Sichuan Gong County rights-advocating siblings Yu Fenglian and Yu Fangtang came to the county government office about a month ago to address issues to the county mayor. However, Yu Fangtang was beaten by accompanying personnel, resulting in a broken bone and hospitalization, with no legal action taken by the police.
After the parents of Yu Fenglian and Yu Fangtang passed away, they left behind a piece of forest land, of which the six siblings have inheritance rights. The land was mistakenly transferred to the children of Yu Dahui, a neighbor, by the Gong County government in 2009. The siblings have been advocating for their rights with no success.
Yu Fenglian told a reporter from Dajiyuan, “We have submitted our petition materials to the central government multiple times. In April this year, a few of our brothers submitted materials to the 12th Central Inspection Team, which only said over the phone that they had transferred our materials to the Sichuan Provincial Committee and Provincial Government, requesting them to handle it according to procedures. However, the issue was redirected to the local county government who employed people to illegally detain us in Gong County. Several of our brothers in the rural areas were also under surveillance.”
On the morning of August 11, Yu Fenglian and Yu Fangtang went to the county government to voice their concerns to the mayor. However, when Yu Fangtang attempted to speak with the mayor, he was immediately stopped and dragged away by the personnel accompanying him.
Recently, Yu Fangtang told Dajiyuan, “The people monitoring me prevented me from speaking with the mayor. After forcibly dragging me away, seven to eight people twisted my arm, causing a fracture. When I reported this to the police, they did not provide a case report and only called for an ambulance to transport me to the hospital for treatment. I am still in the hospital being monitored by five to six people who continue to harass me. The authorities not only fail to address the issue but also resort to extreme measures. Whose rights does Chinese law protect?”
Yu Fenglian stated, “The government hires idle people to monitor and track us, restrict our freedom, and even harm us physically. Despite reporting these criminal acts several times, the police do not take action. On August 11, I had to use a loudspeaker to address the crowd, asking who authorized these unidentified people to monitor us publicly. The police confiscated my loudspeaker and forcibly took me to the police station.”
Yu Fangtang has been working in Beijing for a long time and utilizes his spare time to petition. During the 20th Party Congress in 2022, he was kidnapped near the south side of the Beijing Red Gate Charging Station while charging his electric vehicle and had his vehicle taken away. Despite demanding the return of his vehicle months later, he has not been successful.
Yu Fangtang added, “At that time, officials from Gong County and Shangluo Town provocatively said that even if they took my tricycle, there was nothing I could do about it. When I tried to seek help from Beijing, the Fentai District and Yipai Police Station in Beijing have not resolved the case over a year. Now they ask me to contact the local government in Beijing, passing the responsibility back and forth.”
“To petition for the land rights issue, my family members (brothers and sisters) have been kidnapped countless times in Beijing. If not physically harmed, they were either administratively detained or criminally detained, preventing me from working in Beijing and causing severe economic losses.”
The Gong County government promised to compensate him for lost wages when he was kidnapped two years ago, even signing a receipt, but they have yet to pay him. He requested compensation for lost wages for medical treatment from the government but was asked to sign a “Cease Petition Agreement” first.
Due to her advocacy work, Yu Fenglian has often been kidnapped and beaten, which has taken a toll on her physical and mental health, resulting in a diagnosis of cancer in the past two years. Since June 18 this year, the Gong County government has employed idle people to monitor and track Yu Fenglian 24 hours a day, prohibiting her from riding any vehicle and ignoring her calls for help from the police, making her unable to go out for petitioning.