Recently, a woman in Kunshan, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, posted online revealing that she had been “harassed” by multiple departments after complaining about the increase in natural gas fees on social media. Even her husband was summoned by his company leaders. This incident has sparked heated discussions on the internet in mainland China. Netizens criticized the authorities for not solving the problem but instead targeting the people who raised the issues.
On April 24th, the topic of “Woman Complains about Sudden Increase in Natural Gas Fees, Husband Summoned” trended on the social media hot search list in mainland China. As early as the 20th, a woman in Kunshan, Suzhou, expressed dissatisfaction with the rising gas fees in her home in a post criticizing Suzhou Huarun Gas Company and demanding a thorough investigation. After gaining attention, she was harassed by relevant departments.
On the 22nd, the woman posted again, saying that she had raised questions days earlier due to the sudden increase in her natural gas expenses. A day later, representatives from Suzhou Gas Company came to her home to offer explanations. The woman thought the matter would end there. However, she was shocked when two police officers also visited her, questioning her husband’s company name under the pretext of promoting anti-fraud knowledge. Subsequently, personnel from relevant departments went to her husband’s company, pressuring the company owner to communicate with her husband and get her to delete the post.
The woman stated that she is just an ordinary citizen who spoke out about what happened, without lying or spreading rumors. She hopes that the related departments will let her go and refrain from pressuring her to delete the post through her husband’s employer. She further explained that she posted to protect her own interests.
Online commentators in mainland China remarked, “If what she wrote is the truth about her issue, it is her right. Harassing her like this is illegal for Huarun, and the police are violating regulations. If she fabricated the story, Huarun’s normal course of action should be sending a legal letter to request post deletion, not threatening her.”
Others commented, “The article that trended was deleted, gas company’s tactics are cunning.” “Unable to solve the problem, so they solve the person who raised the issue.” “Isn’t this an outright threat?” “No matter where it hurts, they shut down discussions.” “It’s a familiar pattern, if they can’t solve the problem, they just target the questioner.”
On the 23rd, “Dafeng News” under “Huashang Daily” reported that Suzhou Huarun Gas Customer Service staff mentioned that following abnormal fee increases in Chongqing and Chengdu, they did receive inquiries from citizens in Suzhou about sudden fee hikes.
This issue of sudden increases in gas fees is not limited to just Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Epoch Times reporters contacted people in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, Xiaogan, Hubei, Nanjing, Jiangsu, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, and other places who also revealed that their gas fees had abruptly risen.