During the visit of European Commission President von der Leyen to China, on July 23rd in Shanghai, a group of petitioners hung banners urging von der Leyen to pay attention to the deteriorating human rights situation in China. One of the participants, petitioner Zhao Dadi, was summoned for interrogation for two consecutive days, with Gu Guoping stating, “The police want to use these interrogations as evidence to incriminate us.”
After the media reported on the event, participants Gu Guoping, Yu Zhonghuan, Liu Dongbao, Hu Jianguo, Zhao Dadi, and Yang Yonglan were all summoned by the police for interrogation. However, the treatment they received from the police varied greatly. Gu Guoping was released on bail pending trial after the interrogation, Yang Yonglan was sent to a black prison after the interrogation, Yu Zhonghuan and Liu Dongbao lost contact after their interrogation at the police station, Hu Jianguo went back home following the interrogation, while Zhao Dadi was repeatedly summoned by the police for interrogation for two days.
Gu Guoping told a reporter, “Zhao Dadi was summoned again yesterday by the Beixinjing Police Station in Changning District to make a statement. The police want to use his statement as evidence to suppress us. They want him to follow the police’s instructions and tone during the interrogation and to sign and acknowledge it.”
During the interrogation, the police asked Zhao Dadi questions such as, “Who organized the visit to the municipal government’s petition office (where the banners were displayed)? How many people went? Who took the photos? Who posted them online? When were they posted? Where were they posted?” These questions made Zhao Dadi resentful, and he said, “What is the purpose of recording all this? Why should I cooperate with you? I feel like the questions you are asking are aimed at collecting evidence, it feels like it’s about persecuting people, following the style of the Cultural Revolution.”
Gu Guoping said, “As a result, Zhao Dadi and the police got into a dispute, almost coming to blows. Later, another police officer came in to defuse the situation, and this time the interrogation was not successful, their goal was not achieved.”
Gu Guoping expressed, “The questions from the police are very sensitive. They are trying to oppress us through this kind of personal attack, wanting to throw us all in, creating new cases of human rights persecution. My analysis is that Wang Xiaohong, the Minister of Public Security, is currently holding a meeting in Shanghai. This event has attracted the attention of the police as soon as it was announced, with orders to deal with this matter, and the subordinates are trying to impress by actually handling our case, and then arrest us all. They want to use the statements of Zhao Dadi and Yang Yonglan to trap us all and suppress us! By using the charge of ‘slandering the party and state image’ to frame us, as the basis for their wrongdoing.”
On the morning of July 27th, Yang Yonglan’s home was visited by five or six plainclothes national security officers and police, and she was taken to the police station for interrogation and then directly sent to the black jail on Changxing Island in Chongming District for stabilization control. At that time, in Yang Yonglan’s home, the police told Hu Jianguo, who had come to show support, “Two of your group have been criminally detained.” At the time, Yu Zhonghuan and Liu Dongbao lost contact after their interrogation at the police station, and they speculated that the police were referring to Yu Zhonghuan and Liu Dongbao.
According to Gu Guoping’s analysis, Yu Zhonghuan and Liu Dongbao should not have been taken to the detention center yet, and the police are currently fabricating evidence. They may be held in a black prison in a hotel or resort. “I hope the media can expose the evil intent of Shanghai police in suppressing vulnerable groups of petitioners. This is a negative teaching material that can show the world the true face of the Chinese Communist Party.”