Recently, Anhui petitioner Ding Tingkun, who has been petitioning for years for his rights without any resolution, has faced repeated suppressions and persecutions, causing serious harm to himself and his family. Feeling desperate, he wrote a letter seeking help to President Xi Jinping, only to face threats from the local police station, fearing that he may once again be subjected to imprisonment.
Ding Tingkun is currently in an extremely difficult situation due to the lack of progress in his rights advocacy. His own diabetes worsened due to lack of treatment while in prison, facing the prospect of amputation; his wife suffers from mental illness caused by rape, unable to afford long-term treatment; his mother was seriously injured when his wife’s mental illness flared up; and financial difficulties have pushed him to the brink of collapse.
Despite seeking help from local government officials multiple times, Ding Tingkun’s pleas have been ignored. Last year, he wrote a letter of plea to President Xi Jinping and sent it to Beijing. While advocating for his rights in Beijing, Ding Tingkun distributed flyers at Tiananmen Square, knelt down to plead for justice, hoping to draw attention to his family’s issues and find a resolution. However, he was threatened by the local public security bureau, warning that he would be imprisoned once he returned from Beijing.
In his letter to President Xi, Ding Tingkun expressed his outrage at the local government’s control and intimidation, vowing to seek legal assistance or appeal to higher authorities in order to uphold his legitimate rights in the face of injustice.
Ding Tingkun, a resident of Lingbi County, Suzhou City, Anhui Province, recounted his ordeal of being falsely imprisoned, stating, “In 2014, the Public Security Bureau of Wuxi came to Lingbi County to discuss with me. The Deputy County Mayor of Lingbi County, Lei Bin, was also present during the meeting. Wuxi offered me 400,000 yuan under the guise of judicial aid, which I did not agree to. Later, this money was handed over to our government to resolve my petition case, based on an agreement they reached, which I secretly recorded.”
“However, our government only gave me 50,000 yuan, with the rest of the money pocketed by government officials, and they forced me to sign an agreement to halt my petition,” he said. “Because I refused to sign, the local public security bureau and government leaders visited my home many times, threatening me that I would be imprisoned if I went to Beijing again.”
On June 29, 2014, Ding Tingkun was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of “extorting the government” for refusing to sign the agreement to halt his petition.
A month before Ding Tingkun’s imprisonment, his father was harassed by the government and accused of inciting his son to petition in Beijing. His normally healthy father’s blood pressure spiked from anger and stress, leading to his sudden death in the hospital after three days.
Ding Tingkun stated, “My father was completely unaware of my petitioning activities. He was usually in good health, just a bit irritable. But being accused like that made him so angry that he fell ill and inexplicably died in the hospital after three days.”
While in prison, Ding Tingkun endured beatings and abuse, fearing for his life. Thinking of his wife, who suffers from schizophrenia, his young son with facial disfigurement from an accident, and his mother, newly widowed, Ding Tingkun smuggled a plea for help in socks made in the prison. These socks were later exported to the UK. In December of the same year, a customer at a discount store in the UK found the socks with the hidden plea, bringing the plight to light in the British media.
In the plea, Ding Tingkun detailed his advocacy in Beijing, reporting police corruption and malfeasance, leading to false charges and imprisonment. Despite the case being returned for retrial in May 2015, he remained arbitrarily detained, enduring physical and mental torment. Ding Tingkun urged anyone who read the plea to publicize the case to the Chinese Communist authorities or the media.
Following the exposure of the plea overseas, Ding Tingkun claimed that he was spared further torture in prison. However, his petition issues remained unresolved.
Ding Tingkun revealed that during his imprisonment, his six-year-old son suffered injuries to his face under mysterious circumstances, resembling the injuries Ding Tingkun himself sustained years ago from a gang attack.
After his release, a deputy court chief appointed a lawyer to help with his wrongful conviction appeal, but local township government officials threatened him to withdraw the lawsuit. Failure to comply would mean no resolution to his issues and possible imprisonment if he continued to petition.
Despite encountering various officials along his rights advocacy path, including the Deputy Mayor of Wuxi, the Public Security Bureau chief, the Petition Bureau chief, the Secretary of Suzhou City Committee in Anhui, the Political and Legal Affairs Commission secretary of Lingbi County, and the Public Security Bureau chief, no leader stepped forward to uphold justice for his family.
With no resolution in sight and continuing his petitions, Ding Tingkun now has to be accompanied by government personnel each time he goes to Beijing and is restrained within the town during sensitive periods. He mentioned that once he purchases a train ticket, the Lingbi County Public Security Bureau notifies the Wuxi City Public Security Bureau to maintain stability.
On the night of December 26, 2025, with no funds for ongoing medical treatment, Ding Tingkun’s wife, who suffers from severe mental illness, experienced a violent episode, injuring Ding’s mother gravely, requiring urgent hospitalization. Ding stated, “To seek medical treatment, we can only turn to local government leaders for help.”
He sent text messages to Yang Jun, the Secretary of the Suzhou City Committee, and Liu Bofu, the former Secretary of Lingbi County Committee, narrating the family’s predicament and the urgent need for assistance for his severely injured mother, his pending foot amputation due to diabetes complications, and the mounting financial demands. Presently, only one person is assisting in part of the medical expenses for his mother, leaving a significant sum unsettled.
He expressed, “Despite reaching out through text messages and calls, our leaders have not responded.”
Currently feeling extremely helpless, Ding Tingkun has resorted to seeking help from overseas media, shedding light on his plight in hopes of drawing the attention of relevant authorities to resolve his issues.