Li Qiaochu: A Difficult yet Fulfilling Day, Just Doing My Best — A Full Record of My Day at Lunan Prison

8:50 AM Today

Today, August 25, 2026, is the family visit day, and my second older sister has already got her queue number. Right now, I am outside the gates of Lunan Prison. At 8:50 AM, I called the prison to request a special meeting to communicate face-to-face with the warden regarding the marriage registration matters submitted 4 months ago. The phone operator said they had reported to the leaders and asked me to wait at the entrance for a reply.

On April 12, I sent the meeting application form over. The prison signed for it, but there has been no response since, which is over four months now. On August 18, I sent a reminder letter. According to the Ministry of Justice documents, the meeting application I submitted requires the warden's approval. I do not know whether the prison administration department has forwarded the meeting application to the warden, whether the warden is aware of it, or what the approval progress is.

For the past few months, I have been busy with the follow-up procedures of the marriage application. At the same time, Zhiyong's mood has been very low, worried, and anxious because of his mother's affairs. Since the beginning of June, the review time for our correspondence has always been very long. The difficulty of communication often makes me feel that no matter how hard I try, it is not enough to comfort him.

At the end of July, I reported Zhiyong's outdoor exercise issue to the prison in accordance with the law. Up to now, I have not received confirmation from him as to whether the situation has improved. The two letters I sent in late July—in which I specifically asked if his right to outdoor exercise was basically guaranteed—have still not been delivered to his hands.

Such a meeting has precedents in both law and prison management practice, and it also protects the legitimate rights and interests of incarcerated persons. I hope to communicate with the warden face-to-face, at least to have a channel to voice my concerns.

I am waiting at the entrance.

9:50 AM Today

Lunan Prison called back, asking me to wait patiently

About an hour has passed, and Lunan Prison called me back, saying that they had requested instructions from the leaders, and the prison leaders asked me to wait patiently.

I asked: "Approximately how long do I need to wait patiently?"

The other party replied: "The leader only said to please wait patiently."

I asked: "Still at the main gate of the prison police office?"

The other party replied: "Either way."

I realized: not only do I need patience, but I also need a healthy body that can withstand the summer heat and sun. Hang in there!

11:15 AM Today

The result of waiting patiently: "Advise Xiao Li to go back first"

Around 10:15, I dialed the public phone numbers of the Procuratorate Office stationed in Lunan Prison found on the website:  0633-3326474 and 0633-3326476. It should be working hours on a working day now, but no one answered.

The sunlight is getting brighter and brighter, and there is no shade left to hide. I look at the time, and it's only 10:30. I can't imagine how Zhiyong would feel if his outdoor exercise time has not improved, and he happens to go out at 11:00. Yet I have no way to directly confirm with him whether it has improved. I suddenly burst into tears out of anxiety, and then calmed my emotions down.

After a while, my second older sister came out from the meeting, saying that everyone from the Prison Administration Section was in the meeting room, and the section chief asked her to advise me to leave as soon as possible. So, after waiting patiently for an hour and a half, the result is that no relevant personnel will come out to receive me at all, and they even asked my family to persuade me to leave.

At 10:40, I called the prison again, informing them that if no one replied before 11:00, I would have no choice but to go to the procuratorate to report the situation.

The process of the marriage application up to now—

At the end of March, the prison said they had already reported it up last year

In May, the Prison Administration Bureau said it was not within its business scope. At the same time, it had processed it but did not inform us of the result, stating that the marriage application is handled by Lunan Prison and the civil affairs department

In July, the Administrative Reconsideration Office rejected my application for reconsideration, on the grounds that the marriage matter falls under the category of "education and management of incarcerated persons" within the scope of prison execution of sentences

Yesterday, I went to the Marriage Registration Office of Donggang District Civil Affairs Bureau to consult. The staff said that the civil affairs department is only responsible for verifying certificates, and the prison must bring the incarcerated person to the site to handle it, which cannot be done on their behalf

After going in a big circle, looking at the written replies from various departments, the one currently bearing primary responsibility for the marriage application procedure is Lunan Prison, which initially claimed they had reported it up and had absolutely no authority themselves.

After 5 PM Today

Communicated on-site for 20 minutes outside the prison gate—"We have no statutory obligation to reply, but we didn't say we won't reply"—and then there was no reply

At 11:07, the prison called, saying: "Our staff responsible for explaining to you couldn't find you." I said: "That's fine, I'll turn around and head back to the prison entrance now."

