Guangdong Shenzhen homeowner Li Tianhui fled mainland China due to persecution by the Chinese Communist Party and arrived in the United States in July 2024 seeking asylum. Recently, he shared with Epoch Times reporters his experiences of persecution in his home country, including illegal detention, torture, threats, intimidation, and ongoing surveillance and harassment.
Li Tianhui, born on February 17, 1986, recounted that they lived in a village in Longgang District, Shenzhen. Around 2020, homeowners in the village were forcibly charged fees. It may be due to financial problems in the local government, as a property management company designated by the local government entered the village and imposed fees without any legal basis.
“They set up a toll booth, charging every vehicle entering the village. They stipulated a fee of 300 yuan/month per car. We couldn’t accept this unreasonable demand because the fee was too high and there was no communication with the homeowners. We found it very unreasonable and unfair. This kind of situation happened throughout Shenzhen. It was a behind-the-scenes operation, with collusion between the village committee and the property management company, which made us very indignant,” Li Tianhui said.
He mentioned that homeowners resorted to lawful and reasonable appeals to various levels of authorities such as the village committee, street office, district government, and municipal government but found no resolution. Instead, they faced threats and harassment from the police.
On May 12, 2021, Li Tianhui, along with over two hundred homeowners and tenants, took to the streets to protest against the collusion between the local village committee and Runjia Property Management Company, illegal forced entry into the community for charging fees. Physical clashes occurred during the protest. Li Tianhui accused the CCP of being a criminal organization.
He was elected as one of the eight homeowner representatives responsible for filing complaints with government departments to defend their rights. Their demands included requiring unanimous homeowner consent and competitive bidding for property management entry, agreeing on property fee standards by the homeowner committee, and granting the homeowner committee the authority to change property management.
Due to his participation in protests, Li Tianhui and other key homeowner representatives were arrested by the police, and he was illegally detained for 48 hours and subjected to torture.
Li Tianhui said the police threatened him, claiming that organizing public disturbances was a serious crime, and if he didn’t comply, not only he but his family and even his children’s education would be affected.
During his detention, the police prevented him from resting or sleeping, interrogated him repeatedly about accessing foreign websites and involv…
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