Facing these unexpected sudden disasters, I have been in extremely difficult circumstance, which buried me in utter disorder. In great horror and depression, I have submitted numerous petitions and complain of injustice to relevant agencies. However, I received no response as if I cried to dump mountain. Three months passed (since the confiscation of bookstore? –Translator’s note) and the living of my child and myself reached the point of emptiness. At this crying with no more tears and petitioning with no response, I have to write this letter to beg for a living. I hope you could squeeze out a little bit of time in your busy schedule and investigate the behavior of some high ranking officials of Inner Mongolia, their condemnation of laws, subjective use of their power, implicating friends and family members, and sharpening the minority problem!

I would like to accuse two subjects for you, namely: 1) to offer you the whole process to give better picture; 2) to accuse my two opinions, for your consideration.

Introduction of the process:

10 December, 1995: Hada was arrested for the "involvement in 101 case" by the Inner Mongolia Police Department, my house and the bookstore were turned upside down, large amount of manuscripts and academic materials and books were confiscated.

11-15 December, 1995: A dozen of Mongolian intellectuals were arrested. The detention caused great attentions of society, particularly those Mongolian students at college and universities. People inquired us at the bookstore and the group started discussion of the detentions.

16 December, 1995: As the business of bookstore was decreased because of inquiry crowd, Xinna showed a "Notice to Public" to answer some frequently asked questions. More than a hundred students gathered in front of the bookstore and some students gave speeches and then started to protest. When the protested students left the bookstore, the Inner Mongolia Police Department arrested Xinna for "stirring up troubles among students". The protested students demanded to release the detained people and demanded "no violence". As the students marched, anti-violence police came out and blocked the students and arrested 12 students.

29 December, 1995: "Guangming Daily" (a state-run newspaper of China. –Translator’s note) appraised highly the bookstore with the title "A Home of Mongolian Studies".

30 December 1995: More than 200 college and university students of Inner Mongolia raised the portrait of Chinggis khan and paraded and distributed pamphlets out on street. Police and anti-violence police drove the parade away and arrested more than 20 people. Right at that night, the detained students were picked up by the officials of various universities and colleges, but five of them were detained in police department as long as one month.

Until January of 1996: About a hundred people from Hingan, Jirim, Xilingol, Bayanoor, and Yihjoo Leagues were called and interrogated by police departments.

12 January, 1996: With various efforts of relatives, Xinna was released under conditions, and came out of the camp for prisoners awaiting a trial.

24 January, 1996: Xinna was phone-interview by a journalist from the Voice of America using her brother’s cellular phone.

28 January, 1996: Xinna’s brother, Hasi was arrested right after he received a call from the Human Right’s Association of China. At the same time, Xinna who was on duty in her bookstore was detained again. The same night and following night, the Police Department illegally examined Xinna and Hasi’s houses and the bookstore four times (not clear, if four times for each individual place or the total number pooled over sites. –Translator’s note). A number of videotapes, cassettes, and the list addresses of customers, and handwritten manuscripts were confiscated and have not been returned yet.

January-March, 1996: The detentions of people and demonstrations were reported in America, Japan, Britain, France and Mongolia.

9 March, 1996: Hada and Tegexi were formally arrested (they had been in detention. –Translator’s note). The accusations were ‘Scheming to usurp government’, ‘Separation of the nation’, and ‘Organizing anti-revolutionary group’. Until March, most of the detainee had been released.

12-18 April, 1996: Xinna, Hasi and several others were released from camps of prisoners awaiting trials.

8 May, 1996: Huhhot Police Department sent ‘A Decision of rescinding the Mongolian Studies Bookstore’ to the bookstore.

11 May, 1996: Xinna legally submitted a request of re-examination to Huhhot Police Department.

23 May, 1996: Huhhot Police Department orally expressed they would maintain the original decision, but there was no written answer.

3 June, 1996: Xinna submitted a petition to the Committee of Law and Politics of Inner Mongolia Central Communist Party and Inner Mongolia Police Department, requesting them to reconsider the decision of rescinding the bookstore. However, no response was made.

24 June, 1996: Xinna and Hasi legally submitted an indictment concerning the illegal detention by the Inner Mongolia Police Department to Huhhot XinChengQu Court.

9 July, 1996: Huhhot XinChengQu Court refused to process the case due to the involvement of the political case.

10 July, 1996: Xinna and Hasi submitted an appeal concerning the decision of Huhhot XinChengQu Court.

26 July, 1996: Inner Mongolia Police Department and Huhhot Police Department sent the bookstore ‘A decision of closing the Mongolian Studies Bookstore’. More than 20 people put all books in paper boxes and sealed the window and door with paper strips with official seal and took away the sign of the bookstore title (the sign of the bookstore showed outside. –Translator’s note).

