A HK Businessperson Complains That Her 11-Year Imprisonment was Unjust, Pays Tribute to Her Deceased Mother Outside the CE’s Office in Traditional Chinese Funeral Clothes

Hong Kong businessperson Tsui Siu-lan, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in Beijing for corruption, returned to Hong Kong in mid-June 2023 after serving her sentence. She went to the Chief Executive's Office early on March 8 to pay tribute to her mother dressed in traditional Chinese funeral clothes and requested the Hong Kong government to help her redress her grievances and reverse her case. Kiri Choy/The Epoch Times

The CCP, which often emphasizes the rule of law, has been promoting “justice under the sun” for many years, but unjust cases are still reported from time to time in the country, and there may be lots of cases that have not yet been redressed and exposed to the outside world.

A Hong Kong businessperson who was convicted of corruption was imprisoned for 11 years, and during that time, her ex-husband and her mother died. During this period, she repeatedly asked the Hong Kong government for help but received no substantive response. On the morning of March 8, she started a sit-in outside the Government Headquarters in Admiralty dressed in traditional funeral clothes to pay tribute to her late mother, as well as asking the authorities to help rehabilitate her and restore her innocence.

Spent 10 Years Seeking Justice Against Accusation of Corruption in Business Deals

Ms. Tsui Siu-lan, a 56-year-old businessperson, was born in mainland China and grew up in Hong Kong. She was the general manager of a trading company before the incident and was detained on June 12, 2012, after passing the customs at the Luohu border crossing.

She was then taken to the Anti-Corruption Bureau in Beijing the next day. During the investigation, the officers in charge suspected that she conspired with others to forge sales contracts between 2008 and 2012 and exchanged it with another batch of Indian iron ore for sale, making a profit of 1.94 million yuan (US$270,000). She was convicted at the Haidian District People’s Court of Beijing in 2014 and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

According to the statements provided by Ms Tsui, she was accused of corruption charges by using false contract to sell a batch of iron ore fines imported from India, not from Thailand. She was also accused of instigating Mr Wong, a general manager of Sinosteel company, to pay 400,000 CNY demurrage in the name of “other expenditures” of the company, which forms embezzlement.

Ms. Tsui said that the case was full of loopholes and described herself as a victim in a power struggle between state enterprises. During the interrogation, well-known legal expert Gao Mingxuan and others provided expert arguments to prove that she was only conducting normal business activities and had not contravened the law. However, the arguments were not accepted by the court. She soon embarked on a 10-year justice-seeking battle with her separated family members.

At the request of the police, Ms. Tsui moved to a sidewalk outside the east wing of the Government HQs to continue her petition, where she and two helpers held aloft a banner nearly 5 meters (17 ft.) long. Kiri Choy/The Epoch Times

During Ms. Tsuis sit-in in an area designated by the police, one plainclothes police officer asked her about the purpose of the petition. Terence Tong/The Epoch Times

Proud to Be Still Alive After 11 Years in Prison

She recalled that during the period from remand to sentencing, she was “completely alone without any viable aid.” She also witnessed several horrific scenes in the detention center, including a woman having her hair pulled and hit against the wall by police officers, resulting in her becoming temporarily mentally handicapped.

She was also put into a small cell shared with more than 30 other inmates. The prison guards even asked the female prisoners to take off their clothes and squat together, which was a complete deprivation of dignity. Ms. Tsui, however, refused to comply and complained to the warden. She describes herself as lucky, “I am proud to see myself still able to survive after serving those 11 years in there.”

Her spiritual support during that tough time came mainly from her late ex-husband. Although Ms. Tsui and Mr. Chiu Yuk-sang (her husband) were divorced in 2009, the two were still on good terms and Mr. Chiu often visited her in prison by travelling to Beijing from Hong Kong.

Unfortunately, Mr. Chiu died of cancer recurrence in 2016, which was followed by the death of her mother in 2017. In particular, it was the death of her mother that really hurt Ms. Tsui deeply. She added that after the death of her ex-husband, the prison warden once offered a condition that as long as she “cooperated” on the case, she could return to Hong Kong to continue serving her sentence. However, Ms. Tsui considered that as equivalent to her “admitting the guilt she never committed,” so she refused the offer.

Letters to Former Chief Executives, No Response from Incumbent CE

With the death of her ex-husband and that her two sons were still minors, Ms. Tsui decided to appeal to both the Hong Kong and Chinese Governments to reverse the case. Through the Liaison Office, the letters were delivered to successive chief executives as well as to members of the Legislative Council, to which she did receive replies. However, apart from referring Ms. Tsui’s letters to the relevant authorities, the Liaison Office told her that it was not allowed to intervene in the judicial proceedings on the mainland, and did not provide her with any further assistance. The legislator she approached for help initially took the initiative to contact her, but she did not hear back from the member’s assistant after providing her documents.

Upon her release from prison on June 11, 2023, Ms. Chiu was immediately deported to Hong Kong, carrying with her a ban from entering China for five years. She said she wrote to John Lee Ka-chiu (the incumbent Hong Kong CE) twice, once in January 2023, before she was released from prison, and again in September of the same year, but received no reply, which she said was disappointing. The Epoch Times has made inquiries to the Chief Executive’s Office regarding the above matter and is currently waiting for a reply.

Ms. Tsui showed reporters the letters sent to successive chief executives, asking for help in overturning the case. Kiri Choy/The Epoch Times

Staying in HK to Seek Justice, and Exercise Sit-In Outside Government HQ

After returning to Hong Kong, she asked several media outlets for help but received few responses. One of them said that they could not offer assistance because management could not bear the potential consequences of the National Security Law. She denounced this phenomenon as a reflection of the deteriorating media situation in Hong Kong today.

Her two sons are adults, they have no idea of their mother’s sit-in outside the Government Headquarters. Ms. Tsui said that she just wanted her sons to focus on their work, and she rejected their proposal to move to the UK. She insisted on staying in Hong Kong to seek justice. “After I leave (without first being vindicated), there will be more people suffering the same fate as mine.”

During this morning’s petition, Ms. Tsui started by holding aloft a banner and then sat on the ground outside the Chief Executive’s Office. Later, police officers requested that she move to the East Wing of the government offices. Ms. Tsui stated that she will continue her sit-in indefinitely until the case is vindicated and until those who made her suffer are held accountable.