Niu Tengyu’s mother: After the May Day holiday ends, I will once again travel to Guangdong to continue seeking justice for my wrongfully imprisoned son, Niu Tengyu
The 16th lawyer I hired for my son has represented him for more than a year, but the Guangdong authorities have so far refused to arrange access to the case files。 Previously, they evaded the issue on the grounds that “a petition for a protest must first be submitted before the case files can be accessed”, even though accessing the case files has no connection whatsoever with submitting a petition for a protest, and this delay is clearly just shameless obstruction。
Before the first-instance trial began, the lawyers for the 24 children were able to see only portions of the case files selected by the authorities, while all other materials were refused on the grounds that they were “classified”。 A large number of flaws in the case、 false facts and fabricated evidence were deliberately concealed。 Because our lawyers were unable to obtain the complete case files, they had no way of knowing how many illegal methods the Guangdong authorities had used to manufacture this wrongful case、 or how incomplete the basis for the judgment was。 It was like not giving examinees the complete test paper, and under conditions of severe information asymmetry, the lawyers were simply unable to find the correct direction for the defense, much less mount an effective defense。
Therefore, I must once again travel to Guangdong and lawfully demand that the authorities provide our lawyers with the complete case files。
In 2019, the Guangdong authorities illegally arrested a group of innocent young people in order to seek credit and rewards, and subjected them to inhuman torture。 Subsequently, under the direct intervention of Yang Ye——the servant of a certain high-ranking powerful person, the Guangdong Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission required the public security organs、 procuratorates and courts in Maoming to coordinate in handling the case and illegally hand down heavy sentences against the 24 children, several of whom were minors。 This was the “Ministry-supervised Special Case 1902136” that shocked China and the world。
My son Niu Tengyu was one of these 24 people。 Yang Ye first ordered the public security authorities in Maoming and Foshan to intensify the torture of my son, even attempting to kill him to silence him。 The brutal abuse left no patch of intact skin anywhere on his body。 After the torture, Yang Ye instructed the Guangdong Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission to make my son take the blame as the “principal offender” for her son Gu Yangyang, and demanded that the Maoming authorities hand down a heavy sentence。 To complete the “political task”, the Maoming Municipal Procuratorate fabricated evidence、 invented confessions and induced and coerced false testimony; the Maoming Municipal Court threatened our lawyers and demanded that they either remain silent or withdraw from the representation。
In this way, my son was illegally sentenced to 14 years in prison。
To turn this wrongful case into an “ironclad case”, Yang Ye and the Guangdong Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission immediately subjected me to ongoing persecution。 This persecution came from the public security and state security systems and used official powers and technological means to threaten my life repeatedly, and it has never truly stopped。
When my son had just been transferred to Sihui Prison, the Guangdong Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission once ordered the prison to illegally deprive me of my visitation rights in order to assist Yang Ye。 I traveled to Guangdong many times to seek justice, but was repeatedly threatened and harassed: once when I went to Sihui Prison to request a visit with my son, I was met by a line of armed special police officers; on another occasion, when I was seeking justice in Guangzhou, Political and Legal Affairs Commission personnel stayed in the room next to mine at my hotel, playing cards and chatting noisily throughout the night, leaving me unable to sleep and without the energy to seek justice during the day。
I know very clearly that the ultimate purpose of the brutal persecution jointly carried out by Yang Ye and the Guangdong Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission is to make both my son Niu Tengyu and me “disappear”。 Even if I collapse on the road to seeking justice, that is still better than sitting idly by and dying aggrieved at home, and as long as my son remains in Guangdong, I will continue traveling to Guangdong to seek justice and will never give up!

Related Reporting
Aug 30, 2026
China Rights Defense Network: Monthly Report on Political Prisoners and Prisoners of Conscience in Mainland China (August 31, 2026), Issue 131 (1,638 people in total)
The Rights Defense Network Information Center released its 131st monthly report on August 31, 2026, stating that 40 people on the previous roster had completed their sentences and been released, 30 had new developments while in prison, six had been newly criminally detained or forcibly disappeared, 28 had been newly sentenced, and one had died in prison; the report lists a total of 1,638 political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in custody.
Aug 30, 2026
Case Details and Biography of Sun Chao, Christian Church Preacher in Qujing, Yunnan, Criminally Detained
Sun Chao, a Christian preacher at Philadelphia Church in Qujing, Yunnan, was transferred to criminal detention on August 7, 2026, after completing a 12-day administrative detention for preaching the Gospel. Authorities reportedly cited suspected “illegal organization of gatherings.” Sun, who has epilepsy and requires regular medication, is detained at Xuanwei City Detention Center. His wife, Zhao Ying, has appealed for attention to his health and rights.
Aug 29, 2026
Li Qiaochu: Update on Xu Zhiyong’s Situation in Prison (August 29, 2026)
The writer received a letter from Xu Zhiyong dated August 21, 2026, saying his outdoor time had improved to 10 a.m. daily for 30 minutes. Correspondence had also become smoother than during the previous two months. The writer considers the matter closed for now but plans to continue asking about Xu’s basic living conditions. Xu reportedly liked hand-drawn pictures sent with a letter in late July.
Aug 29, 2026
Chow Hang-tung: Statement of Plea
The author rejects a 206-page judgment that, they argue, treats belief in ending one-party dictatorship as unconstitutional and criminal. They say law cannot control thoughts, condemn obedience to authoritarian power, and describe ending one-party dictatorship as a responsibility of Hong Kong and Chinese people. The author refuses to apologize for these beliefs, accepts possible imprisonment, and vows to continue pursuing democracy, accountability for the 1989 massacre and a democratic Hong Kong and China.