【Epoch Times July 5, 2025】 Resisting Communist martyr Eric MY hails from a county-level city in Jiangsu Province. As the son of a government official, he was once arranged to work within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) system but could not bear serving as a tool for the government. He revealed to Epoch Times the political ecosystem of his city and the truth about the disappearance of Chinese youth.
In mainland China, CCP officials protect each other, and at the county-level city this is particularly prevalent. “Basically, all officials in the city, from the obscure department heads of offices like the Anti-Japanese War Office to the leaders of the Public Security Bureau, we know them all,” Eric said.
During the pandemic, Eric’s father used his connections to get him placed in the law enforcement center under the Public Security Bureau’s security brigade.
Public records show that this type of law enforcement center gradually piloted and expanded nationwide after 2015. In May 2016, Beijing police publicly announced the city-wide promotion of the “one-stop” case handling model, the “law enforcement case management center,” achieving centralized case review and a closed-loop case processing model.
Eric explained that even the son of the head of the city’s urban investment company was inside, all entering with connections. There were opportunities to transition to permanent roles. The first method was to take the civil service exam, mainly through interviews; as long as you set it up in advance, it’s not difficult. The second method was to join the CCP first, then transfer to the auxiliary police, be nominated by the city bureau step by step.
“Not even a week after entering, the head of the security brigade asked us to write CCP membership application letters, with the stamps already affixed, asking us to memorize it and submit it for approval at the next round. I didn’t join,” Eric revealed.
Eric mentioned that after witnessing a lot in the law enforcement center, he couldn’t stand it in less than two months, it was too bloody. “The law enforcement center is in the basement of the public security bureau. The police station first arrest people, those they couldn’t handle or needed to collect biological information were sent to the law enforcement center. Their unit mainly dealt with petitioners or politically-related cases, with at least a dozen people being processed daily.”
“Having to deal with this much made it feel unbearable. When I first arrived there, it felt like these people really had committed a crime, but later I found out it was all fabricated. For instance, the forced evictions, the Chinese constitution guarantees everyone the basic rights of petitioning, association, freedom of speech. But when they come here, they are there to be punished.”
“After entering, first they insult you, strip you naked regardless of gender. Then they lock you in the basement, beat and insult you after a while. This feeling was very meaningless. The environment inside was very poor, with large and small cells, all glass houses (separated by partitions), larger ones about seven or eight square meters, smaller rooms one meter by one meter, with all sides transparent glass, like a mirror, people outside could see you, but you couldn’t see outside.”
“In summer, they torture you with hot air. The food was salad and bread, not even half a handspan in size, one served in the morning, one at night, and only water at noon. The first day they bring you in, they won’t ask you anything, they start recording two to three hours before the 24-hour mark. For those with a bad attitude, they add another 24 hours, followed by administrative detention. The clothes inside are all black top and pants, with an outer vest, divided into several colors, red, yellow, green, blue. Red means the most serious, basically impossible to get out.”
Eric noted that such law enforcement centers exist nationwide, he has also been to the one in Su County, and Lianyungang, the situation was similar. In fact, this institution is unnecessary, local police stations can handle it themselves; it’s just a stability maintenance department.
“Supervision is a sham. In the interrogation room of the law enforcement center, once you enter, on the right are two switches, one for turning off the lights, one for turning off the monitoring. Some people who were tortured and abused in the law enforcement center went to the inspector’s office. But the inspector’s phone is basically not reachable, and even if you get through, it’s within the city bureau, all operating in the same building, no one will help you. It’s all officials protecting each other.”
Eric mentioned that when he left the law enforcement center, first, he felt it was a bit cruel, second, it was indeed very tiring inside, something ordinary people couldn’t handle. Being on call for 24 hours, changing shifts every three days, but most of the time unable to switch to the day shift, having to come in at night.
“We are like cattle or horses. Except our salaries are okay. Those who have connections make over four thousand yuan, while the average salary in our region was only 1200-1300 yuan at that time. Four thousand yuan was already high,” he said.
Eric disclosed that after the epidemic, the local finance department fell into a deficit. Previously, there were several foreign companies in the area, including South Korean enterprises specializing in molecular materials and several large manufacturing foreign-funded companies. But after the epidemic, they all left, and the local government couldn’t make ends meet. Currently, it is estimated to rely on financial allocations from higher authorities, coupled with the continuous “long-distance salvage” by the public security bureau.
The so-called “long-distance salvage” involves capturing private entrepreneurs across provinces or regions with the purpose of gaining economic benefits, and freezing their assets.
