The new Chinese leaders have been trying to portray a genial image toward the people by paying visits to towns and villages around the country—but one group of citizens has said: No need to visit us, thanks.
At the end of last year the regime’s new premier, Li Keqiang, visited Enshi, a city in Hubei Province, to “inquire about the villagers’ needs, and listen to their troubles,” according to official propaganda.
However, to prevent any malcontents from seeing Li or pleading for his help during his inspection, Enshi public security official rounded people up and detained them.
So these petitioners are now begging Li not to return—lest they’re again detained.
Over 20 of them made a trip to Beijing’s South Train Station on Feb. 4, holding up banners saying that they “lost freedom” due to the Enshi Intermediate People’s Court during Li’s visit , and suffered injustice from “the darkest court in the world.”
They also staged a protest at Tiananmen Square the following day, and were arrested by security forces.
Although the Communist Party has regularly vowed to rule the country according to the law, “everything is in vain if there is no institutional protection,” according to retired Shandong University professor Sun Wenguang.
Sun said that such statements from CCP leaders are meant simply to mollify the public, but have no real impact.
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