As the two sessions of the Chinese Communist Party are about to convene in Beijing, there are signs of tension in Beijing, Shanghai, and other places, as they have already entered a state of stability maintenance. Apart from massive arrests, repatriations, and soft detentions of petitioners, dissidents across the country are still facing the common fate of being “taken on a trip” and being placed under surveillance by the Chinese authorities.
On February 21st, veteran media person Gao Yu revealed on the social platform X that with more than ten days left before the opening of the “two sessions”, sensitive individuals in Beijing had already been put on 24-hour surveillance by the police, a measure known locally as “being put on duty”. Even those who planned to “go on a trip” were given a heads up.
She disclosed that starting from February 18th, the Mo Shaoping Law Firm was unexpectedly occupied by state security, all because big data indicated that it was Mo Shaoping’s birthday. She said, “Someone might ask: can state security really manage someone’s birthday? Don’t doubt it, this is what they manage, no birthday parties allowed, no attendance at funerals, no organizing commemorative meetings. Their mission is to make you delete posts, these are their important tasks.”
On February 27th, a friend of Gao Yu informed Radio Free Asia that Gao Yu would be taken away for a “trip” by local state security personnel: “Starting from the 21st, Beijing has been implementing strict control over dissidents and human rights defenders. Gao Yu received a notification from state security that she would be ‘travelling’ to another place tomorrow, her flight is scheduled for 9 a.m. This time, we don’t know where they’re taking her. Gao Yu said she won’t go anywhere without her phone. State security even prepared a sim card for her to prevent her from accessing foreign websites and posting tweets.”
Mo Shaoping told the radio station that state security often visits law firms: “They come often, (Reporter: Have they come because of the two sessions to your place?) Not yet, but they will stop some social gatherings, when they come here, we can’t communicate, we can’t contact each other.”
Beijing is not an isolated case, as dissidents and human rights groups in various regions are similarly facing tight surveillance and control. Reports indicate that members of the “Guizhou Human Rights Forum” are generally under surveillance.
Dissident Jifeng was informed by the police that in the coming days, he would be taken away from Guizhou for forced “travel” to avoid causing any “trouble” during the two sessions.
Jifeng told Radio Free Asia, “I have returned to my hometown (Guizhou) now, the police come every day, stay for a while and then leave, or just say hi. The control in Guiyang is stricter, I’m definitely going on a ‘trip’, I will be going out in a few days. During the two sessions, they won’t let me stay at home, I have to go ‘travelling’ outside, everywhere.”
Local rights activist Mr. Zhang told reporters that starting this week, tensions in Guiyang have escalated, with police and community personnel checking and following individuals every day, and some members are even being confined at home. He said, “Members of our Guizhou forum, including Liao Shuangyuan, Huang Yanming, Zeng Ning, Shen Youlian, Xu Guoqing, Zhang Chongfa, as well as Mi Chongbiao, have already been detained. Since Chen Xi’s release, he has been under 24-hour surveillance, confined at home. It is estimated that in a few days, the surveillance will become even stricter.”