On December 17, a Wednesday, which was the petitioners’ day at the Shanghai Petition Office, many petitioners in Shanghai gathered in the People’s Park behind the petition office holding signs and showing documents of unfair judgments, shouting “injustice!” Voices echoed, attracting dozens of policemen who intervened and forcibly took away three petitioners.
In the evening of December 17, retired Shanghai University teacher and human rights activist Gu Guoping sent a message to Epoch Times reporter saying, “On December 17, many petitioners in Shanghai gathered at the northeast corner of People’s Park behind the Shanghai Petition Office, holding up signs saying ‘injustice’ and displaying their unfairly judged documents. Many petitioners shouted ‘Injustice! Injustice!’ ‘Down with the government’ ‘Down with the Communist Party’ ‘Freedom belongs to the people,’ creating a spectacular scene which drew the attention of many police officers.”
He mentioned, “When the police arrived, the petitioners shouted ‘the devils are here!’, and the police prevented the petitioners from holding up signs, taking away several petitioners holding documents.”
According to eyewitness petitioners, on that day, around thirty to forty police officers from the Huangpu Second Team of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau were present. The police were very aggressive, not allowing the petitioners to hold up signs. 95-year-old Liu Shuzhen was taken away by the police for refusing to put away her advocacy sign. Also taken away were Liu Shuzhen’s daughter, Cui Fufang, and petitioner Zhou Yan.
Cui Fufang provided an account of the situation at the scene, telling Epoch Times reporter, “Around 11 am on the 17th, a group of police officers, about ten of them, came and asked my mother Liu Shuzhen to put away her advocacy sign. Liu Shuzhen said, ‘You are the police, you should protect the safety of our lives and properties, I will not take it down today, I want the government to return the seized property to me.'”
“At that time, the police on the scene (badge number 020404) called for a second group of police officers, also about ten of them. Later, the police said they wanted to teach Liu Shuzhen a lesson. I was there, and the police asked me who I was? What was my relationship with Liu Shuzhen? Then the police said: wait for your lesson, you will come with us. I said: you (badge number 020404) are a Party member, a leader, a newly appointed deputy director! He remained silent. Then, the third batch of police officers also arrived, about ten of them, who forcibly escorted us onto the police car at the square police station, pushing me into the car while saying you’ll regret going in there!”
“When we arrived at the square police station, the police did not register our personal information and confined us in a small room, notifying the police from the Zhoujiadu Street Police Station in Pudong New Area, who were not willing to come and requested the staff from the street petition office to come and collect us.”
“Another petitioner who was detained was Zhou Yan, who was filming with her phone at that time. She was brought into the police station, where the police asked her for her phone and ID, deleted the video from her phone, and then released her,” she said.
Many petitioners at the scene took numerous photos, with many of them criticizing the police for enforcing unfair laws. Gu Guoping stated, “By making these photos public, let the world see how the evil rule of the Chinese Communist Party has forced the common people into a corner.”