Hunan Shaoyang is truly a place of outstanding people and fertile land. The famous historical story of “The Orphan of Zhao” originates from Shaoyang.

After extorting 100 million yuan from a Shanghai man, two police chiefs in Shaoyang, Hunan were removed from their posts

Source: https://r.slax.com/b/ae51225c-840a-4b39-8fdf-2636dea962ea Written by | Wu Yingjiao Liu Hu Yin Xiangfeng, the deputy county mayor and public security bureau chief of Shaoyang County, Hunan Province, was removed from his post in July 2025. Also removed was Tang Zhanxiong, the bureau’s deputy chief.

Image The reason for their removal was that they directed police officers to go to Shanghai and “engage in distant-water fishing” on Zheng Shuai, the actual controller of a technology company. Using the excuse that a software he developed had “wall-climbing” capabilities, they demanded Zheng Shuai pay 100 million yuan. The related extortion video was exposed online. Zheng Shuai’s family also stated that he was detained and held in a hotel in Shaoyang County for several months under illegal constraint.

When the two police chiefs were removed, the Shaoyang County Court had already opened a hearing on Zheng Shuai’s case, but had not issued a verdict. Now, Zheng Shuai has been detained for nearly a thousand days, and the case remains far from a resolution. Twice this year, the Shaoyang County Procuratorate issued a “Notice to Correct Illegal Acts” to the Shaoyang County Court regarding the issue of excessive detention.

01

100 Million Yuan to “Buy Freedom”

Zheng Shuai was born in July 1990 and is the legal representative of Shanghai Maisi Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Maisi Company”). The company was established in December 2016 and mainly engages in outsourced computer software development.

In 2019, an overseas company signed a service outsourcing contract with Maisi Company, commissioning it to develop a network software with VPN functionality. The overseas company paid the development fees and listed the software on its website for clients to download and use for a fee.

On January 8, 2024, Zheng Shuai was suddenly taken away by Shaoyang County police from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. Along with several colleagues from his company, he was escorted overnight to the Hongshi Police Station in Shaoyang County. Zheng Shuai’s family stated that this constituted illegal detention and interrogation, and the court trial did not even acknowledge that Zheng Shuai and others had been taken to Hongshi Police Station. From then on, Zheng Shuai and others began what can be described as a bizarre and surreal experience.

A source told the author that the day after Zheng Shuai was brought from Shanghai to Shaoyang County, as many as 15 police officers, including Shaoyang County Public Security Bureau Deputy Chief Tang Zhanxiong and Cybersecurity Brigade Captain Zhao Xincheng, took turns pressuring him at the Hongshi Police Station. Investigators demanded Zheng Shuai admit to the alleged crime of providing programs and tools for intruding into and illegally controlling computer information systems; otherwise, he would face more severe criminal liability for the crime of illegal business operations, and his parents would be arrested.

Image Shaoyang County Public Security Bureau. Photo by Wu Yingjiao.

“Deputy Chief Tang Zhanxiong told Zheng Shuai, ‘Misfortune should not extend to family. Spend money to avert disaster. As long as you pay 80 million yuan, you can exchange it for freedom,’” the source said.

On January 10, Zheng Shuai and several employees of his company were taken to the Shaoyang County Law Enforcement and Case Handling Center for their first formal statement. Zheng Shuai stated the facts of accepting commission from the overseas company for outsourced software development and clarified that he was not involved in the overseas company’s related operational activities.

Such a statement was evidently unsatisfactory to the investigators.

Around 11:30 PM that night, Zheng Shuai was taken to an office without surveillance cameras on the first floor of the case handling center. Yin Xiangfeng, then deputy county mayor and public security bureau chief (referred to as “Grandpa Tai” by the investigating police), personally demanded Zheng Shuai pay 100 million yuan to “cooperate with the investigation,” promising to arrange for non-prosecution and later for “residential surveillance in a designated location” so the police could receive the money.

According to Zheng Shuai’s account, Yin Xiangfeng also explicitly told him: if he did not cooperate, he would be immediately sent to the detention center and sentenced “to the maximum extent.”

The police kept Zheng Shuai deprived of adequate sleep for three consecutive days and nights. In the early hours of the morning, while his mental state was extremely poor, they repeatedly demanded his cooperation in creating statements. Zheng Shuai asked multiple times to end the interrogation, but was not allowed to until the investigators obtained a record they found satisfactory.

