The “Surprise” Shenyang family arrives in Europe: escape after a real-name political statement

On September 11, the media on the social platform X disclosed that Shenyang family, whose name was "Shenyang", had left China and had recently arrived in Italy, preparing to go to Germany to apply for asylum. At the same time, he had released four paragraphs of a short video allegedly just sent by Shenyang family. About two months ago, Shenyang family had issued a political statement in its real name, publicly expressed a cut with the Chinese regime, and proposed to seek political refugee status.

From a real statement to a real escape

The name of Shenyang entered the broader overseas Chinese network vision in July this year. On July 21, Shenyang issued a statement on the "Third Retreat" website in real name, announcing the "retreat" and expressing its political stance of "retreat from the nationality of the Communist Party of China" with the Chinese regime.

It should be distinguished that the “exit from citizenship” here is first and foremost a political statement made by Shenyang himself, and is not equivalent to a formal withdrawal procedure in the sense of Chinese citizenship law. But the real meaning of this statement soon goes beyond the online expression itself: less than two months later, he is already in Europe.

A risk-filled exit experience

According to Shenyang, he experienced several dangers while leaving China, including being pursued by the police. he said the police had released large dogs to pursue, he fell during the escape, once could only climb on the ground, left many wounds on the legs, and the waist was also severely hit.

These specifics are now derived from the narrative provided by Shenzhen himself to Yoshino.The four videos released by Yoshino constitute an important visual material after his arrival in Europe.

"The road to freedom is difficult." This is how Shenzhen summarized the process of leaving the house when publishing the message.

He eventually arrived in Italy, and according to the plans he had disclosed, he was not preparing to stay there for a long time, but intended to continue to Germany to seek asylum.

Flight funding from domestic supporters

There is also a remarkable detail about the escape, which has been quoted as saying that the funds needed to leave the country are not entirely borne by individuals, but are collected jointly by supporters and fans in China.

This reveals a different side of Shen’s experience from the general individual’s departure: A loose but practical link has been formed between his open political expression, his departure actions and his domestic support networks.

Shenyang said he hoped his escape could strengthen the anti-communist forces overseas, and also hoped to get the help of overseas supporters. According to the current plan, after living a little settled, he was prepared to tell his experiences through YouTube live, and continue to use the network of "Horror Commander" to participate in political expression.

Two-month timeline: From Network Declaration to Europe

• July 21: An official statement on the name of the Shenzhen family; Shenzhen expressed his political stance to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party and break up with the Chinese regime, while expressing hope for political refugee status and assistance;
• Since then: Shenzhen began to implement the departure plan. According to his own translation, he was pursued and wounded on the way;
• September early: Shenzhen successfully left China and entered Europe;
• September 11: Shenzhen announced his arrival in Italy and 4 latest videos;
• Next: Shenzhen plans to go to Germany to apply for asylum and publicly tell the full story after Anton.

The asylum journey has just begun.

Successfully leaving China does not mean that the identity problem has been resolved.Arrival in Europe is just geographical separation; from applying for asylum, entering the review procedure, to what legal status is eventually obtained, is another process that may take a considerable amount of time.

For Shenyang, important materials for future asylum procedures may include public political expression, real-name statements, experiences in China, and relevant materials that can prove that they are at risk due to political views.

From “Horror” to Real Names: Cyber Rebels Going to Real Political Risk

The story of Shenyang is worth the attention, also because it presents a change in Chinese network political expression. One may initially just use the web name to express dissatisfaction, but when the network identity is bound with the real name, when the political statements turn from anonymous to real name, the real consequences of the web expression also increase.

Shenzhen has chosen to continue to use the “Hurricane Commander” network identity while opening political positions under real names. From this moment on, political expressions in the virtual world and personal situations in the real world have become difficult to separate.

His escape also shows that in China’s heavily tightened political environment, some common people’s anti-government expressions have evolved further from online speech to real-life choices: some are silent, some are forced out of public space, and others ultimately choose to leave China.

Arriving in Europe, not the end of the story

The most realistic questions at present are still security, housing, financial sources and future legal identity.The term “escape” is described as the end of a dangerous journey, but also the beginning of another life.

For a person who has just arrived in a foreign country and plans to continue to apply for asylum in Germany, there are a number of specific questions to face in addition to the political slogans: language, accommodation, transportation, legal procedures, financial support, and how to preserve and organize their experiences and evidence.

But Shenyang apparently did not intend to withdraw from public sight. According to the information he disclosed, he planned to open live broadcasts after installment, telling his escape experience in person, and continue to participate in anti-communist activities overseas.

From July’s real name announcement to September’s European landing, Shenyang’s identity has changed: he’s no longer just a “hero” on the web, but a man who turns open political stance into action and leaves China for that.