In mid to late January, numerous provinces across the country held their respective annual meetings, during which petitioners faced varying degrees of obstruction when submitting their appeals to local authorities. Some were blocked from leaving their homes, some were taken away at government entrances, some were detained on charges of “provocation,” and others were even sent to mental hospitals.
During the meeting in Fujian Province on January 16, many petitioners from Fuqing City went to the provincial petition office in Fuzhou to submit their materials. Petitioner Lin Houqin and two others were intercepted by local police at a bus station in Fuqing as they were preparing to travel to Fuzhou for their petition and were taken to the Longtian Police Station until released in the evening. According to detained petitioners, Lin Houqin was sent to a mental hospital.
Attempts to reach Lin Houqin by phone went unanswered for an extended period.
According to petitioner Xiaofang, “Because of the provincial meeting, many petitioners were arrested in the past two days. Some were confined to their homes, some were intercepted on the way, and some were grabbed at the Pingshan Metro or bus station in Fuzhou. Some places even boldly arrested people at the provincial petition office, preventing them from registering their materials.”
In Shanghai during the meeting, the city government set up booths for receiving complaints. On January 15, petitioners Yan Xiuying and Yang Lamei went to the city government to deliver grievances, but were falsely accused by police from the Xujiahui Police Station (badge number 023383) of “distributing leaflets” and convicted of “provocation” and detained in the Xuhui Detention Center.
Petitioner Xiao Li revealed, “Family members asked to see evidence, but the police station leader said, ‘You can’t see the evidence, you can seek state compensation, appeal, or petition anywhere.’ They then used the pretext of ‘provocation’ to do all sorts of unspeakable things.”
On the same day, petitioner Sun Qiaozhen from Minhang District also went missing after delivering her grievances.
Yan Xiuying’s sister, Yan Lanying, wrote an open letter to the Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee seeking justice for her sister. In the letter, she expressed distress over the detention of Yan Xiuying, who was sent to a rescue station at 500 Fucun Road and then transferred to Xujiahui Police Station on unfounded charges.
Yan Lanying explained, “On January 15, Yan Xiuying went to the city government to deliver a complaint without making any inappropriate remarks or unlawful actions, yet she was forcibly taken to the rescue station at Fucun Road and later to the Xujiahui Police Station. She was not questioned during her time at the police station until after 4 p.m., when she was finally allowed to return home.”
Yan Lanying recounted that, after Yan Xiuying had not returned home, she was notified by the neighborhood committee that the director of the Xujiahui police station wanted to speak with her. “She returned to the police station and was told, ‘We are not going to detain you, it’s the Xuhui square police station that wants to detain you.'”
She added, “Upon calling for help on the internet and appealing to the municipal party secretary, the police asked Yan Xiuying whether she distributed leaflets somewhere. They then presented a blank admonition letter from 2024, although Yan Xiuying had never been to the city government in 2024, which could be verified by the street petition office. She was eventually sent to the detention center on charges of ‘provocation,’ with the police station director never appearing throughout the process.”
Yan Xiuying, who is nearly eighty years old, why was she sent to jail by the Xujiahui Police Station? Yan Lanying pointed out, “In the past two years, petitioners who were arrested during the meeting were often told that the place (where grievances are received during the meeting) was not for petitions. In reality, the common people did not consider it a place for petitioning but rather held hope for the meeting, sending a letter of grievances to maintain a glimmer of hope. Why did the meeting booth at Yaohua Road turn into a trap leading people to jail? Is this another form of bait?”
With the new year approaching, Yan Lanying requested in her letter for the Municipal Party Secretary to pay attention to Yan Xiuying’s case, to lawfully investigate whether this elderly woman has committed any crimes. If there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, she urged for Yan Xiuying to be promptly released and reunited with her family.