From January 12 to February 26, Zheng Shuai was placed in “residential surveillance in a designated location” at a hotel. Monitoring equipment installed by the police in the hotel room itself completely recorded the words and actions of the investigators.

During this period, Tang Zhanxiong and the lead police officers He Tao and Zhao Xincheng, among others, took turns entering the room, engaging in prolonged “brainwashing” of Zheng Shuai, with the core almost always revolving around one thing—paying money.

“When Zheng Shuai truly could not come up with so much money, police personnel demanded he borrow from friends outside and transfer the money as soon as possible.”

Surveillance video shows police officer He Tao telling Zheng Shuai: “Your freedom is in Grandpa Tai’s hands. Only by being willing to spend money to buy freedom is there a way out. If you dare to appeal, we will definitely sentence you to the maximum.” He also stated that contacting anyone was useless, “The most difficult government agency to deal with is our county-level agency; our county public security has the wildest methods.”

Deputy Chief Tang Zhanxiong said: “County Mayor Yin has set it at 100 million yuan for you. For you, 100 million and 1 billion aren’t much different—it’s just a number.”

Image During his “residential surveillance,” Zheng Shuai experienced heart discomfort and was taken by a 120 ambulance to Shaoyang County People’s Hospital for examination. The examination found that his heart rate was excessively fast, with systolic blood pressure reaching 170 mmHg at one point.

On February 26, Tang Jian, a prosecutor from the Shaoyang County Procuratorate, conducted the first prosecutorial interrogation of Zheng Shuai in an office without surveillance cameras on the first floor of the case handling center.

“According to regulations, the interrogation should be conducted by at least two prosecutors, but that day there was only Tang Jian, and he did not show Zheng Shuai his work credentials.” During the interrogation, Zheng Shuai again stated that he was only commissioned to develop software and was not involved in the client’s related operations.

That afternoon, the handling unit interrogated Zheng Shuai for the fourth time and then presented him with arrest documents. At night, Zheng Shuai was sent to the Shaoyang County Detention Center. During the transfer, the investigating police repeatedly warned Zheng Shuai that if he did not pay the full 100 million yuan demanded by Yin Xiangfeng, “he would absolutely not be released.”

A week later, investigators came to the detention center to question Zheng Shuai again. But according to Zheng Shuai and his family, the core content of the questioning was still not the facts of the case, but continued demands for him to raise money, with a clear statement: “If you don’t pay every penny, don’t even think about getting out.”

“During his time in the detention center, everyone from the director and prison guards to auxiliary police were fully involved in ‘brainwashing’ Zheng Shuai. They also demanded that other detainees in his cell not speak to him and restricted his lawyer’s access, all to make him pay尽快 and achieve the goal set by Grandpa Tai Yin Xiangfeng.”

On April 16, Yin Xiangfeng came to the detention center again to talk with Zheng Shuai. Yin stated that if Zheng Shuai did not pay the remaining amount and reach the expected target, he and other employees would be sentenced “to the maximum of 5 years of actual imprisonment”; if the money was in place, he would immediately arrange bail pending trial for Zheng Shuai and others involved and ensure non-prosecution.

On April 22, after paying the full 100 million yuan, Zheng Shuai was finally released on bail pending trial and returned to Shanghai from the Shaoyang County Detention Center. However, the police later went back on their word, demanding he continue transferring money before they would arrange bail for his co-defendants.

02

Supreme People’s Court: Such Cases Are Generally Unsuitable for Criminal Conviction

After the case was transferred for review and prosecution, the Shaoyang County Procuratorate summoned Zheng Shuai. Zheng Shuai truthfully informed prosecutor Tang Jian about the public security bureau demanding he pay 100 million yuan and promising non-prosecution.

Zheng Shuai’s family stated, “During this interrogation, the procuratorate not only failed to legally supervise the police’s illegal actions but also quickly re-arrested Zheng Shuai in June, attempting to cover up the issue of profit-driven law enforcement.”

On July 16, 2024, the Shaoyang County Procuratorate charged Zheng Shuai and four others with the crime of providing programs and tools for intruding into and illegally controlling computer information systems.

In response to the above charges, Zheng Shuai’s defense argued in court that the servers involved in the prosecution were located in Hong Kong, and the main suspects were all in Shanghai; furthermore, there were no specific victims in the criminal law sense. Even if there were users in Shaoyang County, their legal status would at most be that of witnesses, which was insufficient to establish the jurisdictional nexus of a criminal case. In other words, Shaoyang County had no jurisdiction whatsoever.

