How the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Interferes with People's Right to Appeal through Violence and Harassment (Part I)

In a normal society, the function of an appeal, or petition system is to provide citizens with a way to resolve their issues and protect their civil rights and legitimate personal interests. However, many people are surprised to learn that in China today, petitioners are subjected to violent interference and harassment. In fact, government-sanctioned sabotage of an appellant's home or business is quite normal, and sadly, is to be expected.

To the people in Mainland China, the Chinese Communist regime's use of violence against petitioners is considered neither odd nor unusual behaviour. The regime first established the petition system, but then violently intercepts petitioners and deprives citizens of their right to appeal. Although the right to appeal is officially stipulated within in the Chinese government's petition system, the resulting interference and harassment have also become an expected part of the system, which essentially amounts to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committing crimes at the government level.

Time-Honoured System of Appeal Taken Hostage by the CCP

The right to petition and appeal to one's government is a basic human right for citizens in a normal society and is the channel for dialogue between the government and its citizens. However, the authoritarian communist regime in China has never returned this fundamental right to the people of China. Since the CCP seized power, it has constantly been launching “political movements” to persecute and disenfranchise people at all levels of society. Overwhelmed and frightened by the CCP's brutality, people did not know to petition for their legal rights as citizens.

As a result of abuses within the government and the dismantling of traditional Chinese culture, the entire country of China has been ravaged by the CCP and is suffering from economic collapse and cultural decadence. People today live in a state of anxiety. In an attempt to offset its impending collapse, the CCP implemented the policy of “reform and opening up” as a smokescreen, claiming that it “rules the country according to law.”

All levels of government also set up their local “Petition Office.” However, these offices only resolved minor issues for a small portion of the petitioners. This was done to give the outside world an illusion that the CCP has “opened up” to its citizens. However, in June 1989, when college students asked the government to investigate and punish corruption, the CCP mobilised the armed forces against unarmed students, who were shot and crushed by tanks in a bloody massacre that shocked the world. Since then, the channel between the government and the public has essentially been closed completely.

Violent Interception of Petitioners and “Follow-up Visits” Have Become an Unwritten Rule

After June 4th, 1989, although the mechanism for lodging appeals had not been completely abolished by the CCP, many additional conditions were added. The Central Party Committee instructs provincial and municipal officials to “manage their own people” – that is, to keep them from appealing to higher levels of government. Provincial-level officials order local-level officials “to be responsible for their own issues,” threatening the local-level officials with dismissal if their constituents appeal at the provincial level. The local officials keep changing the petition policy with such “rules” such as “not allowing people to appeal above their local level,” “no group petitions allowed,” “party members are not allowed to take the lead in petitioning,” “no repeat petitions allowed,” and so on.

Later, as corruption within the government spawned more and more group petitions, the various levels of petition offices struggled to cope with the volume. Their response was to simply engage in violent interception of petitioners and malicious “follow-up visits” to petitioners. They alternately bribed and threatened petitioners, or levelled charges and sentenced the petitioners. The government officials created injustice against their own citizens rather than risk their careers. After a while, violently intercepting petitioners and malicious follow-up visits of petitioners gradually became the model that keeps the regime in power.

As a result of the government's paranoia, people in China see a unique scenario played out during important CCP conferences, “sensitive dates,” holidays, or other peak petitioning periods. At these times, the various levels of government dispatch armed police, special police, Interpol, the traffic police, plainclothes officers, and even gangs of ruffians as “security personnel” to intercept petitioners and maintain “social stability.” To an outside observer, it's indeed difficult to tell whether this is a government or a gang of organised thugs committing crimes against innocent citizens.

Government Appeal System Used as Tool of Persecution

There have been many injustices in the CCP's violent interception of petitioners, but none more ruthless than of Falun Gong practitioners in the late 1990s. In order to create justification to persecute Falun Gong, the then-CCP leader Jiang Zemin, along with political and legal chief Luo Gan, initiated a campaign to spread rumours and slander Falun Gong. This led to the April 25th, 1999 peaceful appeal in Beijing of 10,000 practitioners who quietly gathered to petition the government and lodge several requests. On that day, the Prime Minister agreed to the practitioners' three requests – to release wrongfully imprisoned practitioners in Tianjin, to allow people to practise Falun Gong with no interference from the government, and to allow the publication of Falun Gong books. The Prime Minister's decision was welcomed by the overseas media, who felt that finally, the CCP had indeed become more open and reasonable. However, not long after the April 25th appeal, Jiang Zemin negated the Prime Minister's decision and launched a full-scale persecution of Falun Gong.

