Recently, there have been frequent cases of Chinese Communist Party officials being involved in child sexual abuse or organizing prostitution. According to media reports, a 13-year-old girl in Xinhua, Hunan was sexually abused by 14 individuals, including 3 public officials. Meanwhile, in Yaan, Sichuan, an official named Cao Peigang from the Political and Legal Affairs Committee was involved in organizing prostitution, and his suspended sentence was upheld in the second trial. Netizens have criticized the lenient sentencing in both cases.
In late July 2023, during the school summer vacation, a mother named Li Dong in Xinhua, Hunan discovered that her runaway daughter Li Xiaoxia was forced into prostitution and raped. At that time, Li Xiaoxia was only 13 years old. According to the Xinhua County Court in Hunan, from April to July 27, 2023, a total of 8 adults and 6 minors (aged over 14 but under 16) sexually assaulted Li Xiaoxia. The main perpetrator, Liu Moumou, was sentenced to 9 years and 2 months in prison for the crimes of soliciting minors for prostitution and rape. Others involved received sentences ranging from 3 years to 6 years and 6 months for rape.
It was reported in the mainland media that 3 public officials were among those who raped Li Xiaoxia, including Wang Zeyu, Gong Haodong, and Luo Wei. The indictment showed that Gong Haodong, Luo Wei, and Wang Zeyu were respectively the deputy head of the People’s Congress of Youxi Township, an employee of the Audit Bureau of Xinhua County, and an employee of the Transportation Bureau of Xinhua County. Currently, Wang Zeyu has been dismissed from his job, while Gong Haodong and Luo Wei have been expelled from their positions and the Communist Party.
The sentencing documents revealed that 6 of the defendants were students at the time of the crimes, all between the ages of 14 and 16, and played key roles in the offenses. Furthermore, there were 3 offenders who were only 13 years old at the time of the crimes. Despite being convicted of rape, these 6 persons were all given suspended sentences.
On November 2, this case made headlines and sparked outrage among Chinese netizens, particularly over the light sentencing of the 3 public officials involved:
“The punishment is too lenient! This is a crime of raping young girls! It’s more serious than standard rape charges!” “The key point is that they are public officials and should be harshly punished.” “Adding to their crimes, they should be sentenced to death.” “With so many people involved, it should be considered as organized crime!” “Only 9 years? The trauma this girl will endure will last a lifetime for only 9 years?” “They were given a suspended sentence, what are we waiting for, give them the chance to escape punishment?” “Even the parents have issues.”
Meanwhile, another case involving a Communist Party Political and Legal Affairs Committee official organizing prostitution for profit has also raised concerns. According to Caixin’s report on October 30, Cao Peigang, the former deputy secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee in Hanyuan County, Sichuan Province, organized prostitution and recently received a 3-year sentence with a 5-year suspension. He was also required to repay the profits of 11,200 yuan (RMB) earned from the illicit activities at the bath center and pay a fine of 30,000 yuan.
Publicly available court documents revealed that the political and legal affairs committee of Hanyuan County was based in Fulin Town. The first-instance verdict on the case showed that in October 2019, a bath center called “Dielong Bath Center” was located on Laizhou Avenue, also known as “Number 8 Line,” on the western edge of Fulin Town, only 500 meters away from the Fulin Police Station of Hanyuan County.
According to witness testimonies, one of the operators of the bath center, Li, who shared the same surname as Cao Peigang’s wife, was introduced to Cao Peigang by Li’s wife. Eventually, Cao Peigang began profiting from protecting the center involved in illicit activities. During the first trial, Cao Peigang was sentenced to 3 years with a 5-year suspension for assisting in organizing prostitution. On October 29, Cao Peigang’s defense lawyer and deputy director of the Sichuan Discovery Yaan Law Firm, Dai Li, confirmed that the case was upheld in the second trial after the prosecution’s appeal.
Netizens criticized the lenient sentencing of a committee member involved in a criminal act, questioning the light sentence: “This fully reflects our ‘system superiority.'” “11,200 yuan, I feel like this is insulting people’s intelligence.”