Another human rights activist, Wei Yani, has been confirmed to have been arrested in Guangzhou after the city’s national Security Bureau launched a crackdown on pro-democracy activists on November 12 on suspicion of subverting the state power, according to A human rights website. So far, five people have been involved in the case, all of whom have been designated by the Guangzhou National Security Bureau for residential surveillance. The arrests of the activists on charges of “subverting state power” were of a worse nature, sources said, but the details of the case were unclear.
Guangxi human rights activist Wei Yani has been detained by the authorities, the website confirmed on December 31, adding another person to the case of subversion against state power in Guangzhou. Weiyani, along with fan Yiping, Fan Wencheng, Lai Jianjun and Qiao Lianhong, who had been detained by Guangzhou authorities, were all placed under residential surveillance. But as of press time, details of the case are still unclear.
Wei yani, a native of Guangxi, was sent to Beijing in 2006 as a representative of a county in Guangxi’s Hechi region to petition for compensation for migrant workers who embezzled money from farmland during the construction of the Longtan hydropower station. She was later sentenced to two years of hard Labour for disturbing public order by Guangxi authorities. In 2015, Weiyani was again sentenced to four years in prison by the Guangxi District Court for defamation and provoking troubles. This time, Wei Yani is in Yunnan Xishuangbanna was taken away by the Guangzhou National Security Bureau.
The notice of Designated Residential Surveillance received by Guangxi Human Rights Activist Wei Yani
Chen Chuangchuang, the current director of the Whole Aesthetics Association, told the station that Weiyani was arrested a long time ago from November 12 when she was arrested in Guangzhou. The notice of designated residential surveillance issued by the Guangzhou National Security Bureau was issued on December 3. On March 28, nearly a month later, the home of Weiyani’s friend and activist Zhang Phosphor was raided by the Guangzhou National Security Bureau in Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. The computers and mobile phones weiyani had left behind were seized. Chen chuang chuang suspects that Wei yani was arrested at the xishuangbanna border with the intention of leaving the country, thus triggering the cross-border arrest of Guangzhou National Security Bureau: “Zhang Phosphorus is a special place, Jinghong is on the border, Zhang Phosphorus was sentenced last time because he helped others sneak across the border. It seems that Wei Yanni also has the intention of leaving Jinghong.”
Chen chuang said that Weiyani, Fan Yiping and others had been the focus of national security surveillance before, and did not have the possibility of actually subverting the state power. Ms Veyani’s arrest, which comes days after another, is at odds with the Chinese communist party’s usual speedy approach to the case. He speculated that the GUANGZHOU State Security Bureau might have lacked evidence in expanding the case of the previous four arrests, and that Veyani was involved: “Veyani has the intention to leave the country, rather than carry out a practical revolution or armed subversion at home. Subversion cases by the Communist Party are often about a group of people together, and it’s worried. Organised opposition groups are among the most repressive. It looks like She was expanding her case and if the NSA had known about it in the first place, it wouldn’t have taken so long to catch her.”
According to sources in Guangzhou, Weiyani was arrested by Fan Yiping, Fan Wencheng and others implicated. It is known that Pham, a long-time businessman based in Guangzhou, has not made any dissident comments on the Internet or been restricted from traveling abroad by the authorities. Pham has also traveled to Japan, Taiwan and other places in the past two to three years. People familiar with the matter speculated that Pham wencheng’s arrest may also be the problem on the frequent departure. The source, who did not want to be identified for security reasons, said details of the case involving subversion of state power were still unknown, pending official notification: “Weiyani was originally petitioning, but this time it was subversion and residential surveillance, which should have involved the cases of Fan Wencheng and Fan Yiping. It’s hard to say whether they were involved, but they certainly had something to do with it.”
Yang Zhanqing, a Chinese public welfare activist based in the US, told THE BBC that designated residential surveillance means that political prisoners are held in isolated hotels, hospitals and other places for interrogation without supervision. Although recognized as legal by China’s current laws, this form is actually contrary to the Constitution: “Under such circumstances, it is easy to extract confessions by torture. In fact, the purpose is to extract confessions by torture. The person involved may suffer unbearable physical and mental torture, and the investigators will say whatever they want. “It is a legal way to designate residential surveillance in Chinese law, but this way is completely contrary to the constitution and international human rights values.”
Yang said, with the Chinese government for the MDC, activists crackdown, the top “subversion” charges more common: “the Chinese government controls on the society more and more severe, the tolerance of dissidents and activists more and more low, can’t find out the charges, it use subversion to buckle to sin. From top to bottom, the social atmosphere, the political environment has reached such a level that the authorities are ready to retaliate with top-level crimes.”
We will continue to follow the progress of the 11·12 arrests in Guangzhou.
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