Chinese petitioners are often arrested in Beijing after being interrogated for their identity cards, and a recent recording of a phone call from police officers at Beijing’s Qianmen police station confirms that they can bring back petitioners and hand them over to local petition offices as long as they are petitioners, and that they are used to it.
On April 27, Xing Wangli, a human rights activist from Xixian County, Xinyang City, Henan Province, was illegally detained by Beijing police after being intercepted and interrogated while sending a letter at the post office on Justice Road in Beijing’s Dongcheng District, and was then brought back home to Xixian County overnight by the local government and placed in administrative detention for 15 days for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.
The son of Xing Wangli, who lives in New Zealand, Xing Jian, told reporters that it was confirmed by multiple checks that Xing Wangli was taken away by the police at the Qianmen police station for ID checks when he was ready to return to his temporary residence after mailing a letter at 17:00 on the 27th.
The two audio recordings provided by Xing Jian show that the police at the Qianmen police station admitted that they took people away, and by checking the registration records, it was determined that Xing Wangli was picked up by the local petition office.
Xing Jian asked his father if there was an illegal petition or illegal behavior, the police officer said he just took over the shift is not clear, and hung up the phone.
On the second call, Xing Jian again asked his father if he had committed any illegal acts in his jurisdiction. The other side has a receipt for the case according to the case regulations?
The police avoided answering, but instead directly told Xing Jian that “all petitioners to us, we call the local letter and visit bureau to pick up people.”
The following is part of the recorded conversation.
Xing Jian: Because the local said he (father) in Beijing illegal, if it is illegal, according to the conditions of the case police station should have registered, there are receipts of the case.
The police: “(What) return receipt is not a return receipt, your local petition bureau to pick up people, to take out the work permit, there are police officers to take a police officer card, to prove that the person picked up.”
Xing Jian: The local now says my father broke the law in Beijing, saying he was provoking trouble.
The police: we do not have here, we do not deal with such people.
Xing Jian: That is to say, my father in your jurisdiction said there is no illegal behavior?
Police: It was not my shift that day, I’m not sure. We come in with registration, you know!
Xing Jian: Your public security system should have entered ah? The information in this area is recorded.
Police: recorded or not is two different things, do not compare with your field. As long as the petitioner, the previous petition, no matter what, the previous petitioner, we can bring back, because we are the closest to Tiananmen, you know! We call the local petition office to pick up people, and that’s all there is to it.
Because I contact this every day I know, I do not have the power to say you petitioned to you detained here, you know!
Xing Jian: Now my father he seems to have disappeared, but the local said he is illegal ……
Police: Your father was not petitioning ah? You check the phone number of the letter and visit bureau in Henan, you ask, ask where to receive.
Xing Jian: Because my father was taken away from your office, we definitely want to understand clearly.
The police: Yes, we must let the local people to pick up ah, can not be put on me here, right ah.
Xing: If there is any danger to his person, then you must be jointly and severally responsible.
Police: you heard the young man, you do not have to fight, is your father what happened, from us to go out well, we do not abuse him, nor beat you, do not scold you, directly to your local letter bureau to call over to pick up people.
What is the name of what, come over to pick up, he will come over to pick up, know it. After he picked it up, he had to take his work permit, I photocopied, photocopied your father’s ID card in a piece, I told you, who picked up, I know. He picked up and left as a normal person.
Xing: I did not mean to fight with you oh.
Police: I just explained to you half a day on the matter, you ask me I’m not quite sure, that day is not my class.
Xing: Please ask the officer who was working on the case (questioning my father) when he came back?
Police: What? When did he come back, people three times five checks ah, we have a post here.
Xing: When is he on duty? I need to find out from him ……
Police: I’m not really sure ah, I see what time he came in I know. He came in this afternoon, right? Xing Wangli, I’ll show you what time he came in.
Xing: Thank you.
Police: Nothing! Xing Wangli …… (turning the page), he should have been brought back by us at 5:00 on April 27th, and we wrote here that he was a petitioner.
Xing: that is, he did not break the law?
Police: Hey, he is a petition, or I just asked your father is not a petition? The petitioner we definitely want to check and bring back, let the local to pick up, the Beijing Office to pick up. Understand?
Xing: That is to say, he did not have such illegal behavior in your jurisdiction, right?
Police: Yes, no, no!
Xing Jian said that in China’s (CCP) hierarchy, the group of visitors has been specialized and marginalized, which is a factual status quo. Beijing police should protect the personal safety of people in Beijing, rather than just putting these rights activists in danger.
“Every time we bring back from Beijing, we seem to forget the responsibility of the Beijing side. If something happens to my father, the Tiananmen Branch can’t get off the hook because they are the ones who took my dad away to the local authorities.” He said.
“Can other people go to Tiananmen, because they have petitioned they can’t go?” Xing Jian called for rights defenders to be treated as ordinary people, who are also holders of Chinese resident ID cards, and should not be marginalized or hierarchized just because they have experience in defending rights; they should be allowed to enjoy basic human rights and unrestricted access to open public areas.
Xing Jian believes that since the Beijing police claim that Xing Wangli did not violate the law, the reason for his detention was a visit to Jiang Tianyong, a Chinese human rights lawyer who is also under house arrest in Xinyang.
On April 20, Xing Wangli and his wife visited Jiang Tianyong, a human rights lawyer under illegal house arrest in Lingshan Township, Luoshan County, Henan Province, and were warned by the local government two days later that “if you are not honest, you will screw (him). The straightforward Xing Wangli then went to Beijing to petition.
Xing Jian said, “After my father visited Jiang Tianyong, a human rights lawyer under house arrest in the same city, he was intimidated by police officers from Huaihe police station in Xixian County, and then he was inexplicably detained by the police. This is naked retaliation!”
The outside world is concerned that although Jiang Tianyong has been released from prison for more than two years after completing his sentence, he still hasn’t really gained personal freedom. After Xing Wangli was detained, Jiangsu rights activists Wang Heying and Tao Hong were also interrogated by police when they visited Jiang Tianyong’s lawyer last Wednesday (April 28). They were followed by several state guards and forced to take photos of their ID cards before being released.
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