On the substance, the defense believed there were clear grounds for innocence in this case. The main reasons were as follows:

First, VPNs are not “programs or tools specially used for intruding into or illegally controlling computer information systems.” The usual functions of VPNs lie in encrypted transmission, network connection, and optimizing access paths. The fact that individual users use the software to access overseas websites does not mean the software itself has the function of illegally intruding into or controlling computer information systems, or illegally obtaining system data.

Second, Zheng Shuai was merely commissioned by the overseas company and was not the actual operator. The existing evidence was insufficient to prove that Zheng Shuai was actually involved in operating or controlling user payment funds, or deriving benefits from the related business activities.

On the contrary, outsourcing contracts and related payment flows showed that Maisi Company’s role was entrusted software development, while the overseas company was the software owner and operator. The contract also stipulated that the relevant products should only be released in overseas and other legal regions.

Near the end of the December 26, 2024 hearing, the court asked the defense: if the defendant did not commit the charged crime, what was their opinion on the conviction for the crime of illegal business operations?

Image Shaoyang County Court. Photo by Wu Yingjiao.

In response, the defense argued that developing and selling VPN software did not constitute unauthorized operation of telecommunications services, nor did it meet the specific circumstances of illegal business operations as clearly defined in judicial interpretations, such as “privately setting up switching equipment” or “providing telephone or fax services.” It further lacked the constituent element of “seriously disrupting market order.” Under current laws that do not set clear criminal thresholds for developing and selling VPN software, it was impermissible to convict someone of the crime of illegal business operations solely on the grounds of “not having obtained a license.”

Subsequently, multiple experts in law and network security provided opinions on the case. Professors Zhang Mingkai of Tsinghua University Law School and Shi Jianzhong of the China University of Political Science and Law, who is also the director of the Cyberspace Security Strategy and Law Committee of the China Communications Institute, believed the case had major issues regarding substantive determination, evidentiary basis, and case jurisdiction.

The above scholars provided arguments for the case being “clearly innocent.” They noted that VPNs are essentially neutral tools for data encryption and communication connection, not “specialized” tools used exclusively or primarily for intruding into or illegally controlling computer information systems. They themselves do not have the function of bypassing or destroying computer information system security protection measures, obtaining data without authorization, or controlling specific computer systems. The so-called “Great Firewall” does not belong to the computer information system security protection measures targeted by this crime, and the software in question accessed public content on overseas websites, with no acts of intruding into or controlling specific computer information systems.

It is worth noting that in December 2023, the Third Criminal Trial Division of the Supreme People’s Court formed an opinion on relevant cases, believing that general “wall-climbing” tools should generally not be considered as providing programs and tools for intruding into and illegally controlling computer information systems. It is reported that on December 3, 2024, delegates from the Shanghai delegation to the 14th National People’s Congress also submitted supervisory opinions to the Supreme People’s Court regarding the judicial fairness of this case.

03

“The County Is Indeed in Financial Difficulty”: This Money Can Solve Many Problems

The most pointed questioning of this case concerns the allegation of profit-driven extraterritorial law enforcement by the police. After Zheng Shuai and others were arrested, investigators demanded that Maisi Company’s financial staff transfer 229,000 yuan from the company account to a private account. Zheng Shuai’s mother stated that this sum was not transferred to the court with the case, and its specific whereabouts remain unclear.

Regarding the 100 million yuan, Zheng Shuai’s mother said that while the court was still hearing the case, the public security bureau had already transferred at least 64.8 million yuan of the 100 million to the non-tax revenue settlement account of the Shaoyang County Finance Bureau.

“In criminal cases where an effective judgment has not yet been made, the property involved in principle should be lawfully preserved and transferred with the case. How it should ultimately be disposed of should be determined by judicial adjudication, not predetermined by the investigation organ.”

The surveillance video left from Zheng Shuai’s “residential surveillance” period pushed the defense’s suspicion of “profit-driven law enforcement” to a climax. The video shows Shaoyang County Public Security Bureau Deputy Chief Tang Zhanxiong explicitly stating: “Return the illicit gains, and I will definitely arrange a non-prosecution conviction for you.” Talking about this money, Tang also said: “Our county is indeed in financial difficulty. With this money, we can solve many problems. Your paying has nothing to do with us.” In another conversation, he mentioned: “County Mayor Yin Xiangfeng set it at 100 million yuan for you.”

