Abuses against Petitioners Contradict Message of ‘Openness’ at Annual Session of China’s Legislature
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(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, March 18, 2009) – Systematic persecution of petitioners has become an annual feature of the joint session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National People’s Political Consultative Conference (NPPCC). During this year’s sessions, which concluded last week, petitioners were once again intercepted, beaten, held in illegal and secret “black jails”, subjected to residential surveillance, harassed, and otherwise prevented from travelling to Beijing to lodge complaints against local authorities. Some remain in police custody or “missing”, including Feng Zhenghu (冯正虎), the Shanghai-based activist and legal advisor.
While the severity of human rights abuses directed at petitioners has not changed significantly from years past, this year CHRD observed a number of new trends in the actions of petitioners and those seeking to prevent their voices from being heard.
1. Interceptors were more proactive in taking preemptive measures to prevent petitioners from leaving their homes. Individuals who local governments believed might travel to the capital were threatened in the days before this year’s NPC and NPPCC session, monitored, put under residential surveillance or sent to “black jails”. Sometimes, these individuals did not demonstrate any intention to petition, but were nevertheless whisked off by interceptors while walking on the street or dining at a friend’s home. Railway stations and other waypoints on the road to Beijing were heavily patrolled and petitioners were often intercepted as they attempted to board trains or buses. (See Harassment and Detention of Petitioners Seeking to Travel to Beijing)
2. There were fewer veteran petitioners in Beijing this year. Most, well-known to local governments, were put under residential surveillance or sent to black jails in their hometowns. Others were forcibly returned to their hometowns before the Olympics, and have since been under tight residential surveillance or held in Re-education through Labor (RTL) camps. However, CHRD also learned that, under pressure from media and human rights organizations, local governments have begun promising to resolve the complaints of a number of veteran petitioners and thus eliminated the need for them to travel to Beijing.
3. Interceptors stayed away from the interiors of Letters and Visits offices, for fear that their interceptions might be filmed by CCTV cameras in the offices. It is believed Letters and Visits authorities, pressured by heightened media attention towards interception violence since early 2008, ordered interceptors to not seize petitioners in front of the Letters and Visits buildings. Interceptions, however, continued away from the offices as Beijing police looked on.
4. Petitioners have become less fearful of persecution and have become bolder in drawing public attention to their plight. Wuhan petitioner Xia Hanqiao (夏汉桥), sent copies of his petition letters flying at a busy street in central Beijing on March 5. In a desperate attempt, four elderly Shanghai petitioners (Guo Longying [郭龙英], Gong Yulun [龚玉伦], Xia Guotian [夏国田] and Wei Huiju [韦慧菊]) were about to set themselves on fire in protest at Tiananmen Square, when they were quickly apprehended by Beijing police. (For details on these cases, see Abuse, Detention, and Forced Return of Petitioners in Beijing)
5. There have been a few incidents that turned violent when petitioners collectively resisted interceptors. On March 3, some 20 to 30 petitioners, including elderly men and women, beat and drove off ten interceptors when the latter attacked and attempted to intercept two petitioners. On March 5, 6 and 7, CHRD received reports of petitioners destroying cars belonging to interceptors in Beijing. (See Incidences of Violence by Petitioners against Interceptors)
“Despite the fact that Premier Wen promised ‘better ways’ of dealing with social conflict in his work report, the persecution and harassment of petitioners has intensified”, said Renee Xia, CHRD’s International Director, “What we have observed during the NPC session is indicative of the increasing antagonism and unrest across the country between the underprivileged and the authorities at a time of economic downturn and massive layoffs of tens of millions of workers.”
Many petitioners continue to be detained or subjected to surveillance after the end of the NPC session. CHRD is particularly concerned about Feng Zhenghu (冯正虎), a human rights activist who provided legal advice to petitioners in Shanghai. Feng was intercepted in Beijing on February 15 and his whereabouts remain unknown. On March 12, police from the National Security Unit of Shanghai PSB went to Feng’s home and collected several changes of clothing. The police refused to answer family’s questions regarding Feng’s whereabouts or any other details of his detention.
We have included in the appendix a selection of cases reported by CHRD of the persecution of petitioners before, during, and after the joint sessions of the NPC and NPPCC, held this year from March 5-13 (NPC) and March 3-12 (NPPCC) in Beijing.
