During the recent sessions of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, 256 petitioners from Shaanxi Province jointly submitted a letter to Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, and Li Xi, leader of the Central Inspection Work Leading Group, with three demands for resolution. However, they received no response. Recently, they have once again issued an appeal, calling for a thorough investigation into judicial corruption in Shaanxi Province and the implementation of legal petitions.
The 256 petitioners from Shaanxi Province submitted separate applications to Zhao Leji and Li Xi during the March sessions of the two congresses, urging the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to fulfill its supervisory responsibilities, address the complaints and reports submitted by petitioners to the inspection team.
Rights activist Li Ming told Dajiyuan that the joint petitioners have all suffered from suppression and persecution by the judicial system of Shaanxi Province. “Fearing that their letters would once again be ignored, they decided to make their appeal public. They hope that compassionate people from all walks of life will pay attention, support their cause, and provide coverage.”
The joint accusation by the 256 individuals includes three demands: first, to lawfully accept their joint accusation materials and investigate the violations and disciplinary issues of the Shaanxi Provincial Procuratorate; second, to investigate the obstruction of correspondence by various departments in Shaanxi and crack down on illegal acts of retaliation against petitioners; third, to immediately release the husband and wife, Guo Shiyuan.
Guo Shiyuan was taken into custody with his wife Shicunxiang by the police in Huyi District (formerly Huxian County) on the evening of August 18, 2025, following his prolonged reports on the illegal activities of Wang Xuguang, the procurator-general of the Shaanxi Provincial Procuratorate.
Several petitioners involved in the joint petition told Dajiyuan that during the 2025 inspection period by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in Shaanxi, thousands of petitioners from the province went to submit their accusations. They jointly submitted accusations to the inspection team multiple times, accusing the Provincial Procuratorate and other related departments, demanding accountability, but faced multiple obstacles.
Petitioner Zhang Yi expressed outrage that when petitioners’ representatives went to the post office to mail materials, the postal staff, under orders from higher-level authorities, prohibited the mentioning of the name of Li Jianming, the leader of the inspection team, on the envelopes, thus creating artificial barriers to normal petition channels.
Wang Xiaogang, the brother of petitioner Wang Xiaoqin, died in custody on July 23, 2024. She suspects that his death was the result of prolonged violent abuse and bullying by the personnel of the Weicheng District Detention Center in Xianyang City, rather than natural causes.
According to her, surveillance footage shows that Wang Xiaogang had multiple episodes of unconsciousness before his death, sometimes remaining unconscious for seven to eight hours a day without anyone attending to him. The detention center staff not only delayed medical treatment but also instructed cellmates to subject Wang Xiaogang to violent bullying, leading to his unnatural death.
“No matter where I lodge a complaint, the materials always end up in the hands of the defendants. The local management system has turned Shaanxi Province into a lawless place,” Wang Xiaoqin said.
Petitioner Shi Xiuju stated that the biggest drawback of the local governance system is that government departments are both defendants and law enforcement agencies, making it impossible for them to solve issues. “Without abolishing the local management system, with officials protecting each other, the accumulation of wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice will only increase.”
Li Qihong, a petitioner from Lantian County in Shaanxi Province, has been advocating for the rights of her father who died in a mining accident, along with her mother and sister. They have faced various forms of oppression and persecution by local government authorities over the years. Li’s mother passed away on the road to seeking justice, and her sister was abducted and raped by the local government-organized criminal elements led by Cao Yanghong.
Out of frustration, Li Qihong lodged a complaint to the Central Inspection Team against Yuan Weidong, the director of the Changba Public Security Sub-bureau in Xi’an, Huang Yonghong, the director of the Shilipu Police Station, Geng Hongbo, the former mayor of the Baiyuan Town, as well as the criminal figure Cao Yanghong, demanding a thorough investigation and strict punishment, but faced retaliation and suppression. “The system is too corrupt, the judiciary is evil, and we must persist. We hope for a ‘brighten up’ soon.”