The Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party concluded on October 23, but there are still Shanghai petitioners being detained in black jails, and some petitioners have recently been sent to black jails or gone missing after being taken away by the police.
Shanghai petitioner Cui Qun from Hongkou District stood in line overnight at the National Letters and Calls Office on October 22 and was taken by bus to Jiujingzhuang that night. She was then transferred to the Beijing Liaison Office and sent back the next day. Upon returning to Shanghai on October 23 at 4:50 pm, she was taken by district government and street office officials to the Jiaxing Police Station for questioning, after which she lost contact.
According to information provided by Shanghai petitioner Wan Wenying, on October 23, Cui Qun messaged her saying that the street office was discussing whether to detain her and asking her to write a guarantee letter. By nightfall, Cui Qun did not respond to messages, indicating that she had gone missing.
Cui Qun is a rights activist from Jiaxing Street, Hongkou District, Shanghai. Her house was illegally expropriated, and she did not receive fair and just compensation. Her legitimate resettlement rights were also deprived of. Due to her petitioning for rights, she has been illegally detained 12 times, totaling 295 days, and has been held in black jails where she was injured and disabled by beatings.
Cui Qun’s sister, Cui Hong, also posted a message in rights activist groups urging all petitioner friends to urgently pay attention to Cui Qun’s personal safety.
According to Song Jiahong, a spokesperson for the Shanghai black jail, on the evening of October 23 at 7:47 pm, Cui Qun contacted him and explained the situation. She is now being held in a black jail, but the specific location is unclear.
Song Jiahong said, “On October 23, Cui Qun was taken by the district and street Letters and Calls personnel to the Jiaxing Police Station for questioning, which is an illegal act as these statements are designed for suspects of illegal activities. Xie, a Letters and Calls official from Jiaxing Street, told Cui Qun, ‘The leaders have approved detaining you as long as you promise not to petition in Beijing.’ Cui Qun firmly refused, saying it is her right to go wherever she chooses.”
He added, “The Chinese Communist Party repeatedly detains petitioners in black jails after holding its Fourth Plenary Session, carelessly wasting taxpayers’ money, contradicting the claim of being ‘people-centered,’ with no progress whatsoever.”
Shanghai petitioner Yu Zhonghuan also remarked, “The Letters and Calls department holds the trump card of black jails, not only being able to arbitrarily retaliate against and target petitioners but also profiting extensively.”
On October 16 at 1:55 pm, Shanghai petitioner Li Qin from Qingpu District was intercepted and violently abducted by Min Hang and other personnel from Jinze Town, Qingpu District, near the Beilangzhong Flour Factory in Shunyi District, Beijing.
During the abduction, Li Qin sent out a distress signal to her child via mobile phone, which was later seized, and she has been missing since.
Petitioners issued an urgent plea across the internet for Li Qin, requesting the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security to swiftly investigate and severely punish the street office personnel, including Min Hang, who carried out the abduction, safeguard citizens’ basic rights, restore Li Qin’s freedom, and help her reconnect with her family.