At 11:21, at the entrance of the prison's police work station, I met four staff members who claimed to be from the Prison Administration Section, the Office, and the ward where Zhiyong is located. None of them wore work badges.

The staff from the Prison Administration Section asked what my demands were. I briefly described the submission process of the meeting application and marriage application, explaining the key points I wanted to communicate today: first, to ask whether the meeting application had been submitted to Warden Liu Xiaodong according to regulations, and what state the review is in after four months; second, I shared yesterday's consultation with the civil affairs department, stating that the marriage application still requires prison assistance.

The tall staff member from the ward asked me if I had read the 2004 letter from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, in which, regarding the marriage registration of incarcerated persons, it only mentioned that the prison's responsibility is to provide proof when the identity of the incarcerated person cannot be proven, with no explicit regulations for other matters. I asked: "Then, how the incarcerated person goes to the site of the marriage registration office and other matters, doesn't that fall under the prison's jurisdiction?" The other party replied very aggressively: "Do not interpret the provisions in an exclusive way (I understand the 'exclusion' he referred to as narrowing the scope of the provision)."

I was also very baffled. Clearly, he was the one who voluntarily brought up the 2004 Civil Affairs Letter to support his argument, yet the reply itself only answered the local issue of identity proof, without making any provisions for escorting, special visits, or on-site processing. I raised the question of who should be responsible for the subsequent procedures, which is a normal follow-up on how to handle the legal gap with supporting measures, yet it was painted as if I was artificially distorting the scope of application of the 2004 Civil Affairs Letter.

Next, the staff member from the ward said: "If he leaves the prison to go to the scene, the current system only has Ministry of Justice documents and the Prison Law provisions on leaving prison to visit relatives, and he clearly does not meet the conditions for leaving prison." I haven't read the specific regulations on the prison leave system, but literally, I feel it does not apply to marriage registration, because before the registration is completed, I am not a relative, so what does it have to do with 'visiting relatives'? I asked weakly: "Why doesn't he meet the conditions?" The other party's tone was very aggressive: "Go back and read the Prison Law yourself."

Regarding my inquiry about the progress of my meeting application, the staff from the Prison Administration Section first stated that they strictly implement the Ministry of Justice's "Regulations on Meetings and Correspondence of Criminals", implying that I do not fall within the legally permissible scope of visits. I felt so exhausted. If I were within the legal scope, why would I submit an application and cite similar cases? Wouldn't I just meet directly? I said, at least I have the right to submit this application. According to the regulations, it is the warden's approval, and I did not apply to your department.

Finally, the staff from the Office explained the obligation to inform to me, saying that whether it is the meeting application, the reminder letter, or the inquiry letter I sent, the law does not stipulate a written obligation to inform, nor does it stipulate an obligation that they must inform, as this is your private application. I asked: "So you mean you will not inform me about the progress of the meeting application?" The other party raised his voice and said: "I'm just talking about the legal provisions, I didn't say we won't inform you." But in the end, they still didn't inform me...

After about twenty minutes, we ended the on-site communication. They made no records throughout, and I didn't notice if the staff member from the Prison Administration Section standing behind had turned on his body-worn enforcement camera.

After lunch, I wrote the "Application for Procuratorial Supervision" to the Rizhao City Procuratorate, first applying for supervision regarding the meeting application situation. According to the staff's words on-site, all processes of my special meeting application for marriage registration are kept in internal prison records, which I cannot verify and can only be passively suspended, causing my right to apply and right to remedy to be blocked at the very start.

At 3:30 PM, I arrived at the Rizhao City Procuratorate. The sign at the entrance read "No reception on Tuesday afternoons." I called various phone numbers that could be found on the official website from the entrance: the duty officer in the hall told me to call the Appeals and Complaints Chamber, but neither of the two numbers provided were answered. The number of the Third Prosecutorial Division responsible for guiding and managing the work of all procuratorate offices stationed in prisons across the city was also unanswered, and 12309 was always recording messages after hearing the voice prompt. It really might be... today happens to be Tuesday... and it happens to be the afternoon... so the materials I painstakingly wrote could not be submitted on-site, and can only be mailed afterward.

Today was indeed a difficult yet fulfilling day, just doing my best.

Li Qiaochu  August 25, 2026