Single mum Liu Ping jailed in China for standing up against corruption

IT WAS an act which wouldn't raise eyebrows in most parts of the world. But for former factory worker Liu Ping, her simple demand earned her a jail sentence.

China: Liu Ping

IT WAS an act which wouldn't raise eyebrows in a lot of parts around the world.

But for former factory worker Liu Ping, her simple demand earned her a six-and-a half year jail sentence.

The 49-year-old was arrested in April last year after organising a demonstration, along with two other activists, who were demanding that Chinese government officials disclose their wealth in a show of transparency.

But her stand earned her a visit from the police and she was taken away by security officials in her hometown of Xinyu in Jiangxi Province, according to Amnesty International.

Human rights campaigners say it’s not only her arrest which should raise eyebrows, but also how long she was held in pre-trial detention.

“Liu Ping and the two other activists were held in pre-trial detention for more than six months, despite the fact that China’s Criminal Procedure Law only allows for a maximum of three months pre-trial detention,” an Amnesty spokeswoman said.

Ms Liu claims police gripped her hair, lifted her head, and banged her head against metal bars during an interrogation and another forcibly bent her wrist to take a blood sample from her.

Ms Liu is being held at Jiangxi Nanchang Women’s Prison amid growing fears for her health.

“While in detention, she has been suffering from chronic diarrhoea and stomach upset but she has not been given medical treatment,” Amnesty said.

“Her daughter Liao Minyue has raised this concern to the authorities several times, but she is still being denied treatment and there are fears for her health.”

Following her trial at Yushui District Court in Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province in December last year, her daughter Liao Minyue, 22, has been fighting for her release.

Along with human rights campaigners, her daughter has launched a campaign calling for her mother’s release.

This is her story — in her own words — as told to Amnesty International campaigners.

A Chinese man stands near a screen displaying the Chinese national flag and Chinese paramilitary police men performing a flag ceremony near the Great Hall of the People where the Chinese Communist Party's 18th National Congress is scheduled to begin on Nov. 8 in Beijing, China, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012. The once-a-decade event installs a new leadership to run the world's second largest economy and newly assertive global power. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

“My mother, Liu Ping, was just an ordinary Chinese woman with a kind heart.

“We were very close. I chose to live with her after my parents divorced about 10 years back. We never fought, not even once.

“We used to go to the markets to collect old and unwanted vegetables for food. It never once struck me as anything to be ashamed of. On the contrary, those were warm and intimate times, because we were together.

“But one night, everything changed. My mum was moonlighting as a street vendor in the evenings to supplement her monthly income of RMB 800 ($A152) as an iron and steel plant worker.

“Troublemakers turned up at her stall and my uncle tried to help. He was badly beaten up. Local authorities ignored the incident, but a group of lawyers stepped in to resolve the case free of

charge.

“The kindness they showed sparked my mum’s activism — she began actively advocating for workers’ rights.

“That was in 2011 when I was in high school. Our lives changed drastically after that.

Speeches, flyers, beatings

“My mum started giving speeches on the streets and distributing flyers. She also tried to run for the local People’s Congress as an independent candidate so she could help workers who had been forced to retire. She was away from home for days at a stretch.

“Strangers whom I now realise were plainclothes police would turn up at our door. I worried about her, especially when I couldn’t reach her — that usually meant she had been beaten up.

“I was completely against what she was doing and tried everything to stop her. The police and local party officials would also approach me in a bid to get her to stop what she was doing.

“I had no idea what she was involved in. She protected me by not telling me about it. There was talk in the neighbourhood that she was up to no good, and I started believing what I heard. Our

relationship became badly strained as a result.

Arrested for denouncing corruption

“Then last year, my mum and two other anti-corruption activists, were arrested for holding a small private gathering and displaying a banner demanding that government officials make their assets like property and investments — public.

“After that, I lost faith in the Chinese Communist party, and I posted an open letter online announcing my withdrawal from it. I was prepared to face the consequences.

“Mum and the other two activists are said to be linked to the New Citizens’ Movement, a loose network of human rights activists. When she was sentenced to six and a half years in prison in June, I was outraged. I posted another letter online, expressing my deep disappointment.

“Over the past year, I’ve been reflecting on my earlier attitude to my mum’s activism. I deeply regret trying to stop her.

“What my mum and the rest are facing are the direct consequences of all our apathy and cowardice.

“Now I have no qualms about accepting interviews with the media to talk about her. My passport has been revoked and I faced pressure from the authorities in my previous job, but I’m not afraid if I face a little harassment because of it. After all, I’ve only got one mother.”