Chinese Petitioners Demand Answers for Missing Relief Funds

[Sixty-two petitioners gathered at the CCP Ministry of Finance on Feb. 8 demanding that the ministry publicize the whereabouts of relief funds from 2004 to 2014. (From Human Rights Campaign in China)]

Chinese petitioners risked being thrown in the black jails to demand the Ministry of Finance publicize where 10 years of missing relief funds are.

Sixty-two petitioners gathered at the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Ministry of Finance on Feb. 8, demanding the ministry admit the whereabouts of relief funds from 2004 to 2014. Petitioners were told they would receive a written reply within 15 business days. 

Another four petitioners gathered in the streets of Beijing holding a sign that called on the CCP to “expose the secrets of the Majialou security funds.” 

Shanghai petitioner Yu Chunxiang, who has been appealing against injustice for 30 years, spoke to the Epoch Times: “Since 2008, more than 30 Shanghai petitioners have been demanding that the national audit office publicize the whereabouts of special relief funds. We have never received a response. 

“The security budget is larger than the military budget, and most of the money has been embezzled by the security department. The only part of the budget that goes to petitioners is the packaged foods we get in jail.”

“There is no law in this country,” Yu said. “Law enforcement officers say, ‘I am the law.’ They would never help petitioners resolve problems, since we are a ready source of money for them. At Tiananmen Square, police officers fight each other to arrest petitioners and ask petitioners to provide testimonies so it is clear who arrested them. They would not go to such lengths if it weren’t for the benefits.”

Another petitioner Hao Shue from Heilongjiang spoke to the Epoch Times about his experience and the corruption in the system: “On Nov. 13, 2012, I was arrested by the Jixi police in front of the Beijing High Court. 

“I was locked in an underground jail next to the Jingxi Hotel and chained to a bed while security officers stayed at the hotel and spent the security budget on lavish food and drink. Not only did we not get a single cent, we were subject to beating, imprisonment, and torture.” 

Petitioners in China are often illegally arrested and persecuted for having the courage to speak up against an injustice. 

Translation by Virginia Wu. Research by Lisa Huang. Written in English by Christine Ford.

Read the original Chinese article.