Open Letter from 256 Petitioners in Shaanxi to Chairman Zhao Leji and Secretary Li Xi

Dear Chairman Zhao Leji of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and Head Li Xi of the Central Leading Group for Inspection Work:

We are 256 petitioners from Shaanxi Province. During this year’s “two sessions,” we jointly submitted two applications each to Chairman Zhao Leji of the NPC Standing Committee and Head Li Xi of the Central Leading Group for Inspection Work, respectfully requesting that they urge the Central Inspection Team No. 15 to perform its inspection and oversight duties in accordance with the law and resolve several issues concerning our complaints and reports submitted to that team. These four letters were sent on March 10, 2026. More than 15 days have now passed, yet we have received no response. To prevent our requests from being shelved, we are making the relevant circumstances public and issuing a special statement concerning the unlawful and irregular conduct we have encountered during the process of petitioning and defending our rights, as well as the failure of relevant parties to perform their statutory duties. We respectfully request that the leaders exercise their oversight powers in accordance with the law, urge the relevant departments to perform their duties conscientiously, and safeguard the dignity of the law and citizens’ lawful rights and interests.

All 256 applicants are parties and relatives from various parts of Shaanxi Province who have suffered abuses of power and unlawful violations in criminal and administrative law enforcement. Since July 2025, we have consistently asserted our rights before Central Inspection Team No. 15 in strict accordance with laws and regulations including the Regulations on Petitioning Work and the Regulations on Inspection Work of the Communist Party of China. However, we have repeatedly encountered multiple unlawful situations, including violations of our lawful petitioning rights, retaliation against petitioners’ representatives, and the rendering of statutory oversight procedures ineffective.

With regard to the protection of statutory petitioning rights, we submitted joint letters to Central Inspection Team No. 15 on two occasions: the Request for Central Inspection Team No. 15 to Conduct a Focused Inspection in Conjunction with Shaanxi Inspection Bodies and the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission into the Alleged Violations of Laws and Discipline by the Shaanxi Provincial Procuratorate Reported by More Than 200 Petitioners in Shaanxi, and the Request for Central Inspection Team No. 15 to Dispatch Personnel in Conjunction with the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee Inspection Body to Supervise and Resolve the Two Requests Jointly Submitted by More Than 200 Petitioners in Shaanxi Concerning Alleged Violations of Laws and Discipline by the Provincial Procuratorate. Both letters were refused without justification. When we subsequently mailed materials through the postal service, we were prohibited, on the grounds of “instructions from above,” from writing the name of the inspection team leader, and the mailing channel was deliberately blocked. The above conduct directly violates the explicit provision of the Regulations on Petitioning Work that “petition work bodies shall receive petition materials in accordance with the law and shall not refuse to receive or handle them.” It constitutes an open infringement of citizens’ statutory petitioning rights and also contravenes the basic principles of petition work—“convenience” and “efficiency.”

With regard to compliance with judicial and law-enforcement procedures, our core petition representatives, the couple Guo Shiyuan and Shi Cunxiang, have suffered clear, targeted retaliation for defending their rights in accordance with the law, and the relevant case-handling procedures contain multiple serious violations of the law. On the evening of August 18, 2025, four people who were not wearing police uniforms and did not present law-enforcement identification or legal documents forcibly entered Guo Shiyuan’s home and took him away. When his wife, Shi Cunxiang, tried to stop them, she was beaten and taken away as well. The following day, case-handling personnel smashed the door and picked the lock to conduct an illegal search while none of the family members was present, and issued no list for the items seized. The above conduct seriously violated the statutory procedures concerning compulsory measures, searches and seizures under the Criminal Procedure Law. After Guo Shiyuan was administratively detained, he was arrested and prosecuted on suspicion of provoking trouble and creating disturbances; Shi Cunxiang was criminally detained on suspicion of obstructing official duties. The family’s repeated lawful applications for release on bail pending trial were rejected, and at the trial the presiding judge refused to allow members of the public to attend. This series of actions not only violated the basic principles of “due process and protection of human rights” in criminal procedure, but also clearly falls within the prohibition in the Regulations on Petitioning Work against “retaliating against petitioners.” Signs of behind-the-scenes intervention by those in power are clearly visible.

