Former “Rule of Law Online” journalist Yin Jiangen was arrested across provinces on August 11 due to a case involving Liu Ying, the Party Secretary of Liyang Town, Anhui and County. Many self-media articles in support of him were complained and deleted.
Yin Jiangen, from Zhuzhou, Hunan, runs the public account “Sunshine of Plowing with a Pen” and has long been advocating for the voice of grassroots people. Recently, he was arrested across provinces for criticizing Liu Ying, the Party Secretary of Liyang Town, Anhui and County, in an article. Currently, he is detained in the Hexian Detention Center.
According to the lawyer’s report, they have contacted the prosecutor responsible for reviewing the arrest for approval at the Hexian District Procuratorate. The public security organs filed for approval on suspicion of “provoking trouble” on September 10, and it is still within the seven-day review and arrest period and has not been approved. The defense lawyer will submit a non-arrest opinion and materials to the Hexian County this week.
Liu Ying, the Party Secretary of Liyang Town, Anhui and County, was arrested across provinces after an article by Yin Jiangen (Sunshine of Plowing with a Pen) criticized her behavior, which included intercepting and reporting to the police during a rights protection process involving villager Chen Dezhen, leading to his conviction.
After the exposure of Yin Jiangen’s arrest across provinces, public opinion continued to ferment. Self-media personnel from various regions published articles supporting Yin Jiangen, questioning the standards of filing cases and the bias in law enforcement by the police. However, Liu Ying, the Party Secretary of Liyang Town, took the approach of deleting complaints.
Jiangsu rights activist Ding Hongfen requested everyone in the “Concerned about Pen Plowing Group” to upload screenshots of their accounts being blocked, articles being removed, and groups being shut down for speaking out in support of Yin Jiangen.
Ding Hongfen told a reporter of Da Ji Yuan, “These are just the ones I have collected so far, and there are more. She provided records of nearly twenty deleted articles. The reasons for the complaints were that the articles infringed reputation, commercial reputation, privacy, and image rights.”
The public account “Xie Brothers Talk” said their WeChat account was restricted from group chat for three days. Just when it was unlocked, they wrote an article titled “Why Did Secretary Liu Ying Develop ‘Complaint Compulsion Syndrome’,” initially not wanting to write about this matter again, but Secretary Liu Ying did not stop!
The public account “Third Eye Six Senses” had their article deleted because it contained a photo of Liu Ying. The “Hexian County Committee Network Security and Informatization Office” issued a request for investigation letter, alleging that it caused severe damage to the leader’s reputation.
The article by the public account “Literary Offender 005” was also deleted, with the author stating, “A party secretary in a town being able to repeatedly arrest people dissatisfied with her across different regions, Liu Ying has also achieved a national first. People speculate that she can act so wantonly, openly trample on the rule of law, challenge basic common sense and legal construction, her background may be extraordinary. There must be someone up top, perhaps more than one.”
“Those who go against the rule of law and oppose the people, no matter how ferociously they act today, will ultimately be swept into the trash can of history, becoming a symbol of shame and disgrace.”
Mr. Xue from Chongqing said, “Officials like Secretary Liu Ying are not only destroyers of the rule of law but also excavators of the Taraxacum traps, nurturers of rogues and oppressors. Allowing her to act recklessly, not only will she fall into irretrievable perdition, but those who safeguard and endorse her will also suffer.”