On April 3, Chinese human rights activist Chen Junxian, a former chairman and legal representative of Hunan Province Tianzi Furniture Co., Ltd. and Miluo City Xiaotian Fireworks Co., Ltd., shared his recent ordeal with Epoch Times. Chen exposed the darkness of the Chinese Communist Party’s judicial system and questioned when the authorities would provide a fair legal environment for the people.
During their 30-year marriage, Chen and his wife Liu Liping never quarreled. Chen believed his wife to be kind and rational, but he fell into a well-set trap. In March 2022, Liu remarried her first love, transferring almost all of Chen’s accumulated assets of nearly 40 million yuan, leaving him only 749.35 yuan.
After unsuccessful negotiations, Chen filed a lawsuit in June 2023 at the Miluo City Court seeking the division of their shared assets during the marriage. However, the legal proceedings were filled with various strange occurrences.
During the first trial, Chen was restricted to answering “yes” or “no” to Liu’s allegations, and arguments were repeatedly interrupted by the judges. Despite Chen’s lawyer’s requests for investigation orders, the court demanded Liu’s bank card and deposit account numbers. When Chen provided over ten card numbers, the judge only selected three for investigation.
In the first trial, Liu was ordered to pay Chen 190,000 yuan. Subsequently, Chen appealed to the Yueyang Intermediate Court, but the court, without sufficient evidence, ruled for Liu to pay 260,000 yuan. Chen then applied for a retrial at the Yueyang Intermediate Court, where bank records revealed hidden and transferred assets of 7.85 million yuan, yet the retrial was hastily denied.
Chen pointed out that before the divorce, Liu had already started transferring assets. The investigation orders from the court only covered 16 million out of the nearly 40 million yuan. Currently, Chen’s health is deteriorating, with high blood pressure and kidney issues, leading to his younger son having to drop out of school due to inability to pay tuition.
Chen called on society to pay attention to his case and urged the authorities to provide a fair legal environment for the people. A knowledgeable individual living in the UK provided basic information on Chen’s involvement in Chinese citizen rights and democracy activities.
The individual revealed that Chen has long been concerned about democracy, rule of law, and human rights in China. Throughout his entrepreneurial career, he actively participated in citizen activities in mainland China, focusing on commemorating historical truths, supporting human rights activists, and promoting civil rights expressions.
Chen participated in various activities: In May 2017, he attended a gathering in Changsha, discussing the events of 1989, advocating for remembrance and reflection. In July 2017, Chen was summoned by local authorities for participating in support activities for detained lawyers. These events underscore his attempts to engage peacefully in public affairs within an authoritarian environment.
In 2014, Chen was detained by the Changsha Public Security Bureau for participating in citizen gatherings and signing petitions supporting lawyers. The experiences reflect an ordinary entrepreneur’s effort to participate peacefully in public affairs under an authoritarian regime.
Chen, born in 1964, originally worked in the railway sector after graduating from Zhuzhou Railway School. He later ventured into entrepreneurship, establishing a fireworks and furniture business. The furniture enterprise was once the largest in Hunan Province. In 2012, Chen sold both businesses, settled in Changsha, and led a retired life.