With regard to the performance of statutory duties of inspection and oversight, Central Inspection Team No. 15, as an oversight body dispatched by the central authorities, failed to perform in accordance with the Regulations on Inspection Work of the Communist Party of China its statutory duties of accepting petitions, recording problems, and investigating and handling them. We submitted materials three times at the inspection team’s reception window, reporting alleged violations of law and discipline by the provincial procuratorate and the unlawful detention of Guo Shiyuan and Shi Cunxiang. Staff accepted the materials and promised to forward them for handling, but failed to register the relevant information in the system as required; subsequent inquiries found no record. Two joint letters we mailed to the Central Leading Group for Inspection Work, urgently reporting that relevant departments in Shaanxi were suspected of obstructing the work of the central inspection team and infringing petitioners’ lawful rights and interests, have received no response for five months. This has rendered the statutory checkpoint of inspection oversight ineffective, preventing unlawful and disciplinary problems at the grassroots level from being promptly investigated and corrected. In addition, on January 27, 2026, when the Shaanxi provincial “two sessions” were convened, we submitted to Zhao Yide, director of the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee, a joint application requesting oversight of the lawful performance of duties. We have still received no response; the statutory oversight powers of the local people’s congress have not been effectively exercised, creating a gap in the oversight process.

The Constitution grants citizens the rights to appeal, accuse and report. Relevant laws and regulations set out clear procedural and substantive provisions governing petition work, inspection work, and judicial and law-enforcement work. These provisions are not only the basis for citizens’ defense of their rights, but also the bottom line for state organs in performing their duties. The obstruction of petitioning and unlawful case handling by relevant departments in Shaanxi, the unlawful prosecution of Guo Shiyuan and Shi Cunxiang, and the failure of Central Inspection Team No. 15 to perform its duties of registering and investigating petitions have not only infringed the individual lawful rights and interests of our 256 applicants, but have also trampled on the seriousness of the law, damaged the authority of central inspection work, and undermined the public’s trust in judicial fairness and the rule-of-law process.

One of the core duties of the NPC Standing Committee is to oversee one government—the State Council; one commission—the National Commission of Supervision; and two courts—the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate.

On the basis of the above legal facts, we respectfully request that Chairman Zhao Leji perform his oversight duties in accordance with the law, supervise the National Commission of Supervision, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate in dispatching special investigation teams to directly investigate and correct all wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice in Shaanxi Province and pursue the legal liability of all personnel who handled cases unlawfully, and implement correction through jurisdiction outside the locality for all major, difficult and complicated cases. We reiterate our three lawful and reasonable requests:

1. Inspection Team No. 15 and the Shaanxi Provincial Leading Group for Inspection Work shall strictly accept our jointly submitted complaint materials in accordance with the law, comprehensively investigate the relevant violations of law and discipline by the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Procuratorate, and implement the statutory requests we previously submitted;

2. The unlawful and disciplinary conduct by relevant departments of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an City and Huyi District in obstructing petitioning, rendering central inspection work ineffective, and retaliating against petitioners shall be seriously investigated and sanctioned in accordance with the relevant rules, discipline and law, and the binding force of the law shall be effectively maintained;

3. Immediately correct the unlawful compulsory measures taken against the Shiyuan couple, protect their personal freedom and litigation rights in accordance with the law, comprehensively investigate the procedural violations and abuse of power in the case, and restore justice to the parties.

Dear Chairman Zhao Leji, Shaanxi Province is your home province, and you have also worked there. You should be able to understand the hardship and suffering endured by rights defenders in Shaanxi as a result of judicial corruption. Shaanxi’s becoming a nationally notorious lawless zone did not happen overnight. The fact that public security, procuratorial and judicial officials in Shaanxi have unlawfully handled cases for years, causing widespread public resentment and making people unable to live in peace, is tantamount to smearing your reputation. The rule of law is the basic means of governing the country and exercising state power. Protecting citizens’ lawful rights and supervising state organs in performing their duties in accordance with the law are statutory duties of the NPC Standing Committee and the Central Leading Group for Inspection Work. We respectfully request that the leaders supervise and handle this matter in accordance with the law, urge the relevant bodies to provide us with a written response within 60 days, punish those who have violated the law, clear the names of those who have been wronged, uphold the dignity of the law, and ensure that central inspection and oversight is genuinely implemented. We have always firmly believed that, within the framework of the rule of law, our reasonable demands will ultimately be resolved, and judicial fairness and social fairness and justice will ultimately be demonstrated!

