ALN is releasing a statement protesting the situation of the harassment of Yang Caiying's family.

Yang Caiying, a gentle Chinese woman with a soft voice living in Nagoya, has been tirelessly despite heartbrokenly trying all means of efforts to save her aging mother Xu Dongqing and her ailing sister Yang Li. The family lives in Jintan qu, Changzhou, in Jiangsu province, east China. Her family’s case is typical among the over 2,000 households in Jintan District, Changzhou, Jiangsu province. The residents were threatened by local law enforcement officials (known as “chengguan” in Chinese). Her family has been constantly harassed by the authorities and gangsters, by setting them as examples of “killing the chickens to scare the monkey”, aiming at threatening and silencing the residents. Her family also tried to hire a lawyer to help them, but the lawyer felt so much pressure and was afraid of retaliation by the government that he later stopped providing further assistance.

Hoping there will be more international attention, she has been posting on her X account every day and petitioning outside the Chinese Consulate General in Nagoya to talk about updates of her mother and sister’s situation. Due to her endless efforts, Yang Caiying’s sister’s case and her family’s situation attracted the attention of Mary Lawlor, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders whose office wrote to the Chinese government asking about Yang Caiying’s sister Yang Li’s situation concerning the allegations of torture and deprivation of proper and appropriate medical treatment. The Associated Press also reported about her family’s situation and the surveillance they were subjected to, and Yang Caiying initiated an online petition calling on US and Japan technology companies to stop helping China’s digital repression.

Yang Caiying has lived in Japan for about 25 years. She used to work at a duty-free shop at the Chubu Centriar Airport near Nagoya. But she can longer work full-time as she has been spending most of her time trying to tell others about her mother and sister’s plights.

She realizes that she can no longer return to China due to her advocacy work for her family. Her mother also understands that. But Yang Cai does not regret speaking up: “If even I don’t speak up, my mother and my sister’s situation would be even worse. At least, I can let people know about how they have been treated.”

She once asked her mother if she would blame her for speaking up for her. Her mother expressed worries about Yang Caiying’s safety. The police in Jintan and the thugs threatened her mother that they could abduct Yang Caiying and bring her daughter back to China. Her mother has been crying and was worried about Yang Li’s sister being tortured and ill-treated. Yang Caiying’s mother has become so heartbroken that she now has no more tears to weep.

She also mentioned in her report to the United Nations, the European Union and the United States that she hopes that more people, especially diplomats, can pay attention to her family’s case. It’s particularly alarming that the Chinese authorities have been applying extra-legal measures against Yang Caiying’s mother and sister, including arbitrary detention and depriving them of necessary medical treatment. But Yang Caiying still felt that the international community is not giving them enough attention, and it was disappointing, She is determined to continue her advocacy for her mother and sister. “I won’t give up. I want to continue my international advocacy for my mom and sister,” she said.

She could only speak to them via FaceTime, but her sister’s mobile had been taken by the authorities before so she was unsure about her phone’s safety. She reckoned her mother and sister are under surveillance. People who have been taking care of her mother and sister might have also been watching them and listening to their conversation.

“My mom, while nearly on her dying bed, held my sister’s hand when she was talking to me, telling me how she was worried about my sister and me,” Yang Caiying said as she was sobbing. She heartbroken said she wanted to tell her dying mother with this letter:

Mom, you have been working so hard for us for your whole life. Until the end, you are still worried about my sister and my personal safety. I only hope the cruel brain disease hasn’t given you too much pain. I hope that you can forget about the intimidation from the Changzhou national security police and the Jintan police’s repeated beatings against you and my sister. And also your health apparently deteriorated as you were worried about my sister being tortured and ill-treated. You spent all your sleepless and weeping nights worrying about my safety. You need to forget about all these. I will help you keep a record. Justice will not end with life. No matter how difficult it is in front of us, I will continue to seek justice for you and my sister. I will continue to advocate for my sister. That’s what I can promise you.