Screenshot of the report
January 22, 2012 was the lunar New Year's Eve. At around five in the afternoon, Jiang Yan, wife of writer Hong Feng who lived in seclusion in Yunnan, was inside arranging tables and chairs with Wu Dangjia, a villager who had delivered their New Year's Eve dinner. During this time, Lü Changgui, the village secretary of Mawu Village, Jinzhong Town, Huize County, Yunnan Province, entered the courtyard with nearly 20 people including his daughter and son-in-law. Jiang Yan said that they first assaulted her, then brutally beat Hong Feng as he came down from upstairs, leaving Hong Feng unconscious and sent to the hospital. The diagnosis written by Huize County People's Hospital read: contusion of chest soft tissue, fractures of the 10th, 11th, and 12th ribs on the left side... The local police have already intervened to investigate the matter.
Yesterday afternoon, the reporter saw Hong Feng, who was still lying in bed at Huize County People's Hospital. He currently has difficulty moving and must rely on the assistance of his wife, Jiang Yan, for both large and small needs.
The reporter witnessed the surveillance video:
A group of people beating Hong Feng
The reporter went to Hong Feng's home and saw that the courtyard was quite large. According to Jiang Yan's statement: "If strangers deliberately hide in the yard, we wouldn't discover them for one or two days." For this reason, Hong Feng installed surveillance cameras at home. And it was precisely because of the surveillance cameras installed at home that the entire situation on the afternoon of January 22, the lunar New Year's Eve, was fully recorded.
Yesterday, the reporter saw this video recording. According to the surveillance footage, before 16:41 on the day of the incident, the images on the surveillance footage were still calm. Starting at 16:41:36, based on the images shown, two young women walked towards Hong Feng's front door. Soon after, multiple men successively appeared in the frame.
At 16:43, Jiang Yan walked out of the house and appeared in the frame. "I received a call from their daughter asking me to come out and discuss land rental matters," Jiang Yan said. At the entrance of their home, Jiang Yan began talking with the other party. During this period, the images showed more people arriving continuously... At 16:45, Hong Feng walked out of the house and appeared in the frame. When Hong Feng reached the entrance of his own home, there was soon a scene of pulling in the images, and within just a moment, the conflict escalated, leading to chaos in the images.
The surveillance footage clearly showed that many people surrounded Hong Feng, punching and kicking him, causing him to fall several times and struggle to stand up again. At 16:48, after Hong Feng fell for the last time, the other party dispersed.
Hong Feng, who was supported to stand up, swayed unsteadily, almost falling over.
Hong Feng and his wife are full of grievances:
Dispute over rented land leads to trouble
"I still feel baffled even now after being beaten," Hong Feng told the reporter. To date, he still doesn't understand why the other party would resort to physical violence against him.
Since being diagnosed with a serious illness in 2005, Hong Feng's wife Jiang Yan underwent treatment in Shenyang for over three years until the second half of 2008 when she returned to Huize. "The doctor said I needed rest, and returning to my hometown was also because this is where I was born and raised, and the conditions here are better for my recovery."
"The reason I came to Yunnan was also to take care of my wife. Following the doctor's advice, we eventually returned to Yunnan," Hong Feng said. In the first year after settling in Yunnan, Jiang Yan had verbally agreed with the village secretary Lü Changgui to rent land. After paying one year's rent, due to family reasons, the rented land was never used.
According to Jiang Yan, the previously rented land is now actually being used by her mother. However, regarding her relationship with her mother, "we live close enough to hear each other's dogs bark, but we haven't spoken since we were old." Hong Feng expressed his current relationship with his mother-in-law this way. In Hong Feng's view, the land they once rented is no longer in use, and the rent has been paid in full, so logically, it should no longer have any connection to him.
"They think Jiang Yan's mother is using this land, so they should let Jiang Yan reclaim it, which is why they targeted us." Since being beaten on New Year's Eve, Hong Feng feels that the only possible explanation for why he was beaten is this.
● Statement from the parties involved
Yesterday, Hong Feng expressed gratitude to those who cared about him on Weibo and provided some clarification on the incident.
@Hong Feng: Thank you to netizens for your concern and support. Because of this concern and support, I feel especially warm and no longer afraid. Today is the tenth day of my hospitalization. I have passed the dangerous stage, I am no longer vomiting, but my blood pressure remains unstable, and the fractures in my ribs and sternum make speaking, movement, and breathing still difficult. But my mental state and emotions are good. Let me add that because of my difficulty in moving, this Weibo post was dictated by me and posted by my family.
Currently, judicial authorities have intervened, and everything is proceeding according to procedure. Please wait with me for the final result, whether you are familiar or unfamiliar friends who care about me. Thank you all.
Regarding the dispute, I am still baffled to this day. Today, I learned from the newspaper that they came to my place because of disputes over public land rent in the village. Ironically, I only verbally agreed in 2009 to rent four acres of village land for an herbal medicine experimental base. Later, due to poor health, I returned the land to the village at the end of the year and paid the rent to the village chief. Using this as a reason to assault someone seems very far-fetched.
● News Background
Hong Feng's "Huize Diary"
Born in 1959, Hong Feng is a representative figure of contemporary avant-garde literature. He, along with Su Tong, Ma Yuan, Yu Hua, and Ge Fei, are called the five tigers of contemporary literature. In 1995, under the talent introduction policy, the Culture Bureau of Shenyang introduced Hong Feng from Jilin. It was reported that the conditions at the time were: the Shenyang municipal government would fund 180,000 yuan to purchase a house for Hong Feng. Hong Feng could work without being present... Later, due to institutional reform, Hong Feng's salary was stopped, and in November 2006, he staged the sensational "Hong Feng begging on the street" event in Shenyang.
After the "begging" incident, Hong Feng lay low for two years before deciding to move far away to Yunnan. He chose his wife Jiang Yan's hometown: Mawu Village, Jinzhong Town, Huize County, Yunnan Province. At the time, relevant departments in Huize County took Hong Feng's arrival seriously, visiting him multiple times and giving much attention to his life. Jiang Yan had suffered from cancer cells, but her condition improved after treatment.
After Hong Feng moved to a remote village in Yunnan, Lü Changgui, the village secretary of Mawu Village, was once very grateful to Hong Feng. In the spring of 2009, considering that primary school students in the village had to walk a long way to school, Hong Feng participated in planning a road for the children with Lü Changgui and others. At the time, Hong Feng worked hard pushing tricycles loaded with stones and volunteered. Later, young villagers posted scenes of him volunteering online, attracting media attention, and the construction of the road for the children in Mawu Village became a well-known story.
Liu Zhao