Niu Tengyu’s Mother: Today Seven Years Ago — The Anniversary of Niu Tengyu’s Arrest

August 22, 2019， an ordinary summer morning。

Jiaozuo, Henan， an ordinary residential building。 Eight or nine plainclothes officers tricked their way through the door by claiming to be property management personnel， stormed into the home， and handcuffed Niu Tengyu, who was only 19 at the time。 They seized valuable items including computers、 mobile phones、 hard drives、 bank cards and identification documents， controlled his family members， and displayed no legal paperwork at any point。 At noon， Niu Tengyu was forcibly taken away。 He never returned home that day。

Today is August 22, 2026， exactly seven years later。

How a technician became the “principal offender”

Niu Tengyu， who taught himself computer skills from a young age， was called a “computer genius” by those around him。 He was a maintenance and technical staff member for the “Vulgar Wiki” website。

In May 2019， the overseas websites “Red Coast Foundation” and “Shina Wiki” exposed the identity information of a certain person（Google Niu Tengyu for details）， and the Ministry of Public Security quickly established the “1902136 special case”。 Unable to apprehend the people in charge overseas， the Maoming cyber police in Guangdong, seeking credit, turned their attention to innocent young people in China。

Nationwide， approximately 30 young people（including several minors） were arrested。 Ultimately, 24 were sentenced。 Gu Yangyang and others, who were genuinely recognized as the website’s core members and recognized by 900 members as its actual controllers， escaped under the operation of powerful connections； meanwhile, Niu Tengyu, an ordinary maintenance worker, was designated the “principal offender”。 Several children of powerful officials were also released。

The charges were absurd： he had posted eight comments and uploaded 20 images on the website, with 285 contributions——on this basis, he was deemed a principal member of an “organized criminal group”。 Meanwhile, those with tens of thousands of contributions were sentenced to one year in prison。

Are all people equal before the law？
 If people really were equal， why, among those arrested in the same case, could those with connections quietly leave while a powerless technician was given a heavy 14-year sentence？ Why use minors to pad the numbers, label a group of young people an “organized criminal group,” and yet release the genuinely central figures？ This is not the law， but selective enforcement based on power and connections。

Torture and a black box

After being taken away， Niu Tengyu was successively detained in Maoming, Foshan and other places。

According to details later disclosed by his family and by Niu himself：

1: In Maoming， he was stripped naked, the air conditioning was turned to its lowest setting, he was placed on a tiger bench, beaten for long periods, and deprived of food and sleep。

2: Beginning on December 10, 2019， he was secretly taken to No. 103 Zhu’an Garden, Nanguo Taoyuan, Foshan, a designated location for residential surveillance, for more than 40 days。 His hands were suspended in handcuffs, with only his toes touching the ground; he was whipped, had hot candle wax poured over his body, was injected with saline, causing his skin to ulcerate, had his private parts burned with a lighter, was photographed naked, and subjected to verbal sexual humiliation…… He was taken to hospital twice in critical condition, and two fingers were permanently disabled as a result of beatings。

These descriptions come from the mother’s public accusations, lawyers’ appeal materials and records by human rights organizations， and are not based on a single source。

The trial opened in November 2020， and in February 2021 he was sentenced at first instance to 14 years in prison and fined 130,000 yuan。 The second-instance court secretly upheld the original verdict in the absence of the defendant, lawyers and family members。 His sentence runs until 2033。

To this day, Guangdong authorities dare not allow access to the case files or produce the interrogation recordings。
 If the evidence is sufficient and the procedures were lawful， why have his family and lawyers never been able to review the complete case files？ Why have the key interrogation recordings never been made public？ Why, years after the torture allegations were raised, has no independent investigation ever been launched？ A case that dares not put its files and recordings in the sunlight itself shows how serious the problems are。

A mother’s seven years

I（Niu Tengyu’s mother） embarked on a long road seeking redress from then on。 I successively hired more than a dozen lawyers， nearly all of whom were threatened into withdrawing； I filed appeals and sought help from the international community； I was followed, beaten, poisoned, harassed with noise, and had my bank cards frozen…… My body was left disabled by beatings, and I could barely manage daily life, but I never stopped。

I say this without the slightest doubt：“If I remain silent, they will make me disappear。”

Seven years have passed. Most of the others in the same case have completed their sentences, but Niu Tengyu alone remains imprisoned at Sihui Prison in Guangdong。 In prison, he has shown signs of mental disturbance, his old injuries have recurred, and his physical condition is worrying。

Commemoration is not the end

Seven years ago today, a 19-year-old young man was violently taken from his home。

He was no “organized crime boss”， but simply a boy who loved tinkering with computers, doing the most ordinary technical maintenance in a heavily censored online world。 When those in power needed a scapegoat, he ultimately became that scapegoat。

I am writing this article today not to stir emotions, but to remember：

In a place that claims that “all people are equal before the law,” people with connections can be released while a powerless boy is hung up and beaten, sexually abused and given a 14-year sentence； his family cannot even see the complete case files and interrogation recordings。 This is not justice, but selective persecution。

Niu Tengyu is still in prison。 His mother is still outside, persevering。

Seven years ago today， he was arrested。 Today, seven years later， we are still asking： When can he return home？ When will the case files be made public？ When will the interrogation recordings be produced？ When will the law truly treat everyone equally？