Source:                  www.ChinaAid.org

Date:                       March 11, 2022

 

 

Li Yu, a Christian human rights activist, wore a mask printed with the image of the chained woman
(Photo: Li Yu)

(Zaozhuang, Shandong province—March 11, 2022)  ChinaAid sources report that Li Yu, a Christian human rights activist in Zaozhuang, Shandong province, was threatened by Zaozhuang national security officers and held under designated residential surveillance for over 10 days. Li Yu followed the Xuzhou chained woman case and called on the Chinese government to investigate the incident. While under surveillance, she could access her cell phone and contact friends. However, her friends could not get hold of her three days ago. It is possible that she has been illegally detained, and her cell phone was confiscated.

Li Yu’s friend disclosed three days ago that the national security officers demanded that Li Yu should stay at home for 3 months, should not get out of her place, nor leave Zaozhuang. National security officers said that she would be paid, but she did not receive any payment. Li Yu disclosed that people who came by her place with national security officers included the village secretary Dong Wenhao; Zhao Zhongxiang--the law enforcement officer who monitored her; Song Xiang who works at the office set up by the Party and government at various levels to handle letters from and visits of the masses; and some unidentified persons. They all went with Li Yu to the orphanage last month when she visited her son. They told her that they would take her on a trip and asked her not to post on WeChat. 

Early on, Li Yu left a voice message to her friend, saying that police warned her that she was barred from attending the protest supporting the chained woman in Beijing on March 8. Back at that time, Li Yu was aware that police could target her or take some measures. 

The image on the mask that Li Yu wore on March 8
(Photo: Li Yu)

On March 8, Li Yu wore the mask printed with the image of the chained woman and the chain on her neck and videoed herself: 

Today is March 8, 2022, and as a woman, I feel ashamed of the day. My name is Li Yu, and I am a human rights activist from Zaozhuang, Shandong province. I was given imprisonment twice, 6 years in total, on the charge of provoking trouble and picking quarrels. My son has been in the orphanage for 8 years. I saw my son a few times after I was released. I was tortured for 64 days in prison, handcuffs and foot chains were connected, so I had to bend myself. They fed me less than one steamed bun each day, there were restrictions to use the restroom, and I was even threatened to pee and poo in pants. I thought that I led a miserable life, and I never imagined that there was a woman in the world whose life is more awful than mine. Following the chained woman incident, her chain must be the most expensive chain in the world. It takes the entire nation’s conscience to buy the chain. 

~Yu Bing, ChinaAid Contributing Reporter


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