The 4th Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is scheduled to be held from July 15th to 18th, and Beijing is currently under high alert. According to online sources, checkpoints on highways leading to Beijing have been closed. Visiting petitioners have been taken to Jiujingzhuang in large buses, which has become a “check-in hotspot” for petitioners.
Recently, some people driving on highways towards Beijing found themselves unable to return after exiting for refueling at checkpoints. The reason is that vehicles are not allowed to enter the checkpoints on the highway leading to Beijing. Comments from netizens express confusion over why roads to Beijing are being sealed off.
A petitioner mentioned that the scrutiny of ID cards when entering Beijing from Yanjiao has become stricter. It is emphasized that everyone should pay attention to their safety.
On June 30th, petitioners waiting in line at the National Bureau of Letters and Calls shared a video showing that the authorities dispatched nine large buses late in the evening to transport all petitioners who had been queuing overnight to Jiujingzhuang.
During that night, petitioners Li Zhongying and Jiang Bangquan from Huzhu Village, Babaqiao Town, Dadukou District in Chongqing, called their petitioner friends saying they had been taken to Jiujingzhuang and were in the fourth bus.
Shanghai petitioners Zhou Guoxu and Liang Xiuying, who were sent to the Beijing liaison office by Huangpu District interceptors on June 21, were returned. After being sent back on June 22, Zhou Guoxu was detained for stabilization in Fengxian Black Jail by Xidongmen Street; Liang Xiuying was taken to Baoling Hotel on Changxing Island by the police from Laoximen.
An activist from Shanghai introduced, “Zhou Guoxu, nearly 70 years old, is a solitary elderly person who went to petition because of uncompensated demolition. Liang Xiuying, over 60 years old, pushed a wheelchair to Beijing due to a leg ailment, protesting against the wrongful six-month sentence of her daughter. With the upcoming Plenary Session, without the rule of law, modernization remains an empty promise.”
On June 18th, an octogenarian rights activist, Wu Shihao from Hongkou District in Shanghai, went missing after being sent back from Beijing to Shanghai. Petitioners are concerned that he may have been illegally detained or abducted.
Ms. Huang, a retired teacher from Guizhou Nationalities University, remarked, “At 5:30 pm on June 30th, the iron gate on the ground floor of my house was reinforced by security personnel, fearing that I would escape. Five people on the third floor keep a constant watch on me day and night, afraid they might lose track of me!”
She expressed, “(Petitioners) hope that those who create problems will solve them. Instead, they are falsely accused and imprisoned for merely seeking justice. This forces all the wronged and kind-hearted individuals into the role of Zhang Koukou, Yang Jia, and Huo Wenchang!”
On June 28th, a petitioner from Chongqing, Guo Xingmei, remains in custody at Shapingba District Detention Center in Chongqing for attending a gathering celebrating the inauguration of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on May 20, detained by the Chongqing police on suspicion of “provoking trouble.”
Some petitioners stated, “In a democratic country, there should be no political prisoners. In today’s China, countless political prisoners are being detained without justification, which is a disgraceful matter!”
On June 20th, thugs led by street officials attempted to abduct petitioner Yu Yuli in the residential area of Huangpu District. She managed to escape and return home. Currently, four people are stationed at her doorstep. Yu Yuli mentioned she has ill family members at home, but the authorities show no concern for their well-being. She hopes the public will expose this incident and pay attention to her safety.