Recently, Chen Dezhen, a petitioner from He County, Anhui, reported on Weibo that Liu Ying, the secretary of the Linyang Town Party Committee in He County, fabricated a false report to the police and was detained on charges of defamation. She expressed that “having power in hand makes a big difference. It’s a tragedy for the people that a mere town secretary wields such great power. I feel bleak living in this kind of environment. It’s too wicked!”
On the morning of July 12, around 7 a.m., Chen Dezhen posted a video on her Sina Weibo account “Supporting Chen Dezhen,” accusing Liu Ying of falsely reporting to the police in Linyang Town, He County, using fabricated information about extorting 6160 yuan for petitioning expenses from her, illegally transferring debt rights, failing to pay the final payment as per contract, and causing her to be wrongly imprisoned for 365 days. She also posted a photo of Liu Ying with the caption “Linyang Town owes me 100,000 yuan.”
Later, in the evening, the Linyang Police Station of He County dispatched three police cars and over ten police officers to Chen Dezhen’s home, forcefully taking her away on charges of defamation.
That same night, the Linyang Police Station issued an administrative penalty decision, administratively detaining Chen Dezhen for eighteen days and sending her to the Ma’anshan Detention Center for execution.
Shortly after, Chen Dezhen posted a message on WeChat saying, “They returned my phone. I handed it over to my sister. Detained for eighteen days.”
Chen Dezhen’s daughter stated on WeChat, “The Linyang Police Station forcibly summoned my mother and asked her to delete the information she posted about Liu Ying on Weibo.”
She further expressed, “Every word we said is based on facts and we are willing to take legal responsibility. Liu Ying falsely reported to the police, and during the first court trial, there was evidence in the case file to prove it. I’ve been calling out on Weibo for a year or two, but received no response. The person who falsely reported and lied to the police is walking free, while those speaking the truth like us are being controlled!”
After being taken away from her home by the police, Chen Dezhen’s friends among the petitioners helped draft a complaint against the Linyang Police Station of He County for unlawfully summoning excessive police force.
One petitioner, Ms. Huang, mentioned in a rights-protection group, “The police came to Chen Dezhen’s house without a search warrant to search for her phone. When her sister refused to hand over the phone, the police took her sister away too. Both sisters were taken by the Linyang Police Station, leaving Chen Dezhen’s paralyzed father at home unattended.”
It’s reported that Chen Dezhen had signed a compensation agreement regarding an advance payment for demolition compensation with the Linyang Town Government, but the agreement was altered to make it appear as if it was an advance payment for family hardship relocation funds. When the time specified in the agreement arrived, the Linyang Town Government breached the contract by not paying the remaining 100,000 yuan and refusing to make any changes. This led Chen Dezhen to seek justice in Beijing.
In 2021, when Chen Dezhen went to petition, she received a call from the local government asking her to return and promised to reimburse her 6160 yuan in petitioning expenses. The two parties also signed an agreement, and Chen Dezhen received the 6160 yuan from the community secretary Xu Minggen. A year later, Liu Ying, the secretary of the Linyang Party Committee, reported to the police that Chen Dezhen forcefully obtained the 6160 yuan petitioning fees.
On August 8, 2023, Chen Dezhen stood trial for provocation and troublemaking in the He County Court of Anhui. During the court hearing, the prosecutor acknowledged that the 6160 yuan was given to Chen Dezhen by the town government personnel after seeking approval from the town leaders. Chen Dezhen and her legal representative clarified that there was no forced taking, no criminal offense, and no provocation. However, the He County Court still sentenced Chen Dezhen to one year in prison for provocation and troublemaking, and ordered her to return the received 6160 yuan to the community secretary Xu Minggen.
Insiders revealed that the Linyang Town Government of He County, without Chen Dezhen’s knowledge, illegally transferred the debt rights of the brick factory to a third-party rubber company and failed to settle the bankruptcy. After Chen Dezhen’s rights protection actions, the brick factory was eventually liquidated.
On December 27, 2023, Chen Dezhen was released upon completing her sentence. In a video message, she vowed to continue fighting for her innocence.
Currently, Chen Dezhen has filed an appeal with the Intermediate People’s Court of Ma’anshan City.