256 rights-defending citizens of Shaanxi Province

March 26, 2026

Attachment:

Application by 550 Rights-Defending Representatives in Shaanxi Province Requesting that Provincial People’s Congress Director Zhao Yide Perform His Statutory Oversight Duties

To: The Standing Committee of the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Congress and Director Zhao Yide

Applicants: Li Naitang, Zhang Heping, Li Qihong, Shi Xiuju, Wang Xiaoqin, Zhang Xiaojuan, Tao Lanmei, Zan Hengzhong, Zhang Minxia, et al. (list of 256 people attached)

Li Naitang: Address: No. 10 Bailing Forest, Beilin District, Xi’an; telephone: 18509214480;

Respondent 1: Shaanxi Provincial Joint Inspection Team; team leader: Wang Xingning (secretary of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission);

Respondent 2: Shaanxi Provincial People’s Procuratorate; procurator general: Wang Xuguang;

Respondent 3: Shaanxi Provincial Public Security Department; director: Yu Ping.

Respondent 4: Shaanxi Provincial Higher People’s Court; president: Han Deyang.

I. Basis of the application

On the basis of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, the Supervision Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standing Committees of People’s Congresses at All Levels, the Organic Law of the People’s Procuratorates of the People’s Republic of China, the Provisions on Pursuing Responsibility for Law-Enforcement Errors by People’s Police of Public Security Organs, the Measures of Shaanxi Province for Implementing the Supervision Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standing Committees of People’s Congresses at All Levels, and other laws and regulations, the applicants, as citizens who have suffered unlawful violations by state-power departments, enjoy the statutory rights to appeal and lodge complaints in accordance with the law. The Standing Committee of the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Congress, as the standing body of the local state organ of power, has the statutory duty to supervise the lawful exercise of authority by the provincial people’s government, supervisory commission, people’s court and people’s procuratorate. The applicants now request that your committee perform its oversight duties in accordance with the law concerning prominent problems existing in the performance of duties by the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Procuratorate and other departments.

II. Requests

1. Urge the Shaanxi Provincial Commission of Supervision (Secretary Wang Xingning), the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Procuratorate (Procurator General Wang Xuguang) and other relevant departments to formally investigate in accordance with the law the leads concerning suspected dereliction of duty and violations of law and discipline by Wang Xiaodong, director of the Tenth Procuratorial Department of the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Procuratorate, prosecutors involved in cases at procuratorates at all levels, and relevant public-security police officers; investigate President Han Deyang of the Shaanxi Provincial Higher People’s Court for failing over a long period to perform his statutory duties, evading responsibility and passing the buck, and engaging in arbitrary conduct under the pretext that a new official will not deal with old cases; investigate the conduct of judges at courts throughout Shaanxi who have openly handled cases unlawfully, resulting in wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice throughout the province; and strictly pursue the disciplinary and legal liability of the relevant bodies and responsible personnel for verified dereliction of duty;

2. Between July and August 2025, the applicants sent three jointly signed letters to Central Inspection Team No. 15 and the Shaanxi Provincial Joint Inspection Team: the Request for Central Inspection Team No. 15 to Conduct a Focused Inspection in Conjunction with Shaanxi Inspection Bodies and the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission into the Alleged Violations of Laws and Discipline by the Provincial Procuratorate Reported by More Than 200 Petitioners in Shaanxi; the Request for Central Inspection Team No. 15 to Dispatch Personnel in Conjunction with Shaanxi Inspection Bodies to Supervise and Resolve the Two Requests Jointly Submitted by More Than 200 People Concerning Alleged Violations of Laws and Discipline by the Provincial Procuratorate; and the Urgent Appeal for the Central Inspection Team to Order Shaanxi Public Security to Immediately Release the Couple Guo Shiyuan. To date, more than 182 days have passed since the first joint letter was sent, and more than five months since the second was sent. We have received neither any procedural response from Central Inspection Team No. 15 nor a notice of acceptance from the Shaanxi Provincial Joint Inspection Team headed by Team Leader Wang Xingning. We respectfully request that Director Zhao Yide promptly ascertain the specific reasons for and responsible parties behind the refusal to accept, obstruction of transmission and disappearance of the letters, and hold the relevant personnel accountable;

