Niu Tengyu’s mother said she was not afraid of the threats from the Guangdong authorities and would insist on defending her rights. (Courtesy of the informant)
Niu Tengyu’s mother, Coco, issued another appeal for help in recent days, saying she is now bedridden after suffering a huge physical and psychological blow and financial hardship as a result of her son’s 14-year wrongful conviction, and that Guangdong authorities continue to threaten and intimidate her and her friends in an attempt to prevent outside assistance.
In July 2019, 20-year-old Niu Tengyu was arrested by Guangdong authorities in Maoming for the Xi Jinping daughter information leak case (also known as the Vulgar Wiki case), tortured to extract a confession and became the “main culprit” and was resentenced to 14 years on December 30, 2020. His grandmother and grandfather both passed away.
Coco told Epoch Times that she finally saw her son, whom she hadn’t seen in nearly 600 days, with help from the outside world some time ago, but since she returned home, harassment and intimidation have continued.
“The Internet at home was cut off, my Taobao account could not be used to buy phone recharge cards, and my micro-signal was blocked, preventing me from communicating with other parents of children who were wrongfully convicted.” Coco believes this is a way for Guangdong authorities to create fear and increase pressure to try to stop parents from filing complaints.
“Today, I am bedridden by them, my face and hands are badly swollen, my heart is in distress, I have no money for medical treatment, no one dares to visit me at home, and no one lends me money.” Coco said, “The Maoming authorities are investigating and threatening everyone I have contact with including my online friends, trying to use this to isolate me and put people to death.”
Coco is a single mother, and Niu Tengyu was raised by his grandmother and grandfather when he was a child. After Niu Tengyu’s accident, Coco went around to seek justice and was cheated out of a lot of money to save her son, and is now so broke that she can’t even get the money for medical treatment.
“In order to prevent the unjust case from being vindicated, the Guangdong authorities, fearing that those responsible will be punished by the law, threatened to keep me from speaking out, said in a grand manner that I should appeal through normal channels, and tried to block the way for me to appeal, not allowing Niu Tengyu to sign and not allowing lawyers to meet.” Coco said, “They tried to make me completely desperate and give up my complaint. Now I am speaking out through the media, and I will not give up my complaint.”
Coco said, “I am not afraid to die, but I am not willing to die like this. I hope people can help me survive.”
The “Vulgar Wiki” case was sparked by the disclosure of the personal information of Xi Jinping’s daughter Xi Mingze and her brother-in-law Deng Jiagui by the overseas “Red Bank Foundation” and the “Chinawiki” website. In July 2019, police in Maoming, Guangdong Province, one of the organizations involved in the case, arrested a number of members of the “vulgar Wiki site” on the mainland, including Niu Tengyu. After Niu Tengyu was sentenced to 14 years in prison, 23 other members of the wiki were sentenced to different terms of imprisonment.
Later, it was revealed that the local police tortured Niu to extract confessions, threatened lawyers and parents who cried foul, fabricated false confessions, and submitted shady reports to turn Niu Tengyu into the “main culprit”.
Niu Tengyu and his lawyers filed an appeal and a lawsuit, but the second trial did not correct the mistake, and the Guangdong Maoming Intermediate Court still passed a secret verdict and upheld the original sentence. Coco has hired seven lawyers, but most of them have been forced out by the authorities.
Yang Yang Gu, who was identified by several members of the “Vulgar Wiki” as the person in control of the site, was released and is reported to have fled overseas.
“The overseas director of Chinawiki told Free Asia that the news about Xi Mingze and Deng Jiagui was posted by him on the “Vulgar Wiki” and “Red Bank Foundation” websites. He is willing to take responsibility for this, as it has nothing to do with Niu Tengyu or the other people involved in the case.
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