According to the latest news from lawyer Zhang Tingyuan, obtained from Liu Hu’s family, Chengdu police verbally informed the family that Liu Hu was criminally detained on suspicion of false accusation and framing, and illegal business operations. He is currently held at the Chengdu Detention Center, and a written notice will be sent later.
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On the evening of February 2nd, at nearly 20:00, the Chengdu Jinjiang Public Security Bureau issued a police report stating that, under the jurisdiction of the Chengdu Municipal Public Security Bureau, a case was filed against Liu Hu, Wu Yingjiao, and others on suspicion of false accusation and framing and illegal business operations. Criminal coercive measures have been taken against the relevant suspects in accordance with the law. On the afternoon of February 2nd, news spread in legal circles that Wu Yingjiao, a self-media person, was taken away by Sichuan police in Handan, Hebei on the afternoon of February 1st. Liu Hu, a well-known investigative journalist, also lost contact at the same time. He was on his way to the high-speed rail station from Wanzhou, Chongqing, preparing to go to Beijing.
According to the latest news from lawyer Zhang Tingyuan, obtained from Liu Hu’s family, Chengdu police verbally informed the family that Liu Hu was criminally detained on suspicion of false accusation and framing, and illegal business operations. He is currently held at the Chengdu Detention Center, and a written notice will be sent later.
Lawyer Zhang Tingyuan released the latest news on his Moments (screenshot of social media).
Previously, Liu Hu’s friend revealed to Aquarian Era that Liu Hu was taken away by the Economic Investigation Brigade of the Chengdu Municipal Public Security Bureau. The family learned from the Chengdu Municipal Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission that Liu Hu had been subjected to criminal coercive measures, but they had not yet received the documents and were not yet prepared to accept media interviews. Aquarian Era called the Economic Investigation Brigade of the Chengdu Municipal Public Security Bureau, but no one answered the phone.
On January 29th, Wu Yingjiao and Liu Hu jointly published an article titled “The Sichuan County Party Secretary Who Forced a Professor to Death, Now Forces a Business to Bankruptcy?” on the WeChat public account “Law and Emotion”. According to Mr. Wang, a businessman from Shanxi, his investment in a certain maternity center project in Pujiang County, Chengdu in 2020 was originally a government “investment attraction” project. However, after the county government’s leadership changed, the investment agreement signed earlier was unilaterally invalidated, and the project, which was about to be completed, was shut down on the grounds of “illegal construction”, and the property was frozen. According to his understanding, the local officials’ purpose was to seize the project and convert it into a kindergarten, to obtain high government subsidies. Mr. Wang further pointed out that the person behind the manipulation was the current Pujiang County Party Secretary Pu Fayou, “who has a long arm over the project and does not let go, and his relatives are behind the contracting and manipulation of the bidding.” He also provided chat records of Peng Xingli, the former political commissar of the Pujiang County Public Security Bureau, soliciting shares and bribes from him.
Currently, the above-mentioned article has been deleted. Aquarian Era noticed that before Liu Hu lost contact, he had publicly displayed text messages sent to him by a staff member of the Chengdu Municipal Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission. The staff member stated that they had noticed their reflection on the relevant issues of Pujiang County, Chengdu, and asked Liu Hu to contact the Chengdu Municipal Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission in a timely manner to assist in verifying the relevant situation, while also reminding him that he should report public officials and reflect problems through legal channels and legal means. Liu Hu replied by asking them to contact Mr. Wang, and he stated that the publicly released article was not a report and did not belong to the petition, and explicitly refused to cooperate.
Liu Hu had publicly displayed text messages sent to him by a staff member of the Chengdu Municipal Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission before he lost contact.
(Picture_Network)
Mr. Wang previously stated in an interview that he had reported and complained to relevant departments as many as 12 times, “but the response from the relevant discipline inspection departments was that there was no evidence of corruption and bribery, which did not constitute illegal acts, and they were perfunctory and shirking responsibility.” Aquarian Era called Mr. Wang’s phone, and the prompt was “temporarily unable to connect.” According to the Chengdu Jinjiang Public Security Bureau’s report, Mr. Wang may have been taken away for investigation at the same time.
Public information shows that Liu Hu, 50 years old, was a former investigative journalist for media such as “Xin Kuai Bao” and is known for repeatedly reporting officials suspected of corruption. In recent years, Liu Hu has turned to self-media and has been continuously reporting on major cases and public opinion supervision. In 2013, after posting Weibo posts that reported the then-deputy director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, Ma Zhengqi, Liu Hu was criminally detained by Beijing police on suspicion of “creating and spreading rumors” with the additional charges of “defamation” and “extortion”. He was detained for 346 days before being released on bail. Ultimately, the prosecution did not prosecute due to “unclear facts and insufficient evidence”. This case was regarded as a landmark case of freedom of speech, citizens’ right to supervision, and the boundaries of public power, and was selected as one of the “Top Ten Media Law Cases in China in 2015”.
Former “Xin Kuai Bao” investigative journalist and well-known media person Liu Hu. (Picture_Network)
Wu Yingjiao is a post-90s investigative journalist and contracted photographer who has been shortlisted for civil news awards multiple times. According to his friends, his child was born at the end of last year and has just turned one month old. Aquarian Era has not yet been able to contact his family to understand his current status.
Investigative journalist and photographer Wu Yingjiao. (Picture_Network)
Zhou Ze, who once served as Liu Hu’s defense lawyer, has currently intervened in the case and is preparing to meet. After learning that he was once again at criminal risk, he publicly wrote an article to speak up for Liu Hu, “He travels north and south, east and west, writing articles for many people who cannot express themselves, and appeals for grievances and speaks out against injustice. I think everything Liu Hu has done is very valuable and of great social significance. Without people like Liu Hu, many people would be suffocated, and they would become unstable factors in society because they could not appeal for grievances.” He had seriously discussed the risks Liu Hu faced with his lawyer friends, but still supported him in doing these things. He accurately guessed that the public security department might investigate under the name of illegal business operations, but he believed that it should not constitute a crime because it involves freedom of expression and the right of citizens to supervise state organs and state staff.
Written by_Hu An
Edited by_He Zuo
Platform editor_cc
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