“A Full-fledged Political Case”: Exiled Official’s Plea to Xi Jinping for Father-in-law’s Silver Coins
Exiled abroad, Du Wen, former executive director of the Legal Advisory Office of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Government, who served as legal advisor to high-ranking officials such as Yang Jing, Batel, and Hu Chunhua, spoke out against being coerced into implicating Hu Chunhua in a case involving embezzlement of government funds. Despite maintaining his innocence throughout the six-year trial, Du Wen was sentenced to 12 years and 8 months in prison. Upon his release in January 2023, he fled to Belgium where he remains under surveillance.
Recently, Du Wen’s plea to Xi Jinping via overseas platforms for the return of his father-in-law’s 101 silver coins has sparked both domestic and international attention. In an exclusive interview with Epoch Times, Du Wen exposed the insider details of the embezzlement case involving the Inner Mongolia government, revealing it to be a product of infighting among senior CCP officials.
On April 29, Du Wen, now in Belgium, released an open letter and video addressed to Xi Jinping on platform X, accusing the Inner Mongolian authorities of unlawfully confiscating his father-in-law’s 101 silver coins and demanding their return, along with other seized properties. The message caused a stir in public opinion both at home and abroad.
During the Epoch Times interview, Du Wen shared how the authorities harassed his in-laws even after their escape to foreign soil. Tragically, his father-in-law passed away on April 28, prompting Du Wen to pursue the return of his father-in-law’s belongings, including the allegedly fake silver coins, in order to provide closure for the family.
Regarding the prompt response from the authorities, Du Wen speculated it may be tied to Xi Jinping’s recent visits to France and Europe. He also pondered whether it was a result of a pang of conscience from Huang Jinlong, Director of the Supreme Court’s Enforcement Bureau, or other factors. However, Du Wen deemed the handling of the case as a gross violation of human rights.
Du Wen’s plea to Xi Jinping for his father-in-law’s silver coins is just a subplot in the much-discussed Du Wen case. Now in exile overseas, he has shared some lesser-known details of the case with Epoch Times.
Du Wen emphasized, “This case is a thoroughly politicized one, a product of internal power struggles within the CCP. Certain individuals sought to leverage the case to bring down Hu Chunhua, pressuring me to implicate him in decision-making processes.”
“They wanted to push me to my limits, to corner my family, to leave me no way out, to force me to implicate Hu Chunhua, it’s clear-cut coercion,” Du Wen added.
Du Wen’s release from prison in January 2023 marked a renewed effort by the authorities to control him, even freezing funds earmarked for his father’s late-stage cancer treatment. Du Wen lamented the harsh tactics employed to drive him out of China.
He noted that his overseas exile was strategic as the authorities expected him to implicate Hu Chunhua upon his return, a move he refused to make despite personal grievances. He stands by his Christian principles, asserting the need for truthfulness in his statements.
Du Wen’s involvement in the case drew significant attention due to its connection with various government officials, including high-ranking figures from the Inner Mongolian government. The case originated in a land dispute in Shenzhen in March 2008, escalating into allegations of bribery totaling over six million RMB during Du Wen’s tenure as the director of the Institute of Constitutional Law and Sociology at Inner Mongolia.
Du Wen accused his superiors at the time, including Batel, Ren Yaping, and Secretary General Ulan Batel, of orchestrating the illicit transactions, coercing Zhao Liping, and implicating him in their wrongdoing.
Moreover, Du Wen highlighted the destruction of crucial evidence, such as incriminating audio recordings, by the prosecution to suppress the truth and secure his conviction. Despite ample evidence pointing to official misconduct in the embezzlement scheme, Du Wen faced a heavy-handed legal process riddled with manipulation and cover-ups.
With two high-ranking Inner Mongolian officials implicated and sentenced in connection with Du Wen’s case, he lamented the lack of power among lower-ranking personnel to challenge unjust directives handed down from above. The miscarriage of justice highlighted Du Wen’s assertion that the legal system was complicit in the unjust verdict against him.
The saga of Du Wen’s pursuit for justice continues, shedding light on the tangled web of political machinations and personal sacrifices entwined within China’s opaque legal system. Stay tuned for the rest of the compelling narrative.