A tourist visiting Beijing named Zhao Zhifei (赵志斐) was recently mistaken for a petitioner, and was dragged from his hotel by a dozen unidentified men, and packed into a van on the evening of September 15th. Zhao was then discovered the following day lying unconscious on Yingcai Road (英才路) in Luoyang's Luolong District, in what appears to be a straightforward case of mistaken identity: Zhao was unlucky enough to share a hotel room with three other Henanese men who actually were petitioning in the capital. more ›

Last month, a 77-year-old woman by the name of Zhuang Jinghui stripped off all her clothes and went kneeling on the steps of the district courthouse, kowtowing to the powers that be to investigate her case. more ›

On August 18, Zhuang Jinghui, a 77-year-old woman went naked on her knees in order to call Shanghai’s justice system to account for their ineptitude. She wore nothing but a sign in black and white that says, “I want my case to be investigated. Champion the laws. Return the right to sue to me.” Despite repeated clamors for justice from her and her fellow petitioners standing outside the courthouse, no one stood out to answer her needs on the court’s behalf.

Last Monday, Premier Wen Jiabao paid a rare visit to the State Bureau for Letters and Calls -- the government department where petitioners from all over the country go to air their grievances. It was the first time in 61 years a top government official has visited, leading many people to call it an "encouraging" effort to connect with the people. But by doing so, it seems Wen might have angered the head of the propaganda department. more ›

In the vein of police beatings, China Geeks has the sad story of nine parent petitioners in Beijing who are looking for compensation from the Ministry of Health after their children were harmed by tainted vaccines. Since they were chained together, when the police started beating them, they couldn't escape. One has suffered fractured ribs. They have been denied hospital treatment. more ›

Policemen in Hubei have actually apologized for beating "a petitioner"... because it wasn't a petitioner at all. Rather, poor Mrs. Chen Yulian, 58, was the wife of a Hubei provincial politics and law committee official who was walking to the gate of the provincial party committee's office buildings on June 23. more ›

• Oh jeez, this is something straight out of Chaucer: Fake monks and nuns are conning young folks out of money by peddling Buddhist trinkets. [Chinasmack]
• While modern China has officially promoted gender equality, the modern Chinese woman knows it's not quite that. And she's mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore. [Newsweek]
• Sure they've got missiles and other advanced weaponry, but there's something else the PLA is proud of: their bulldozers. They're for peacekeeping. [Washington Post]

• China's secretive military launches Web site [AP] "China's Defense Ministry launched its first official Web site Thursday, part of an effort by the normally secretive military to be more transparent. The launch of the site — including an English version — comes as the U.S. Army's top general visits Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterparts. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey was to visit the headquarters of the People's Liberation Army on Thursday and meet PLA Chief of the General Staff Chen Bingde."
• More parents protest against lead poisoning in China [Reuters] "The number of Chinese children found with excess lead in their blood near a metal plant in central China has reached 1,354, state media said on Thursday, with new clashes between police and parents over pollution. The rise in initial diagnoses of poisoning around the Wugang Manganese Smelting Plant in Hunan province adds to a recent rash of such cases, which have exposed growing tensions between local governments and residents over pollution, often by poorly regulated plants and factories with ties to local government."
• China bans petitioners in Beijing [BBC News] "The Chinese government has issued a new regulation to stop petitioners from travelling to the capital, Beijing. Legal officials from Beijing will now visit people with complaints in the provinces in order to hear their cases. Petitions can also be filed online and a response or solution is to be given within 60 days."

A group of 38 petitioners from Shanghai yesterday made their way to Hong Kong to submit their application forms for the establishment of a "Chinese Petitioners Alliance" to the Hong Kong Police Headquarters. RFA adds that outside the police headquarters, the petitioners unfurled banners protesting forced evictions by the Shanghai government and accusing the PSB in Shanghai and Beijing of lawlessness. Petitioners said that they were doing this because Hong Kong had greater relative freedom than the mainland, greater respect for the rule of law and greater media freedom. Some of them, who shall remain unnamed here, told the media that prior to this trip to Hong Kong, they were repeatedly harrassed by their local police and area councils and warned that they might be detained on their return to Shanghai and sent in for 're-education'. More news and videos available here (in Chinese and behind the GFW) for those of you that are interested. more ›