Doubts Over Wen Jiabao's Meeting With Chinese Petitioners (Video)
Every year in China, tens of thousands of petitioners across the country flock to the capital of Beijing. They hope to file complaints that their local authorities did not address. Its a growing social problem where many petitioners are sent back home or are detained illegally. On Monday, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao met with petitioners in Beijing for the first time to hear their concerns. But the highly publicized event is already raising doubts.
The petition office had just eight petitioners inside. When I went, there were always long lines with hundreds of people. This is a basic fact. We are long time petitioners and have experienced this. News like [this meeting] no longer excites us, because we have been disappointed too many times, Wu Huaying, Fujian petitioner, complained.
State-run television widely broadcasted Wen's visit to the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, the central office that handles petitioners. Some, including Beijing-based rights lawyer Ni Yulana former petitioner herselfbelieves its probably just for show.
I think its because the public no longer trusts the government, so Wen appears to be trying to understand the problems. But these petitioners he met withwere they real petitioners or staged by the government, Ni Yulan, Beijing rights lawyer, said.
The petition office had just eight petitioners inside. When I went, there were always long lines with hundreds of people. This is a basic fact. We are long time petitioners and have experienced this. News like [this meeting] no longer excites us, because we have been disappointed too many times, Wu Huaying, Fujian petitioner, complained.
State-run television widely broadcasted Wen's visit to the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, the central office that handles petitioners. Some, including Beijing-based rights lawyer Ni Yulana former petitioner herselfbelieves its probably just for show.
I think its because the public no longer trusts the government, so Wen appears to be trying to understand the problems. But these petitioners he met withwere they real petitioners or staged by the government, Ni Yulan, Beijing rights lawyer, said.
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Whether this public demonstration of concern was real or staged, some petitioners dont believe it will help solve their problems.
"We come to Beijing to petition to ! the cent ral government, but they don't receive us, and they turn it over to the local government, and the local government just catches us and takes us back. So now we have nowhere to go," Cao Qingnian, Shandong petitioner, said.
Instead of having their problems resolved, petitioners are often held in a state-run center in Beijing, or detained in illicit "black jails."
Article source: NTD Television chinareports@epochtimes.com
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Whether this public demonstration of concern was real or staged, some petitioners dont believe it will help solve their problems.
"We come to Beijing to petition to ! the cent ral government, but they don't receive us, and they turn it over to the local government, and the local government just catches us and takes us back. So now we have nowhere to go," Cao Qingnian, Shandong petitioner, said.
Instead of having their problems resolved, petitioners are often held in a state-run center in Beijing, or detained in illicit "black jails."
Article source: NTD Television chinareports@epochtimes.com
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