Jiangxi rights activist Li Ping intends to travel to Beijing, but is surrounded by about 60 officials.

Recently, Jiangxi’s well-known human rights activist Liu Ping wanted to travel to Beijing. She bought a train ticket from Nanchang to Beijing, but the authorities in Xinyu mobilized 50 to 60 people to clear the train station waiting room and block her.

On March 20 at 13:04, Liu Ping purchased a ticket to Beijing, and within 10 minutes, she was surrounded by 50 to 60 plainclothes national security agents, police officers, street officials, and community workers in the train station waiting room, forcibly restricting her freedom of movement.

This is not the first time this has happened. On the eve of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on February 24, Liu Ping was similarly surrounded for buying tickets in advance and even prohibited from leaving her residential area. Despite repeatedly promising not to petition but only to travel, the authorities did not accept her explanations.

Liu Ping told a reporter from Dajiyuan, “I am not petitioning, I am just going on a trip. I can write a guarantee letter promising not to petition, but they still don’t believe me.”

“On February 24, when I bought the ticket, they said, ‘Wait until after the two sessions, because the two sessions are approaching, and after that, you can go wherever you want.’ However, the two sessions have long passed. On March 20, I decided last minute to go to Beijing. I bought the ticket, and they appeared by my side within 10 minutes of me entering the waiting room.”

Liu Ping suspects she is being precisely tracked and monitored because a similar situation occurred before the Chinese New Year. She expressed that she was busy taking care of her mother at that time, didn’t want to deal with those people, but they always appeared in front of her with pinpoint accuracy, pretending it was a chance encounter. “So I have reason to suspect they are using special surveillance methods to locate me.”

Liu Ping was sentenced to six and a half years in prison in 2013 for holding a sign demanding officials disclose their assets. After her release, she has been taking care of her mother alone. It has been over ten years since she last went out alone. During her time caring for her mother, she underwent surgery for a lumbar spine injury and is currently in recovery. She wanted to take advantage of the beautiful spring season to go out and explore but did not expect to be tightly controlled.

“I will still go to Beijing as planned. I will see how many times they can intercept me, and I hope everyone pays attention to me. Whether or not I have freedom of movement reflects the human rights situation of a country. I am the best epitome of China’s human rights situation.” She said.

Liu Ping hopes that people collect human rights cases around them, and she will compile a human rights white paper.

Liu Ping, female, from Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province, China, a well-known human rights activist, grassroots activist, and participant in the New Citizen Movement. She ran for National People’s Congress in 2011, attracting widespread attention. In the same year, she organized online friends to visit Chen Guangcheng in Dongshigu Village, Shandong, and supported villagers in Wukan during the Wukan incident. In April 2013, she was arrested during a sign-holding activity demanding officials disclose their assets in Xinyu City. On June 18, 2014, she was sentenced to six years and six months in prison.