Beijing sections off `petitioners' village' ahead of meeting

Police sealed off a ramshackle "petitioners' village" in south Beijing yesterday ahead of a major political meeting next week, dispersing or detaining thousands who gathered to raise grievances with the government.

More than 50 police vehicles from all over China were parked along roads into the village, which has been totally razed, while uniformed officers checked identification and blocked off the main street.

The demolition comes ahead of a crucial Communist Party meeting that opens tomorrow and after more than 12,000 petitioners signed a daring open letter this week demanding the government address their grievances and end persecution against them.

China's petition system has existed for centuries, with petitioners normally coming to the capital only after being denied justice in their home provinces.

"Now police are rounding up petitioners and taking them away. I don't dare go back there," Liu Xueli (劉學立), an organizer of the signature campaign, said. "The police have name lists from each province and are looking for the petitioners who have repeatedly come to Beijing or who signed the open letter."

Demolition of small hotels and ramshackle homes on the main street of the village began last month and was completed this week, locals said.

According to a recent survey by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 71 percent of those surveyed said that they have been harassed and intimidated by authorities while trying to seek justice through the petition the system. Another 64 percent said they have been detained by police while trying to petition the government.

Faced with a yawning wealth gap, Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) has vowed to create a "harmonious society" and curb local government practices of land confiscation.