跳忠字舞，养忠字猪，巨大恐怖中，举国癫狂。

曾经，“超生游击队”遍布天南地北，怀孕七八个月了被几个男人强行按倒拖到县医院后院给孩子头上打毒针，生下来还活着，扔进旁边的大开水锅里。四十年，千千万万中国母亲、眼看自己的孩子被残忍杀死，欲哭无泪，哀嚎无声。

扒坟运动来了，祖坟被推平，入土为安的逝者被强行扒出，除了高官，人人的归宿都是一个半米见方的小格子，密密麻麻，毫无尊严。

环保风暴来了，寒冬腊月，取暖的炉子被强行拖走，千千万万民营企业被勒令关停，大半生奋斗血本无归，状告无门。

疫情来了，一声令下，医生封口，央视“辟谣”，举国哑然，又一声令下，封城、封村、封国，工作、生活、梦想，一切的一切都被这愚蠢至极的禁令破碎。

再一声令下，毫无准备，突然放开，十亿国民求药无门，殡仪馆前，排起长龙。

一场空难，没有资格知道真相，更没有资格反思。一场洪水，没有资格知道多少人失去了生命。想给地震灾区捐款，只能捐给十字会等少数几个官办机构，没有资格查询善款去向。谈论国家大事，就已经到了违法犯罪的边缘，高声赞美皇帝的新装如何华丽，其实所有人都知道他没穿衣服。遭遇不公忍无可忍去上访，关闭手机不坐火车，像游击队员潜到帝都，结果还是在国家信访局门前被抓获。

人是政治性动物。可我们没有资格过正常人类的生活，因为没有选票，国家不是人民的，是共产党的。我们至今依然双膝着地脑后留着辫子。如果说过去一些年能吃饱饭，还能像猪一样聊以自慰，如今连饭碗也成问题了。我们还要忍耐到何时？

给子孙后代一个什么样的中国？让他们继续跪地为奴，还是今天的我们挺身而出？

这荒诞的国度，这耻辱的国度，这强权横行的国度，这泯灭人性的国度，这独裁者高高在上人民卑微如蝼蚁的国度，这悲哀麻木绝望沉沦坠向地狱深渊的国度，就是我的祖国。我以毕生所有拯救她，拯救我的华夏民族，迎中华文明辉煌重生。

大时代已拉开序幕。至暗时刻，黎明将至。绝望躺平，必将激情飞扬。这是我们的时代，公民的时代，人民的时代，永别共产幽灵，永别千年专制，迎接公民革命，人类历史上最恢弘壮丽的篇章，同胞们，准备好了吗？

公民 许志永
2023年8月
本文发布在 12.26公民案, 公民立场, 本站首发, 许志永. 收藏 永久链接.

From the Archives: Censorship of "Civil Society"

Recently I've been reviewing my archives of screenshots illustrating Internet censorship in the PRC. I've got images going back to 2008, and one of the most interesting things to me is to find screenshots showing what was NOT being censored back then, but is being censored now. For example, the screenshot below  was taken on January 12, 2011, and shows that a search on Baidu for "Civil Society" (公民社会) returned results from a variety of sources including social media (tieba.baidu.com is Baidu's "PostBar" forum website) and overseas websites (nccu.edu.tw is the website of National Chengzhi University in Taiwan).

The following image was taken on November 14, 2023, and shows that the same search on Baidu now only returns results from a whitelist of websites under the direct control of the PRC central government and Communist Party. 

The following screenshot shows the same restricted results on the last page of Baidu's search results.

The following screenshot illustrates another interesting facet of Internet censorship in the PRC - it does not always strive for perfection. In the case of this query, it is possible to find results from non-Party/non-State controlled sources by adding the "site:" operator.

Baidu is not, however, willing to take any chances when it comes to censoring its own social media platforms. For example, the left screenshot was taken in 2011, and shows that at that time a search for "Civil Society" on Baidu's "Zhidao" Q&A platform returned many results. The right screenshot was taken in 2023 and shows the same search returns no results, just a notice saying "Sorry, no answers related to 'civil society' were found." (抱歉，没有找到与 “公民社会” 相关的回答。)