Before the visit of European Council president Von der Leyen to China at the end of July, seven Shanghai petitioners made banners to welcome her and called on her to pay attention to the dire human rights situation in China. As a result, several petitioners were summoned and detained, among them, Liu Dongbao was held in a black prison for 92 days and was only released on October 24.
Petitioner Yu Zhonghuan told Epoch Times, “70-year-old Liu Dongbao suffered brutal physical torture in the black prison. He, being elderly and ill, was tormented with swollen and painful feet, unable to walk; two teeth were knocked out, his skull was battered, and his chest was injured. On October 24, after being taken out of the black prison, he was abandoned near Xikang Road and Anyuan Road, one kilometer away from his home.”
“He used a passerby’s phone to call his cousin, who then asked nearby friends to pick him up and accompany him to Shimenerlu Police Station to report the incident. The police told him to come back tomorrow to file a report, claiming they couldn’t take his statement at the moment. Therefore, he couldn’t obtain a medical examination report, and seek medical treatment.”
On July 23, Shanghai residents Gu Guoping, Hu Jianguo, Liu Dongbao, Yang Yonglan, Zhao Dadi, Cui Shiyingzi, Yu Zhonghuan, and others made banners to welcome European Council President Von der Leyen and European Council President Costa before their visit on July 24.
Around 10 a.m. on July 26, Liu Dongbao was taken by the police to Shimenerlu Police Station where his phone was confiscated. A few hours later, he was escorted by six security guards to Chongming Island’s black prison, where he was detained for 92 days, losing contact with his family and petitioner friends.
Apart from Liu Dongbao, four others were summoned, one was detained, and one was held in a black prison.
Liu Dongbao used to live in the Jing’an District of Shanghai. His only home was demolished by the Shanghai New Jing’an Group Limited in 1996, and the compensation received was not enough to afford another house. For thirty years, the family of three had no place to live and had to rent a house. Liu Dongbao repeatedly petitioned for this matter, negotiating with the New Jing’an authorities, visiting street offices, districts, cities, and even the State Council’s petition office, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, all resulting in excuses.
As he revealed, when calculating the compensation, New Jing’an omitted his father’s (the person to be relocated) share. Later, they misplaced his demolition agreement and claimed the files could not be found.
Due to his continuous petitioning, Liu Dongbao faced repression from the local government. On the morning of December 7, 2023, around 10 a.m., Chen Wenjun, the captain of the Jing’an District Nanjing Road Urban Management Brigade (a member of the Communist Party), led over thirty urban management officers and security guards to Liu Dongbao’s rental house, without showing any legal documents, destroying all his household items. Liu Dongbao was also physically assaulted, bedridden for several days. After recovering, he filed a lawsuit against Chen Wenjun, with testimonies from several witnesses present, police injury examination reports, urban management law enforcement recordings, among other evidence.
Following this, Chen Wenjun’s harassment intensified. On March 19, 2024, around 10 a.m., Chen Wenjun and his team once again led over thirty urban management officers and security guards to Liu Dongbao’s rental house, taking away over 30 items including the rice cooker, thermos, and essential household items, which have not been returned until today.
In recent years, Liu Dongbao visited Zhongnanhai approximately four times a year to file complaints but was intercepted by the police at the West Gate of Furight Street outside Zhongnanhai every time and then sent back to Shanghai by the Shanghai Liaison Office in Beijing, followed by being detained for 30 days.
On June 4, 2025, Liu Dongbao was deported for advocating at Zhongnanhai. On the return train to Shanghai, he gave a speech to 30 petitioners. Based on this, he was detained by Shimenerlu Police Station. While in the police station, Liu Dongbao shouted “Down with the Communist Party!” to the Jinan District Disciplinary Committee.
Song Jiahong, a spokesperson for Shanghai’s black prison and human rights activist, told Epoch Times, “Liu Dongbao was subjected to severe violence and near-fatal injuries during his 92-day detention in the Chongming Island black prison, which was a premeditated act of retaliation. The reasons were simply his participation in calling for the European Union leaders to pay attention to China’s human rights situation and his speech on train 1461, calling for the downfall of the CCP (Communist Party).”
He added, “The authorities hold deep animosity towards Liu Dongbao, and their retaliation plans were set. The police were too scared to act directly, so they used the summons procedure. By rights, Liu should have been sent to a detention center, but he ended up in a black prison! The authorities manipulated the black security guards to carry out this sinister act. This is a common tactic of the Chinese government!”