Rights defenders in China who seek justice often find themselves denied access to Beijing’s state petition office, facing interception, beating, and even forced institutionalization in mental hospitals. Such cases of persecution, in today’s China, are sadly not uncommon, sparking outrage among overseas Chinese communities.
On the afternoon of Sunday, the 15th, the United Headquarters of China Democracy Party in Los Angeles organized a rally in front of the Chinese consulate to expose and protest against the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of petitioners’ human rights. Dozens of Chinese participants held banners and signs, some bearing a large character “訪” (meaning petition), depicted with images of male patients in Chinese mental hospitals being bound to beds. According to the organizers, this was a true portrayal of the dire situation faced by petitioners seeking justice in China.
“I have personally experienced the difficulties of petitioning for rights,” said protester Huang Shixiang from Guangdong. He expressed deep disgust towards the CCP’s persecution of petitioners, claiming that their professed freedom of speech and human rights are all fake, and that the legal system serves the one-party dictatorship in a highly corrupt manner.
Huang Shixiang believes that Chinese people are a patient nation, saying, “If they were not pushed to this extent, no one would go through the hardships of petitioning.”
The CCP’s spending on maintaining stability has been increasing annually, with the budget for “public security” surpassing 200 billion yuan in 2023, reflecting the escalation of social issues and conflicts to a boiling point.
“All these expenses are for creating a ‘harmonious society,’ silencing us,” Huang Shixiang stated.
In contrast to the excessive stability maintenance costs, incidents of indiscriminate killings for venting rage, such as the “Xianzhong” events, have been occurring frequently all around. Protester Wang Chenlong stated that the government should encourage people to petition, as petitioners are exercising their rights legally; however, authorities prohibit defending rights. “Are they pushing people to ‘vent rage’ instead?”
“People have no way to voice their concerns, so many turn to the basic method of petitioning to seek redress from the government. Unfortunately, even a slight misstep can lead to charges of ‘subverting state power’,” Wang Chenlong pointed out the absurdity.
During the rally, a recording of petitioner Jiang Jiawen from Dandong, Liaoning, recounting his experiences of persecution, was played.
Jiang, who has been petitioning for 23 years, has endured 5 re-education through labor sentences, 1 imprisonment conviction, nearly 40 administrative detentions, and various tortures. He now suffers from coronary heart disease, hypertension, lumbar disc herniation, and blurred vision.
Reflecting on his ordeal, Jiang mentioned that after the CCP abolished the re-education through labor system, they resorted to different forms of persecution, resulting in his frequent and prolonged detentions under criminal charges. He shared details of being drugged, experiencing skyrocketing blood pressure, sleep deprivation, and relentless interrogations during his detention in Beijing.
“These 23 years were worse than death! Sometimes I truly wanted to commit suicide,” Jiang admitted of his five attempted hunger strikes, each thwarted by rescue efforts.
“Defending rights in China is an extremely tough ordeal, as their stability policy boils down to one word – violence,” Jiang stated, adding that most rights defenders he knew either died in prison or hospitals due to violent persecution.
The rally organizer and Vice Chairman of the United Headquarters of China Democracy Party, Jie Lijian, who was once a petitioner, shared his harrowing experience of being institutionalized in a mental hospital where he endured electric shocks, beatings, and forced medication. He recounted how imprisoned petitioners are labeled as political dissidents, troublemakers, and harshly mistreated by the CCP.
Jie Lijian explained how under the “big data” stability system, there are no hotels willing to accommodate petitioners, forcing them to stay in underground tunnels near the petition office at night. Moreover, local governments are informed by the Beijing petition office to pick up the petitioners, operating on a corrupt system for personal gains, forming a mutual benefit arrangement.
“We need to tell the world that under the CCP’s system, the moment you dare to speak out about injustices you face, you are already considered by the CCP to be ‘walking the path of crime’,” Jie Lijian expressed sorrowfully. He shared the heartbreaking story of his mother, who went missing for 32 years after petitioning for rights, emphasizing the lack of justice for his family and the perpetual suppression faced by ordinary citizens without any avenue for reasoning in the current political climate of China.