After the persecution began, many practitioners went to Beijing to appeal. History gave the CCP a perfect opportunity to acquiesce to public opinion and win the people's support. However, the CCP chose to take the opposite path. They started the violent interception of Falun Gong petitioners. Petition offices and every province's liaison office in Beijing became places where Falun Gong practitioners were intercepted and arrested. Tiananmen Square became the central location for intercepting petitioners, who had no other place to appeal after the official appeals bureaus were closed. Local officials, police, plainclothes officers, and Public Security officers formed dragnets and intercepted practitioners at critical traffic intersections, arrested practitioners, forced them to register, threw them in prisons or brainwashing centres, and extorted large amounts of money from them. These abuses continue to this day. Practitioners who refuse to be “reformed” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] are put into labour camps or sentenced to prison.

The CCP escalated the persecution even further and turned the persecution of Falun Gong into a nationwide political persecution. Along with the media's vicious slander of the peaceful cultivation practice, everyone in China was forced to take a stand against Falun Gong. Jiang Zemin's regime manipulated all social resources to intensify the persecution. Jiang personally ordered a campaign to “thoroughly eradicate Falun Gong,” and launched genocidal policies such as “ruin their reputation, bankrupt them financially and destroy them physically,” and “beating to death is counted as suicide.” This most appalling of injustices has been going on for 14 years.

The Faces of Appellants

Every Falun Gong practitioner who had to courage to appeal for justice has a unique story, and the abuse they encountered at the hands of the CCP forever affected their lives and those of their families and associates. The experiences of several such practitioners are recounted below.

Ms. Gong Shuhua

Ms. Gong Shuhua, born in 1978, is a villager from Jinqianguanzhuang, Tanbu Township, Mengyin County, Shandong Province. After the persecution of Falun Gong started, four people from her family including Ms. Gong, her mother, brother and sister went to Beijing to appeal. They were intercepted by agents from Tanpu Township and brutally persecuted. Mother Ms. Hui Zenhua and brother Mr. Gong Pibin were sent to labour camps. The sister, Ms. Gong Shuqin, had her eligibility to enter college taken away. Later, she went missing.

Ms. Gong Shuhua had to leave home after the New Year in 2001. Around September 20th, 2002, she was arrested at Daigu Township, Mengyin County, along with several other practitioners – Zhang Dezhen, Teng Derong, and Gong Maohai – by police from the Mengyin County 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) and the Criminal Police Team. She was interrogated, beaten and force-fed. Because she refused to tell the police the password to her computer, the police intensified the persecution against her.

In 2003, she was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment and was sent to Shandong Women's Prison. Her fiancé has been waiting for her for over a decade. Ms. Gong Shuhua's father is engaged in business overseas and is unable to take care of the family. Nobody visited Ms. Gong, her mother or brother while they were detained. Their property and personal belongings were all looted. During the New Year of 2001, government officials extorted over 10,000 yuan¹ in cash from the family.

Mr. Tao Hongsheng

Mr. Tao Hongsheng was a former police officer in the Security Bureau, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province. He held up a banner with the words “Falun Gong” at Tiananmen Square on December 25th, 1999 and was expelled from work and from the Chinese Communist Party. He was sentenced to three years in a labour camp by the Xijiao Police and was detained in the Second Ward of Shijiazhuang Forced Labour Camp. It is hard to imagine what kind of physical and psychological torture and brainwashing he experienced there.

As a result of the torture, Mr. Tao's health deteriorated rapidly and within several months, he was on the verge of death. When he was in critical condition, the labour camp authorities panicked and sent him back to his family. Just a few days after he returned home, Mr. Tao passed away. He was only 46 years old.

Ms. Tan Guanghui

Ms. Tan Guanghui was in her forties and from Songjiang Township, Bin County, Heilongjiang Province. In June 2000, she went to Beijing to appeal and was arrested and sent to Wanjia Forced Labour Camp for one year. Around June and July of 2001, several guards took her to the male labour camp, where she was raped by three men. Ms. Tan told them, “You are committing a crime and you'll receive retribution.” The perpetrators jeered at her and said, “We're not afraid!”

The perpetrators claimed that Ms. Tan had become mentally ill and she was sent to Wanjia Hospital, where she received forced injections on a daily basis. In late July, her family suddenly received notification from the labour camp to take Ms. Tan home. As a result of the rapes and “medical treatment,” Ms. Tan did indeed suffer a mental collapse, and she could no longer take care of herself. The family had to send her back to the mental hospital multiple times for treatment.