“For example, those involved in telecom fraud, online gambling, the police have been aware of it for a long time. The big screen in the law enforcement center shows chat records, and the monitoring room always has alerts. The reason they haven’t been arrested is that there’s no value in it; on one hand, there are no achievements; on the other, there’s not much profit, and the leaders of the investigation units are unwilling to deal with it.”
“Now things are different, there isn’t as much money, and those who should cut back are already doing so. Currently, there are mandates from above, there are targets to meet, forcing you to catch a certain number each month. For example, the court must create a certain amount of execution fees each month, only scraping the cases without a retroactive period. Currently, the courts are working overtime, the enforcement office is the most busy.”
According to Eric, under the security brigade, there is a security patrol team, all of whom are temporary workers, with only one official civil servant, their team leader. Labor dispatch, basically, they make around two thousand yuan, not exceeding three thousand yuan. But they have many ways to make money, like collecting protection fees from karaoke bars, and nightclubs.
For instance, during the Chinese New Year or festivals, when people gather to play cards, they go and catch those operating illegal gambling parlors. “Actually, no one reports it, they use big data screening. For example, monitoring a small group a few days before the Chinese New Year, this group was constantly sending and receiving electronic transfers, but no one was talking. They locate and capture them directly, fine them. He thinks he’s smart, using non-cash method to avoid being caught in the act, but all police are aware of it.”
“If your relationship is good, they won’t arrest you, you have already arranged for them in advance, we call it ‘Happiness Noodles’ locally. For example, tonight give two thousand yuan to the security brigade or police station within your jurisdiction. There are too many bathhouses in Northern Jiangsu, the yellow industry chain is well developed, all of them have to give money to the local police station chief. If you don’t pay, they will arrest you tomorrow.”
“If the police chief at the police station or security brigade receives money, he will also distribute it down below, it’s quite normal. If the security brigade leader receives money, he will deliberately give us a few packets of good cigarettes, invite us to dinner. They must give us a chance.”
Discussing the political ecosystem of the county-level city, Eric believed that the political landscape in the county town is a small model within the CCP system. In larger places, you may not see any flaws, but in smaller areas, you can feel it; the Communist Party’s system is a “fake show,” child’s play. The entire top cadre is a group of uncultured, unrefined individuals.
As an example, he shared, “There’s a testing station under the transportation bureau responsible for inspecting vehicles yearly. The head of the testing station wanted a promotion, so he gave 500,000 RMB in bribes. He is not a civil servant, just a cadre of a state-owned enterprise, with a monthly salary of around six thousand yuan, how could he be so greedy? For instance, emissions can pass inspection easily, but they purposely fail you, so you have to go to a specific repair shop, charging 150-200 yuan each time, and for large trucks and semi-trailers, repairs can cost several hundred yuan, even exceeding a thousand yuan. Dozens, even hundreds of cars a day, how much money are they making in a year?”
“The local gas station permit procedures were stopped ten years ago, the country expressly forbade private operation of gas stations. However, there’s a form of indirect strategy locally. I know of a person operating an oil/gas station, with a good relationship with the local government, getting a special approval from the public security bureau and the commerce bureau. The government opens a gas station first, and then goes bankrupt, after bankruptcy, they buy it back, oh my, isn’t this a joke? Manipulating the law at will, this is just chaos.”
“For example, the local urban construction company had a huge corrupt official, embezzling over a hundred million. His family member worked in the municipal company, responsible for road construction, greening, waste disposal, and other municipal projects. His own sister handled earthwork projects, and every road in the county-level city was constructed by her. They had their own landscaping company, operated by his brother-in-law, a single person who took all the money from the municipal social welfare projects.”
“Now his son has fled, he probably reached a plea deal; someone has to come forward. He is in the ‘luxurious suite’ of the largest local prison, watching TV, eating and drinking everything, with protection above. If he talks, our county-level city, the government institution would collapse, no one would survive.”
There is also a top leader of the underworld, would invite the mayors to dine in private clubs, secretly recording with pinhole cameras. In the early 2000s, he killed a police station chief, yet nothing happened to him. He fled in 2016, the government still has to provide him with a living allowance every month, and the cost is very high. If they stopped providing for him, everyone would go down.
“Really, many things ordinary people don’t know, can’t imagine, like in a movie, it’s all true,” he said. The most popular destination for emigration locally is Canada—where corrupt officials gather. The son of the head of the urban investment company went through the Canadian Startup Visa Program and invested over ten million Canadian dollars. Have we encountered any so-called honest officials within the system? Not one. If you act honestly today, tomorrow you will be taken away. The CCP system doesn’t allow you to be an honest official.”
(To be continued)