Wang Xiuying: My Personal Experience Petitioning in Beijing—Petitioners Live in Corners Untouched by the “Light of the Law”

I have been defending my rights for 25 years， this year was the first time I petitioned in Beijing， and the first time in more than 20 years that I successfully made it from home to Beijing “secretly.” I once believed that when a citizen exercises their legitimate rights within the scope prescribed by law， that is a natural human right. But， in China with Chinese characteristics， power can stand above the law， while the law cannot restrain power. As a result， whenever I bought a plane or train ticket to Beijing， I was either blocked before leaving home， or intercepted halfway there.

The following is my experience of going to Beijing on February 23 this year （the seventh day of the first lunar month）：

I turned off my phone and secretly went to Beijing with a friend

In the past I believed I was defending my rights in accordance with the law， and whenever I went to Beijing I would always openly pre-purchase a ticket. Later I discovered that my right to travel was restricted. Since going “openly” did not work， I could only take the “secret” route.

This year， on the seventh day of the first lunar month， I found an experienced petitioner-friend to accompany me to Beijing. We traveled in a private car， turned off our phones， wrapped them tightly in shielding cloth， and set out for Beijing. We had become frightened of being intercepted along the way， so we changed vehicles several times on the road to Beijing. At around 8 p.m. on February 24， we arrived in Gu'an， Hebei， and then changed to a taxi. This time——our trip to Beijing began its story here:

After we got into this taxi， the driver began carrying out his “selling petitioners” operation. He said he had long cooperated with the personnel on duty at the checkpoints into the city， and even sent a red envelope to the other party in front of us to “buy off” them and have them let us into the city. He then asked us to give him our identity cards， saying he would show them to the other party and return them to us. We thought this was a routine check. But he took our identity cards and photographed them， then contacted people at the checkpoint. This was what is known as “selling petitioners”——selling our information to the local government where we lived. We heard that the local government would pay him 10,000 yuan for each person's information. The driver had absolutely no authority to photograph our identity cards. After learning his purpose， we told him to stop. We got out， paid him the fare， and left. After that， we flagged down another taxi. The driver of this vehicle promised to take us into the city before accepting payment and not disclose our identity information， but each person had to pay him 360 yuan as an entry fee.

We are victims. Having been victimized by the provincial government， we could not find anyone to give us an explanation. We believe in the Party Central Committee， so we went to report our problems to higher-level departments， only to end up sneaking around like a mistress. A mistress does not have to spend money to sneak around， while we have to pay high fees to boost the sacred state's “GDP.”

What I saw in the capital

1、I saw petitioners shivering and spending the freezing cold nights in bitter weather， solely so that they could seek help from the state organs of power the next day and have their problems resolved.

At a little after 2 a.m. on February 25， the taxi driver dropped us off at a subway station on Beijing's Sixth Ring Road. Beijing was very cold. We found a KFC restaurant and sat there until dawn.

In recent years， multiple state departments have prohibited the blocking and interception of petitioners. I thought it would be safe once I reached Beijing and that local governments would not dare intercept petitioners there. I secretly left my petitioner-friend alone， turned on my phone， and took the subway to the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration.

During the Two Sessions， there were people selling petitioners everywhere in Beijing. After I came out of the subway station， I was targeted by one of them. I shook off the “hunter” by taking a winding route. By the time I reached the reception area of the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration， it was already noon. They only received petitioners for half a day that day and did not receive them in the afternoon. I had heard from petitioner-friends that if you stayed at a hostel in Beijing， the police would come to harass you and notify the local government to intercept you. They told me that the safest place was only outside the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration.

From noon until after 9 p.m.， I kept walking back and forth around the complaints and proposals office. I saw an old man in thin clothing， wrapped in a woven plastic bag， crouched beneath a bridge. I also saw some petitioners huddled beside railings， some curled up in corners， and some curled up at the entrance to the complaints and proposals office with a dirty、old、torn、thin quilt. At night they endured the freezing conditions this way， shivering. My heart ached as though it were being twisted by a blender. Another scene then appeared in my mind: China， this economic power， provides several hundred million to more than one billion yuan in aid to North Korea every year， and more than 60 billion yuan in aid to Africa each year. Yet their own citizens before my eyes were suffering in the freezing cold because their rights had been violated， trying to convey their demands to relevant state departments.

2、I saw that in the eyes of the country's leaders， petitioners do not even count as “people”

On February 26 and 27， I queued outside the complaints and proposals office. I saw tens of thousands of people petitioning. I saw batches of people intercepting petitioners mixed among them and persuading them not to petition. I saw security personnel shouting at the crowds of petitioners. I saw petitioners queue for an entire day without food or water. They did not give petitioners queue numbers. If a petitioner left the line to get something to eat， they had to queue again， for another one or two days. I saw that there was not even a single bench from the entire reception area to the reception windows.

Petitioners are also people. Most petitioners' wrongful cases were created by state organs of power. Does the state not claim to govern with humanity? Where are petitioners' human rights? In the past， even when people were to be beheaded， prisoners would be allowed to eat their fill before execution. Most of these petitioners are elderly and frail. There are no chairs to sit on at the reception area， not even a place to shelter from the wind and rain. When it rains， they can only get soaked. They are all victims whose rights have been violated. Petitioners also came to Beijing from all directions because they believe in the country's laws and the wisdom of its leaders. In the end they had no sleep， no food， and were left freezing. Those in power demand that the people love the Party and the country， but has this Party-state treated the people as human beings? Would it be so difficult to give petitioners a queue number at the complaints and proposals office， install a queue-number display like those in hospitals， put up a shelter against the wind， and set out several rows of chairs?

Judging from Beijing's expulsion of its low-end population and its treatment of petitioners since the end of 2017， I can only explain it this way: our national leaders divide people into different ranks， and the petitioner group is regarded by the leadership as the lowest class. In the eyes of the upper class， the lower class does not deserve human rights. Or perhaps the top leaders are sending petitioners a signal: if you come to petition， you will be made to taste what petitioning is like!

I do not know whether there is any better explanation. I hope the senior leaders will be kind enough to enlighten me!

How did this lower-class group of petitioners come into being? The leaders know better than anyone. I will continue to explain this petition trip through facts. I will write only this much for today.

Wang Xiuying

Written on March 21, 2026