Inside China Today

Inside China Today – Thursday 7th January

- 200 petitioners welcome New Year with protest in Beijing
- Free computer training classes banned

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200 petitioners welcome New Year with protest in Beijing

January 4th 2010 was the first working day of the New Year. 200 petitioners arrived at the State Council Letters and Complaints Office in Beijing. They were unhappy with forced building demolitions carried out by the Shanghai government. Despite government efforts to halt the protest, petitioners persisted. They ended up registering over 203 participants for the largest protest in Shanghai to date.

Shanghai petitioner Tong Guoqing described the scene to SOH:
(Recording): “We didn’t come here to protest over personal matters, we’re reporting something which affects us all. This involves misconduct by Shanghai’s Municipal Government. We’ve finally been able to submit the report and register our complaints as a group. This was achieved through everyone’s efforts, because they set up many obstacles to stop us registering. We have finally achieved some success, and today we registered over 203 names. This could be the biggest group appeal ever.”

Tong Liya, a petitioner from Shanghai’s Huangpu District, said heavy snow in Beijing stopped petitioners entering from other regions. Another one to two hundred petitioners were stopped by authorities. Some were detained while lining up outside the Letters and Complaints Office.

Tong Liya said only a group had any power. She said:
(Recording) “The power of an individual seems too weak and frail. We believed if everyone came together there would be more strength. If you come as an individual they will grab you, beat you, and put you behind bars”.

On January 3rd and 4th, over 200 Shanghai petitioners began arriving in Beijing. Before arriving at the Complaints Office, they received donations of money and living provisions from fellow petitioners. Especially to homeless petitioners living in Yongdingmen and South Station.

Shanghai petitioner Jin Yuehua told SOH:
(Recording) “This morning at 8am, we arrived at the arches of Yongdingmen Bridge to donate clothing to petitioners. We also brought steamed buns and other things for them. They were very touched. They told us they hadn’t eaten since last night due to the snow. This afternoon at 1pm, we plan to visit South Station, to hand out money and clothing to homeless petitioners and to those sleeping under bridges.”

Later all petitioners were rounded up by staff from the Letters and Complaints Office and taken to a relief centre at South Station. Latest reports indicate they will be allowed to return to Shanghai.

Craig Richter, Bo Ming, and Xin Gang of the SOH Radio Network.

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Free computer training classes banned

Just two months since Microsoft’s free computer training course first opened its doors at the Dandelion Middle School in Shoubao Village of Daxing County in Beijing, it came to be banned by Beijing Police. According to local sources, the majority of the students that took part were appellants from across the country, which could be the reason for the banning.

A petitioner from Jilin Province, Du Mingrong, attended the last class on the 23rd of December. The classroom was packed with over 80 people. The teacher announced that the class was banned by the local police, Mrs Du told SOH (recording) “It was announced on the 22nd that there were thieves in Daxing County, there were two who were wanted by the police. They were looking in the local area for these criminals. The police station then had our classes cancelled.”

Liu Fengqin, an appellant from Heilongjiang, said (recording), “In China, the government does not allow petitioners. The authorities do not wish to see assistance being given to petitioners, thus it regards the course as defiant.”

Starting from the 18th of October, the free class was held every afternoon from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. There were 50 computers in one big classroom, with which the students could practice while following the lectures.

According to Du Mingrong, word got around and almost all students who eventually attended were appellants, she states (recording), “When the courses started on the 18th of October, there were only a dozen students. Numbers were on the rise in November. In December the class was packed. The computers were not enough. Many stood. The appellants heard about the classes, they all wanted to attend, even those in their seventies.”

According to the teachers, the course was going through some structural adjustments and dates of re-offering remained unclear. It is reported that the computer training course was provided free of charge by Microsoft to the Chinese public to popularize elementary computer knowledge.

Perry Luo; Fu Ming and Kaidi of the SOH Radio Network.

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