In 2024, a grassroots public official from Zengcheng District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province bravely exposed internal statistical fraud and arbitrary fines within the system, facing pressure from both the unit’s disciplinary committee and public security. Eventually, he was stigmatized, had his resignation rights restricted, and chose to escape the Chinese Communist regime by fleeing to the United States.
The young cadre, originally seen as having a promising future, named Luo Zhifei, recently shared his story with a reporter from The Epoch Times, revealing not only the deep-rooted problems within the CCP’s bureaucratic system but also reflecting how the entire state authority punishes dissent and conscience.
Luo Zhifei, who came from a rural family in Jiangxi, obtained a master’s degree in animal medicine in 2010 and began working at the Agricultural and Rural Bureau of Zengcheng District, Guangzhou City in July 2020. Due to his excellent writing skills and outstanding performance, he was frequently promoted by the bureau to participate in city-level exchanges and case studies, earning him the reputation of a “young and promising” rising star in the system.
However, in March 2022, during an annual department meeting, he questioned the agricultural department’s practice of issuing fines indiscriminately to farmers during the epidemic to make up for financial shortfalls. He pointed out, “We cannot impose fines just to generate revenue because the land is not selling and the government lacks money.”
This statement angered the deputy director and department head, and he was criticized internally for “lacking a sense of the bigger picture” and “not obeying organizational arrangements.” From then on, Luo was marginalized, subjected to strict scrutiny, and tortured with repeated document revisions, turning him from a highly valued employee into someone who was “looked at differently.”
Luo Zhifei was henceforth viewed by the unit as someone who “does not follow the Party’s instructions.” He mentioned that even when writing reports according to regulations, they were often repeatedly edited by superiors, and sometimes basic approval procedures were deliberately delayed. The double pressure, both mentally and work-related, led him to develop severe insomnia and emotional disorders since May 2022, ultimately diagnosed with depression and anxiety, requiring prescription sedatives.
He admitted, “I began to doubt if I was suitable for this system. I originally thought the government was meant to serve the people, but it turned out to be completely the opposite.”
In March 2023, Luo Zhifei was transferred to the Animal Health Supervision Institute in Zengcheng District, Guangzhou City, responsible for livestock production data statistics and reports. In his new position, he discovered that grassroots statistics were almost entirely fabricated. Superiors demanded that the data match the national GDP growth estimate, specifying a required annual growth rate of 5% to 5.5%, regardless of the actual survey data.
“We simply have no time to investigate on the ground; everything is reverse-engineered according to the targets. Farmers incur losses, yet we report profit growth,” he said.
For instance, the actual price of lychee honey was only about 26 yuan per kilogram, but superiors forcefully required it to be reported as 50 yuan. In response, he wrote a report titled “Zengcheng District Lychee Honey Price Investigation” and distributed it at the annual statistical meeting in December 2023, speaking out against the fabrication, only to be abruptly interrupted during his speech.
Shortly after the meeting, the bureau’s disciplinary committee summoned Luo on the grounds of “printing and distributing internal materials unauthorized” and questioned his ideological state.
In May 2024, personnel from the Zengcheng branch of the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau unexpectedly visited Luo Zhifei’s office concerning his statements made at two previous meetings, inquiring about whether he was “influenced by foreign forces” and his opinions on the government, citing the National Security Law to pressure him.
The police also seized his phone, took photos of medical records as evidence, and questioned whether Luo Zhifei was “mentally deranged” when making statements. They threatened, “If you do not admit to being mentally deranged, we can have a doctor diagnose you with a mental illness and immediately send you to a mental hospital.”
Under immense pressure and fear, Luo was forced to sign a behavior record admitting that he “spoke in a mentally deranged state” to protect himself from being involuntarily sent to a psychiatric hospital.
Due to deteriorating mental health, Luo Zhifei formally submitted his resignation in March 2024, attaching a psychiatric diagnosis. However, the HR department rejected it, citing that he was under “observation while remaining employed.” He was subsequently questioned multiple times by bureau officials and HR about his whereabouts, mental state, and future plans, clearly attempting to surveil his movements.
On the evening of May 20, after a conversation, Luo Zhifei broke down emotionally and livestreamed on the Douyin platform for two hours, accusing the agriculture department of arbitrary fines, data falsification, and systemic oppression, attracting a significant amount of attention from netizens. The account was immediately blocked that night, and the police interrogated him again the following day, questioning his mental state and threatening him with whether the content of the livestream constituted “disclosing confidential information.”
Unable to resign, facing mental stigmatization, and personal monitoring, Luo Zhifei ultimately decided to flee China. In June 2024, he left the unit under the guise of a family visit, traveled from Shenzhen to Hong Kong, then flew to the UK, transit to Mexico, and finally made his way to the US crossing the US-Mexico border in July.
During the journey, he encountered obstacles multiple times at self-service immigration machines, being prompted to go through manual channels, suspecting surveillance and control. “I was very scared, at that moment, I just wanted to escape,” he revealed. The unit even arranged for his colleagues to “take care of” him, monitoring his daily life and even suggesting accompanying him to medical appointments, deeply interfering with his personal affairs.
Upon arriving in the US, Luo Zhifei expressed, “Here, for the first time, I truly feel what ‘people as masters of the country’ means. I no longer need to self-censor, no longer fear speaking my mind.” Compared to China, Luo emphasized that he only felt like truly living as a human being after coming to the US, where the people have the right to vote and freedom of speech.
Luo pointed out that before leaving China, his superiors arranged for him to have a weekly video conference with a police officer and demanded a monthly “ideological report” to closely monitor his movements and mental state.
To this day, he continues to receive harassing calls via his mother from his former unit and public security, claiming he is “missing” and urging him to “return quickly” while emphasizing that it is “dangerous outside.”
However, Luo Zhifei stated that he has decided to continue exposing the violence and oppression of the CCP in a free society. He also solemnly declared his withdrawal from the Communist Youth League and the Young Pioneers organization he once joined, completely cutting ties with the Communist Party.