Recently, there has been a wave of online whistleblowing in the Chinese Communist Party’s officialdom, especially among personnel in the political and legal system who are considered the “sword” of the CCP, triggering attention. On August 31st, Liu Hongju, a senior prosecutor in Sichuan Province, publicly accused judges from three levels of courts in Sichuan Province, Leshan City, and Emeishan City in a video that went viral on mainland social media platforms. Liu Hongju claimed that she had exhausted all judicial remedies and had no choice but to resort to online whistleblowing.
As a senior prosecutor at the Leshan City Central District Prosecutor’s Office in Sichuan Province, Liu Hongju openly accused in the video the judges from Leshan City Intermediate Court, Judge Yi Xiaoyun, Deputy Chief Judge Zhang Ning from Emeishan City Court (acting on behalf of Leshan City), Judge Huang Dan from the Sichuan Provincial Higher People’s Court, and Prosecutor Chen Xuemei from Leshan City Prosecutor’s Office of “intentional misjudgment.”
According to Liu Hongju, her case involved issues such as government agencies exceeding their administrative authority, falsified information in marriage registration agencies, illegal notarization, illegal actions by public security agencies, individuals possessing multiple ID numbers, false birth medical certificates, and fraudulent Vietnam War veterans’ records.
“To the extent that after personally experiencing the litigation as a prosecutor, I questioned whether our country truly has unified laws. Is our country governed by the rule of law? Does the government still have credibility and trustworthiness?” she said.
Liu Hongju expressed, “As a prosecutor fighting against anti-Party criminal organizations and the rampant protection umbrella protecting those who cover up the truth in the Sichuan-Chongqing region, I feel like a lone orphan warrior fighting a battle without support. So far, in three litigation disputes and various complaints, I have suffered defeat in every case.”
She believes, “It’s not that I have lost, but the law itself is just a piece of waste paper, a disgrace to justice, allowing the dark and evil forces to triumph over the judiciary.”
Chinese scholar Yu Jianrong posted on Weibo, saying, “Prosecutors who believe in injustice in the judiciary are openly whistleblowing under their real names. Support!”
Former lawyer Li Zhuang stated, “The law should be fair and just, yet prosecutors, judges, and police officers are turning to the internet for whistleblowing under their real names, indicating where the problems lie! It shows that they too are feeling the pain!”
Lawyer Zhang Xinian said, “Senior prosecutors on duty openly accuse judges from the provincial high court, city intermediate court, and district grassroots court. Can prosecutors no longer have peace of mind on the job? Whose sorrow is this?”
Some netizens commented, “When those closest to the law need to protect themselves but choose not to rely on the legal system and opt for public whistleblowing online, it’s truly ironic!” “Now that police officers, judges, and prosecutors face injustice and seek fairness and justice online, what should we, the common people, do when we encounter injustice?” “If even prosecutors need to protect their rights through online whistleblowing, does it mean that the law is truly useless?”
Another netizen expressed, “Justice for the people, justice for all, when can we achieve consistency in words and actions?” “When you have power, the rules serve you; when you have money, the rules can be adjusted for you; when you have nothing, you will find that the rules are tailor-made for you.”
The Epoch Times noted that the Leshan City Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision announced in 2018 that it had opened an online whistleblowing platform. In addition, on the eve of Senior Prosecutor Liu Hongju’s public whistleblowing in Leshan City, Tan Yan, the Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of Leshan City, led officials from the Political and Legal Committee and Prosecutor’s Office on a local research visit on August 26, giving “full affirmation” to the prosecution work in Leshan.
In fact, apart from the aforementioned Liu Hongju’s public whistleblowing, there have been numerous incidents recently where officials in the political and legal system across the country have cried foul online.
These include courts’ presidents, judges, prosecutors, and police officers from provinces and cities such as Jilin, Liaoning, Fujian, and Chongqing who have successively blown the whistle online on violations and corruption within the CCP’s political and legal system. Additionally, many officials from various levels of CCP discipline inspection commissions, judicial bureaus, tax bureaus, and market supervision systems have publicly accused their unit’s leadership of seeking personal gain through abuse of power and corrupt practices.