Li Qiaochu: Submitting Petition Materials to the Supreme Court for the Third Time

On August 18, 2026, Lawyer Li and I went to the Supreme People's Court for the third time to submit petition materials.

After filling out the “Registration Form for Personnel Making Repeat Visits” on the first floor, we went up to Interview Room 204 on the second floor. Unlike the male judge in Room 206 whom we met the previous two times, Room 204 was occupied by a female judge. As this was her first time handling my case, Lawyer Li briefly stated the grounds for the petition and the main procedural violations. She listened very attentively and rarely interrupted.

We communicated for nearly forty minutes. This time, the criminal petition and newly prepared supplementary materials that we brought were still not accepted on the spot—this was the third time, and my criminal petition has still not been formally docketed.

There were many people in the lobby waiting in line to submit petition materials, and it was not unusual to see people who had come more than ten times. Given the current pace, I do not know how long my case will remain in the queue. I hope the Supreme Court can speed up the review process, initiate proceedings in accordance with the law, and retrieve the case files as soon as possible.

Upon leaving the Supreme Court, I had a feeling all along that “Heaven rewards diligence”—I need to keep going, accumulating visits once every three months; one day, it will finally be my turn for my petition case to be handled.

I often see people online sharing their experiences of persisting with petitions for ten or twenty years. Everyone’s perseverance is filled with hardship and loneliness—as they alternate between confronting the truth of what they experienced and resting, they set out again.

I suppose I am much luckier, having always been accompanied and cared for. And I also know that every effort is made to keep myself from falling out of this world. This is the way my body and mind survive without dissipating in a world that does not name me, acknowledge me, or record me.