【Epoch Times August 29, 2024】Early retirement in mainland China may not always be reasonable or legal. Within the CCP system, some people retire early to avoid work and receive benefits without working, while others are forced into early retirement, replaced in managerial positions, and have their resumes altered, leading to the creation of bogus retirement approval forms.
“I have lost my freedom now, not even the freedom to defend my rights,” said Xu Chunxia, who was confined in a hotel near Beijing South Railway Station with plainclothes police officers and auxiliary police officers guarding to prevent her from going to the Beijing petition office.
Xu Chunxia was an education and training administrator at the Jinhu County Postal Sub-branch in Huai’an City. The reason she petitioned was that her unit forced her into early retirement. According to regulations, the retirement age for female workers varies by position, with managers retiring at 55 and non-managers at 50. Her managerial position was replaced by a Huai’an “model worker” with political connections who had a long history of not showing up to work and receiving benefits. This situation wasn’t isolated within the company.
“I am an outstanding postal education and training instructor in the province, and a pioneer in postal human resources in the city. I have a total of 32 pieces of evidence, including dozens of official documents, that prove my work in this position,” Xu Chunxia said. “Female workers in managerial positions enjoy retirement at 55, with a retirement pay three to four thousand more than that of workers.”
Xu Chunxia joined the post and telecommunications bureau in 1991 after leaving the service. Her resume shows: from March 1991 to 1997, she was a typist, a statistician in 1997-1998, a clerk from 1998 to 2012, and worked as an education and training administrator from 2012 to 2020. Education management involved enhancing staff qualifications, on-the-job training, new business training, distance training, and periodic training for staff.
In 2019, Xu Chunxia received a retirement approval form and found that her work history didn’t match, stating she worked in a production department without her signature, yet still was forced into retirement. Six people were retired that year, and while five of them received retirement approval forms, Xu Chunxia didn’t, feeling that as a longtime employee, even her right to be informed was stripped from her.
Early retirement refers to retiring before reaching the designated age set by the state or company. On January 28, 2020, her unit informed her that the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security would issue her retirement pay the following month. She was told no signature was needed; retirement would proceed if requirements were met.
Xu Chunxia visited the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security, believing they failed to stop the local unit’s irregularities and jointly participated in fabricating and falsifying the retirement approval form review process.
In March 2020, Xu Chunxia managed to obtain her retirement approval form and discovered that her resume and position had been altered, presenting a completely different version. “It was changed into a sales position that I had never done. I was engaged in education and training management, but deliberately replaced by Zhao, a Huai’an model worker in sales who had a history of not showing up for work,” she said.
Xu Chunxia believed that because of her diligence and honesty, she was chosen by the unit as a replacement. They forced her into retirement, then gave her benefits to their affiliates. None of the managerial positions were meant for ordinary citizens. Without connections at home, only by working could one never enjoy such treatment.
Xu Chunxia believed her evidence was comprehensive, so she kept going to the Beijing Department of Human Resources for registration. The Department entered the case into the system several times to be handled by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security but didn’t follow up; the problem remained unresolved after six years.
In March 1999, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security issued a document stating a firm stance to “resolutely stop and rectify the unauthorized early retirement of enterprise employees.” In June 2024, the Ministry reiterated that enterprises violating national regulations on early retirement must hold the relevant leaders and individuals accountable, and employees who had been retired early must return to the enterprise.
Xu Chunxia claimed her demand was in line with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security’s method in 1999, seeking accountability for the leaders and individuals concerned. She wanted to return to work at the unit. According to Article 8 of the Insurance Law, she demanded the return of the social insurance money fraudulently collected.
On August 5, 2024, Xu Chunxia visited the National Petition Office in Beijing and was received for discussion. On August 8, in broad daylight at the Muxiyuan subway station in Beijing, Xu Chunxia was intercepted and taken away by six local plainclothes police officers from Jinhu. She was pushed into a local police van and directly sent to the detention center in Huai’an, Jiangsu, detained for seven days.
“During those seven days, the local police interrogated me twice, coercing me for information on what I reported to the Discipline Inspection Commission and related opinions,” she said.
Upon release, Xu Chunxia returned to the National Petition Office to provide feedback. On August 19, she took a high-speed train to Beijing South Station; after she exited the train after 10 p.m., two police officers from the local station detained her under the guise of checking her identification and handed her over to the local office. As of the article’s publication, the police were still watching her in the hotel.
Xu Chunxia told reporters that without connections, it is difficult to defend one’s rights. Each level of her feedback faced excuses and avoidance, along with various retaliatory measures and persecution by the local government, continuously pressuring her, detaining her, and confining her. This was beyond her expectations.
“It is not just about money,” she said. The reprisals from the local government, including round-the-clock surveillance, followed wherever she went. During sensitive meeting periods, she was locked in a hotel, with six people watching her daily, including two police officers, two auxiliary police officers, and two community workers. She could only be released when the meeting ended and the control phase was over.
In June 2024, Chen Hongmin, Deputy Director of the Jinhu Public Security Bureau, warned through WeChat that Xu could face criminal detention if she registers for petitioning.
In 2019, the Jinhu Post Office found a job for a disabled person who was a relative of a leader. Xu Chunxia also had a disabled child who had been temporary staff at the post office for six years. “Before and after my pregnancy, I did lead typing and ink work with excessive lead mercury, causing my child to be abnormally short. They refuse to acknowledge lead poisoning.”
Xu Chunxia had petitioned before for her son’s issues. In March 2021, the Jinhu County Committee decided to employ Xu Chunxia’s son at the Disabled Persons’ Federation through an exam. With the child’s employment settled, Xu Chunxia promised to handle her retirement procedures. However, the petition office overturned this decision, and her child lost his permanent job status and became a temporary worker again. Xu Chunxia believed this was retribution.
Xu Chunxia stated that the Jinhu Postal Service was disordered, severely corrupt, and despite the significant mistakes made by favored individuals, the provincial company would issue documents to retain and promote them. Nepotism was rampant, making it challenging for ordinary individuals to access their circles.
“I am currently unable to see my child in the hotel. I am the only guardian at home, but due to long-term oppression and mental harassment, my husband and child have depression. They resolve issues by first silencing those who speak up. They’ve always operated this way to control and track millions of petitioners.”
“They prevent you from petitioning because it affects their performance evaluation. So you’re stuck in the hotel, where they’d rather spend money to provide food and accommodation but deprive you of your freedom.”
Reporters called the Jinhu Postal Branch Office for details on early retirement, among other issues, but the person who answered claimed to be unsure, as the leader was unavailable.