After more than two years of surveillance, Hunan human rights activist and citizen journalist Ou Biaofeng came forward to expose Dong Yaoqiong’s mental illness, reposted her video plea for help, and tweeted about her situation, hoping that the outside world would pay attention to her.
Dong Yaoqiong was arrested by Shanghai police on July 4 of the same month after she threw ink at a giant portrait of Xi Jinping in Lujiazui, Shanghai, and video-streamed the ink throwing action, which had a great impact at home and abroad. Later, he was forcibly detained by the authorities in Zhuzhou City Hospital No. 3 on the grounds of “suspected mental illness”. On August 1 of the same year, Dong Yaoqiong’s father met his daughter at the hospital and learned that she had been accused of “attacking Party and state leaders. It was not until November 19, 2019 that Dong Yaoqiong was released on bail and sent to her mother’s residence in Taoshui Township, You County, Hunan Province.
On Nov. 30, Dong Yaoqiong uploaded a video on social media Twitter, stressing that she was not mentally ill and alleging that she was placed under close surveillance after she left the psychiatric hospital for the second time to work for the government. She also said she could no longer stand the life without freedom. However, no new voices have been raised since she sent the video asking for help, and the video and several tweets she sent have all disappeared from her Twitter account.
On December 3, Ou Biao Feng was taken away by the state security after sending his last tweet, writing: “Taken away from Ningxiang by four Zhuzhou state security guards and police officers, I arrived in Zhuzhou at around 12 noon, and after having lunch in the city, I arrived at the Lusong Branch of Zhuzhou Public Security Bureau at around 2 p.m. I waited in the duty room on the first floor until now, and a uniformed police officer was arranged to guard me, saying that I wanted to see my State Security Branch Chief has not yet come.”
Ou Biaofeng, 40, who lives in Ningxiang City, Hunan Province, has long spoken out for human rights issues through Weibo and Twitter, and his real-name Twitter account profile reads, “Political awakening, civil resistance, everything never ends ……” He was taken away by the state security this time After he was taken away, his wife Wei Huanhuan tweeted that her husband was targeted and convicted by the authorities for speaking out on behalf of Dong Yaoqiong and that the reposting of Dong Yaoqiong’s video was the trigger. After Ou Biao Feng was placed in administrative detention for 15 days, Wei Huanhuan confirmed to the public that her husband had been charged with “inciting subversion”, and then she tweeted a “Notice of Designated Residence Surveillance” against him.
Some analysts say that Dong Yaoqiong’s inking of Xi Jinping’s portrait is considered by Hunan provincial authorities as an important target for stability maintenance, and that Ou Biaofeng’s help in posting Dong Yaoqiong’s tweet is believed to have touched a sensitive nerve at the highest level.
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