On June 4, seven petitioners from Fujian Province in southeastern China arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and attempted to commit collective suicide by poisoning themselves. Their attempt was thwarted and they now remain under guard in the hospital.
According to a June 4 report by Hong Kong-based Ming Pao, one of the petitioners, Chen Jiafa, said that they arrived at the American Citizen Services office of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to commit suicide by swallowing pesticide, but after one gulp of it, he was pushed to the ground by someone rushing toward them who flung the pesticide bottle away.
Chen Jiafa’s daughter-in-law was beaten to death years ago. Thereafter, he has constantly appealed in Beijing for justice. This time he opted for the U.S. Embassy since he was denied all requests for his appeals.
That day marked the 22nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, but security measures, though on high alert in many places in Beijing, had not been strengthened in and around the American Citizen Services office of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Nonetheless, there were still several police officers in plain clothes milling around, one of whom must have realized what was happening and intervened. The seven petitioners were reported to be hospitalized and the hospital kept them under guard.
One of the petitioners said the reason for their suicide attempt outside the U.S. Embassy was to call on the international community to express concern about the situations of mistreated groups in China.
Though petitioners in China have appealed outside foreign embassies in the past, this was the first known attempted suicide by petitioners at such a high-profile location.
