Niu Tengyu, is a young activist known for allegedly leaking information regarding the family details of the leader of the Red Empire, Xi Jinping. He is reportedly experiencing mental distress while imprisoned in Guangdong. Niu Tengyu’s single mother is seeking justice for her son and has been advocating for his rights. However, her peaceful efforts for justice have recently been suppressed, which led to discomfort in her heart. The surrounding area of the prison (where Niu Tengyu is being held) has been reinforced with increased security. Over 100 international human rights and democracy organizations, along with more than 300 pro-democracy advocates, have jointly signed an open letter aimed at rescuing Niu Tengyu, a prisoner of conscience in China.

In a video call with his mother Coco in November, 19-year-old Niu Tengyu’s speech was unclear, and did not call out to his mother as usual and even failed to recognize her. He uttered some incomprehensible words for his mother. Suddenly, a prison guard wearing glasses appeared and disconnected the call. This video call took place at a police station near Coco’s residence in Jiaozuo City, Henan Province.

Coco stated that her son Niu Tengyu was tortured to the point of insanity at Sihui Prison in Guangdong.

Eager to see her son, Coco traveled from central Henan to southern Guangdong to visit him in prison. On December 5, 2023, she arrived at Sihui prison in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, to confirm the safety of Niu Tengyu. From the morning of the 6th to the early morning of the 7th, she engaged in a 15-hour-long negotiation with the prison authorities. The prison rejected her request for visitation, citing Niu Tengyu’s abnormal mental state.

Coco insisted on meeting her son, on December 9, Coco stated: “…… Guangdong’s Sihui prison refused to let me see my son Niu Tengyu. They deployed a large number of police officers and special and armed police to intimidate me! On December 8, 2023, I arrived at the Guangzhou Prison Administration from Sihui to Guangzhou to report the situation……That evening, I fell ill in the hotel and still cannot go out today. But I will not leave Guangzhou, I will wait for a response and continue to safeguard my rights!”

On December 11, Beijing time, Coco went to the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee to report that Sihui Prison in Guangdong prevented her from meeting her son Niu Tengyu, and she intends to inquire about the progress of the appeal case.

While sitting in a car near the Guangdong Political and Legal Affairs Committee, Coco was suddenly surrounded by several plainclothes police officers. The one leading in the front was a medium-built man with a fierce appearance. He forcibly opened the door of her taxi at once. The man claimed to be from the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau but refused to show identification. His actions were rough, and was loudly shouting; he tore apart her bag that contained documents, forcefully pulled her hand, and threatened her. This resulted in injuries to her hand, two of her fingers were swollen and numb, bruised and swollen, and she experienced discomfort in her heart, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. The secret police would not allow her to take the medication she carried around with her, Coco revealed.

Subsequently, a short-haired woman wearing a mask forced her and her older sister and others to put all their bags in the trunk, prohibited them from answering phone calls, and escorted her to a hotel. Even the hotel’s landline phone was taken away.

Niu Tengyu’s mother, Coco, was forcibly sent back to her home in Jiaozuo, Henan province.

Coco believes that Sihui prison received orders from higher-ups in Guangdong to deprive her and her son, Niu Tengyu, of the right to meet. Even with coordination between the police in Henan and Shanxi province (her hometown), Guangdong authorities still refused to allow her to see her son.

Coco said that Guangdong authorities’ harsh and arrogant attitude further confirmed her suspicion: prison personnel poisoned Niu Tengyu, leading to his abnormal mental state. Depriving her of the right to visit is simply to prevent the details of their poisoning from being discovered and exposed, which in return revealed their scheme.

Niu Tengyu’s mother, who was physically and mentally devastated by her son’s long prison sentence, is unable to take care of herself and needs care throughout the day.

The Guangdong authorities deprived Niu Tengyu of the right to meet, the right to communicate, and the right to seek medical treatment outside prison, gaining sympathy from over 100 global human rights and democracy organizations and more than 300 democracy activists. They jointly signed an open letter aimed at rescuing Chinese prisoner of conscience Niu Tengyu. On December 8, 2023, the letter, in both Chinese and English, was submitted to the White House for petitioning, and to 15 member countries of the United Nations Security Council, human rights offices worldwide, human rights officials at foreign embassies in China, and the Chinese government.

For background, in May 2019, the overseas websites Zhina Wiki and the Zhina Red Foundation published personal information about Xi Jinping’s brother-in-law, Deng Jiagui, and daughter, Xi Mingze. Subsequently, public security officials in Maoming, Guangdong province, arrested 24 members of the “Vulgar Wiki” website for forwarding the links. Niu Tengyu, a 19-year-old member of the Vulgar Wiki, was convicted by CCP authorities as the main culprit and sentenced on December 29, 2020, to 14 years in prison and a fine of 130,000 yuan in the first trial. In April 2021, a court in Maoming, Guangdong, upheld the original sentence in the second trial, which was held behind closed doors.