As Communist Party elites gather for the 18th Party Congress in Beijing to discuss the challenges facing the communist regime, ordinary citizens are finding ways to raise issues that concern them the most.
Grassroots groups, from both inside and outside of China, have published a number of open letters online.
US-based All Girls Allowed, a group that opposes the Chinese regime’s One-Child policy, issued a letter to the delegates of the Party Congress. Chai Ling, who founded the group, listed cases of forced abortion victims, including a woman whose pregnancy was terminated at six months. Chai called on communist leaders to end the one-child policy, and “respond to this violence against women.”
Inside China, a former health official published a letter on behalf of 300,000 AIDS victims who contracted the disease following botched blood transfusion in Henan province. Chen Bingzhong singled out current Vice Premier Li Keqiang, who was governor of Henan during the outbreak.
[Chen Bingzhong, Former Director, China Health Education Research Institute]:
“Li Keqiang needs to take responsibility for the Henan AIDS issue. He covered up the outbreak that led to 300,000 being affected. At least 100,000 victims died and none of their appeals to high authorities produced any results.”
In Shandong province, advocates for victims of judicial abuse have also appealed.
[Dong Cai, Former Police]:
“In my line of work, we come across cases of judicial corruption which result from senior officials trying to establish themselves. Also, we’re asked to reach quotas and goals in handling judicial cases. Together, these factors create a lot of wrongfully or incorrectly decided cases.”
During the opening address of the 18th Party Congress, Communist Party chief Hu Jintao admitted that corruption within the Party could prove fatal to its existence.