Background
There are an estimated 10 million petitioners across China. Officially, the Chinese government encourages petitions and has an extensive governmental bureaucracy to handle them. In practice, however, officials at all levels of government have a vested interest in preventing petitioners from speaking up about the mistreatment and injustices they have suffered. The Chinese government has developed a complex extra-legal system to intercept, confine, and punish petitioners in order to control and silence them, often employing brutal means such as assault, surveillance, harassment of family members, kidnapping, and incarceration in secret detention centers, psychiatric institutions and Re-education through Labor camps.
The joint sessions of the NPC and NPPCC, held annually in Beijing, are a flashpoint for abuse and persecution of petitioners. Believing that the influx of potentially sympathetic representatives and the increased media presence increase the chances that their cases may finally be heard, petitioners travel to Beijing in record numbers.
For more information, please see CHRD’s report on the interception of petitioners, Silencing Complaints: Human Rights Abuses Against Petitioners in China, March 14, 2008, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class9/Class11/200803/20080314221750_8056.html
Media contacts
Renee Xia, International Director (English and Mandarin): +852 8191 6937
Wang Songlian, Research Coordinator and English Editor (English, Mandarin and Cantonese): +852 8191 1660
Appendix
Harassment and Detention of Petitioners Seeking to Travel to Beijing
1. On March 2, Hu Guohong (胡国红) and his wife Cheng Xue (程雪) were beaten and kidnapped off the street in Wuhan City, Hubei Province by a number of local cadres. The pair was first taken to Qiaotou Hotel, a nearby black jail. Hu was beaten by several interceptors and then taken to a psychiatric hospital. Hu was previously detained in a psychiatric institution for more than two months, beginning in July 2008. Hu and Cheng have been petitioning in search of compensation and justice since 1989, when Hu was hospitalized for one month after his boss at Wuhan’s Jiangan Automobile Factory struck him in the head with a steel pipe during a dispute about wages. (CRLW)[i]
On March 4, Cheng was taken to Jiangan District Party School for “law education classes,” a kind of black jail. She continued her hunger strike, which she had begun as soon as she and Hu were detained, and was released on March 5 after coughing up blood. She was taken to No. 8 Hospital in Wuhan for treatment and then released, though she remained under surveillance at her home during the duration of the “Two Meetings” and was not allowed to leave. (CRLW)[ii]
2. According to Wang Xiaowen (王小文), a veteran soldier from Linyi County, Shanxi Province, hundreds of Shanxi Province veterans prepared for a trip to petition in Beijing, but found themselves prevented from boarding trains at the Linfen City train station on various dates leading up to the “Two Meetings”. The veterans have been active in the past, making four trips to Beijing in 2008 to petition about their treatment after they retired from active service. (CRLW)[iii]
3. On February 28, petitioner Gao Xin (高新), from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, was taken away by interceptors while dining with a friend and fellow activist in Wuchang City, Hubei Province. On March 2, Hu Deyu (胡德宇), another Wuhan petitioner, was also apprehended by local officials and police officers from Jianghan District in Wuhan. Both Gao and Hu are currently being held at a black jail-Jianghan District Baiquan Law Education Class. The two have been petitioning about expropriation of their properties by local developers and the government. (CRLW)[iv]
4. On March 4, Wuhan petitioner Huang Decai (黄德采) was intercepted en route to Beijing by six officers of the National Security Unit under the Wuhan PSB, and was placed under close surveillance in Wuhan. His ID card was confiscated by government workers and not returned. (CRLW)[v]
5. On March 5, Cui Fufang (崔福芳), a Shanghai petitioner because of forced demolition, was intercepted on the way to Beijing where she planned to petition during the Two Meetings. On March 6, Cui was forcibly sent back to Shanghai. Cui was first sent to Zhoujiadu Police Station under Pudong PSB, then held at No. 2317 Chuanshayichen Hotel, Pudong. Cui, who developed a fever on March 6, was refused access to medical treatment by her guards, and was slapped when she protested her treatment. Cui later learned that her 79-year-old mother was also detained to prevent her from petitioning. (CHRD)[vi]
6. According to Shanghai petitioners Cui Fufang and Zhu Yali (朱雅莉), who maintains good contact with other petitioners in the metropolis, about 1,000 petitioners, who are on the Shanghai government’s watch-list, were warned against petitioning by the authorities in advance of the Two Meetings. However, some petitioners defied the warning. An estimated of 600 Shanghai petitioners were either put under residential surveillance or sent to black jails while thirty were administratively detained to prevent them from petitioning. (CHRD)[vii]