13-14 August, 1996: In absence of the owner, more than 30 people of the Inner Mongolia Police Department and Huhhot Police Department broke into the bookstore and took away all books and facilities including everyday utensils. They left no written document for doing so.

26 August, 1996: Through numerous contacts with the Inner Mongolia police Department, Xinna was permitted to bring back part of the everyday utensils. During this period of time, Xinna expressed her desire of visiting Beijing to indict the Inner Mongolia Police Department for illegal activities.

3 September, 1996: The Inner Mongolia Police Department adopted a forced policy of ‘Monitoring houses’, informing them (Xinna and Hasi. –Translator’s note.) not allowed to move around unattended, such as they were forced to ask a leave in case they had to leave their houses. At the same time Hasi received a notice from the Inner Mongolia Police Department, ‘A decision of confiscating dirty stuffs’.

4 September, 1996: Xinna was finally able to bring back part of the stuffs confiscated by the Inner Mongolia Police Department, such as gas oven, chairs and table, pans and bowls etc. everyday utensils to restore normal life.

5 September, 1996: Xinna was visited by the people of Inner Mongolia Police Department and Huhhot Police Department. She was forced to write a letter authorizing the Inner Mongolia Police Department to keep the books of bookstore. Xinna refused to do so at once. However, the police would not leave her house unless she wrote down the letter. She could not help but had to write down the unauthorized ‘authorization’ and the police left with it.

At the same time Hasi submitted an appeal to Huhhot Intermediate Court concerning the cellular phone confiscation by the Inner Mongolia Police Department.

In utter distress, Xinna was forced to sign another ‘authorization’ letter brought by police from Huhhot Police Department. The police left with the ‘authorization’.

27 September, 1996; Xinna received formally a notice informing Huhhot Inspection Bureau’s indicting Hada. Xinna was able to meet Hada through defending attorney.

7 October, 1996: An article written by Xinna, ‘An analysis of women and their social status in Mongolian Secret History’ was accepted by the Editing Committee of the Series of Developing Country with Science and Education for publication and Xinna was invited for academic meeting. However, the Inner Mongolia Police Department did not allow her to attend the meeting.

18 October, 1996: Huhhot Intermediate Court brought the case of ‘Anti-revolutionary Crime of Hada and Tegexi’ to a trial non-publically. Defendants and their attorneys argued themselves as not guilty.

25 October, 1996: Huhhot Intermediate Court informed Xinna and Hasi that their application of appealing for the Inner Mongolia Police Department was refused because both were monitored officially.

28 October, 1996: Xinna submitted an appeal to Huhhot XinChengQu Court concerning the Inner Mongolia police Department’s closing the bookstore and confiscating books and facilities, but the request was refused to be processed.

My two opinions:

Inner Mongolia Police Department transgressed the law and neglected their duty.

During the whole process, there have been numerous instances of transgression of the law.

Arrest people as they like: Related law clearly stated what kind of people are in the range of detention. However, they arrested people who were not in the category and released them as they pleased. Some of the people were never shown any sort of written document concerning their detentions. They arrested about hundred of people during the period in the autonomous region and sentenced two of them (Hada and Tegexi. —Translator’s note). This kind of cheap shot of activity caused huge negative effects in the society.

Breaking into houses without permission and confiscating facilities: While arresting people they broke into houses and I was told the similar stories of several other people. I will report the situation of investigating my house here briefly. My house has been broken into five times. The attitute of some police were horrible and which made me think if the second cultural revolution was coming along. They confiscated many things which obviously had nothing to do with the case and never returned. Some of the people visited by them were doing international business and they confiscated their passport and refused to return resulting huge economic loss to the owners. The financial loss of my brother and me is not a small amount for us. Half of the business of the bookstore is in abroad, all the international business had stopped since the Police Department took away all business partners’ list, and some foreign money of the sold books could not reach us because of lack of the constant address. We have talked to the Police Department several times requesting the list and other stuffs to be returned, but they did not. I used my brother’s cellular phone to accept the interview of the Voice of America. However, it was confiscated as "the tool used for damaging national security".

Assuming that breaking into houses, taking away facilities and closing the bookstore was not enough, they took away books and facilities valued at 200,000.00 Chinese dollar. I am wondering the Inner Mongolia Communist Party issued the command according to which law?! More seriously, they broke into house when we were not there, and left no written or oral confirmation about doing so. After all, the Mongolian Studies Bookstore had certain influence in international Mongolian studies academic circle, and closing the bookstore brought very negative influence.

Limiting the basic human rights and freedom. In general, houses and activities of a suspicious criminal or a person who is waiting for a trial are monitored. However, for unknown reason, I and my brother have been forcefully monitored 5 months after we were released. It made us very difficult to go out for a business and attend a meeting and our very basic human rights being denied.

