作者：劉棟玲
編輯：馮仍 校對：馮仍 翻译：戈冰
前言
在山西太原，曾有一名普通的國企職工，過著白天在鋼鐵廠檢測鋼材、晚上經營日料店的忙碌生活。然而，2008年的一次偶然結識，以及隨後學會的“翻牆”技術，徹底打碎了他原本平穩的人生軌跡。
從“太鋼職工”到“政治犯”，再到跨越歐亞大陸的流亡者，顏曉辰的故事，是無數試圖衝破中國“信息繭房”者的縮影。
顏曉辰出生於1982年。進入太原鋼鐵（集團）有限公司熱連軋廠後，他成為一名從事超聲波無損檢測的技術人員。在外界看來，這是一份體面的“鐵飯碗”。
與此同時，他與妻子在市中心經營著一家日本料理店，生活優渥而充實。
然而，2008年成了他命運的轉折點。
在QQ聊天室裡，他結識了一位台灣朋友。正是這次跨越海峽的交流，讓他對自幼接受的歷史教育產生了強烈動搖。
“最讓我震驚的是，共產黨根本不是抗日戰爭的中流砥柱。”顏曉辰回憶道。
關於南泥灣種植鴉片、國共抗日真相等資訊，如同巨石投水，在他心中激起千層浪。他開始頻繁出入圖書館，尋找民國人物傳記，但很快發現，牆內的圖書館無法提供他真正渴望的歷史真相。
2009年前後，顏曉辰掌握了“翻牆”技術。透過“自由門”等工具，當他第一次穿透防火長城（GFW），看到國際互聯網時，那種衝擊感如同超聲波探測到了鋼件核心的致命裂紋。
“我第一次知道了‘六四’事件的真相，看到了坦克與學生對峙的畫面；‘八九六四’的血腥現場、辛灝年的《誰是新中國》、三民主義的真實內涵，如潮水般湧入我的視野。我也第一次意識到，所謂‘抗日戰爭中流砥柱’，並非我過去所理解的那樣，國民黨軍隊才是抗戰主力。特別是在閱讀辛灝年先生的《誰是新中國》後，我才明白歷史是如何被肢解與重構的。那種感覺，就像突然踏入了一個全新的世界。”
之後，他申請了Google、Twitter與Facebook賬號，也逐漸意識到：中國互聯網本質上更像一個巨大的局域網。
然而，覺醒之後的痛苦也隨之而來。
在工廠裡，他嘗試與同事分享真相，卻遭遇冷眼。更讓他感到失望的是，他教一些同事翻牆，而對方卻只是用來觀看色情影片。
“那一刻，我深刻體會到：成年人的世界沒有改變，只有篩選。”
顏曉辰對理念的堅持近乎執拗。
2015年赴台灣觀光後，他徹底認同了民主憲政。回國後，他在網上購買了一面“青天白日滿地紅”旗幟，掛在太鋼辦公室裡，並穿著工作服與旗幟合影，發布到工作群中，甚至因此遭到同事舉報。
廠黨委書記親自來到車間批評他：“吃共產黨的飯，砸共產黨的鍋。”
“這是一種對自由邊界的試探，也是對真實歷史的尊重。”他說。
隨著網絡環境日益收緊，他目睹越來越多因發表言論而被捕的人。但他並未退縮。武漢疫情爆發後，他轉發陳秋實在武漢拍攝的視頻，利用碎片化時間傳播真相。
他知道這樣做需要付出代價，但他更不忍看到身邊的人繼續生活在信息繭房中。
2020年8月，命運的鐵錘終於落下。
當時，顏曉辰的女兒正在醫院接受手術。警方通過手機定位，在晚上7點將他從家中帶走。
隨之而來的是漫長的羈押：看守所、檢察院公訴。2020年10月19日，他被山西省太原市杏花嶺區法院以“尋釁滋事罪”判處有期徒刑一年六個月。
在獄中，他面對的是無止境的“轉化”教育——每天被強制觀看《新聞聯播》和抗戰題材影視劇。但憑藉多年閱讀《洗腦的歷史》等書籍建立的心理防線，他始終未被動搖。
2022年2月6日刑滿釋放。
然而，最讓他心碎的，是對家人的虧欠。
他入獄後，國企工作被開除，日料店也因疫情關閉。年幼的女兒，更可能因他的政治背景而在未來遭受歧視。
到了2023年，顏曉辰發現自己已無法在故土立足。求職被要求提供“無犯罪記錄”證明，沒有工作、沒有收入，還要面對無處不在的監控。
為了女兒的未來，他下定決心離開中國。
2025年7月，他以暑期旅行的名義，帶著妻子與年幼的女兒，從深圳出發，經貝爾格勒輾轉抵達德國。
直到踏上自由土地的那一刻，他才將真相告訴女兒：
“只要家人在一起，走到哪裡都是家。”
如今，顏曉辰定居德國，享受著這片“被上帝祝福的土地”所帶來的自由。
他依然關注著牆內的動態。看到有人重複自己當年的道路時，他既為對方感到欣慰，也難免擔憂。
對他而言，那段失去自由的經歷不是恥辱，而是一枚“勳章”。
“反共將會是貫穿我一生的終極目標。”顏曉辰堅定地說。
從太原到柏林，他完成了一個普通中國人對自由與真理的追尋與自我救贖。
後記
顏曉辰的案件，曾因林生亮先生主辦的“中共惡人榜”以及國際人權組織的關注而獲得聲援。
這種來自外界的支持，成為他在獄中以及出獄後堅持下去的重要力量。
他的經歷再次證明：在信息全球化的今天，任何試圖阻斷真相的“圍牆”，終將在個體的覺醒與勇氣面前坍塌。
From TISCO Technician to Exiled Dissident: Yan Xiaocheng’s “Awakening” and “Price Paid”
Author: Liu Dongling
Editor: Feng Reng Proofreader: Feng Reng Translator: Ge Bing
Foreword
In Taiyuan, Shanxi, there once lived an ordinary state-owned enterprise employee who led a busy life—inspecting steel at the steel mill by day and running a Japanese restaurant by night. However, a chance encounter in 2008—and the subsequent mastery of “circumvention” techniques—completely shattered the steady course of his life.