7. Suizhou City, Hubei Province petitioner Wang Hanwu (王汉武) was stopped at the Xinyang City, Henan train station en route to Beijing and forcibly returned to Suizhou on March 6. (CRLW)[viii]
8. On March 12, Ma Yalian (马亚莲), a Shanghai petitioner vocal about human rights abuses directed against fellow petitioners, was administratively detained for five days by Shanghai Police to prevent her from travelling to Beijing to petition during the Two Meetings. (CHRD)[ix]
9. On March 11, Li Yuzhen (李玉珍), a petitioner from Muling City, Heilongjiang Province was barred by Muling City police from leaving Harbin Women’s RTL Camp after having completed her one-year term at the camp. Muling City police threatened that if Li did not want to be sent back to the camp, she would have to go with them. Li was finally allowed to leave after she signed a guarantee that she would not petition during the “Two Meetings.” In March 2008, Li was sent to one year of RTL for repeatedly petitioning about the death of her brother, whom she suspected died after torture while in police custody. (CHRD)[x]
10. Lu Ailuan (吕爱銮) and Yang Yuxiu (杨玉秀), two petitioners who were detained on February 22 while en route to petition in Beijing with a larger group on behalf of villagers from Xiaosanpan Village, Dongtou County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, remain detained in an unknown location. A third petitioner, Lin Bingchang (林炳长), who was detained along with the two, has been released but is still under surveillance. 1170 villagers from Xiaosanpan have signed a letter protesting the illegal detention of Lu and Yang and demanding their immediate release. The villagers have been petitioning about land appropriation by local government. (CRLW)[xi]
Abuse, Detention, and Forced Return of Petitioners in Beijing
11. On February 15, Feng Zhenghu (冯正虎) was kidnapped off the street in Beijing where he had traveled to meet with a lawyer, and on February 16 he was forcibly returned to Shanghai. Feng’s wife has not been given any official information about the status of her husband, though she reports that National Security officers who visited her home to pick up clothes for Feng on March 12 told her Feng “might have to wait a few more days” before being released. They would not specify where he was being held, or why.
It is believed that Feng’s prolonged detention is because of his work defending human rights. Feng, a dissident writer and human rights activist who was imprisoned between 2000 and 2003 for a commercial publication on Japanese companies in Shanghai, has been closely monitored and harassed by the authorities since January 2008, when he published “A Testimony to Shanghai’s Judicial Injustice” and sent copies of it to government officials. (CHRD)[xii]
12. On March 10, Qing Zhao (卿昭), a former teacher from Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, was intercepted in Beijing during the “Two Meetings” by Yongzhou interceptors. Qing was first held in an inn near Beijing South Station. On March 12, Qing was forcibly sent back to Yongzhou where he was held at a black jail. Qing was allowed to go home on March 14, but since then he has been constantly followed by a number of hired thugs. Qing started petitioning after he was left disabled following a beating by thugs, reportedly hired by the school cadres, whose corruption he exposed in 2003. (CHRD)[xiii]
13. On the evening of March 2, a group of 5 petitioners from Hunan Province, including Xie Fulin (谢福林) and Chen Zhuoyong (陈卓勇) were captured by police in Beijing and turned over to interceptors from the Beijing Liaison Office of Hunan Province, in whose offices they were detained. Interceptors told the group, “during the ‘Two Meetings’, it doesn’t matter if you are petitioning properly or improperly, both are equally forbidden. We will catch all of you send you back to your homes.”[xiv]
14. Beginning March 4, Liu Xinqun (刘新群) and other Wuhan petitioners (potentially as many as 4, though Liu could not be sure) were detained in their hotel, next door to the Beijing South Train Station Long-distance Bus Depot, upon arrival in Beijing. Liu was confined to his room by 4 interceptors sent by the Wuhan government. (CHRD)[xv]
15. On the morning of March 5, frustrated Wuhan petitioner Xia Hanqiao (夏汉桥) threw copies of her petition letters, detailing the forced demolition of her home by Jianghan District authorities into the air on Qianmen Avenue in central Beijing. She was seized a few minutes later by uniformed and plainclothes officers, and forcibly returned to Wuhan on March 7. (CRLW)[xvi]
