HONG KONG—A voluntary grassroots association of Chinese petitioners convened in Hong Kong for their first conference and declared their intention to say “No” to the communist authorities. The conference was held on March 5 on the opening of the Second Session of the Eleventh Nation People’s Congress in Beijing.
The League pointed out it was still growing steadily and had attracted a total of over 82,000 members across the country. They would like to say plainly to the communist authorities that they will change their way of appealing in the future, concentrate their efforts on exposing the truth and safeguarding human rights, strive collectively for rights protection and expand their activities overseas.
Shen Ting, the chairman of the League, said, “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cannot stand for China while we, the people living at the foot of the social ladder, are those who really represent China. Through the conference we say “no” to the CCP. We need an answer from the CCP. We struggle for human dignity and hope the international community hears our voice.”
The League was first formed in Hong Kong on December 10, 2008 in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Ten Shanghai petitioners successfully broke through countless encirclements and blockades from the CCP to join Shen Ting’s Hong Kong press conference. Eight of the petitioners, each in a white T-shirt with a character “injustice” on it, participated in the press conference.
At the beginning of the meeting, the League observed a moment of silence to mourn the 80 million people who have been killed since the CCP took over mainland China in 1949, all Chinese petitioners who have died from persecution, children who died because of jerry-built projects during the Sichuan earthquake, infants killed during the tainted milk powder scandal and other people who lost their lives for their beliefs. Afterwards, Shen Ting outlined their basic program and plan of action.
She said, “Individual petitioners’ appeals is their private business, but appealing in groups is related to the issue of human rights protection. Today we claim our human rights in front of the CCP. It is the highest possible stage. The establishment of the Chinese League of Victims takes the historic step of safeguarding human rights in groups. Today we are saying ‘No’ to the CCP.”
The League plans to establish its headquarters and administrative council in Hong Kong in March and launch its web site on the Internet. At the end of the year, it is going to publish a book entitled “100 cases of injustice in Shanghai.” As a long-term plan, it will open “the homes of Chinese Victims” in Hong Kong to accommodate petitioners from the Mainland and hold two conferences every year.
Originally, 78 petitioners were expected to attend the conference, but due to the CCP’s interdiction, only 10 of them entered Hong Kong successfully, while two of them flew to seek help from the United Nations. These two petitioners were expected to appeal to the House Affairs Department of the United Nations to halt its projects for the Shanghai World’s Fair on May 1 because those projects have already caused many Shanghai citizens to lose their homes.
This was the first time the Chinese League of Victims has appeared in front of the international community.
Read original article in Chinese.
Friends Read Free