On January 1, 2025, two elderly people in Shanghai, 94-year-old Liu Shuzhen and 97-year-old Pan Guozhi, have been petitioning for nearly twenty years due to forced evictions and wrongful cases, but their issues remain unresolved. Despite their age, the two seniors were seen holding placards for their rights in Park 200 in Shanghai.
According to activist Song Jiahong, the two elderly individuals have become another iconic sight in Shanghai for their fight for justice. Pan Guozhi, who spent 28 years in a labor camp before it was overturned, still faces housing challenges due to incomplete policy implementation. On the other hand, Liu Shuzhen has been seeking compensation and resettlement for over 20 years since the World Expo demolition, but has received no assistance and continues to face surveillance. Song Jiahong wishes the two petitioners a happy new year and good health.
The demolition related to the Shanghai World Expo has been ongoing for over two decades. Liu Shuzhen had her private property forcefully taken by the Pudong New Area government with no compensation or resettlement offered, only continuous surveillance. Liu Shuzhen revealed that in 2024, she spent most of the year under surveillance, greatly affecting her daily life and overall quality of living.
With no proper resettlement after the forced demolition, Liu Shuzhen has been temporarily staying in Room 223 of the Qingchun Hotel at 1698 Nanmatou Road. She expressed that if she has committed a crime, she would rather be sent to prison where she would at least have food and housing.
According to petitioners, the daily wage for security guards involved in surveillance is 400 yuan, while staff at the local police stations earn 700 yuan a day. The significant costs of surveillance over half a year are astounding, yet Liu Shuzhen has not received any of these funds, nor have her basic needs been met.
Pan Guozhi, a former primary school teacher from Yuhuan County, Zhejiang Province, was wrongly imprisoned for 28 years in Shanghai after a misunderstanding with the authorities in 1958. Even after the overturn of his labor camp sentence in 1984, he only received back pay and was sent back to his hometown, never regaining possession of his house in Yangpu District, Shanghai.
Several years ago, Pan Guozhi reunited with his daughter You Meiying in Shanghai, and together they began petitioning against his unjust labor camp sentence.
A petitioner using the online alias “hyn” remarked, “On New Year’s Day this year, seeing 97-year-old Pan Guozhi and 94-year-old Liu Shuzhen still protesting with placards, along with the story of 20-year-old Li Yixue from Jiangxi being forcibly admitted to a mental hospital, and reflecting on my own 16-year petitioning journey as a displaced farmer, my heart weighs heavy.”
“On New Year’s Day, it’s a reminder of the hardships faced in the past year due to government inaction, and the painful cycle of petitioning starting anew. Despite the uncertainties and the darkness ahead, let’s leave behind all unhappiness, wipe away our tears, and continue striving for a fair and just society in the new year.”