16. Hubei Petitioner Li Guizhi (李桂芝) was sent to RTL on March 6 after being captured by Beijing police and turned over to Hubei officials. Li, who is petitioning in search of justice for the death of her son, had been attempting to meet with representatives attending the NPC, and had previously distributed material about her case and accepted interviews with foreign media while in Beijing. (CHRD)[xvii]
17. On March 6, Hubei Petitioner Wang Guoqiang (汪国强) and 4 others who had been petitioning in Beijing planned to form a “‘Two Meetings’ Petitioner Group”, organizing petitioners to present their complaints to representatives attending the NPC. That night, they were captured by interceptors from Wuhan City as they registered to stay at a hotel near the South Train Station in Beijing. (CHRD)[xviii]
18. Petitioner Wang Zan (王瓒) reported the capture of 8 petitioners from in front of the National Letters and Visits Office by interceptors on March 6. Those petitioners detained include Zhu Hanzhen (朱汉珍), Li Jiliang (李季梁), Li Cuie (李翠娥) Wu Guie (吴贵娥), Hu Yanmei (胡艳梅), Chen Jun (陈军), and others. Wang reported that at least 4 were forcibly returned to Wuhan, one was released, and he had no news of the others. [xix] CRLW later learned that Zhu Hanzhen was detained at a black jail in Wuhan’s Jiangxia District.[xx] (CRLW)
19. On the morning of March 6, Shanghai Petitioner Chen Jianfang (陈建芳) and Beijing Petitioner Cao Shunli (曹顺利) went together to the Beijing Municipal PSB Law and Order Corps to apply to demonstrate during the “Two Meetings.” They were blocked by police and forced into a waiting police vehicle. That afternoon, Chen sent a message saying he was being detained in the Shanghai Municipal Government’s Beijing Liaison Office, and was set to be forcibly returned to Shanghai by train that evening. [xxi] Cao Shunli was later captured off the street by one police officer and two security officers on the afternoon of March 8. [xxii] Chen Jianfang (陈建芳) is currently detained at Nanhui District Laogang Town Binhai “Resort” in Shanghai after being forcibly returned from Beijing. He reports that petitioner Yan Yanhua (颜燕华) and more than 10 others are also detained in the same facility. (CHRD)[xxiii]
20. Shanghai petitioner Gu Yanhua (顾燕华) made an attempt similar to Chen and Cao on March 5, and met with a similar result. Though she was delivered to the Shanghai Municipal Government’ Beijing Liaison Office to be sent back to Shanghai, her current whereabouts are unknown. (CHRD)[xxiv]
21. Shanghai petitioner Gu Zhongmei (顾中妹) was captured on March 6 and forcibly returned to Shanghai, where she was detained upon her return. (CHRD)[xxv]
22. Shang Xuedi (尚学娣), of Henan Province, was caught in a sweep by Beijing Police shortly after noon on March 6. Along with her were seven other petitioners- four from Henan and 3 from Jilin and Sichuan province. The five from Henan were all taken to the Juyuan Hotel, a black jail in Beijing. (CRLW)[xxvi]
23. On March 7, Hubei petitioners Lu Youlin (鲁尤林), Shang Kaihong (尚开红), Cao Xiangchang (曹相常), and two others were stopped by 10 members of the Shiyan City Government’s Beijing Liaison Office. The interceptors confiscated their phones, cameras, petitioning material, ID cards, and other items before binding their hands with their belts and forcing them into a waiting car. Lu was forcibly returned to Hubei, while Shang was detained in the Shiyan City Government’s Beijing Liaison Office. Cao and others were detained in the Beijing Liaison Office of Tanghe County, Henan Province. The petitioners believe that interceptors were able to find them as they walked the streets of Beijing by tracking their cell phone signals. (CHRD)[xxvii]
24. On the morning of March 7, Hu Zezhu (胡泽主) and 15 other petitioners from Changsha City, Hunan Province, were captured by Beijing police on West Changan Avenue where they had traveled in hopes of presenting their complaints to representatives at the National People’s Congress. After being held in a fire station near the West Changan Avenue PSB substation for the afternoon, they were turned over to interceptors from the Beijing Liaison Office of the Changsha City Government who forced them onto a bus hired for the purpose of returning the petitioners to Changsha. They were sent to a “law education class” in Changsha. Hu was released on March 13.
Upon returning to Changsha the afternoon of March 8, the petitioners were detained by city government interceptors in a “law education class”, and in a conversation on March 9, Hu reported the group had not been informed how long they would be detained. The group was not given any food between the time they were captured on the morning of March 7 and when they arrived in Changsha the evening of March 8. (CHRD)[xxviii]
25. In a desperate attempt, four elderly petitioners (Guo Longying [郭龙英], Gong Yulun [龚玉伦], Xia Guotian [夏国田] and Wei Huiju [韦慧菊]) were about to set themselves on fire in protest at Tiananmen Square on March 8 when they were quickly stopped by a nearby police officer and detained.
