Criticism of the petition reform in China - The new regulations will lead to more violent protests

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) accuses the government of the Chinese People's Republic of introducing more restrictions to civil rights by means of the reform of the petition system. A new regulation, which will come into force on May 1, will disentitle petitioners of addressing the central government with their appeals. With only a few exceptions, all petitions are then to be handled by the local authorities – which are, however, often the instances that the petitioners are accusing of civil rights violations. "It's like setting a fox to keep the geese – and there will be even less petitioners whose petitions are granted. In China, there is no rule of law to guarantee that petitions will be examined by an independent and credible instance," criticized Ulrich Delius, the STP's Asia-consultant, in Göttingen on Friday.

"We fear that the controversial ’reform’ will lead to even more violent protests by frustrated petitioners," said Delius. In 2013, rejected petitioners had committed dozens of bomb- or arson attacks and stabbings – of out plain despair or anger. "Since the petitions worked as a safety valve for the political system, which is characterized by arbitrariness and abuse of power, the dangerous trend will probably become even more apparent."

Every year, there are tens of thousands of petitions to the central government. Many of the petitioners feel left alone in the rapid economic development. Most of them lost their houses or apartments due to real estate speculation by local functionaries of the Communist Party, while others were assaulted by influential party cadres or are Falun Gong practitioners who were kept from practicing their faith. They all feel united by the feeling of being treated unlawfully due to corruption and abuse of power at local level.

The public protests by petitioners in Beijing have attracted national and international attention. Local authorities regularly deploy security forces to the capital to intimidate petitioners, to threaten, beat or take them into custody to prevent an image loss for their provincial administration. Often, the petitioners are detained for days in secret detention centers in Beijing before they are forcibly brought back to their home towns, where – until now – they often faced labor and reeducation camps. Many of the petitioners arrested in 2013 had already been detained by the authorities several times before to stop them from expressing their concerns.

"The problem is not the petitioners, but the systematic abuse of power and the arbitrariness of the party cadres and state organs," said Delius. "As long as there is no rule of law in China, such infringements of civil rights will continue to infuriate those who are affected – but that will not help to stop the growing discontent."

Ulrich Delius, head of STP's Asia department, is available for further questions: Tel. 0551 49906 27 or asien@gfbv.de.