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Pictured: Julie Harms [朱莉] and Liu Shiliang [劉士亮], had originally planned to be married in May of last year. (Photo gekked from Ming Pao, who found it online)

American citizen and graduate of Harvard University, Julie Harms, 30, to-date continued to petition to the officials of Beijing, the case of her Chinese fiancé, who was sentenced to 11 months of jail time for a conviction of trespassing.

Julie Harms had met Liu Shiliang at a post office, a decade ago, while she was traveling in China and majoring in East Asian studies. They became engaged in 2007, but their wedding was delayed by legal troubles later that year.

Liu's family had been in conflict with one of their neighbours in his home village within the Anhui [安徽] province. On May 14th, 2007, the neighbour had beaten Liu's niece so that her whole body was covered with blood. According to Ming Pao, Liu had rushed home to join the feud...in the December of the same year, the neighbour was sentenced to five years and a half of prison time. Then in March of 2007, the Mainland police placed a warrant for Liu online, for the crime of trespassing, and after surrendering, Liu was sentenced in November a prison term of ten months.

The Associated Press article wrote that Liu was home to visit family, and his family wondered if Liu's arrival was mistaken as an attempt at revenge. Note that the charge was only trespassing, and the head of the Licai village, Liu Jiali (not related), said, from Anhuin by phone, that Liu did not trespass. The neighbour had a cousin in the local police.

Harms contested the charge of trespassing, she said that before the trial, she had been told by the officials that the outcome had already been arranged. At first she thought the resolution would be simple, but in the many times she's been at the police station or the court of Wuhe County [五河縣(trad) 五河县(simp)], she found that the leadership was very inaccessible. "領導們通常都『在開會』，沒人願意告訴我他們的去向" ("They were always 'in meetings', and no one was willing to tell me their whereabouts") (- 劉洪慶, Ming Pao)

( For centuries, Chinese citizens have took their grievances over local corruption or neglect to Beijing, first to the Emperor and now the ruling communist party, some staying for months, camping under bridges when they could not afford accommodation. )

Crossposted at DW, and at ontd_political