3. Urge the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Procuratorate to strictly implement the relevant provisions of the Organic Law of the People’s Procuratorates of the People’s Republic of China, have the procurator general personally receive representatives of the applicants within 15 days of accepting this application, formulate a list of cases assigned for special handling within 60 days, and provide a written response concerning the petition matters; order Wang Xiaodong to recuse himself from matters related to the applicants and remove him from his position as director of the Tenth Procuratorial Department in accordance with the law;

4. Urge the Shaanxi Provincial Public Security Department, pursuant to the Provisions on Pursuing Responsibility for Law-Enforcement Errors by People’s Police of Public Security Organs, to promptly and strictly investigate the unlawful law-enforcement conduct of the Huyi Branch of the Xi’an Public Security Bureau and the Huyi District People’s Procuratorate in prosecuting the couple Guo Shiyuan and Shi Cunxiang without cause, and immediately release them without charge.

5. Require the above-mentioned relevant departments to provide a written response within 30 days of accepting this application concerning the investigation and handling, verification results and corrective measures, and report progress to the Standing Committee of the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Congress.

III. Facts and reasons

(I) Background to the core demands

The applicants number 256 in total and come from various parts of Shaanxi Province. Having suffered unlawful violations or unfair treatment by criminal and administrative law-enforcement departments, they have defended their rights through lawful channels for a long period without obtaining effective relief. As the state organ responsible for legal supervision, the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Procuratorate has, in the course of handling the applicants’ complaints, been guilty of improper conduct including dereliction of duty and shirking responsibility through Wang Xiaodong, head of its complaints and appeals prosecution department, and prosecutors involved in the cases, resulting in the applicants’ lawful rights and interests not being protected in accordance with the law and seriously damaging public confidence in the judiciary (for details of the cases, see the attached Summary of the Cases of 550 People).

(II) Multiple obstacles encountered when reporting circumstances to the central inspection team

While Central Inspection Team No. 15 was conducting inspection work in Shaanxi from July to September 2025, the applicants repeatedly encountered obstacles when reporting relevant problems to the team. On July 25 and August 25, the applicants twice went to the inspection team’s reception window to submit a joint letter, and on both occasions local petition workers refused to accept it without legitimate reason. After joint letters were sent by express mail to Li Jianming, leader of Central Inspection Team No. 15, and Wang Xingning, leader of the Shaanxi Provincial Joint Inspection Team, we never received any form of confirmation of receipt or feedback on handling. When we subsequently tried to mail the letters again, the post office restricted the inclusion of the name “Team Leader Li Jianming” on the mail, preventing normal delivery. In addition, the applicants submitted joint reports four times to the inspection team’s reception window concerning the baseless prosecution of the couple Guo Shiyuan and Shi Cunxiang. Although the letters were accepted, the relevant issues have still not received substantive handling, and the applicants’ lawful right to appeal has been seriously deprived.

(III) Relevant departments failed to perform their statutory duties in accordance with the law

Article 12 of the Supervision Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standing Committees of People’s Congresses at All Levels provides that the matters collectively reported by the 256 applicants concern major people’s livelihood interests and the construction of the rule of law, and fall within the key scope of the oversight work of the standing committee of the people’s congress at the corresponding level. However, the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Procuratorate failed to handle the applicants’ complaints in accordance with the law, while relevant departments improperly controlled the inspection team’s petition channel and obstructed the public from normally exercising its oversight rights. This conduct violated relevant provisions of the Regulations on Inspection Work of the Communist Party of China and the Measures of Shaanxi Province for Implementing the Supervision Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standing Committees of People’s Congresses at All Levels, and constitutes inaction and arbitrary action in failing to perform statutory duties in accordance with the law.

(IV) After Central Inspection Team No. 15 withdrew, public security, procuratorial and judicial departments at all levels in Shaanxi continued to allow procedures to operate in circles, perform their duties unlawfully, and issue false responses to petitioners to evade responsibility and pass the buck.

Article 30 of the State Council’s Regulations on Petitioning Work provides that petitioners’ reports and accusations, as well as relevant circumstances, shall not be disclosed or transferred to the persons or bodies reported or accused.

Article 52(3) of the Rules on Handling Reports and Complaints by Discipline Inspection and Supervision Organs expressly provides that information or content concerning persons making reports or complaints must not be disclosed, nor may report or complaint materials be transferred to the organizations or personnel being reported or complained against. Violations shall be dealt with seriously in accordance with rules and discipline; where an official violation or crime is suspected, legal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.

