Inside China Today

Inside China Today – Sunday 7th February

Chinese authorities have issued new regulations to stem the problem of illegal land evictions. These regulations however have been heavily scrutinised.

- Canton train tickets run sparse, ID ticketing ineffective
- Beijing Judicial Bureau monitors Falun Gong lawyers
- New property regulations widely condemned

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Canton train tickets run sparse, ID ticketing ineffective

It is allegedly the largest annual migration in human history. It sets a new record year after year after year. An estimated more than 2.5 billion journeys, more than 2.5 billion destinations; all in the 30 days before Chinese New Year. Every year in the month leading up to February 14th, Chinese nationals across the entire country go home for the holidays. As the record number of travellers continues to increase, tickets home become scarce, driving up ticket prices, as well security measures.

Recently, China began checking ID cards for the sale of train tickets. Passengers’ names are printed on the tickets in an effort to prevent ticket scalpers. However, travellers say it is still hard to get a ticket from Canton to Beijing. Ticket scalping still exists and bus fares have risen as well, making it difficult for many peasants working in the city to return to their countryside homes for Chinese New Year.

Mr. Jin, who is a peasant worker from Dong Guan, Guangdong Province, said many farmers that turned into city laborers had to stay in the city to spend new years, as they could not attain train tickets.

He told reporters (Recording):
“I am in Hubei Province. I am scheduled to go home on Feburary 7th, but since I could not book a ticket, I have decided to spend the New Year holiday in Dong Guan. Some of my friends rented a charter bus and went home, but most of them could not buy a ticket, so they will stay here during the holidays. There are so many people at the train station waiting, all the way from the ticket window to main street. There are just far too many people there.”

Ms. Wang managed to return to her home in Henan Province. She said all the train tickets departing Canton and heading northbound are sold out and buying from the scalpers would be too costly.

Ms. Wang said (Recording):
“All the tickets before New Years are probably all sold out. Some people could not get any tickets, so they went home by airplane. The day before yesterday when I arrived, the ticket prices had already increased.”

Mainland China media states that there are now ID scalpers in front of Canton Railway Station. Lost ID’s are sold to travellers for 80 Yuan each. The ID card and the ticket from the scalper could then be used to board the train. According to Mr. Chen, checking ID and printing passenger names on tickets cannot solve the problem of ticket scalping.

Mr. Chen said (Recording):
“For those who are desperate, they could get any ticket. The ones who obtained the tickets had connections to internal employees of the railway system. Adopting the system of checking and naming tickets cannot really solve the problem. People can use fake IDs to buy tickets. Ticket scalping is a lucrative business and they can charge 100 Yuan on cabins with beds and 50 Yuan on seats. As for those who are eager to go home to spend the New Year, buying those high priced tickets from scalpers is the only option.
Mr. Ye also managed to go back home; he told the reporter that those who came from the north to work as labourers in the south all need to get on the train in Canton. Some of his fellow villagers could not obtain any train tickets and they had to take the motorcycles home or charter a bus. Bus tickets are rising rapidly as well.

Mr. Ye told reporters (Recording):
“It is the same every year. Some of the workers might have spent a week sleeping on the street to line up and buy a ticket. The line was as long as 2-3 kilometers, but they still could not obtain a ticket. The factories they worked at are all closed for the holiday, so even if they stayed, there would be nothing to eat. Some rode a motorcycle back. Bus prices rose a lot. Many returned on a chartered bus, costing about 100 Yuan each, but that price is said to increase to 140 or 150 Yuan. This happens every year, lasting for about 40 days, when Chinese New Year is around the corner. There is an entrepreneur who bought 4 or 5 buses, and he can get his investment of hundreds of thousands of Yuan back because of this rush. Isn’t he good?”

Craig Richter; Lu Fang of the SOH Radio Network.

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Beijing Judicial Bureau monitors Falun Gong lawyers

An illegal hearing of two Falun Gong practitioners was held in Yichun City of Heiliongjiang Province, on the morning of January 26th. Before the hearing of Sun Dexiang and Liu Mingshu, the Beijing Judicial Bureau warned the two lawyers representing Sun Dexiang not to post their arguments on the internet or accept interviews from foreign media.
Sun and Liu are practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice of mind and body that teaches the principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. Practitioners of Falun Gong, along with religions like Christianity, Tibetan Buddhism and Catholicism to name a few, are persecuted in China.