Guo Longying, from Shanghai, began petitioning in 2004 after a series of injustices, including the forced demolition of her house and loss of her savings as well as disputes about her residence permit (hukou) which arose after she sought to return to Shanghai from Anhui province following the death of her husband. In March, 2008, officials at the Ministry of Public Security instructed the Shanghai Municipal PSB to arrange for housing for Guo, but the local officials never acted on this order. All Guo has received from her years of petitioning are threats , harassment, and beatings. Since being detained along with three others on March 8, 2009, Guo’s whereabouts are unknown and family members have been unable to contact her.
It is unknown why Gong Yulun, of Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province, was petitioning. She was released upon being returned to Zhangjiajie City.
Xia Guotian, of Jilin Province, has been petitioning since 1992 after patents he obtained for energy-saving and firefighting technologies were illegally seized by a Changchun City outpost of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is currently detained in a Changchun City detention facility for 10 days on the charge of “disrupting public order.”
It is unknown why Wei Huiju, of Weimi Village, Liuzhou City, Guangxi Province, was petitioning. According to unconfirmed reports, she is being detained for 10 days in her hometown. (CHRD)[xxix]
26. Wuhan petitioner Wang Zan (王赞), who traveled to Beijing to petition for justice after being detained in a “law education class” for 113 days before and during the Beijing Olympics, was captured and returned to Wuhan on March 7. He is currently detained in a black jail in Wuhan. Friends worry about his 85-year-old father, who is left without anyone to care for him at home. (CRLW)[xxx]
27. Xinjiang petitioner Ma Jianmin (马建民) was captured after arriving in Beijing on March 8, and detained in Beijing at the Xinjiang Government’s Beijing Liaison Office. (CHRD)[xxxi]
28. On the evening of March 9, Wu Yimin (吴益民), a petitioner from Huangpu District, Shanghai, was released from detention after a 4-day hunger strike. Wu has been petitioning since his home was forcibly demolished in 2006 without any compensation. On March 5, he was intercepted by officials from Shanghai while in Beijing and forcibly returned the next day, where he was detained in a Hanting motel in the Songjiang District of Shanghai, half an hour from his Huangpu District home. (CHRD)[xxxii]
29. Changchun City petitioner Yang Yimei (杨一美), who was attacked and stabbed by Jilin interceptors outside of Beijing’s Civil Aviation Headquarters on February 6, was forcibly returned to Changchun on March 9. She was captured and illegally detained for one day by the Northeastern Provinces United Office (Dongbei Lianhe Banshichu) before being returned home. (CRLW)[xxxiii]
30. A group of 8 petitioners (Cheng Guoqing [陈国青], Sun Jianmin [孙建敏], Li Huifang [李惠芳], Xu Jinfang [徐金芳], Gu Ximing [顾锡明], Zhu Xiuzhen [朱秀珍], Wang Chengqi [王承起], and Dong Guojing [董国菁]) from Shanghai were detained at the Tiananmen PSB office in Beijing after applying at the Ministry of Public Security’s Letters and Visits Office to hold a demonstration on March 10. They were later transferred to Ma Jia Lou, a clearinghouse for petitioners captured in Beijing. On March 11, the group was escorted back to Shanghai by members of the Beijing Liaison Office of the Shanghai Municipal Government. Sun Jianmin and Li Huifang were detained by Public Security officials from their respective districts for 5 days upon their return. (CHRD)[xxxiv]
31. Shanghai petitioner Xie Xiangjun (谢项军) was beaten up on the evening of March 12 by officials from Shanghai’s Hongkou District Letters and Visits Office while in a Beijing restaurant; police who arrived on the scene said they couldn’t help him because he was a petitioner. (CRLW)[xxxv]
32. On March 12, Liu Junchun (刘俊春) and Huang Rencai (黄仁才), petitioners from Yangjiawan, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, were forcibly sent back to Bijie City after they were intercepted and detained in a couple of black jails in Beijing for petitioning during the Two Meetings. Huang has been released while Liu is still held at the Bijie City PSB. Liu started petitioning after his mine and its equipment were allegedly burned down by the Bijie authorities in June 6, 2003, and when Liu sued the authorities for damage, the local court repeatedly delayed the process such that Liu has not received any compensation for six years. (Guizhou Human Rights Forum)[xxxvi]
33. On the afternoon of March 8, Chongqing petitioner Hu Xiaozhen (胡孝珍) was stopped by a uniformed police officer as he approached Tiananmen Square; the officer, conducting a body search on the premise of inspecting Hu’s ID card, found petitioning materials and turned her over to the Beijing Liaison Office of the Chongqing Municipal government, which had her detained in a black jail on the near the East 6th Ring road on the outskirts of Beijing. According to friends, Hu was not planning to petition at Tiananmen Square, just to go sightseeing.
