Shanghai resident Ma Chunying, from Liangcheng Street in Hongkou District, went to Beijing on August 23. The next morning, six unidentified individuals were stationed outside her hotel and prevented her from leaving, which has now been ongoing for 21 days. During these 21 days, Ma Chunying not only faces a shortage of medical supplies but also struggles to have proper meals.
According to an informant, Mr. Yu, Ma Chunying sent him a set of photos two days ago and informed him, “These people have been watching and ready to kidnap me 24/7 at the hotel.”
The photos provided by Ma Chunying show the unidentified individuals monitoring her hotel stay: two men sitting in the hotel lobby, with a black SUV parked outside with at least two individuals inside.
As of now, the reporter has been unable to contact Ma Chunying to determine who sent these unidentified individuals.
Shanghai petitioner Tingting told a reporter from Epoch Times, “I have known Ma Chunying for many years, and she has suffered greatly due to her human rights activism. The individuals monitoring her at the hotel are definitely sent by the Shanghai authorities.”
Tingting shared her own experience of being kidnapped to a black jail from a rented house in Beijing, leading her to believe that the unidentified individuals monitoring Ma Chunying at the hotel are sent by Shanghai. “In 2022, I was renting a house in Fangshan District, Beijing. Unknown individuals broke in, stole my documents, and kidnapped me to a black jail for 43 days. Despite multiple calls to 110 for help, the Beijing police informed me that the Shanghai authorities were behind my abduction.”
Currently, Ma Chunying remains trapped at the hotel with no way to seek help.
Ma Chunying started petitioning due to a labor dispute with her employer. After coordination by the National Bureau for Letters and Calls and the Shanghai Municipal Bureau for Letters and Calls, the Hongkou District government reached a verbal agreement with Ma Chunying through Liangcheng Street to provide her with a monthly living allowance of 7,500 yuan in exchange for ceasing her appeal. However, in 2014, the Hongkou District government stopped the subsidy. Despite unsuccessful negotiations with Liangcheng Street, the Hongkou District government, and the Shanghai municipal government, Ma Chunying went to Beijing to file a lawsuit.
From 2003 to 2020, during her petitioning trips to Beijing, Ma Chunying faced violent interceptions, was detained over ten times, and illegally held for more than 600 days. Despite submitting complaints to the procuratorate on multiple occasions, no action was taken.
On July 17, 2020, Ma Chunying was brought back to Shanghai by the Hongkou Sub-bureau of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau from Beijing and was subsequently criminally detained and arrested. On December 24 of the same year, she was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for “disturbing public order.”