Inside China Today

Ten thousand petitioners in Beijing, driven away by security personnel

Over 10,000 petitioners from around China gathered on Monday in front of the State Bureau for Letters and Visits in Beijing to appeal for their plight, but were met with 500 public security personnel officers who forcibly drove them away. The largest group were victims of the Yiling Network Marketing fraud, with over 1000 people asking the government to assist them with reclaiming their hard earned money.
Petitioners at the scene explained that the majority of those from around the country who came to Beijing to petition during the Olympics and Paralympics were driven out of the city , and were detained, put under house arrest or even sentenced to labour re-education when they returned to their home town. After the house arrests relaxed, petitioners around the country again went to Beijing in big numbers, with over 10,000 gathering at the State Bureau for Letters and Visits, the largest gathering since the Olympics.

Petitioner from Hebei, Li Guizhi says she was arrested during the Olympics, and was treated violently by the officials. She said the detention officers would beat people up at will, and it was unbearable. She was made ill for a long time after the beatings she received, and also lost sight in one eye as a result of the detention.

On Monday (October 20), over ten thousand petitioners, mostly consisting of smaller groups of regional petitioners joined in a group petition. The biggest group were the victims of the Yiling Network Marketing case, which consisted of over 1000 people from around the country. The petitioners were met by 500 Beijing public security officers at around 2pm local time, sending the gathering into chaos on occasions, and the demonstrators were forcibly taken away by the security officers in the end.

According to sources, the Yiling Network Marketing case which caused a stir within China began a trial in Beijing at the end of last month. Due to the large number of defendants involved and the complexity of the case, with 50 defence councils representing 28 defendants, the trial lasted one week.

The Yiling Network Marketing Fraud began in 2004 when the Yiling Timber Enterprise began purchasing forest land for low prices, and used network marketing through offices set up in locations including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Shenyang to attract investors to purchase high-profit generating forest land. It is reported that over 20,000 people have become victims of the fraud which generated up to $160 million Yuan in funds.

The above news is brought to you by Li Xinghui, Liu Zhen and hosted by Chris Thomas for Inside China Today on the SOH Radio Network.

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