On April 9, China Tianwang Center for Human Rights Affairs in Beijing received a notice from Qiao Yanbin and others that police dispatched from various places were currently arresting appealing demobilized servicemen arriving at the Beijing Train Station. The police identified and arrested the appellants, then transported them back to Yantai City, Shandong Province in police vans.
According to Qiao Yanbin, a former Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) serviceman from Yantai City, the police admitted that the Yantai City Committee Stability Control Office ordered the arrests.
Prior to police interception at the train station, Qiao and others had planned to appeal on behalf former PLA servicemen in Yantai, who were systematically demobilized when they reached about 40 years of age. They experienced living difficulties as a result of the lay off. They hoped that appeals in Beijing would prompt the Beijing authorities to implement national policies for demobilized servicemen and lessen their current income burden.
Having been transported back to Yantai, Qiao expressed that the situation was a conflict between democracy and human rights verses the Yantai authorities. If the issue remains unresolved, then it is a clear indication that China remains as a non-democratic state. Qiao also requested the media to appeal on their behalf.
According to recent news, demobilized servicemen successfully broke the police blockade by entering Beijing through multiple routes. According to an appellant’s call to the Tianwang Center, demobilized servicemen nationwide are entering Beijing in large numbers.
China Tianwang Center for Human Rights Affairs in Beijing will continue to monitor the appeals of demobilized PLA servicemen.
