On December 1st, many petitioners in Chongqing went to the Social Work Department of the Chongqing Municipal Committee in Liangjiang New Area to petition. They were asked by police from the Dazhulin Police Station to put their materials into their bags or have them confiscated. Petitioner Liu Chuanwei made several calls to report this, but police tried to take him away on the grounds of wasting police resources by making too many calls. However, with the intervention of other petitioners and citizens, the police eventually released him.
In the morning of December 1st, petitioner Liu Chuanwei and other petitioners were holding petition materials on the lawn opposite the Social Work Department, waiting to address their issues. Around noon, police from the Dazhulin Police Station and auxiliary police arrived to stop them, instructing the petitioners to put their materials in their bags or face confiscation. The police claimed that the petitioners holding materials affected the city’s image as nearby office workers would pass by during lunchtime.
As the petitioners found the police’s demands unreasonable, Liu Chuanwei called the emergency number 110 to report the situation. According to a veteran and petitioner Ju Xiaolin, after many calls from Liu Chuanwei, the police finally arrived. Three police officers from the Dazhulin Police Station then abruptly took Liu Chuanwei away, forcefully dragging him towards a police car. One officer pushed him into the car, but his head stubbornly remained outside. Another officer then vigorously pushed his head into the car.
Ju Xiaolin mentioned that he tried to push Liu Chuanwei’s head back out from the other side of the car door but to little avail, as the police quickly closed the door with his head inside. Ju Xiaolin and other petitioners, including Ran Chongbi, shouted and blocked the police car, risking being run over. Ran Chongbi firmly held an elderly lady’s hand and stood in front of the police car with others, demanding the release of Liu Chuanwei.
In the video footage of the incident, five or six other citizens stood by the police car, with over twenty citizens scattered around, preventing the car from moving. They chanted, “The police car cannot leave.” Ju Xiaolin added, “The reason the police arrested Liu Chuanwei was that he made 50 calls to the emergency number, allegedly wasting police resources. However, in accordance with police regulations, the police from the city center should have arrived within 10 minutes of the first call. Why did it take 50 calls for you to show up? It’s a dereliction of duty not to respond promptly during working hours, which is a violation on your part.”
The standoff continued until around 1 pm, when everyone present demanded the release of Liu Chuanwei. They declared, “If he is not released, we will not eat lunch or dinner and will stay here indefinitely.” Citizens nearby also continuously cheered in support. Ran Chongbi stated, “If the police make a mistake and release him now, we will not leave. If they don’t release him, then they should just arrest all of us!”
After nearly two hours of resistance, the Director Ding from the Social Work Department arrived at the scene, prompting the police to open the car door and release Liu Chuanwei. Ju Xiaolin concluded, “This victory was achieved through the unity and perseverance of everyone present!”