Sun’s lawyer, Mr. Li Jinglin is from Beijing and he has provided his service to numerous Falun Gong practitioners. Li Jinglin said (recording), “I have been warned on other cases that no lawyer could publish their defense over the web or give interviews to foreign media. This is a huge step backwards for the law. It is a stressful period right now. Therefore I’m not at liberty to disclose much right now. It is too difficult to be a lawyer in China.”

Also representing the defendants is Beijing lawyer Li Changming. Li submitted a “not guilty” plea for Sun. He turned down an interview for fear his telephone was being monitored by Communist authorities. Li Changming said(recording), “My telephone is not safe. I’m not at liberty to discuss these matters.”

According to the son of Sun Dexing, Che Hongbo, the hearing on the 26th went from 9am to 12pm. Che Hongbo said (recording), “The result of the first trial is not out yet. It is usually expected to be released a month and a half after the court accepts the case. A decision must be made within this time period. A checkpoint was set up at the entrance, and only those with visitor’s passes were allowed in. The court only gave one pass to me, and no one else. There were seven or eight people, all waiting at the entrance hoping for justice. The lawyer’s arguments were quite good, but he didn’t give it to me.”

According to reports Clearwisdom net, another Falun Gong practitioner in her eighties, Ms. Liu Mingshu, was tried on the same day. On the 20th July last year, after Liu was illegally kidnapped, she became seriously ill. It was not until she paid 10,000 Yuan, that she obtained a guarantor awaiting trial. Her family carried her to the court, and she remained silent through the entire hearing.

Perry Luo, Xin Gang and Lu Fang of the SOH Radio Network.

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New property regulations widely condemned

A new regulation for housing demolitions has just been released. On January 29th, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council issued a draft resolution titled the ‘Ordinance for Housing Collection and Compensation on State-owned land’. As soon as the new regulations were released, it received widespread condemnation. One criticism was this wouldn’t put an end to forced demolitions and only gave it a new name and a legitimate front.

Liu Feiyue, a human rights activist based in Hubei Province, says the regulations will create a legal hotbed for forced evictions due to its inclusion of commercial relocations. He told reporters (recording):
“Actually, these regulations should focus on the demolition of land for public purposes. However it includes commercial activities, in fact, it permits such commercial activities to continue existing. We believe however public demolitions and relocation shouldn’t include commercial activities. Commercial demolition is akin to buying things from a market, it’s a relationship of buying and selling, buying and selling are a different relationship from public welfare.”

Mr Liu says the regulations will be difficult to implement due to corruption amongst officials. He stated (recording):
“In reality, the authorities are greater than the law, and since officials hold absolute power, many regulations can’t be implemented effectively. They’re just sheets of waste paper. We’ll be very concerned even if the new regulations pass through, this means developers and local officials will have to give up their vested interests, I can see great difficulties with this.”

Wu Tianli, a Beijing resident believes the regulations don’t deal clearly with the public’s interest. Because there is still a huge commercial interest at stake, it will be difficult to protect people’s rights. She said (recording):
“If these regulations were for the people, it would clearly outline their interests…Because the buying and selling of land still exists, there will still be competition and forced demolitions won’t end. This is the truth.”

The Legislative Affairs Office has stated it is open to suggestions and opinions on the regulations. Ms Wu says this is only for show (recording):
“Forced demolitions and relocations have caused worldwide anger. It is very difficult to deal with and it may feel embarrassed. So it let’s everyone think it’s open to suggestions. This is only for show; I do not believe it is true.”

Chen Qiyong, a victim of forced demolitions in Shanghai, says the regulations don’t grant any protection to victims, and only provide protection to developers and officials. He said (recording):
“It’s a change in name only; the people still don’t receive any benefits. Before the government would demolish our homes, force us to relocate and steal our property. It’s these same people who have set up the regulations to keep up with the times. It acts as a protective umbrella. They’re saying the stealing of property is now legitimate.”

Li Huifang, a Shanghai petitioner, has issued an appeal for millions of victims around China. She said (recording):
“Before you issue these regulations, you should resolve issues from the past. There should be a proposal for problems left over from the past. Corrupt officials should return property they robbed from ordinary people. Punish those who broke the law. We are all victims, we were detained and re-educated through labor and all this because of relocations. These demolitions have caused great pain for many of us; they should pay back the innocents.”

According to Shandong lawyer Ni Wenhua, the unconstitutional ‘Regulation on the Dismantlement of Urban Houses’ released by the State Council in 2001 is still in effect. He says cases of forced demolitions are actually increasing all over China.

Chris Thomas, Fu Ming, and Zhu Jiaqi of the SOH Radio Network.

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