During the annual two sessions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), authorities across China have escalated their stability control efforts on a large scale. Especially in Shanghai, authorities have deployed at least thousands of stability maintenance personnel. Dissidents and advocates for COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) vaccine rights have become key monitoring targets. However, amid economic downturn and sharp declines in fiscal revenue, this year authorities have made some compromises regarding surveillance and forced travel.
According to Voice of America, the CCP National People’s Congress convened on March 5 in Beijing. On that day, Beijing resident Qian Dalong was forcibly taken on a trip by authorities in Chaoyang District. Qian Dalong stated in an interview that he was checked into a hotel in Guilin, Guangxi, accompanied by three official personnel, and estimated that he would not be able to return to Beijing until after the two sessions.
Qian Dalong mentioned that when he goes out, surveillance personnel follow him. The authorities are still worried that he might cause trouble during the two sessions. They may fear that journalists in Beijing would find his home for an interview.
In 2021, Qian Dalong responded to the authorities’ call to receive a Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, but his body suddenly became paralyzed after receiving the third dose of the vaccine. Although his body gradually recovered through recuperation, his vitality had been greatly damaged.
In seeking justice, Qian Dalong, after being discharged from the hospital, tried to seek explanations from the hospital where he received the shot and the neighborhood committee, but to no avail. Subsequently, he provided his medical records to the Chaoyang Disease Control Center and the Chaoyang District Medical Association for evaluation, and the results indicated “coincidence” and “no correlation.”
After experiencing problems, Qian Dalong lost his job and had to rely on unemployment benefits and his wife’s salary to sustain their livelihood and cope with medical expenses. He mentioned that he had lodged complaints with various authorities such as the Discipline Inspection Commission, the CCP National Petition Office, and the government hotline, but each department shifted responsibility.
Last year, Qian Dalong, along with some other individuals who suffered suspected side effects after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, planned to submit a “Proposal” at the two sessions, urging the establishment of a mechanism for safeguarding and assisting those harmed by the COVID-19 vaccine. As a result, they were controlled by the authorities during the two sessions for two consecutive years and lost their freedom.
Qian Dalong stated, “One police officer plus two security guards or community workers. Three people in a shift, with two shifts. One shift during the day. They are with me from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and then from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. When they go out, they have to follow me, and they are not allowed to go to sensitive areas. If I make calls, my phone may be monitored. In Changping, Beijing, a person named Liu Yan is also under surveillance. There are also suspected vaccine victims under surveillance in other areas, like He Cixiang in Jingzhou, Hubei.”
During the two sessions of the CCP every year, Shanghai has been a “fortress” for stability maintenance by the authorities. Dissidents in Shanghai and Song Jiahong, the publisher of the Shanghai Black Jail List, stated that in his observation, this year, Shanghai authorities have significantly strengthened their interception capabilities in Beijing, with possibly up to a thousand individuals joining the stability maintenance forces.
Song Jiahong informed Epoch Times, “As the two sessions in Beijing are being held, there is a significant political regression in Shanghai. To ensure zero petitioners during the two sessions in Beijing, starting from February 10, each district government dispatched approximately 1,000 members of the stability maintenance teams to stations in Beijing for interception, with almost all 216 grassroots units participating.”
According to the list provided by Song Jiahong, it is currently known that 11 petitioners in Shanghai have been detained in black jails for the “two sessions,” including: 78-year-old Ding Juying, 79-year-old Ni Mingqi, 78-year-old Hu Bosun from Pudong New District, 70-year-old Lu Liming from Yangpu District, 66-year-old Chen Meihua, 62-year-old Li Huifang, and 62-year-old Liu Dongbao from Jing’an District, 59-year-old Zhang Yin from Pudong New District, Xu Langzhen from Putuo District, 61-year-old Hong Xianhua from Minhang District, and 78-year-old Wang Lanying from Songjiang District.
Shanghai petitioner Li Xuemei told Epoch Times that she received a warning phone call from the Chief of Gaojing Police Station in Baoshan District, stating that based on their information, Li Xuemei had purchased a ticket to Beijing. If she continues her journey, they will send out more than ten people to the airport to intercept and arrest her upon her return.
Baoshan District petitioner Wu Baolin revealed that there were over a hundred government personnel at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station and Shanghai Railway Station specifically intercepting petitioners heading to Beijing. He was beaten by unidentified individuals in the waiting hall at Hongqiao Railway Station and sustained injuries.
Petitioner Yu Zhonghuan and his daughter from Pudong New District both suffer from serious illnesses and had to interrupt their medical treatment to evade “stability maintenance.” Yu Zhonghuan fled out of town, while his daughter was sent to a foster home. Every year, they endure several instances of evading “stability maintenance” due to their illnesses.
Jifeng, a leader of the “June Fourth” movement, has always been a key target for local government stability maintenance efforts. During last year’s two sessions, the authorities forced him to leave his hometown in Guizhou for a trip elsewhere. A local dissident familiar with Jifeng’s situation and requesting anonymity told Voice of America that over the past six months, Jifeng had been living in the suburbs of Beijing, and recently authorities asked him to stay in Guizhou during the two sessions on the pretext of assisting with living expenses.
This dissident estimated that authorities not arranging for Jifeng to travel outside and the financial strain on local governments were interconnected.
A Guizhou dissident mentioned, “Previously, travel was definitely a daily occurrence. Now with finances running dry and no funding, except for Shanghai’s surplus fiscal budget, other areas are experiencing negative growth, all in the negative. Previously, there were significant expenses for stability maintenance, including the salaries of stability maintenance personnel, dining expenses, subsidies for petitioners or so-called politically sensitive individuals, and the monthly living expenses, all covered under stability maintenance funds. Now, due to the reduced allocations from the finances, they have to cut various costs. Originally, this expense was substantial.”
Overall, throughout the two sessions of the CCP each year, we witness heightened surveillance, control, and interception of dissenting voices and individuals asserting their rights, demonstrating the growing authoritarian tendencies and suppression tactics within China’s political landscape.