On March 10, Hu Xiaozhen was sent back to Chongqing, where she continued to be detained by the Rongchang County PSB. Her friends and family are extremely worried that Hu, who suffers from a serious liver disease, is in grave danger because she was not carrying any medication with her when she was unexpectedly and arbitrarily detained. (CHRD)[xxxvii]
34. On March 6, a group of petitioners from Zigong City, Sichuan Province, including Huang Xilu (黄锡禄), Zeng Xiaofeng (曾孝凤), Yang Shuhua (杨淑华), Chen Fuhua (陈富华), Yang Guiqin (杨桂琴), Lan Guifang (兰桂芳), Liu Shuzhi (刘淑智), who had travelled to Beijing to petition, went to the Beijing Municipal PSB Law and Order Corps to apply to demonstrate, when they encountered two police officers spraying an unidentified substance in the reception area of the office. The petitioners reported feeling dizzy and having trouble breathing, and left the office, believing they were deliberately poisoned by police officers. Huang reported suffering from a nosebleed, while Zeng and Chen reported coughing up blood. Immediately after leaving the PSB office, the group encountered a Beijing police officer who confiscated their ID cards and petitioning materials before turning them over to a group of officials from the Beijing Liaison Office of the Zigong City Government. The group was detained that evening in Ledouju Hotel, a black jail in Beijing’s Fengtai District. They began a hunger strike on March 7 after officials refused to take them to a hospital for treatment, as they continued to feel ill from the mysterious substance to which they were exposed the day before. On March 8, the group was forced into a van and returned to Zigong City, arriving late at night on March 9. (CHRD)[xxxviii]
Incidences of Violence by Petitioners against Interceptors
35. According to witnesses, a group of onlookers who gathered around a group of interceptors beating two petitioners on March 3 turned violent, attacking the interceptors and driving them away. Around noon on the March 3, a crowd gathered as 10 interceptors, believed to be from Guangdong Province, attacked two petitioners, one from Hunan and one from Hubei Province. As the crowd grew in size to between 200 and 300, some 20 to 30 petitioners, including elderly men and women, emerged from the group to defend the two being attacked. They drove off the interceptors, beating some seriously, then dispersed before police arrived. Officers who arrived on the scene left after asking witnesses a few questions. (CHRD)[xxxix]
36. On March 5, CHRD received reports that petitioners destroy an interceptors’ car with Jiangsu plates outside of the Supreme People’s Court in the midst of a crowd of 3-4000 people. Further reports of petitioners destroying cars belonging to interceptors included March 6, when 3 cars were damaged on the road between Beijing’s South Train Station and the Supreme People’s Court[xl], and March 7, when 7 cars (one from Jilin and six from Shandong) were damaged. (CHRD)[xli]
[i] “Wuhan’s Hu Guohong Again Detained in Psychiatric Institution; Cheng Xue Detained in ‘Law Education Class'(武汉胡国红再次被关精神病院 程雪被关”法教班”)”, March 5, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090305093714_14084.html; https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090308222614_14165.html
[ii] “Group of Wuhan Petitioners Intercepted; Shandong Petitioners Caught (武汉大批访民遭截 山东访民被抓),” March 6, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090306165121_14112.html and https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090308222614_14165.html
[iii] “Hundreds of Shanxi Veterans Denied Employment Placement Intercepted en route to Beijing (山西数百转业志愿兵未获安置进京维权遭拦截),” March 9, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090304153713_14063.html
[iv] “Wuhan Petitioners Call on the Release on Gao Xin and Hu Deyu at the City’s CCP Committee (武汉访民集体到市委呼吁释放高新、胡德宇)”, March 13, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090313231127_14276.html and https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090303215231_14046.html
[v] “Group of Wuhan Petitioners Intercepted; Shandong Petitioners Caught (武汉大批访民遭截 山东访民被抓),” March 6, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090306165121_14112.html