Ms. Liu Xiurong

Ms. Liu Xiurong, 63 years old, is from Tongliao, Inner Mongolia. She used to suffer from multiple physical problems, which all disappeared after she started practising Falun Gong. The six members of her family are Falun Gong practitioners as well. After the persecution started, the entire family went to Beijing to appeal. When they arrived there, they became separated. Ms. Liu was with her second daughter Tian Xin. Because they were not able to find where the petition office was, they went directly to the Public Security Ministry. Later, they were intercepted by Shao Jun and Wang Bo, officers from the Tongliao Domestic Security Division, and were sent back to the local detention centre.

Since then, the entire family has been persecuted. Ms. Liu's husband Mr. Tian Fujin was tortured to death. Their oldest daughter Tian Fang was sentenced to prison twice, for a total of nine years of imprisonment. The second daughter Tian Xin was sent to forced labour camps twice. Third daughter Tian Miao was sentenced to six years of imprisonment. Their son Tian Shuangjiang was sentenced to three years of imprisonment. Ms. Liu herself was sentenced to two years of forced labour and four years of imprisonment. In the past years, her family was never been reunited. On five occasions Ms. Liu and her daughters were tortured together at the same labour camp and in the same cell.

Ms. Liu and her husband used to have a very successful business in Tongliao. However, due to the persecution, they were devastated financially and went bankrupt, and now live a hard life.

Mr. Zhai Liansheng

Mr. Zhai Liansheng was an older practitioner from Chengan County, Hebei Province. He was very kind and generous. In October 2000, he disregarded his own safety and went to Beijing to appeal. When the police arrested him, he said calmly and sincerely, “I am a practitioner. I'm only here to appeal with reason.” A Beijing police officer slapped his face and said, “Nobody wants to hear you reason!”

After he was sent back to Chengan County, he was detained in a detention centre for seven months. The perpetrators tried hard to force Mr. Zhai to renounce Falun Gong. He refused to do so and was tortured by more than ten guards. They used cigarette lighters to burn his elbows. They tied him up with ropes. They held inmate rallies to criticise him, paraded him through the streets, and extorted money from him. They did not release Mr. Zhai until he was dying.

When Mr. Zhai left the detention centre, he was extremely weak and needed two people to help him walk home. After he returned home, he had chronic diarrhea. He could not eat and could only lie in bed with barely any strength to speak. Within two weeks after he was released, in May 2001, Mr. Zhai passed away, bringing irreparable pain to his wife, children and friends. He was 68 years old.

Mr. Lu Zhen

Mr. Lu Zhen, born on July 25th, 1976, was from Xirulai Village, Mengyin Township, Mengyin County, Shandong Province. He was a student in the International Finance Department of Chongqing University. After the persecution started in 1999, Mr. Lu Zhen and other practitioners from Chongqing University went to Beijing to appeal multiple times. As a result, he was persecuted by Chongqing University and the local police. Mr. Lu was sent to a brainwashing centre and was expelled from school. He was later sent to Xishanping Forced Labour Camp for one year and was tortured there. In the meantime, Chongqing University suspended his bachelor's degree.

After he was released, Lu Zhen was sent back to Mengyin by the university. However, the local perpetrators refused to accept him. From then on, Mr. Lu Zhen's residential registration was taken away. The perpetrators from the 610 Office instigated the villagers to broadcast his name to the entire village and warned people not to be in contact with him. His family suffered huge mental pressure. Mr. Lu had to leave home.

In March 2004, he was arrested along with Mr. Xue Yujun and his wife in Mengyin Township, Mengyin County and was sent to the Mengyin Detention Centre and later, to the Linyi City Brainwashing Centre. He was transferred to the Mengyin County Detention Centre for several months. In December 2004, Mr. Lu was sentenced by the Mengyin Country Court to eleven years of imprisonment and was sent to Shandong Prison. On June 21st, 2009, Mr. Lu Zhen was tortured to death by the guards at Shandong Prison. He was only 33 years old.

Mr. Yang Yanhai

Mr. Yang Yanhai, 62 years old, was an Associate Professor at the Chongqing Vocational College of Social Work. In February 1997, he and his wife Zhang Luyuan, an Associate Professor at the same school, began practising Falun Gong together. After the persecution started, in the winter of 2000, Mr. Yang went to Beijing to appeal and explain the facts about Falun Gong. By exercising their right to appeal, Mr. Yang and his wife broke no laws, yet the CCP repeatedly ransacked his house and the couple was subjected to brainwashing and threats. His wife Ms. Zhang Luyuan was repeatedly detained, and imprisoned in brainwashing centres. She was brutally tortured at the Maojiashan Women's Forced Labour Camp in Chongqing. On January 4th, 2004, Mr. Yang Yanhai died as a result of the ongoing persecution.

(To Be Continued)

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.