On July 28, plainclothes police from Heilongjiang province detained between 50-60 petitioners from Heilongjiang province who came to the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCCPC) in Beijing to appeal. These petitioners were forcibly returned to Heilongjiang province's branch office in Beijing. The usual convention is to immediately return them to Heilongjiang province, where they will be punished, arrested and sent to labor camps.

Twenty-three petitioners from the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang climbed a building in Beijing on July 12th in an apparent attempt at mass suicide. They were jailed along with many other petitioners.

Li Guozhu, a legal clerk in Heilongjiang province, who is detained in Heilongjiang province's branch office, was interviewed via telephone. He said that petitioners went to the Organization Department of CCCPC at 8:00 a.m., and tried to appeal to the officials of the Organization Department to solve their problems. The plainclothes police and officials from Heilongjiang province said they would “solve their problem,” and dragged them into police vehicles. These policemen were all in plainclothes, and did not carry police register numbers, nor did they did show any identification. They claimed to be carrying out the orders of the Heilongjiang province's branch office.

The petitioners have been jailed in a three story building on 67 Youanmen Street, Beijing. Iron wire netting covers the third floor, and two policeman guard the gate. According to the petitioners, this is the location of Heilongjiang province's branch office in Beijing.

Li Guozhu said that there are about 50-60 petitioners from Heilongjiang province jailed in this building. They came to the central government branch to appeal because they weren’t treat justly in their cases. But they still could not get a fair response, and in the end they were detained by officials of Heilongjiang province's branch office in Beijing, who were carrying out the orders of the government of Heilongjiang province.

Reporter: Can you still contact your relatives while you are detained?

Li Guozhu: I have no choice. I have no home to return to now. I am homeless. I was fired by my company, and live on the streets in Beijing. They really persecuted me severely. I was arrested before in Heilongjiang province, and they did not give me any drinking water for seven days. I was forced to drink my own urine to survive. I was fed 100g of bread a day. The suffering that I have been through is unthinkable. I strongly protested against this inhuman treatment, but they continued. I had no choice but to come to Beijing to appeal, but no government branch in Beijing cares about my case.

On July 12, after the 23 representatives of miners from Hegang city, Heilongjiang province (who attempted to commit suicide) were arrested by Beijing police, 200-300 miners came from Heilongjiang province to Beijing to support their representives. Apparently 400-500 policemen followed them all the way from Heilongjiang province. When they entered Sanhe city in Hebei province, not far from Beijing, police from Heilongjiang province and local police surrounded them, and blocked the nearby roads. The standoff with police lasted until the evening, and then the contact with them was lost. There were far more policeman than miners, they presumably abducted them and sent them back to Heilongjiang province.

They came to protest after the mine officials fired them. And, since they have worked for so many years in the mine, that they have no other way to make living.

Li Guozhu said that several thousand petitioners from Heilongjiang province went to Beijing to appeal. By 10:46 p.m. today the number of petitioners in the detention room increased to around 60-70.

The petitioners in the room started to sing a song of petition. The song is mournful and moving:

" Heilongjiang is black and black (Heilongjiang means black dragon river), the petitioners are more and more..."