Hunan media figure Yin Jianguen, who runs the public WeChat account “Sunlight under the Pen,” was formally arrested on September 15 by the Ma’anshan City and County Procuratorate in Anhui Province, 35 days after being apprehended. His arrest came after expressing support for Anhui petitioner Chen Dezhen, which led to him being detained on charges of “provocation and causing trouble” for criticizing Liu Ying, the Party Secretary of Liyang Town in He County, Anhui Province.
According to a lawyer’s report on September 16, “When visiting Yin Jianguen in the custody of He County, it was confirmed that Yin Jianguen had been officially arrested. It appears that He County will be unable to extricate itself from the whirlwind of public opinion in the short term.”
The public WeChat account “Literary Offender 005” stated, “He County police went to Hunan’s Zhuzhou to find Yin Jianguen and requested him to delete the articles. When Yin Jianguen refused, he was arrested. It is said that the police stayed in Zhuzhou for several days, indicating hesitance in deciding whether to arrest Yin Jianguen. Ultimately, the decision to take the risk of arresting him was likely made under leadership. The assessment at the time was that the consequences would not be severe and could be managed. However, in hindsight, it was a mistaken judgment by the leadership, as the arrest of Yin Jianguen has caused a major uproar.”
The account continued, “I do not personally know Yin Jianguen, and it was through the internet that I learned about him and the reasons behind his troubles. This punishment package seems tailor-made for these passionate individuals who are eager to speak up for justice, keen on discussing issues affecting the people, and truly patriotic. Titles revoked, tea sessions, cross-provincial arrests, provocation accusations – it’s almost as if these are the penalty set for this group.”
Yin Jianguen has long been a voice for marginalized groups. In the wake of his arrest, individuals he has previously supported, such as Jiangsu petitioner Ding Hongfen and Anhui’s Chen Dezhen, rallied to provide assistance by helping him secure legal counsel, raising funds from netizens, and depositing money for him at the detention center.
Under the organization of Ding Hongfen and Chen Dezhen, the “Sunlight under the Pen Support Group” was quickly formed, with many self-media personalities writing articles to advocate for Yin Jianguen. However, each of these articles was systematically deleted and blocked.
On September 16, a cooperation letter was issued by the He County Internet Information Office, preparing to penalize the public account “Third Eye Sixth Sense.” On the 17th, it was revealed that the local authorities in He County had hired a public opinion management company to persuade a certain self-media individual to delete articles.
The public account “Yi Fan” revealed, “During the second visit to see Yin Jianguen, it was unexpectedly discovered that the He County government spared no expense in hiring a considerable number of fake accounts and online trolls from Yancheng and Shanghai to complain about journalists who have written in support of Yin Jianguen and have been monitoring the actions of He County officials. The public opinion management company laid bare explosive information and even offered several thousand yuan in exchange for deleting articles, which was refused by a certain journalist.”
She emphasized, “With Yin Jianguen now being formally arrested by the He County Procuratorate, it seems they have no intention of backing down. Numerous netizens and individuals from all walks of life are closely following this case, voluntarily raising funds for Yin Jianguen to cover his daily expenses. Please continue to pay attention to He County, a place that will send shivers down your spine – where one can be sent to prison without any guilt, solely based on the wielded power.”
Self-media figure “Hai Xiao” stated, “We did not know Yin Jianguen before his disappearance. We did not have WeChat, nor did we have each other’s phone numbers. There was no prior offline contact. However, from this illegal cross-provincial arrest in He County, it is evident that under the shadow of fabricated charges, everyone lives in fear. Do Chinese citizens still have freedom of speech? Therefore, I will spare no effort in speaking out for Yin Jianguen and other rights defenders who are currently suffering.”
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.