Woman, 70, freed from ‘discipline center’
Print Edition
A 70-year-old woman who had been detained at an illegal “discipline center” in central China’s Henan Province was yesterday released following a public outcry in response to a newspaper article.
On Thursday, The Beijing News reported that Zhang Fengmei had been held for several days at the center in Nanyang City after seeking to file a petition. The report did not give details of the petition.
The story sparked an immediate response online, with netizens claiming the center was effectively operating as a labor camp, the use of which was abolished in December.
Zhang was driven home yesterday afternoon, but was forced to wait outside as none of her relatives had been informed of her release and the gate was locked, the newspaper said.
Zhang’s son Yang Jinguo said he was very angry about the whole affair.
“They held my mother for five days, but didn’t give us any reasons why,” he said. “Then today they bring her home and still don’t provide an explanation. Worse still, they didn’t even bother to notify us she was coming.”
In an earlier interview conducted inside the center, Zhang cried as she told a reporter how she had lost her freedom. She wasn’t even allowed to go to the toilet, she said, but was made to use a bucket in the corner of the room.
Zhang’s daughter Yang Jinfen was outraged. “My mother was locked in a room without a bed,” she said. “She was made to sleep on a quilt on a concrete floor.”
Zhang said while in detention she was normally supervised by up to 10 people, including police officers and petition workers. But after The Beijing News report, just three people were sent to watch her.
Netizens from other cities in Henan responded to the report with tales of their experiences in “discipline centers.”
The report also sparked an immediate response from Henan’s politics and law committee, and the provincial bureau for letters and visits, which deemed the centers illegal and ordered their immediate closure.
The provincial government also dispatched teams to probe the matter, Xinhua news agency reported. If the investigations find any illegal activities have taken place, the people responsible will be punished using the full weight of the law.
Petitioning, or “letters and visits,” is China’s administrative system for hearing complaints and grievances from members of the public. It often involves groups traveling to the seat of government in Beijing.
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