Chinese Activist in Japan Facing Pressure from Chinese Government to Return to China

A Chinese rights activist residing in Japan recently disclosed to The Epoch Times that authorities from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Jiangsu Province attempted to entice her to return to China to address her home demolition issue. In the meantime, her mother in China was threatened by CCP police.

Yang Caiying, a Chinese citizen living in Japan, has been staging protests in front of the Chinese regime’s Consulate in Nagoya since April 2023, and distributing leaflets at Nagoya Station to advocate for the rights of her family in China. Ms. Yang mentioned that her mother in China had been lodging complaints about the demolition of their home by the local government, resulting in her being kidnapped and assaulted by local police and prevented from traveling to Beijing for medical treatment for a heart condition.

Recently, Ms. Yang shared online the names, photos, and workplaces of the CCP officials who persecuted her family, along with details of how her family members were mistreated by Chinese police.

Ms. Yang informed The Epoch Times: “On May 9, Sun Zhijun, director of the Xicheng Street Construction Bureau of Jintan District of Changzhou City in Jiangsu Province, contacted me via WeChat and expressed a desire to resolve the housing relocation issue, urging me to return to China for a face-to-face discussion. I raised concerns about Yao Xiang, the deputy head of Jintan District, wanting to harm me and requested to communicate through WeChat. When Sun realized he couldn’t entice me back, he cautioned me to think carefully about it.”

Meanwhile, Ms. Yang’s mother, Xu Dongqing, was summoned to the local Binhu Police Station on charges of “disturbing public order.” Ms. Yang’s sister, Yang Li, received a notification from the police station regarding this incident, after which there was no further communication regarding their mother.

At noon on May 10, Ms. Xu was released. While in police custody, she fell ill for unknown reasons and was rushed to the hospital for treatment. According to Ms. Yang, the authorities withheld this information from the family. “Around 5 pm on May 10, someone came to my house and warned me not to confront the government, threatening to cut off power and set my house on fire,” she added.

Ms. Yang stated, “As my mother went to Beijing once again to file a complaint, the Jiangsu government left her with no other option but to head to Beijing for the same reason. Although the situation remains bleak, we cannot simply resign ourselves to a tragic fate.”

The Epoch Times attempted to reach Sun Zhijun, director of the Xicheng Subdistrict Construction Bureau of Jintan District of Changzhou City in Jiangsu Province, to confirm the circumstances, but the call was unsuccessful.

Ms. Yang also disclosed that her mother and sister were taken from hospitals in Beijing by Jiangsu authorities and detained in September 2023 and April 2024. She shared that they were also subjected to violence by Jiangsu police in Beijing on April 17.

Ms. Yang mentioned that she repeatedly urged Wang Chunming, director of the Office of the Jiangsu Provincial Petition Bureau, and Wang Ying, deputy director of the Changzhou Municipal Petition Bureau, via WeChat to convey to Provincial Party Committee Secretary Nobunaga Xing, Governor Xu Kunlin, Changzhou Municipal Party Committee Secretary Chen Jinhu, and Changzhou Mayor Han Lei the need to safeguard the Yang family’s rights to medical treatment and petition and resolve the home demolition issue in compliance with the law. However, the two petition officials refused to respond.

CCP’s Transnational Repression

According to a report released on April 16 by “Safeguard Defenders,” a non-profit human rights organization based in Spain, the CCP has utilized its two overseas initiatives—”Operation Fox Hunt” and “Operation Skynet”—to amplify its transnational repression efforts globally.

The report highlighted that the CCP has resorted to “various illicit means in disregard of the sovereignty of other nations and the fundamental human rights of the targeted individuals,” including abduction. The CCP’s activities involve tactics such as coercion to return—a blend of pressure tactics directed at family members and loved ones in China, collective punishment, as well as direct surveillance, harassment, and intimidation.

Li Xi contributed to this report.