Article 32 of the Regulations of the Communist Party of China on the Work of Complaints and Appeals by Discipline Inspection Organs likewise provides that report or complaint materials must not be transferred to the persons reported or complained against, and that the identity of the person making the report or complaint and the content must be kept confidential. Violators shall be held accountable.

In summary, transferring the reporting materials submitted by victims to Central Inspection Team No. 15 to all respondent bodies constitutes a serious violation of confidentiality requirements and procedural justice. It not only constitutes a disciplinary violation, but is also suspected of abuse of power or retaliation against those making reports, and liability should be pursued in accordance with the law. Since all respondent bodies are themselves the subjects of the reports, they have a conflict of interest in conducting “self-investigation and self-response” and lack the qualifications to handle the petition matters submitted by all complainants to Central Inspection Team No. 15. The written or oral responses issued by those bodies therefore lack a lawful basis and are unlawful operations; their conclusions have no legal effect, should not be recognized, and have no impartiality. They will not resolve any problem, but will only facilitate continued retaliation against all complainants. The reporting materials should immediately be withdrawn from all respondent bodies, their unlawful written or oral responses revoked, and their legal liability pursued. A special group for addressing wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice in Shaanxi should instead be established jointly by the Shaanxi Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission and the Shaanxi Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision to conduct dual investigations into every wrongful conviction and miscarriage of justice in Shaanxi, pursue the liability of all officials and personnel who unlawfully handled cases throughout their lifetimes, and compensate all victims of wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice for their economic losses.

To safeguard the dignity of the law and judicial fairness and protect citizens’ lawful rights and interests, we now respectfully request that Director Zhao Yide and the Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee initiate the oversight procedure in accordance with the law:

1. Initiate a special investigation: request that the Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee investigate the performance of duties by the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Procuratorate and the Shaanxi Provincial Joint Inspection Team led by Team Leader Wang Xingning during the inspection conducted by Central Inspection Team No. 15;

2. Hear a special report: recommend that the Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee require the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Procuratorate and the Shaanxi Provincial Joint Inspection Team led by Team Leader Wang Xingning to submit a special work report to the Standing Committee on the above matters and accept its review;

3. Urge correction in accordance with the law: based on the results of the investigation or review, urge the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Procuratorate and the Shaanxi Provincial Joint Inspection Team led by Team Leader Wang Xingning to correct the problems and genuinely perform their statutory duties in accordance with the law;

4. Provide feedback on the oversight results: in accordance with the law, provide appropriate feedback to the applicants or the public on the oversight process, opinions and corrective measures.

In conclusion, the respondents’ inaction and arbitrary conduct in the performance of their duties have seriously infringed the applicants’ lawful rights and interests. To safeguard the dignity of the law, protect citizens’ lawful rights and promote the lawful performance of duties by state organs, we respectfully request that the Standing Committee of the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Congress perform its oversight duties in accordance with the law and support all of the applicants’ demands.

We strongly appeal to Zhao Yide, director of the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Congress, to pay attention to and resolve all wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice in Shaanxi in accordance with the law during the convening of the Shaanxi provincial “two sessions” on January 27, 2026; to protect the lawful interests of all rights-defending citizens; to include the lawful correction of wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice involving rights defenders on the meeting agenda; not to suppress petitioners; to solve practical problems; and to effectively implement the spirit of the central authorities’ rule-of-law strategy. We will not stop for one step or retreat half a step; the law must never yield to illegality!

Respectfully submitted

Standing Committee of the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Congress

Applicants: 550 rights-defending representatives of wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice in Shaanxi Province

January 27, 2026

List of Some Victims of Wrongful Convictions and Miscarriages of Justice in Shaanxi Province (11th edition)

Names and telephone numbers of the listed applicants are retained as provided in the original attachment.

Additional people after the first joint letter was sent to Central Inspection Team No. 15

Signatures continue to be collected…

June 30, 2024: sent to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate

July 10, 2024: sent to the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission

June 30, 2024: sent to Chairman Xi Jinping

July 25, 2025: sent to Central Inspection Team No. 15

August 25, 2025: sent to Central Inspection Team No. 15

The number of people and the numbering changed slightly on the five occasions