The 20th Third Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party is scheduled to be held in Beijing in July. In recent times, several Shanghai petitioners visiting Beijing have been intercepted. Some of them have been taken to a resort on the outskirts and detained.
On June 13th, Shanghai petitioners Zhang Yanhong and Liu Wenyu from Jing’an District were brought back by local officials after registering twice at the State Council Letters and Visits Office in Beijing within a week, under the pretext of discussing problem resolution. They were then directly sent to a resort on Chongming Island for control. The two refused to get off the vehicle and were stranded in the van for over 7 hours. Liu Wenyu, who suffers from severe anemia, pulmonary embolism, heart problems, and osteoporosis, was physically assaulted by the intercepting personnel when she tried to move her limbs upon getting off the vehicle.
In a bid to protect the seventy-year-old Liu Wenyu, Zhang Yanhong herself was hit, causing two front teeth to be knocked out of alignment, receiving three stitches under her right lip, swelling the left cheekbone to the size of an egg, experiencing blurry vision and double images in the left eye, and feeling pain in the left side of the skull. Although doctors provided an admission card, the intercepting personnel refused to process the hospital admission formalities and were unwilling to cover the related expenses.
When contacted by a reporter from Dajiyuan, Zhang Yanhong mentioned that both she and Liu Wenyu were giving statements at the police station, and she anticipated being sent to the resort after completing the paperwork. She explained, “The dentist said I need dental implants for the two missing teeth. My mouth was stitched with three needles, and I still feel dizzy now, with double vision when looking at people. The assailants were sent by the demolition and relocation authorities, who refuse to cover medical expenses.”
A shocking incident occurred on June 13th at Beijing Railway Station when Gaogen Di, a petitioner from Huangpu District in Shanghai, was surrounded by Huangpu District interceptors upon her arrival in Beijing, attempting to prevent her from petitioning. Gaogen Di shared on WeChat, “I narrowly escaped a crisis thanks to the brave intervention of passengers and rights defenders at the station.”
Regarding Gaogen Di’s ordeal, Shanghai rights defender Song Jiahong expressed, “Based on on-site videos, the interceptors are likely infiltrated by illegal entities involved in demolitions. Their aggressive demeanor seems predatory, far from fulfilling administrative duties.”
He added, “This occurred in a public space at Beijing Railway Station. The interceptors violated the Letters and Visits Work Regulations, and their unauthorized actions infringed on the Constitution. In the Party Charter, the Party leads everything, but here at Beijing Railway Station, it’s a ‘blank space.’ Isn’t that strange? With China facing financial difficulties, some regions struggle to pay wages, yet Huangpu District spends public funds on such a large show of force. Stability maintenance is not a panacea.”
On June 12th, Li Xuemei from Gaojing Town, Baoshan District, Shanghai, was again intercepted by local officials in Beijing. She shared on WeChat, “If anything happens to me, it will be the Baoshan Gaojing Town government abusing its public power to silence innocent voices.” Currently, there is no further information on Li Xuemei’s situation.
Li Xuemei was a victim of forced demolition by the Baoshan District government. In her pursuit of rights protection, she faced surveillance, abduction, hooding, detention in black jails, administrative detention, criminal detention, and sentencing, among various brutal tactics employed by the authorities.