In a surprising turn of events, 32-year-old Song Tianheng from Hubei, who worked as an engineer at a well-known state-owned enterprise, found his life taking an unexpected trajectory after participating in a protest supporting the victim of a tragic incident in Jiangyou. He had been involved in various projects promoted by the Chinese Communist Party under the grand scheme of the “Belt and Road Initiative,” believing he had a stable job and decent income to support his family of three for a lifetime. However, his decision to stand up for freedom led him down a path of seeking refuge abroad.
On July 22, a 14-year-old girl in Jiangyou, Sichuan Province, was bullied by multiple individuals, forced to undress, kneel down, and subjected to various forms of physical violence. The incident, captured on video, sparked public outrage after it was circulated online on August 2. Following the revelation, thousands of people protested outside the Jiangyou government offices on August 4. The authorities responded by deploying a large number of police forces to violently suppress the protest, resulting in hundreds of arrests and injuries among the demonstrators. Despite efforts to delete related videos of the police crackdown from the internet, the incident ignited a sense of awakening among the public, sparking discussions both domestically and internationally.
Song Tianheng, who was on a three-month vacation back from abroad at the time, had traveled to Chengdu with friends, one of whom was a local resident, and was informed about the ongoing events in Jiangyou. Fuelled by curiosity and outrage, Song Tianheng, without much hesitation, accompanied by two friends, arrived at the scene of the protest in Jiangyou on the afternoon of August 4.
Upon arriving at the government office in Jiangyou around 4 p.m., Song Tianheng described to reporters how three streets were filled with people, including the main street in front of the government office and the adjacent roads on both sides. They stood by the side of the left road, gradually being pushed towards the front as the crowd grew. It was his first time participating in such an event, and he felt exhilarated as he joined the crowd in shouting slogans demanding justice and a thorough investigation into the incident. After standing for a while, they left the crowd to have dinner.
Later, around 6 p.m., Song and his friends returned to the main street in front of the government office. As the crowd swelled, they found themselves in the middle of it. Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, “They (the authorities) are arresting people! Beating people!” causing chaos to erupt at the scene.
As they attempted to retreat, Song Tianheng and his friends were restrained by two plain-clothed policemen, who detained them using plastic handcuffs and loaded them onto a vegetable transport vehicle. They, along with more than 20 other individuals, were taken to the large courtyard of the Jiangyou Public Security Bureau.
According to Song Tianheng, the authorities used buses, vans, and even a vegetable carrier when vehicles became insufficient to transport the arrested individuals. From the afternoon until around 6 or 7 p.m., over 100 people were apprehended, with the arrests continuing into the early hours of the morning, totaling more than 300 people detained.
He revealed that the first group of over 100 people detained were taken to the courtyard of the Jiangyou Public Security Bureau, while those arrested later were sent to police stations in Mianyang.
Moreover, there were rumors circulating at the time that the police had opened fire, but in reality, they had used pepper spray grenades during the incident. This caused a burning sensation on the skin of the individuals it came into contact with.
On the evening of the 4th, Song Tianheng, along with over 100 others, was held in custody in the courtyard of the Jiangyou Public Security Bureau, forced to kneel with their hands bound behind them.
During the detention, the authorities confiscated their phones, IDs, and wallets, calling them in for “interrogation” sessions where police officers wielded batons and demanded the deletion of videos from their phones, including those in the recycle bin.
Describing his experience, Song Tianheng said, “After they filled in the details in a uniform format, they asked us to sign. When I asked them what it was, they said it was my statement. I told them I hadn’t said anything, but they insisted I had and pressured me to sign, stating that I had played a secondary role and making me promise not to participate in such activities again.”
Song Tianheng was criminally detained for 7 days on charges of provocation and causing disturbances. He was released on August 10 after paying a fine of 30,000 yuan but received no official documentation or receipt for the payment. He heard of others being fined different amounts, ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 yuan, depending on their family situations, suggesting that the authorities were profiting from the crackdown.
He disclosed that those who had communicated with the government officials in front of the government building on the 4th were detained for at least six months.
Additionally, Song Tianheng revealed ongoing arrests by the Jiangyou police, indicating the presence of plain-clothed officers with masks recording individuals’ faces using phones and cameras, likely for facilitating future arrest operations.
Following his release, Song Tianheng returned to his home in Hubei, only to face dismissal from his job and a requirement to report weekly to the local police station.
He explained, “We have to report our weekly activities at the local police station, including providing WeChat location records. I went there once, but I don’t want to go there again.”
After much contemplation, feeling the need to escape mainland China for one’s freedom, Song Tianheng eventually decided to seek refuge in a European country, initially opting for Serbia.
On August 18, he embarked on a journey, starting from Wuhan to Dubai. However, he faced rejection due to inadequate registration procedures at the airport, although fortunately, his passport was not confiscated. He then attempted to fly to Dubai from Chengdu on the 21st but faced similar issues.
Learning that leaving from Yinchuan would be easier, he leveraged an international exhibition scheduled for late August in the city and successfully departed on the 22nd, flying to Dubai before making his way to Serbia.
Upon his arrival in Serbia, Song Tianheng initially planned to purchase property to acquire local residency, but he encountered a roadblock when his bank account was frozen by the Chinese public security department, mandating his return to China to unfreeze the account. Faced with this situation, he decided to venture further into Europe.
Remaining in Serbia until September 1, Song Tianheng, upon reuniting with another friend and their family, decided to move to Italy to continue their journey.
Initially attempting the journey without a guide, they were captured by the authorities midway, deported back to Serbia, and had their phones smashed by the police. Undeterred, Song Tianheng chose to engage a smuggler to lead them on the journey once again.
On September 8, following the instructions of a smuggler, Song Tianheng and four others met at a designated location to embark on the arduous journey across the mountains.
Facing numerous challenges along the way, including being locked in dilapidated houses or villas with minimal provisions, rough treatment by the smugglers, and having to discard their belongings at a point, they persevered through hunger and cold. The demanding journey lasted a week, culminating in their arrival in Italy on September 14.
While Song Tianheng’s situation remains uncertain, he is determined to persevere, having secured his freedom at least for now. Reflecting on his experience, he expressed, “Despite the hardships, I have no regrets for leaving. There is no future there (in China), but here (in Europe), there is hope.”
Having frequently traveled abroad and circumvented internet restrictions in China, Song Tianheng witnessed many truths that were inaccessible within the country. He admitted to being a staunch nationalist initially but gradually shifted his views after working in Japan for two years, realizing that the portrayal of the Japanese people in his home country was not entirely accurate. Consequently, his beliefs evolved, prompting him to seek out and understand previously unknown truths.
Upon his return to China, he began bypassing internet censorship, and in 2021, after reading an article on the Epoch Times regarding the events of June 4th, 1989, he further unraveled the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party. As a result, Song Tianheng took the significant step of officially declaring his withdrawal from the Party, marking a pivotal moment in his personal journey.