Chongqing authorities take forceful eviction action at Liu Fuxiang’s Home in Jiulongpo District on Nov. 9, 2018. RIGHT: A large number of citizens gather outside the Banan District Court in Chongqing City on March 23, 2021, demanding to observe the sentencing of Liu Fuxiang’s case. (Exclusive courtesy of Chen Mingyu)
A Family in Chongqing has been plagued by demolition problems for years, and some of its members were not only seriously injured and lost their homes during the process of stopping the forced demolition, but were also detained for more than two years. The court recently ruled that the four people involved in the case were “guilty of obstructing official duties and provoking trouble” and were sentenced to two and a half to five and a half years in prison.
On November 9, 2018, Liu Fuxiang was resting with three family members and friends at his home in Jiulongpo, Chongqing, when a large number of unidentified people burst in.
The men, some of whom were armed, drove Liu Fuxiang and others away by force, Liu Fuhua, Liu Fuxiang’s brother, recalled. All four people were injured, including Liu Fuxiang and his son Liu Khan, who suffered multiple body fractures.
Liu Fuhua: “They broke the door into the brother and the brother’s son into fractures, bones are broken, nose and feet are broken, all over the blood. Subsequently put on a hood to take them away, after the house was demolished. “
Subsequently four people have been in criminal detention. The case was delayed until the end of last year and the verdict was delivered on Tuesday (23rd). The Banan District Court ruled that the four people “obstruction of official business, provocation and nuisance” into the crime. Liu Fuxiang and Liu Khan were sentenced to five and a half years and three and a half years, respectively, while Liu Lijun, Liu Fuxiang’s niece, and Ju Xiaolin, a friend of the Liu family, were sentenced to two years and 22 days and two years and six months in prison, respectively.
In fact, the Liu family’s house was already listed for demolition by the Chongqing municipal government back in 2015. The authorities used the old city renovation as a reason for commercial development of the Shi Qiaopu lot. Based on the compensation issue, Liu Fuxiang has been refusing to sign the agreement and has taken the case to court for this reason.
Authorities re-sentenced Liu Fuxiang and others to make an example of them
In order to complete the demolition task, the authorities sent a large number of police officers to besiege the Liu family in June 2017, and their personal freedom was tightly restricted for at least a month afterwards. Liu Fu-xiang’s brother Liu Fu-hua recalls that police installed surveillance cameras outside the home and repeatedly asked to search the house and show their residence permits.
Liu Fuxiang (pictured) tried his best to guard his old home, but eventually lost it. (Exclusive courtesy of Chen Mingyu, date of filming unknown)
Liu Fu-xiang: “Ask them to show their documents they do not show. One is the demolition office, one is the Public Security Bureau, if he is a two people to come, normal to talk, I think that is feasible. But the purpose of their visit is to demolish the house, to break the door to enter the house, the people inside will not let them in. The authorities are using this as a reason to say that they are ‘obstructing official business’. “
Chen Mingyu, a Chongqing-based rights activist who has followed the incident, believes that the authorities’ heavy sentences on Liu Fuxiang and others are meant to make an example of the monkeys.
Chen Mingyu: “Defending their own interests, being injured and disabled in their own homes, and then being arrested and sentenced to heavy prison terms. This does not make sense anywhere. The authorities are telling other rights activists that whether your interests have been lost or robbed, you have to shut up and accept it, or this is what will happen to you.”
On the day of the verdict, dozens of citizens went to the court to show their solidarity with Liu’s family and asked to sit in, but were refused. Some of them were taken away by public security officers for questioning.
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