On March 4th, the two sessions of the Chinese Communist Party began, and strict stability maintenance measures started a month early. In Shanghai, some elderly petitioners, fearing persecution in black jails, leave the city in advance on sensitive days to avoid stability maintenance measures. However, even if they hide far away, the authorities can still track them down. Some petitioners even risk their lives by attempting to cross the river to Beijing to escape the stability maintenance crackdown.
Seventy-year-old petitioner Liu Dongbao from Jing’an District of Shanghai was detained for 92 days in a black jail in 2025 for advocating for human rights with Guo Guoping and others. During his detention, he lost two teeth and his feet were injured to the point where he couldn’t walk. To avoid persecution during the stability maintenance period, on February 7th, he left Shanghai with his wife to celebrate the Chinese New Year in her hometown in Mao Ba Town, Ankang City, Shaanxi Province.
On February 27th, three people from the Shimen Second Road street office and police station in Jing’an District of Shanghai drove 1300 kilometers to reach Liu Dongbao’s wife’s hometown in Mao Ba Town. Without any official documents, they warned Liu Dongbao not to go to Beijing. That day, two cars were parked downstairs at Liu’s wife’s hometown, and a total of eight guards were stationed there.
According to Liu Dongbao, “The personnel from Shimen Second Road street office in Xi’an hired black security guards. My residence is in a mountainous area, more than 1000 kilometers away from Beijing. It’s strange that they had to hire black security guards from Xi’an, over 300 kilometers away. It’s really bizarre!”
A spokesperson for the Shanghai black jail, Song Jiahong, commented, “In order to prevent Liu Dongbao from going to Beijing and to achieve the goal of ‘zero petitions’ in Shanghai, the Shimen Second Road street office hired eight men from Xi’an, who were rigorously guarding Liu Dongbao with two cars. This happened in Shaanxi Province. Liu Dongbao wasn’t petitioning; he was just visiting for the Chinese New Year!”
“In accordance with Article 18 of the ‘Regulations on Letters and Visits,’ ‘No organization or individual shall strike back against petitioners,’ and Article 27, ‘All levels of government agencies, units, and their staff should maintain the normal order of petitions.’ This is the guarantee for petitioners like Liu Dongbao. Since he didn’t violate any laws, all of this just stirs up trouble for the ‘zero petitions’ policy!”
According to human rights activist Yang Caiying, petitioners in Beijing, such as Hou Jing from Heilongjiang, were abducted by local police from Beijing to Gu’an, Hebei on March 2nd. After escaping their control, she plans to cross the turbulent Yongding River at night to continue petitioning in Beijing.
Yang Caiying stated, “Due to the swift currents of the Yongding River, Hou Jing’s life will be in serious danger if she attempts to cross the river alone! I hope that the media and journalists pay attention to this issue.”
When attempting to contact Hou Jing, the calls were unsuccessful.
Hou Jing’s brother, Hou Jun, a serving officer, died during his service in the Heilongjiang Border Defense Regiment He Gang Border Defense Battalion, with the death certificate issued by the police stating he drowned. The unit reported it as a death due to illness, but their mother disagreed with this assessment and sought justice through legal channels. In 2012, she was physically assaulted in the reception room of the Border Defense Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense and illegally detained for nine days, resulting in a ruptured spleen that had to be removed. To this day, the authorities have not filed a case.
In 2019, Hou Jing and her mother were unjustly sentenced to three years in prison for the unfounded charge of “provoking trouble,” without any evidence of committing a crime. Hou Jing’s mother, in her seventies, fell ill in prison and tragically passed away due to lack of timely medical treatment. Her body remains in a funeral home in Harbin.
After serving her sentence and being released in March 2022, Hou Jing began advocating for her mother’s rights. However, various departments have been passing the responsibility back and forth, and five years have passed with her mother’s remains still not laid to rest.