Anyway, the Inner Mongolia Police Department has violated the related laws and treated innocent people brutally, greatly damaged the image of people’s police. I am not presenting their uncivilised behavior one by one.

2. Some officials of Inner Mongolia had the ‘ultra-left’ strategy since the very beginning of Hada’s arrest and exaggerated the case, made the situation worse.

Families were implicated, friends and relatives were arrested. In the investigation of the cases of Wang Dan and Wang Xizhe, their families have been paid particular attention recently. In contrary, the Inner Mongolia Police Department unofficially informed to arrest me and they did right after the demonstration of students without caring that I have a kid not yet 11 years old. After I was released conditionally with the efforts of relatives, I have been monitored seceretly and after I was interviewed by the Voice of America and the Human Rights Organization, I and my brother, Hasi, were arrested again. The Police threatened us immediately to arrest my older brother if he would not keep silent! They utterly neglected the negative effect of their behavior. After I was released the second time, I faced closing the bookstore, and that books were taken away, and my child and myself have no way to feed ourselves. We petitioned in various way, but got no answers and my house and activities are still under monitor, and communication is recorded.

Friends who had contact with Hada have been listed suspicious and some of them were arrested for custody. Beside those intellectuals of various Leagues of Inner Mongolia, those people who had business contact with the bookstore have been dragged in the case. During that time, friends avoided meeting us, and various rumors aroused. Did it mean that there were no longer any Communist Party’s policy in Inner Mongolia?!

The bookstore was designated as ‘black concentration spot’. Someone with a human heart should notice that we have attracted a list of internationally celebrated Mongolianists and Mongolian intellectuals to the bookstore through our 5 years of hard work and deliberate management. The least civilized people would not close down the bookstore as the ‘black concentration spot’. The saying made the customers of the bookstore to be listed as suspicious ‘illegal activists’ and was wholly rejected with disdain by the customers. In reality, the so called ‘Southern Mongolia Democratic Alliance’ had never held a single meeting in the bookstore, and how the bookstore could become the ‘black concentration spot of illegal activity’? The saying did not have any evidence and only served as an assault made by some people to deceive the superiors and deluded subordinates.

More seriously, because of the relatives and friends being dragged in the case, and an influential academic bookstore being listed as a ‘bladk concentration spot, the intelectual circle have been in dreadful atmosphere. Rumors which say ’206 case digged out the Inner Mongolia People’s Party (this was a false case fabricated by some higher officials of Central Communist Party during 1960’s. —Translator’s note) what else would be recovered from the 101 case? The rumor reminded Mongolians’ painful memory of the innocent case of the Inner Mongolia People’s Party, and unconsciously sharped the conflicts of minority. All of these negative effects of the exaggerating the case was caused by some high officials of Inner Mongolia.

In a word, some high officials Inner Mongolia are responsible for the series of problems resulted from the processing of Hada’s case. If anyone who is educated closely looks at Hada’s letter of defending himself as non-guilty, he would immediately find that the core of the problem is the interest of minority. If the conflicts are solved improperly, various minority problems would arise and the situation of Inner Mongolia would be worsen and the stability of Inner Mongolia would be shaken again. Frequent lessons happened on the grassland of Inner Mongolia could demonstrate this point. Not stating those happened years ago, we could see that the issue of Document # 28 by Zhou Hui (the Chairman of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at that time, Chinese nationality. –Translator’s note) aroused the Mongolian students activity which continued several months across the region in 1981. The designation of Anti-Revolutionary Group Case of Huchun of YihJo League and Anti-Revolutionary Case of Ulaanshobu of the Inner Mongolia University etc. are other examples which caused utter repugnance of Mongolians in the region. The so-called ‘Top Secret Document #13 of the Communist Party’ issued to the teachers and students of college students, plus the speech made by the general secretary of Communist Party of Inner Mongolia, Han Maohua, to the officials of the government agencies created Mongolians distrust to the communist. Why the Mongolians of Inner Mongolia would be beaten as separatists, anti-revolutionists as long as they talk about minority problems, while those high officials like Han Maohua have been promoted one after another even though they deliver speeches and documents worsening the situation of Inner Mongolia?! These facts will not be overlooked by the Mongolian officials and intellectuals. We hope the Central government could be informed by the dangerous tendency of some high officials of Inner Mongolia in treating minority problems.

Speaking of my situation, husband was arrested, bookstore was closed, books and facilities were confiscated. I do not have money to afford my kid to go to school, have no ability to feed ourselves and maintenance of living is seriously threatened, and very basic human rights were denied. I request you to investigate the situation and to tell us a means of subsistence!

Sincerely,

Xinna, Former Mongolia Studies Bookstore

November 4, 1996

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