The annual meetings of the Chinese Communist Party, the “Two Sessions,” have begun, and reports from various regions indicate that several petitioners have been abducted and gone missing. Some petitioners have been illegally detained in police stations or placed under house arrest, with the authorities aiming to prevent them from petitioning in Beijing during the Two Sessions.
For the past month, social media platforms like WeChat have been filled with daily reports of petitioners facing various forms of suppression and persecution due to the Two Sessions being held in Beijing. Zhang Haiying, a petitioner from Hubei, disclosed that on March 4th, she went to Beijing to report a labor dispute involving the Wuhan Xinzhou District Supply and Marketing Cooperative Society. However, she was brought back to Wuhan by the police and detained at the Jiangbei Police Station in the Hanyang District.
Another petitioner, Cui Qun from Shanghai, who was petitioning regarding compensation for property requisition, went missing after she was abducted by local stability maintenance personnel on the way to Beijing on March 2nd from the Dezhou Service Area. Her sister, Cui Hong, posted online, urging relevant departments to pay attention to Cui Qun’s disappearance in order to ensure the safety of rights defenders.
Prior to her disappearance, Cui Qun had sought help in rights defense groups, explaining the process of her abduction. “On March 1st, I took a long-distance bus to Beijing. Around 4 a.m. on March 2nd, I was forcibly intercepted by 10 individuals at the Dezhou Service Area and later taken back to Shanghai by a criminal organization aboard the G2661 train. Around 11:14 a.m., I arrived at the Hongqiao Railway Station in Shanghai, where I was handed over to four members of the criminal organization from the Hongkou District. We then took a van (License Plate: Su E-KⅩ491) and arrived at Wuhua Road in the Hongkou District at 12:10 p.m.” However, her phone became unreachable afterwards.
Xiaoli, a petitioner from Minhang District in Shanghai, traveled to Beijing alone on March 2nd. She told media that she left on March 2nd and arrived in Beijing on March 3rd, visiting three petition sites and swiping three cards. Xiaoli turned on her phone after swiping the card to locate the authorities. Local government officials had two people watching over her in Beijing on March 2nd.
She explained, “In order to petition in Beijing, I turned off my phone. When the local officials couldn’t reach me, they went to find my daughter and husband, using threats to pressure my daughter into revealing my whereabouts, otherwise they would go to her workplace and neighborhood.”
Xiaoli began petitioning 18 years ago due to unfair compensation for relocation. She stated, “I lost my job for 18 years because of petitioning. My purpose in going to Beijing is to seek justice from our local government.”
Xiaoyang, a rights defender from Chongqing, informed the media that stability maintenance measures during the Two Sessions have severely impacted Chongqing as well.
He mentioned, “Chen Dashu from Yubei District in Chongqing and Zhao Weizhi, a visually impaired person from Banan District, were kidnapped by unidentified individuals in a restaurant in Picun, Chaoyang District, Beijing after dinner on March 1st. They were later detained and unlawfully held in an underground basement in Nanyuan, Fanjiazhuang, Fengtai District, Beijing, restricting their personal freedom.”
“Five petitioners, Ren Xiaolin, Wei Yiqun, Zhou Guangjun, Xu Taixiu, and Li Xiaorong, took a train to Beijing on the evening of February 28th. They were followed by unidentified individuals halfway through their journey, prompting them to report the incident. Upon arriving at Beijing West Railway Station and disembarking the train, all five of them went missing.” Xiaoyang stated.
On February 27th, at noon in Beijing, petitioner Fang Ling from Wuhan, who was working there, and her friend were jogging on the east side of Dahongmen subway station. Suddenly, a white car arrived, and five gang members forcibly kidnapped Fang Ling and her friend, assaulting them, stealing their belongings and phones. Fang Ling’s friend was later abandoned, while Fang Ling’s whereabouts remain unknown.