From “TISCO employee” to “political prisoner,” and finally to an exile traversing the Eurasian continent, Yan Xiaocheng’s story is a microcosm of the countless individuals attempting to break free from China’s “information cocoon.”
Yan Xiaocheng was born in 1982. After joining the Hot Strip Mill of Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Group) Co., Ltd., he became a technician specializing in ultrasonic non-destructive testing. To outsiders, this was a respectable “iron rice bowl” job.
At the same time, he and his wife ran a Japanese restaurant in the city center, leading a comfortable and fulfilling life.
However, 2008 marked a turning point in his life.
In a QQ chat room, he met a friend from Taiwan. It was this cross-strait exchange that caused him to seriously question the history education he had received since childhood.
“What shocked me most was that the Communist Party was not the backbone of the War of Resistance Against Japan,” Yan Xiaocheng recalled.
Information about opium cultivation in Nanniwan and the true nature of the Nationalist-Communist collaboration against Japan struck him like a boulder hitting water, sending ripples of doubt through his mind. He began frequenting libraries in search of biographies of figures from the Republic of China era, but soon discovered that libraries within the Great Firewall could not provide the historical truths he truly sought.
Around 2009, Yan Xiaocheng mastered the art of “scaling the Great Firewall.” Using tools like “Freegate,” when he first breached the Great Firewall (GFW) and accessed the global internet, the impact felt like an ultrasonic probe detecting a fatal crack in the core of a steel structure.
“ For the first time, I learned the truth about the June 4th Incident and saw images of tanks facing off against students; the bloody scenes of June 4, 1989, Xin Haonian’s *Who Is the New China*, and the true essence of the Three Principles of the People flooded into my consciousness like a tidal wave. I also realized for the first time that the so-called ‘mainstay of the War of Resistance Against Japan’ was not what I had previously understood—that the Kuomintang army was the main force in the war. Especially after reading Mr. Xin Haonian’s *Who Is the New China*, I finally understood how history had been dismembered and reconstructed. It felt as if I had suddenly stepped into a whole new world.”
