Sichuan rights activist Chen Yunfei was restricted in his freedom of movement by the police when he visited friends in Gansu on August 5. His lawyer friend Jiang Yongji learned from the head of the Dangcheng Police Station in Subei County that Chen Yunfei had been detained for 12 days on the grounds of “obscenity.” Chen Yunfei had previously been charged with “forced obscenity” and his lawyer, Bao Longjun, stated that this could be another case of stigmatization.
Recently, Chen Yunfei traveled from Chengdu to Jiayuguan to visit a friend with the surname Dou, and was on his way to Subei County to visit his friend and lawyer Jiang Yongji. However, he was intercepted by the police midway.
On the evening of August 4, lawyer Jiang Yongji received a call from Mr. Dou informing him that Chen Yunfei had been detained by the police in Subei County for unknown reasons. Jiang Yongji immediately contacted the Subei County Public Security Bureau and found out that Chen Yunfei was being held by the Dunhuang police, but the exact reason was unclear. Chen Yunfei’s phone and WeChat were unreachable.
In the evening of August 5, Jiang Yongji called the Dangcheng Police Station in Subei County and was informed by the person who answered the phone claiming to be the head of the station that Chen Yunfei had been administratively detained for 12 days, on the charge of “obscenity.”
The station head stated that during a conversation with Chen Yunfei that afternoon, Chen Yunfei repeatedly expressed his intention to visit Jiang Yongji in Zhangye after his detention period ends. When Jiang Yongji asked for the contact information of the investigating officer, the station head refused to provide any information.
Jiang Yongji stated on his public account that his family’s farmland had been subject to power outages and well closures eight times, causing the crops to wither, with the police ignoring his reports. Chen Yunfei had come to check on his situation this time.
On March 25, 2021, while accompanying his mother for a walk in Xipu Town, Chengdu, Chen Yunfei was suddenly arrested by several police officers and later sentenced to 4 years in prison, with the charges changed from “provocation and troublemaking” to “forced obscenity” and “obscenity towards children.” At that time, Chen Yunfei issued a statement condemning the court for framing him with the deliberate intention to stigmatize him.
After 5 years, Chen Yunfei is once again accused of “obscenity.” Lawyer Bao Longjun expressed in a post, “This is extremely malicious, and they may be attempting to stigmatize Yunfei again. It’s not my malicious speculation, they have always done this.”
Weibo blogger “Wenyi Fan” also remarked that since Chen Yunfei was released legally last time as a law-abiding citizen, there is no reason for anyone to detain or control him.