Following the continuous decline of the Chinese economy, the number of people petitioning in Beijing has surged. According to multiple petitioners who have traveled to the capital, collusion within the public security and judiciary systems has led to ongoing repression, plunging many petitioners into despair. As a result, an increasing number of individuals are turning to the Zhongnanhai – the central headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party – to seek justice.
70-year-old petitioner Liu Dongbao from Shanghai has made numerous trips to Beijing to petition and has been detained in black jails, subjected to abuse and beatings. His legs were injured to the point of disability and have yet to fully heal. On January 16, dragging his crippled legs, he once again made the journey to Beijing to petition.
He told Epoch Times that the number of petitioners at the Letters and Visits Office has increased by at least tenfold compared to before. Due to the long wait times, many people have opted to go directly to Zhongnanhai. “It takes more than 20 hours to get a spot at the Letters and Visits Office. We are old and our bodies can’t handle it. It’s better to go to Zhongnanhai with this kind of thinking.”
Long-term Beijing resident petitioner Liu Mei (pseudonym) also informed Epoch Times that despite the suppression by the Chinese Communist Party, the number of petitioners traveling to Beijing continues to increase significantly. She heard a few years ago that there were approximately 2 million petitioners permanently residing in Beijing, a number she believes has since exceeded that figure. Some individuals, after losing everything due to their houses being demolished and having no hope in their hometowns, choose to survive in Beijing while engaging in odd jobs and petitioning. “Coupled with the increasing number of injustices around the country, the influx of petitioners is much higher than usual.”
During his recent trip to Beijing, Liu Dongbao went directly to Zhongnanhai to petition. On the morning of the 16th, as he rode a bus two stops away from Zhongnanhai, he was brought to a local police station by officers conducting checks on the bus. There, he observed a place resembling a cinema holding a large number of petitioners. Police cars shuttled back and forth, continuously bringing petitioners to this location, where they were later taken away by local stability maintenance personnel.
“I had been to Zhongnanhai in the past, and there weren’t many people back then. At most, a bus would bring in two to three cars per day. But now, it’s overwhelming – hundreds of people go there in one go,” Liu Dongbao mentioned.
Citizen Wu Ying (pseudonym) from the mainland expressed that the domineering and violent rule of the Chinese Communist Party has led to widespread injustices, pushing society to the brink of collapse. “People are living in dire straits, and there is simply no way for the common folks to seek justice through the law.”
“We, the ordinary people, are truly in dire straits with nowhere to turn. Even someone as honest as Gui Shanhong, who went to the national Letters and Visits Office, could be beaten to death. The Chinese Communist Party has provoked the anger of the common people,” Wu Ying remarked.
64-year-old Gui Shanhong from Shanghai, a descendant of a former high-ranking Chinese naval officer of the Chinese Communist Party, went to Beijing to petition in May 2025. On the 20th, she was forcibly taken back to Shanghai by the resident Beijing office and detained in a black jail. Around 8 a.m. on the 22nd, Gui Shanhong’s husband received a call from Ru Jin Street officials stating that Gui Shanhong was undergoing emergency treatment at the Ninth Hospital in Shanghai. When he rushed to the hospital, he saw Gui Shanhong had already passed away, with traces of blood in her nostrils.