The police’s pressure centered on “plead guilty, pay money, and exchange for leniency” did not end even after the case entered the court trial phase. After the first hearing on December 26, 2024, police personnel entered the detention center multiple times to further interrogate and “brainwash” Zheng Shuai. The police told Zheng Shuai that if he pleaded guilty and accepted punishment, he could strive for a suspended sentence; if he refused, he might face prosecution under the crime of illegal business operations and receive a heavier sentence.

Image Shaoyang County Detention Center. Photo by Wu Yingjiao.

Zheng Shuai alleges that in the first lunar month of 2025, Wu Zhongwei, captain of the Shaoyang County Public Security Bureau Criminal Investigation Detachment, led five officers into the detention center, brought Zheng Shuai to an office without surveillance for interrogation, subjected him to reverse handcuffing, forced kneeling, knee strikes to the back, pulling of handcuffs, and slapping, causing injury to his wrists, and that he fainted once before the interrogation ended. At this time, the case had already been heard in court, and the public security organ’s investigative work had long been concluded.

Afterwards, Zheng Shuai reported the situation to the resident procuratorate personnel and submitted written materials. The procuratorate personnel also took photos to document his injuries, but as of now, Zheng Shuai and his family have not learned of any further handling of the matter.

In early 2025, the author (Liu Hu) publicly released the relevant surveillance video of investigators deceiving Zheng Shuai into paying 100 million yuan during his “residential surveillance.” Domestic and international public opinion erupted in shock. Wang Xiaohong, Secretary of the Central Secretariat, Minister of Public Security, and Deputy Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, made instructions. In March of the same year, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security jointly launched a nationwide special operation to rectify “distant-water fishing.”

Subsequently, Yin Xiangfeng was removed from his post, and other key personnel involved were also held accountable successively.

04

Detained for Nearly a Thousand Days with Prolonged Delays in Verdict; Procuratorate Issues Two “Notices to Correct Illegal Acts”

Since his arrest on January 8, 2024, Zheng Shuai has been almost continuously detained. The Shaoyang County Court accepted the case in early August 2024, and over two years have passed, with the trial duration far exceeding the statutory time limit.

Starting in April this year, Zheng Shuai’s mother and other family members successively reported the situation to the courts and procuratorates at the county, city (Shaoyang), and provincial (Hunan) levels, with the core demand being to review whether Zheng Shuai’s detention had become excessive and to change the compulsory measures according to law.

On April 24, in a “Notice on Review of Necessity of Detention,” the Shaoyang County Procuratorate, citing the case’s “serious circumstances” and that Zheng Shuai “has not pleaded guilty or accepted punishment,” determined that he “did not meet the conditions for bail pending trial.”

However, after the family continued to report to higher authorities, a different response from the procuratorate in August this year revealed an important piece of information previously unknown to the family. Prosecutor Tang Jian, in communication with Zheng Shuai’s family, stated that the procuratorate had issued two “Notices to Correct Illegal Acts” to the Shaoyang County Court regarding Zheng Shuai’s excessive detention, but the court had not yet provided a written reply, and the case was still in “internal research.”

To date, Zheng Shuai’s family has never received these two “Notices to Correct Illegal Acts,” nor have they obtained any clear written response: What exactly were the illegal acts referred to in the notices? Had the court corrected them? How was the trial period for this case calculated? Was Zheng Shuai’s detention legal?

These questions remain unresolved.

On August 16, Zheng Shuai’s mother called the Shaoyang County Court again, pressing: “Has the internal research still not been completed after all this time?” The response was: “No result yet. You will be notified when there is a result.”

When Zheng Shuai’s mother continued to press, “What exactly is the legally stipulated trial period, and why has the case taken so long with no result?”, the other party again stated: “We have not exceeded the time limit.”

The prolonged detention continues to take a toll on Zheng Shuai’s health. Zheng Shuai’s mother stated: “Zheng Shuai already suffered from heart disease. Combined with the severe interrogation and torture he endured earlier, his physical and mental health has been harmed long-term. According to feedback from his lawyer’s meetings, his heart condition has recently worsened further, so it is urgent to change the compulsory measures as soon as possible, secure his release on bail for medical treatment, and seek expert care.”

Near the time of this article’s publication, prosecutor Tang Jian confirmed by phone to Zheng Shuai’s family: this year, the Shaoyang County Procuratorate did indeed issue two “Notices to Correct Illegal Acts” to the Shaoyang County Court regarding the issue of Zheng Shuai’s excessive detention.

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