【Epoch Times News, July 20, 2025】Beijing Christian and human rights activist Mr. Xu Yonghai has been sentenced to two years in prison for his steadfast faith and for exposing police torture. Since his release nearly 20 years ago, he has been under strict surveillance, unable to work normally. At the same time, his years of work experience have been reset to zero, and both his pension and medical insurance have been stripped, plunging him into financial hardship. Recently, he has once again sought justice, demanding the return of the retirement benefits that should rightfully belong to him.
Now 65 years old, Xu Yonghai graduated from Beijing Medical College (now the School of Medicine at Peking University) in 1984, where he worked as an internist and psychiatrist. In 2003, he was sentenced to two years in prison and deprived of political rights for two years for exposing the persecution and torture of a Christian family church by the Anshan police in Liaoning Province, under the charge of “providing intelligence to overseas.”
Xu Yonghai recently told Epoch Times that his arrest and conviction were unlawful according to the law. “What kind of intelligence is that? It’s public knowledge. If you say it harms national interests, you have to present evidence. It’s your own wrongdoing when the police target Christians and the government demolishes churches.”
After his release in 2006, local authorities stationed personnel near his residence for surveillance for as long as 10 years. Due to various restrictions, Xu Yonghai could not work or live normally, had no income, and relied solely on his wife’s meager earnings to get by.
Despite financial difficulties, in May 2020, Xu Yonghai still managed to pay six years’ worth of social insurance and three types of insurance, accumulating 26 years of contributions for pension, making him eligible for a monthly retirement pension of about 1000 yuan and medical insurance benefits. However, the Beijing authorities reset his 20 years of work experience to zero, leading to the loss of all benefits.
Having served as a physician for over 20 years, Xu Yonghai earned a living by treating and saving people through his own labor, not through government handouts. Although he fulfilled the required social insurance payments, his retirement pension and medical insurance were taken away, and he was unable to apply for low-income assistance.
Epoch Times attempted to contact the Beijing Social Security Bureau by phone but was unable to reach them.
Xu Yonghai stated that having faith is not wrong, and advocating for rights is even more justified. However, on sensitive days, his freedom is restricted, preventing him from traveling out of town and even being put under travel restrictions.
As the Beidaihe Conference approached, he faced intensified surveillance and travel restrictions. When a friend invited him over, passing by Beidaihe, authorities prohibited him from travelling there.
Xu Yonghai believes, “It’s not wrong for us to have faith, but you arrest us. We work hard, but you strip away from us. I’m not going to Beidaihe, just somewhere near it, yet they won’t let me go. This has caused me great distress.”
As a 65-year-old man, Xu Yonghai needs money for medical treatment when he is ill. Over the years, he has been forced to persist in seeking justice and demanding that the authorities return his rightful basic pension to ensure he has a decent living and access to medical care. However, the issue remains unresolved, and he hopes that the public will pay attention to his plight.