As the Third Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party draws near, the situation for petitioners has become increasingly dire. Last week in Beijing, among the Shanghai petitioners intercepted, some have gone missing and some are hospitalized with injuries. Recently, several Shanghai petitioners who traveled to Beijing have also gone missing on their way back.
In Beijing, known petitioners such as Wu Shihao, Li Jiong, Jin Meizhen, and Yang Ping were intercepted during their visit. After being escorted back to Shanghai to the Fucun Road No. 500 (Relief Center) for petitioners, their phones have all been turned off. Currently, their families are unable to contact them, causing great concern and distress.
On the morning of June 19th, Shanghai petitioners Wu Shihao, Li Jiong, and Jin Meizhen were intercepted and sent back to Shanghai after being in Beijing. Upon being sent back to the Fucun Road Petitioner Diversion Center in Shanghai, all three petitioners’ phones were turned off and they are currently missing.
Wu Shihao, a veteran youth from the northwest in the 1950s, faced difficulties after returning to Shanghai due to the demolition of his old house without proper resettlement. His way of petitioning is by distributing flyers in Beijing, and this time he went to Ping Anli in Beijing to report to authorities and distribute flyers there.
Rights activist Mr. Song commented, “He’s probably going to end up in jail again! With the meeting in Beijing and Shanghai cracking down on petitioners, it has become an unwritten rule of the government.”
Li Jiong is a resident of the demolition household in Yuyuan Street, Huangpu District, Shanghai. His private residence is located in a prime location, but the resettlement provided to him is far from ideal. His wife is a migrant daughter-in-law, and both of them receive low-income assistance. Their two children are in elementary and middle school, and their lives are extremely difficult due to the irregularity of their low-income assistance caused by petitioning.
Shanghai petitioner Yang Ping has been missing for several days. Her family issued a notice stating that Yang Ping, who was legally petitioning in Beijing on June 15th, suddenly lost contact with her family. Her phone is unreachable, and despite extensive efforts from her family, she remains missing. Cases have been reported in both Beijing and Shanghai. Yang Ping’s health is not good, and her family is especially worried about her safety, urging the public to pay attention to this matter.
Yang Ping’s family mentioned, “In light of the long-term misuse of stability measures by the Huangpu District of Shanghai on victims and the torture of detainees for the sake of false political achievements, the family believes that Yang Ping has been controlled by the Shanghai authorities.”
Yang Ping, a resident of the Old Ximen Street in Huangpu District, has been petitioning for 16 years due to the illegal forced relocation that remains unresolved. Starting this year, her livelihood assistance has been significantly reduced by the new leadership of the Old Ximen Street. Since March, she has petitioned to the National Petition Bureau in Beijing and sent letters to the new leadership of the street to address the issues. However, the new leadership did not actively coordinate to resolve the issues but instead used the suspension of all subsidies to coerce her back to Shanghai, ignoring the problems she raised.
Gaogendi is a petitioner from Huangpu District in Shanghai, whose legitimate rights have been severely violated and unfairly treated for a long time. Recently, she was forced to visit Beijing due to escalating pressures. After being intercepted and sent back to Shanghai by the stability maintenance personnel in Beijing, her phone was turned off, and she is currently missing.
On June 13th, Gaogendi was kidnapped by local stability maintenance personnel at Beijing Railway Station but managed to escape. However, on June 15th, she was intercepted and sent back to Shanghai.
Upon returning to No. 500 Fucun Road in Shanghai, Gaogendi called petitioner Madam Gong and said she did not want to leave with the police from Huangpu District and the relocation company. Instead, she reported to the police, expressing concerns for her safety. Subsequently, her phone has remained off, and contact with her has been impossible.
Gaogendi’s family reported to the police at No. 500 Fucun Road, where they were informed, “Gaogendi has been taken away by the local police from her household registration place.” Her family has made multiple trips between Pudong and downtown Shanghai to locate her. However, responses from relevant authorities have been contradictory and evasive.
A petitioner pointed out, “There were police escorting the train. On the return journey, petitioners lose their freedom. Who is in control? The real culprits dare not take responsibility. Every responsible unit shifts blame – what kind of logic is this, what kind of law is this?”
On June 13th, Shanghai petitioners Zhang Yanhong and Liu Wenyu from Jing’an District were brought back to Shanghai by local officials under the guise of discussing resolutions for the issues. They were directly taken to a controlled resort on Chongming Island. During the ordeal, the two refused to alight from the van and were stuck inside for over 7 hours. Liu Wenyu was physically assaulted by the interception personnel when she attempted to disembark and move her body.
Zhang Yanhong, in an attempt to protect the elderly Liu Wenyu, was also assaulted by the interception personnel, resulting in two of her lower front teeth being dislocated, three stitches on the lower right lip, swelling of the left cheekbone as large as a chicken egg, blurry vision with double images in the left eye, swelling and pain in the left side of the skull, leading her to be hospitalized.
On the fourth day of her hospitalization, new leadership representatives from Jing’an Group visited her in the hospital and claimed after reviewing her medical records and understanding the incident, they found no evidence of assault.
A reporter from Epoch Times contacted Zhang Yanhong to inquire about her situation. She said, “Government officials did tell me that there was no evidence of assault, so they are not taking responsibility. I have now stopped taking medication because I can’t afford the medical expenses.”
She added, “The place where we were beaten was relatively dark, with no surveillance cameras. There is no evidence to prove the assault. When we went to the police station to file a report, the police did not record what I said accurately. Additionally, my physical condition was deteriorating at the time, so we had to go to the hospital before completing the statement.”
Expressing outrage over Zhang Yanhong’s experience, other petitioners condemned the actions against Zhang Yanhong and Liu Wenyu, whose lawful and reasonable rights protection activities seemed to have threatened certain individuals. The responsibility units fail to solve the problems but instead target those who raise issues, displaying a blatant disregard for justice.