Afterward, he created accounts on Google, Twitter, and Facebook, and gradually came to realize that the Chinese internet was, in essence, more like a massive intranet.
However, the pain of awakening soon followed.
At the factory, he tried to share the truth with his colleagues but was met with cold stares. What disappointed him even more was that when he taught some colleagues how to bypass the Great Firewall, they used it only to watch pornography.
“At that moment, I deeply realized: the adult world hasn’t changed—it’s just about filtering.”
Yan Xiaocheng’s adherence to his ideals bordered on stubbornness.
After visiting Taiwan as a tourist in 2015, he became a staunch believer in democratic constitutionalism. Upon returning home, he purchased a “Blue Sky, White Sun, and Red Earth” flag online, hung it in his office at Taiyuan Iron and Steel, and took a photo of himself in his work uniform standing next to the flag, which he posted in the work group chat—an act that even led to him being reported by colleagues.
The Party Secretary of the plant personally came to the workshop to reprimand him: “You eat the Communist Party’s food, yet you smash the Communist Party’s pot.”
“This is a test of the boundaries of freedom, and also a sign of respect for true history,” he said.
As the online environment grew increasingly restrictive, he witnessed more and more people being arrested for expressing their views. But he did not back down. After the outbreak of the Wuhan pandemic, he reposted videos filmed by Chen Qiushi in Wuhan, using every spare moment to spread the truth.
He knew there would be a price to pay, but he could not bear to see those around him continue to live in an information bubble.
In August 2020, the hammer of fate finally fell.
At the time, Yan Xiaocheng’s daughter was undergoing surgery at the hospital. Using his phone’s location data, the police took him from his home at 7 p.m.
What followed was a long period of detention: the detention center, then prosecution by the procuratorate. On October 19, 2020, he was sentenced to one year and six months in prison by the Xinghualing District Court of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
In prison, he was subjected to endless “re-education”—forced to watch *Xinwen Lianbo* and World War II-themed TV shows and movies every day. But thanks to the mental defenses he had built up over years of reading books like *The History of Brainwashing*, he never wavered.
He was released on February 6, 2022, after serving his full sentence.
However, what broke his heart the most was the sense of failure he felt toward his family.
After his imprisonment, he was fired from his job at a state-owned enterprise, and the Japanese restaurant where he worked closed due to the pandemic. His young daughter might even face discrimination in the future because of his political background.
By 2023, Yan Xiaocheng realized he could no longer make a life for himself in his homeland. Job applications required a “certificate of no criminal record”; without a job or income, he also had to contend with ubiquitous surveillance.
For the sake of his daughter’s future, he resolved to leave China.
In July 2025, under the guise of a summer vacation, he set out from Shenzhen with his wife and young daughter, traveling via Belgrade before finally arriving in Germany.
It wasn’t until the moment he set foot on free soil that he revealed the truth to his daughter:
“As long as our family is together, wherever we go is home.”
Today, Yan Xiaocheng has settled in Germany, enjoying the freedom offered by this “land blessed by God.”
He continues to follow developments behind the Great Firewall. When he sees others retracing the path he once took, he feels both comforted for them and inevitably concerned.
For him, that experience of losing his freedom is not a disgrace, but a “medal of honor.”
“Opposing the Communist Party will be the ultimate goal of my life,” Yan Xiaocheng says with conviction.
From Taiyuan to Berlin, he has completed an ordinary Chinese person’s quest for freedom and truth—and his own self-redemption.
Afterword
Yan Xiaocheng’s case garnered support thanks to the “List of Chinese Communist Villains” organized by Mr. Lin Shengliang and the attention of international human rights organizations.
This external support became a vital source of strength that sustained him both during his imprisonment and after his release.
His experience proves once again that in today’s era of global information flow, any “wall” erected to block the truth will ultimately crumble in the face of individual awakening and courage.
