The 20th Central Inspection Team of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) completed its entry work on July 20. Every year during the period of inspection team presence, rights activists and petitioners from various regions always have great expectations when they go, but they always return disappointed. Even the rampant issue of black prisons in Shanghai has not been addressed by the central inspection team.
Song Jiahong, who released the list of black prisons in Shanghai, said, “Such a huge ‘political discipline’ issue like black prisons should be a major concern of the Communist Party. Are there any cases filed by the inspection team? None, not a single one.”
Many rights activists and petitioners have been unable to resolve their petition cases for long periods of time, always hoping that the central inspection team can act as the ultimate authority in their cases. However, the issues facing petitioners from various regions remain unresolved year after year, and they even face the dilemma of being suppressed.
A petitioner from Nanjing who was wronged said, “Many people have not been able to see anyone from the inspection team that entered Nanjing; they are just representatives of the inspection team from Jiangsu. Facing petitioners who come to register, they directly say, ‘I am not from the inspection team.’ They represent the inspection team and act this way every year.”
In another WeChat group, someone said, “They keep going to register several times, and the receptionist directly says, ‘I am not from the inspection team; I represent the inspection team’s office.’ It’s heartbreaking!”
Some petitioners also express their frustration, saying, “The inspection team is just doing the job of a mail carrier when they should be acting as grand overseers with swords in hand. The problems I report are just sent back to where they came from, and the response is always ‘not accepted.’ What’s the point of the central inspection team if their purpose is just to shuffle paperwork?”
Li Dequan, a petitioner from Heilongjiang, wants to report some corruption issues in the judicial field of Jixi City to the inspection team. “In recent years, there have been distressing corruption phenomena in some judicial aspects of Jixi City. Some judicial personnel treat their judicial power as a tool to seek personal gain. During the handling of specific cases, there are situations involving relationship-based cases, favors, and money. Some judicial officers also display abuses of power during law enforcement.” He hopes the inspection team will take these issues seriously.
However, local governments are still maintaining stability by suppressing petitioners.
Mr. Cheng, a petitioner from Fuqing, Fujian, told the reporter from Dajiyuan, “This time when the central inspection team came to Fujian, it seems to have a strong presence. The village assigned two people to monitor me, claiming to be sent by the police station, and the street leaders also approached me.”
“I heard some people were arrested and beaten at the bus station, while others were intimidated at home and afraid to come out. Petitioners from Fuzhou were deceived to the town government and then kidnapped, with no police intervention. Mr. Tang Zhaoxing from Fuqing has been trapped at home for the past few days, with several people assigned to watch him 24 hours a day to prevent him from leaving. One of my petitioner friends is also in a similar situation, with a security guard sleeping directly in front of his home.”
According to mainland media reports, the focus of the central inspection team’s work is on violations of political, integrity, and discipline issues related to the people and other matters (organizational, work, life discipline), reports must be thoroughly investigated.
However, Song Jiahong told Dajiyuan, “The so-called ‘political discipline’ here includes political alignment and performance orientation. Black prisons are widespread in Shanghai, with only the Pudong New Area Sanlin Town government supporting them at a cost of over 4.8 million yuan a year.”
“There is such a big ‘political discipline’ issue, yet someone made up a story that the government organizes study sessions, and even second-tier governments pre-allocate first-tier quotas, treating the people as targets for stability maintenance. The so-called ‘people’s discipline’ is just an empty slogan.”
“I have compiled the ‘China Shanghai Black Prison List of 180 (cases)’ from reports on the internet, and it is estimated to increase to 199 cases soon. The whole world is about to learn about it. The Communist Party has come after me twice for exposing black prisons, and they still persist in their mistakes. Such double-dealing cadres have reached their peak.”