This year, as the two sessions of the Chinese Communist Party are set to be held in Beijing, cities like Beijing and Shanghai have already entered into stability maintenance mode. Visiting residents in many areas have revealed that the authorities are taking measures such as large-scale arrests, repatriation, and soft detentions, strictly prohibiting visiting residents from going to Beijing to petition.
The two sessions of the CCP, which are held in early March each year, are seen as a critical period for visiting residents to express their grievances. This year, local governments are once again tightly controlling visiting residents from going to Beijing, and severely punishing those who violate the rules.
A visiting resident, Ms. Tang, from Tianjin living in Beijing’s Fangshan District, stated on the 21st that the police have recently launched a large-scale search in areas where visiting residents gather: “The day before yesterday, they came to our village to arrest people, a big search, took me to the ‘Three Offices’ (comprehensive governance, etc.) and detained me for 24 hours. A group of police officers forced me into a mahjong parlor to wait because they saw that I was not feeling well, so they let me go. That night, about 27 or 28 people from our village were arrested.”
Ms. Tang also revealed that once interceptors in Beijing catch visiting residents, they are immediately repatriated to their original places of residence: “Changchun’s Zhang Jixin, Xu Baihong, Wang Jinping, and others were sent to Jiujing Zhuang (a reception center for visiting residents), and then sent back to their hometowns.”
Visiting resident Dong Kuihong stated that many visiting residents are subjected to body searches when arrested, and their communication devices are confiscated: “Tianye was arrested, they took away his mobile phone and sent him to Jiujing Zhuang. He completely lost contact with the outside world. The night before last, three or four cars of people were taken from the gate of the National Petition Office and all sent to Jiujing Zhuang.”
During the two sessions of the CCP, visiting residents often queue overnight at the gate of the National Petition Office in Beijing, hoping to submit their petition and complaint materials the next day. However, local government petition office staff in Beijing have intensified surveillance and implemented interception measures.
Ms. Zhao, a visiting resident from Sichuan in Beijing, said, “Today (the 21st) I queued at the gate of the National Petition Office, there were a lot of people, the line was very long. I came out before 5 o’clock in the morning, and now there are probably five to six hundred people waiting in line. Around the petition office, those wearing black clothes are interceptors.”
Mr. Chen, a visiting resident from Shanghai, revealed that since February 13, the Shanghai municipal government has initiated stability maintenance measures for the two sessions, not only warning visiting residents not to go to Beijing but also imposing soft detention measures on some visiting residents: “Starting from the 13th, the way each person is handled is different. I am now traveling to Jiangxi, I have talked to them, I won’t go to Beijing. There are many people (intercepting) at the train station, not allowing them to buy tickets to Beijing. Some people have been sent to farmhouse stays for detention, all farmhouse stays on Chongming Island are open.”
Mrs. Guo, a visiting resident from Wuhan, Hubei, also stated that the police had warned her in advance not to go to Beijing: “Yesterday (the 20th) they called and told me not to go to Beijing, saying it would be useless even if I went. They also said that the current leaders are not easy to talk to, and those who go to Beijing early will be brought back and detained.”
Mr. Wang, a visiting resident from Jiangsu, revealed that the local police had recently held a meeting to deploy interception measures during the two sessions: “The police station has already notified us at home, saying that it is futile to go to Beijing during the two sessions, and they will make every effort to intercept.”
Mr. Zhang, a resident of Taizhou, Jiangsu, expressed dissatisfaction with the local government’s interception behavior: “This behavior is completely illegal, whether it’s interception, obstruction, or interception, what authority do they have to do this?”
As the two sessions approach, governments across China have been strengthening stability maintenance measures, strictly prohibiting visiting residents from going to Beijing to petition. Despite this, a large number of visiting residents continue to ignore the risks and persist in going to Beijing to express their grievances. However, under strict security and surveillance, their path to petition has become increasingly difficult.
(Originally reported by Radio Free Asia)