[vi] “Shanghai Petitioner Cui Fufang Beaten while in Detention; About Thirty Petitioners Detained (上海访民崔福芳关押期间被殴打，三十多访民被拘留)”, March 15, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090315170134_14301.html
[vii] “Beginning of CCP ‘Two Meetings’ Marks Loss of Freedom for Hundreds of Citizens (中共”两会”的召开 就是百姓失去自由的时间),” March 7, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090307221043_14143.html and “Shanghai Petitioner Cui Fufang Beaten while in Detention; About Thirty Petitioners Detained (上海访民崔福芳关押期间被殴打，三十多访民被拘留)”, March 15, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090315170134_14301.html
[viii] “Dozens of Henan Petitioners Detained in ‘Black Jails’; Yang Yimei Forcibly Returned Home (河南数十访民被关”黑监狱”杨一美被押回,家),” March 10, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090310233103_14210.html
[ix] “Shanghai Rights Activist Ma Yalian Detained by Shanghai Police (上海维权人士马亚莲被上海警方拘留)”, March 14, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090314112653_14279.html. See also “Ma Yalian: Rubbish Meetings Begin, Wronged Citizens Meet with Disaster (马亚莲：屁会召开，冤民遭殃！)”, March 9, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090309152049_14173.html
[x] “Petitioner Li Yuzhen, from Muling City, Heilongjiang Province, Rescued (黑龙江穆棱访民李玉珍被解救出来)”, March 12, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090312215406_14246.html and “Emergency Appeal: Heilongjiang Petitioner Li Yuzhen Kidnapped by Muling City Police in Front of Re-education through Labor Camp (紧急求救：黑龙江访民李玉珍被穆聆警方阻在劳教所前绑架)”, March 11, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090311122711_14213.html
[xi] “Two Xiaosanpan Villagers Still Detained; Lin Bingchang Barred from Rights Work (温州小三盘二村民继续被关押 林炳长维权受阻),” March 3, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090303190658_14041.html
[xii] “Whereabouts of Shanghai Acitivist Feng Zhenghu Still Unknown; Family Not Given Any Information (上海维权人士冯正虎仍然下落不明家属没有得到任何通知),” March 16, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090316211306_14317.html
[xiii] “Hunan Petitioner Qing Zhao under House Arrest by Thugs Hired by Yongzhou Authorities (湖南上访维权人士卿昭被永州当局指使黑势力软禁)”, March 15, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090315134125_14298.html
[xiv] “Beijing Police Raid Petitioners’ Village on Eve of Two Meetings, 5 Hunan Petitioners Caught (两会前夜北京警方再次大扫荡上访村，湖南5访民被抓),” March 3, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090303114021_14031.html
[xv]“Interceptors Busy as Two Meetings Approach; Angry Petitioners Smash Interceptor’s Car in Front of Supreme Court (两会之际北京截访忙，高法前访民怒砸截访车),” March 5, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090305163515_14089.html.
[xvi]“Large Group of Fushun Petitioners Travel to Beijing; Wuhan Petitioner Under “Friendly” Detention (大批抚顺访民进京 武汉访民被”友情”关押),” March 8, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090308222614_14165.html
[xvii]“Hebei Petitioner Li Guizhi Sent to RTL for Petitioning During ‘Two Meetings’ (河北访民李桂芝”两会”期间来京上访再次被劳教),” March 8, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090308122340_14151.html
[xviii] “Hubei Petitioners Detained for Attempting to Form ‘Two Meetings Petitioner Group’ (湖北访民欲组织”两会上访团”深夜被抓),” March 8, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090308194602_14160.html
[xix]“Group of Wuhan Petitioners Intercepted; Shandong Petitioners Caught (武汉大批访民遭截 山东访民被抓),” March 6, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090306165121_14112.html
[xx] “Large Group of Fushun Petitioners Travel to Beijing; Wuhan Petitioner Under “Friendly” Detention (大批抚顺访民进京 武汉访民被”友情”关押),” March 8, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090308222614_14165.html
[xxi]“Petitioners Forcibly Returned Home for Applying to Demonstrate during ‘Two Meetings’ (两会期间访民申请游行遭抓押),” March 6, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090306210819_14120.html
[xxii] “Beijing’s Cao Shunli Detained in Police Station; Shenzhen’s Guo Yongfeng Missing (北京曹顺利被抓进派出所 深圳郭永丰失去联系),” March 8, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090308222456_14164.html
