China News Service, Shouning, December 8 - Title: A Middle School Student in Shouning, Fujian was Listed as a "Criminal Suspect" Secretly, Parents Suspected of Being Used to Meet Quotas
By Reporter Zhan Tuorong
Fan Bing (a pseudonym), with a strong physique, had hoped to realize his dream of joining the military this year during the recruitment drive. However, what Fan Bing did not expect was that six years ago, he had been categorized by the police as a "criminal suspect," and due to this identity, his dream of joining the military was temporarily blocked, causing great distress for both Fan Bing and his family.
The Identity of "Criminal Suspect" Hinders Military Aspirations
On the 7th, the reporter rushed to Shouning County, Ningde City, Fujian Province, to investigate the situation. Fan Bing, who lives in Dadian Village, Dadian Township, Shouning County, comes from a military family. After graduating from high school this year, he resolutely signed up for military service. After passing multiple physical examinations, he was informed that his political review could not be passed.
Around 5 o'clock in the morning on the day after receiving the news, Fan Bing's father rushed to the Shouning County Public Security Bureau to report the situation and found that there were four or five other families at the bureau seeking explanations for their sons' failed political reviews.
Fan Bing's father recalled that later, someone from the Public Security Bureau came out and asked the parents present not to cause trouble, and assured them that their children would pass the political review and be able to join the army. He said, "Since there is a criminal record, how can they pass the political review?" The person replied, "You don't need to worry about it; we will ensure your child passes the political review."
With the assurance from the leader of the Public Security Bureau, Fan Bing's father felt slightly relieved, but he was still confused: when did his son leave a criminal record with the police? And what law did he violate? Fan Bing's father repeatedly asked his son, who kept answering, "I don't know either."
The Police Officer Collected Student Information Without Informing the Reason
In 2004, Fan Bing was just 14 years old and studying in the first year of junior high school at Dadian Middle School. Seeing the information in the "Fujian Provincial Public Security Department Comprehensive Information Query System," Fan Bing recalled that one day in the first year of junior high school, he was called by his homeroom teacher to a classroom. There were two police officers in uniform and more than ten male classmates from other classes. Under the requirements of the police officer, he and his classmates pressed their fingerprints, signed on a piece of paper, and were photographed. Fan Bing said he couldn't remember whether there were any words on the paper.
Regarding the incident where Fan Bing was required by the police officer to press his fingerprint and sign while in school, Jin Tuqiang, the head of the Moral Education Office at Dadian Middle School, confirmed that such an event indeed happened. Jin Tuqiang told the reporter that at that time, the Dadian Township Police Station came to the school asking for some poorly behaved students. The school leadership then asked each class's homeroom teacher to recommend two students to cooperate with the police in collecting information. However, neither the school leadership, the homeroom teachers, nor the students whose information was collected knew what the police intended to do with the information, and the police did not inform them.
"At that time, similar situations also occurred in other schools, so we didn't take it too seriously." According to Jin Tuqiang's recollection, the police only came to Dadian Middle School once to collect student information.
"Which boys don't misbehave? Talking in class and making noise outside are common issues, none of which are illegal." When Chen Yun, a teacher at Dadian Middle School, learned that Fan Bing's military aspirations were affected because he was recommended by the school to be listed as a "criminal suspect," she indignantly said, "At that time, we didn't know what the police intended to do. If we had known it would leave a stain on the child's record, we definitely wouldn't have cooperated."
Parents Questioned Whether the Police Were "Meeting Quotas"
The reporter eventually contacted Zhang Jiandong, who was then a police officer at the Dadian Township Police Station. Zhang Jiandong admitted that it was him and another police officer who went to Dadian Middle School to collect student information. "Dadian Middle School often experienced incidents of student fights and thefts. We conducted information collection on students recommended by the school for being disobedient, incorporating them into our monitoring scope mainly for daily management and enhancing public security control."
However, Fan Bing's father and other parents questioned whether, back then, due to quotas assigned by higher authorities requiring the police station to complete a certain number of "criminal suspect" information collections within a specified period, the police officers went to the school to find some mischievous students to "meet the quota" and fulfill their tasks.
Zhang Jiandong responded, "At that time, I was just an ordinary police officer. Whether higher authorities issued documents requiring the completion of a certain number of 'criminal suspect' information collections, I am not aware of." Zhang Jiandong stated that the then-head of the Dadian Township Police Station has since left public service and cannot be contacted.
Political Stain Hard to Remove, Parents Demand Compensation
The Shouning County Public Security Bureau revealed on the 8th that the final enlistment decision in Shouning County was made on the afternoon of the 7th, and conscripts like Fan Bing who were categorized as "criminal suspects" were allowed to join the military.
Although his son will honorably join the military, adding glory to their military family, Fan Bing's father remains disheartened. Fan Bing's father believes that Fan Bing still carries the political stain of being a "criminal suspect," which will bring more trouble in the future, both in the military and in society. Therefore, he demands that the government clear his name and provide appropriate compensation for mental anguish.
A responsible official from the Shouning County Public Security Bureau stated that once the information of "criminal suspects" is entered into the computer system, it is equivalent to entering the national public security information network, and they do not have the authority to modify or delete this information.
In addition, the Shouning police expressed that they will soon recheck the information of "criminal suspects" recorded in the past. If errors are found, they will report to higher authorities and request modifications or deletions.
According to Yang Shengming, the director of the Shouning County Public Security Bureau, "criminal suspects" are internal secret targets controlled by the public security organs, referring to those who refuse work, neglect studies, stay out all night, or even make radical statements. The definition is relatively vague. However, being listed as a "criminal suspect" will not affect their daily lives, nor will it impact their education, employment, or bank credit.
The largest Chinese interactive question-and-answer platform, Baidu Zhidao, provided an answer stating, "Criminal suspects refer to people who may become suspects in criminal cases. At this point, they haven't committed a crime yet, but they need to be monitored to a certain extent. This process is technically referred to as criminal suspect control." (End)