Wuhan City Circulates Internal Document from Jiang Government Prohibiting Appeals from Three Groups

(Cleariwisdom.net) Before the National Holiday of October 1, various levels of the Wuhan City government held emergency meetings to circulate an internal document from Jiang's regime which prohibited appeals from three groups of people during the National Holiday.

According to the news, the three groups that are prohibited from appealing are:

1. Falun Gong practitioners
2. Veteran soldiers who fought in the Korean War
3. Laid-off workers of state-operated industries

Appealing is a basic right the Constitution endows on citizens to report problems and make suggestions to the government. In 1996, the policies regarding appeals made by the State Department explicitly stated, "No organizations or individuals shall suppress, retaliate against or persecute appealers."

The "Jiang government internal document" circulated before the National Holiday obviously goes against the related legislation in China's Constitution and the state's regulations on appeals. This also exposes the cruel social reality behind the apparent economic prosperity in China.

Recently, in the eyes of some government officials, "appealing" is the same as "making trouble." They regard appealers as "malcontents" and people who report problems as "unstable elements." They think appealers will affect the image of the local government and disturb the stability of society, and at the same time affect their personal political careers and promotions. Some government officials fear that those who appeal will expose their corruption and they will do whatever they can to suppress and obstruct them, including illegally restricting and even depriving them of their right to appeal. What's worse, using the excuse of "treating the appealers according to the law" and "regulating appeals," they willfully regard people's legitimate appeals as illegal and actually retaliate against appealers. A few local governments even treated appealers as targets of persecution during the "strike hard against crime" campaign.

Attachment:

Article 41 [Freedom of Speech]

Citizens of the People's Republic of China have the right to criticize and make suggestions to any state agency or functionary. Citizens have the right to make to relevant state agencies complaints and charges against, or exposures of, any state agency or functionary for violation of the law or dereliction of duty.

The State's Regulations on Appeals

Article eight stipulates: the person lodging the appeal may submit documents to the relevant agencies on items that involve "criticism, suggestions, and requests intended for administrative agencies and staff members," "making a formal complaint against actions that have invaded one's legal rights and interests," among others.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/9/30/37309.html

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