Throughout Chinese history, a trip to petition the central government over grievances in the countryside was a precarious ordeal.  With long distances to cover and few transportation options, the total number of petitioners arriving in Beijing remained manageable. Due to modern increases in technology and transportation, however, Beijing has been flooded with complaints from all over China.  In response, Beijing is cracking down.  A recent report from Human Rights Watch, “An Alleyway in Hell” suggests that this petitioning has become increasingly dangerous, or as Beijing University law professor He Weifang suggests, “…for disadvantaged people who have suffered injustices… [the petition system] is like drinking poison to quench a thirst” despite the fact that there are lnumerous “…abuses ranging from illegal land grabs and government corruption to police torture.”

On arrival, the petitioners face a series of dilemmas.  First, the petition system as a whole is desperately overwhelmed, and it can take up to ten years to get your case heard by the petition system.  Second, if your case is finally heard by the appropriate government bureau, there is little chance of a positive result.  According to a 2004 survey by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, only 0.2 percent of people “successfully resolved their problems through the petition system.” 

However, a disappointing result is not the worst outcome that petitioners encounter as a result of their long journey.  Instead, “…some petitioners are detained by plain clothes security officers when they arrive in Beijing.” After this “meeting”, the security officers will “detain them for days or months in secret, illegal "black jails", subjecting them to physical and psychological abuses.”   According to Sophie Richardson, the Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch, there could be 50 black jails in Beijing alone.

The report, released earlier this week to coincide with President Obama’s first trip to China, details the numerous methods of abuse employed by the “privately-hired thugs and "retrievers" who are paid to abduct complainants before they reach senior officials in Beijing”  While detained without trial or explanation, the petitioners face everything from verbal threats, to physical violence.  Despite all of the evidence cited in the report, as of this morning, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang reported that “there are no so-called black jails in China.” What do you think, readers? Comment below: