Citizens' Square

The open letter (in Chinese) says that on September 19, Liu Ping (刘萍) and Wei Zhongping (魏忠平), rights defenders and independent candidates for the People’s Congress in Xinyu, Jiangxi, were detained, strip-searched, verbally abused, and beaten by the local police in an 11-hour-long ordeal. The police did not provide any legal basis for their actions.

This open call (Chinese only) protests the prosecution of Chen Pingfu (陈平福) and calls for people to add their names in support for his case. Chen is a former teacher who was tried for "inciting subversion of state power" on September 4, 2012. The prosecution's charges were based on articles that Chen had posted online about his personal ordeals. The letter alludes to the persecution of speech in the Anti-rightist Campaign and the Cultural Revolution, and asks, "In the Internet Era and with the use of technology and newsmedia so prevalent in China, what image does China present to the world if posting or reposting articles can be suspected as a crime? It again opens an era of wide-spread political persecution!"

This article (Chinese only) describes how on August 20, 2012, more than 50 petitioners rushed the office building for the Tianjin Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection of Communist Party. The petitioners had requested to meet with the commission heads so they could discuss how to resolve their problems. They waited for over two hours, yet no one came to meet them; eventually, they charged into the building. All of the petitioners had sought justice from relevant government departments previously, all without any resolution. Their complaints included forced evictions, housing disputes, and medical malpractice. Dozens of policemen were called to stop the petitioners.

The Reeducation-Through-Labor (RTL) system allows authorities to order minor offenders to labor camp for up to four years without trial and has been increasingly criticized in recent years. On August 14, 2012, ten lawyers including prominent rights defense lawyer Li Fangping (李方平) sent a proposal (Chinese only) to the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Public Security demanding reform of the RTL system.

Increasingly concerned that he will be arrested, the Wuhan activist releases a statement, dated July 5, 2012, saying that he will not commit suicide and that he and his wife Wang Xifeng have retained two lawyers. Since May 2012 when Qin and Wang performed their marriage ceremony, the authorities have continued to refuse to issue a marriage certificate to the couple. Recently, they were harassed at their home by police. 

Wuhan dissident Qin Yongmin (秦永敏) and Wang Xifeng (王喜凤) were married in May 2012. However, authorities have persisted in refusing to issue a marriage certificate to the couple. In this article (Chinese only), Qin and Wang explain how they have had to terminate their pregnancy in order to avoid being accused of violating official family planning policy.

The 16 members of the Defenders of Lin Zhao’s Legacy have been announced as the recipients of the Fifth annual Promoting Progress in China Award from the Australia-based Qi’s Cultural Foundation. In their nomination for the Defenders of Lin Zhao’s Legacy, Hu Jie (胡杰), Ai Xiaoming (艾晓明), and Ai Weiwei (艾未未) write, “The Defenders of Lin Zhao’s Legacy have meticulously worked to preserve the legacy and spirit of Lin Zhao and her life over the past 30 years through thick and thin, allowing a strong voice criticizing China's authoritarian regime to be able to passed on to the people....”

[Black Jails]Four Shanghainese petitioners were intercepted by authorities on July 20, 2012 as they attempted to go to Beidaihe District, Hebei Province for a weekend trip. The four were detained and forcibly returned to Shanghai. Li Yufang (李玉芳) writes of two of the petitioners' experiences upon returning—she was locked in a black jail, and Wang Kouma (王扣玛) was questioned by the police, became ill and had to be rushed to the hospital, and as of July 31, 2012 was under 24-hour surveillance in his home.

Ye Jinghuan (野靖环), a representative from a group of independent candidates for the local people's congress, writes in this essay (Chinese only) of how she, the independent candidates, and a group of villagers went to the Guangqumen Bridge area of Beijing to mourn the victims of the July 21, 2012 flood. Why, the mourners asked, does the government always undertake rescue efforts rather than disaster prevention measures in the first place? "This is because rescue work garners attention and acclaim, while disaster prevention does not," responds Ye.

Beijing-based disabled rights defender Ni Yulan (倪玉兰) was twice imprisoned for fighting against forced eviction. In April 2012, both she and her husband, Dong Jiqin (董继勤), were convicted of “picking quarrels and provoking troubles.” Ni was also convicted of “fraud” and was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 1,000 yuan ($159). Her husband was sentenced to two years in prison. The couple appealed but the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court has, to date, not issued a ruling.

[Shang Zhaoshu] Shang, a paraplegic since childhood as a result of a reaction to a vaccine, is a petitioner in Hegang City of Heilongjiang Province. Because of his petitioning activities, he was made to spend a year in Reeducation-Through-Labor and another year in detention. In June 2012, while petitioning, he was detained and sent to a psychiatric hospital. A sympathetic person from the hospital sent out a message that Shang recently went on hunger strike in protest and is “close to death.” This person appeals for public attention.