[xxiii]“Shanghai Petitioner Chen Jianfang Under Surveillance on Island for Applying to Petition (上海访民陈建芳因申请游行 被软禁在孤岛),” March 7, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090307220822_14142.html
[xxiv]“Petitioners Forcibly Returned Home for Applying to Demonstrate during ‘Two Meetings’ (两会期间访民申请游行遭抓押), March 6, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090306210819_14120.html
[xxv] “News Flash: Shanghai Petitioner Detained in Aid Office; More Interceptors’ Cars Damaged in Beijing (快讯：上海访民被关救助站，北京又有截访车被砸),” March 6, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090306205323_14117.html
[xxvi] “Dozens of Henan Petitioners Detained in ‘Black Jails’; Yang Yimei Forcibly Returned Home (河南数十访民被关”黑监狱”杨一美被押回,家), March 10, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090310233103_14210.html
[xxvii] “Five Shiyan City, Hunan Province Petitioners Forcibly Returned, Detained for Petitioning During ‘Two Meetings’ (湖北十堰5访民”两会”期间来京上访分别被遣送回家、关押),” March 8, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090308111935_14150.html
[xxviii] “Sixteen Hunan Petitioners Forcibly Returned, Detained in “Law Education Base” (湖南16名到京上访者被押回关入”法教基地”),” March 9, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090309213714_14181.html
[xxix]“Status of Four Elderly Petitioners Who Planned to Set Themselves on Fire at Tiananmen Square (天安门准备自焚的四位老人情况),” March 18, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090318004803_14342.html
[xxx]“Shanghai Petitioner Beaten In Beijing; Changchun Petitioner Sent Back to ‘Black Jail’ (上海访民北京被打 长春访民再揭 “黑监狱”),” March 13, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090313230905_14270.html and https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090318210714_14360.html.
[xxxi] “Urgent Alert: Xinjiang Petitioner Ma Jianmin Detained en route to Beijing (紧急关注：新疆访民马建民进京途中被抓),” March 8, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090308174056_14157.html
[xxxii] “Shanghai Uses Armed Police to Detain Petitioners During ‘Two Meetings’ Period (北京两会期间上海动用武警看押上访者),” March 10, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090310210734_14201.html
[xxxiii] “Dozens of Henan Petitioners Detained in ‘Black Jails’; Yang Yimei Forcibly Returned Home (河南数十访民被关”黑监狱”杨一美被押回,家),” March 10, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090310233103_14210.html
[xxxiv] “Eight Shanghai Activists and Petitioners Detained for Applying to Demonstrate during ‘Two Meetings’ (上海八名维权访民”两会”期间来京申请游行遭抓捕),” March 12, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090312210341_14243.html
[xxxv]“Shanghai Petitioner Beaten In Beijing; Changchun Petitioner Sent Back to ‘Black Jail’ (上海访民北京被打 长春访民再揭 “黑监狱”),” March 13, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090313230905_14270.html
[xxxvi] “Guizhou Petitioner Liu Junchun Detained after Petitioning (贵州访民刘俊春上访被关押)”, March 15, 2009, https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090315002733_14291.html
[xxxvii] “Chongqing Petitioner Hu Xiaozhen Picked up While Sightseeing at Tiananmen, Detained in Black Jail (重庆访民胡孝珍天安门旅游 被抓进黑监狱生命垂危),” March 9, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090309180644_14174.html and https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090313224817_14269.html
[xxxviii] “Zigong City Petitioners Poisoned while Applying to Demonstrate in Beijing (全国两会自贡上访人在北京申请游行遭毒气侵害),” March 12, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090312012512_14231.html
[xxxix] “Violence between Petitioners and Interceptors Gives One Pause (访民与接访者互殴 此现象耐人寻味),” March 3, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090303225656_14051.html
[xl]” Interceptors Busy as Two Meetings Approach; Angry Petitioners Smash Interceptor’s Car in Front of Supreme Court (两会之际北京截访忙，高法前访民怒砸截访车),” March 5, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class53/200903/20090305163515_14089.html and https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090306205323_14117.html
[xli]“Shanghai Petitioner Chen Jianfang under Surveillance on Island for Applying to Petition (上海访民陈建芳因申请游行 被软禁在孤岛),” March 7, 2009. https://www.nchrd.org/Article/fmzj/200903/20090307220822_14142.html
