In the case of "Teacher Li", a well-known Chinese human rights activist in Italy, who was threatened by being followed and threatened, Milan prosecutors have arrested 10 suspects. According to Italian media reports, four of them were charged with conspiracy to commit crimes. The main suspect, Wang Songqiang, executive director of the Fujian Chinese Association in Milan, was accused of acting "on behalf of the Chinese police" and had close contact with Chinese diplomats and the United Front Work Department to suppress dissidents in Italy for a long time.
Li Ying, a Chinese human rights activist who goes by the pseudonym "Teacher Li is not your teacher" on the social networking site
According to reports from Giornale La Voce, Il Foglio and other Italian media on the 28th, Milan prosecutors have concluded the investigation into 10 suspects who intimidated "Chinese expatriates who oppose the policies of Chinese President Xi Jinping" and were charged with multiple crimes.
The prosecutor's investigation pointed out that Teacher Li (Li Ying/Li Ying) is 34 years old and has a large number of followers on the Internet. Therefore, the suspect followed Mr. Li not just to collect his whereabouts, "but also to prevent him from continuing to denounce the Chinese government's policies." To this end, the suspect group used pressure, threats and other methods, and continued to track and monitor Teacher Li between Milan and Torino.
The investigation was conducted by the Turin police in cooperation with the Milan prosecutor. Four of the suspects were charged with criminal conspiracy. The investigation showed that they "established an organization that has been engaged in suppressing dissident activities for a long time." Although the other six suspects are not formal members of the organization, they are accused of participating in following Teacher Li for a long time. The stalking behavior began in 2023.
The prosecutor investigated and pointed out that the main suspect is 57-year-old Songqiang Wang, who is the executive president of the Fujian Chinese Association in Milan. He is suspected of acting "on behalf of the Chinese police", maintaining close contact with diplomats and members of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, coordinating the activities of hunting down dissidents, and personally participating in tracking and monitoring Teacher Li's actions.
According to reports, prosecutors believe that Zhao Jianbin also played an important role in the organization's suppression of dissidents. It is said that he is responsible for recruiting Chinese citizens in Italy who are willing to follow dissidents. The organization uses "WeChat" group chats to organize activities and solicit and verify information obtained from informants. According to LinkedIn self-introduction and Chinatown official website information, Zhao Jianbin is the editor-in-chief of the Italian "Chinatown" website. "Chinatown" is the main exchange website for Chinese expatriates living overseas.
Milan prosecutors also determined during the investigation that Liu Zhengang (the title of the Chinese Overseas Chinese Association website is "President of the Italian Fujian Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs Association") was also instructed by the Beijing police to maintain contact with diplomats and participate in search and surveillance operations. The organization's purpose is to prevent dissidents from spreading negative news about China's political and social situation and hindering their freedom of speech.
Why is the Beijing government pursuing "Teacher Li" so aggressively? According to Italian media, Li Ying is a Chinese artist who went to Italy to study art. During the COVID-19 epidemic, he became famous for exposing protests from all walks of life against the restrictive measures implemented by the Chinese government to curb the epidemic.
The report pointed out that Li Ying posted many videos on the X platform that silenced the Chinese government, turning his account into an independent news channel. Thousands of Chinese people sent him videos and stories about demonstrations and protests, including the "White Paper Movement" that symbolized resistance to Beijing's policies.
Li Ying applied for political asylum in Italy in July 2023 and was approved in November 2024. However, he continues to be threatened with detention; his family in China is also under pressure. In order to avoid being tracked, Li Ying continued to change her place of residence.
The situation of transnational repression in China has attracted the attention of the Italian government. In March this year, the Italian Interior Ministry issued deportation orders for eight Chinese citizens suspected of participating in the surveillance and suppression of Italian dissidents. The report pointed out that the prosecution's investigation of the "Teacher Li threat case" will draw more attention to China's transnational repression.
