A retired Shanghai teacher with terminal cancer has been criminally detained after traveling to the coastal resort of Beidaihe, where China’s top leaders traditionally gather for an annual summer retreat, according to people familiar with the case.
The detention has renewed attention on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) extensive security apparatus surrounding the annual Beidaihe meetings, when the regime tightens controls to prevent petitioners and dissidents from reaching senior officials.
Under the communist regime, there is an administrative petitioning system for hearing public complaints and grievances. In practice, it is widely
by witnesses and human rights groups that the regime routinely dismisses petitioners and often persecutes those who openly criticize or express dissatisfaction with the CCP.
Gu Guoping, a retired teacher and longtime rights advocate from Shanghai, was taken from his home by police on the morning of Aug. 1, about a week after he traveled to Beidaihe in an attempt to petition China’s leadership over his grievances, associates told The Epoch Times.
Each summer, senior CCP officials gather in Beidaihe, a seaside resort about 175 miles east of Beijing, for informal policy discussions. Although the meetings are largely shrouded in secrecy, the period is typically accompanied by heightened security across the region as the regime seeks to prevent petitioners from approaching senior leaders.
Many petitioners travel to Beidaihe each year hoping to present complaints directly to central authorities after exhausting local channels. Most, however, are intercepted at train stations or before reaching the resort.
Refused to Say He Was Tourist
On July 21, Gu and fellow petitioner Liu Jiemei left Shanghai for Beidaihe. They spent two days navigating multiple security checkpoints before reaching the area near the leadership compound.
The pair were detained shortly afterward.
According to Yu, a person familiar with the case who spoke to The Epoch Times, Gu openly told police that he had come to petition central leaders, file complaints, and report problems. He asked officers to accurately record his statement.
Yu spoke on condition that only his surname be published out of fear of reprisal. He alleged that police instead pressured petitioners to say they had traveled to Beidaihe as tourists.
“Authorities try to conceal the fact that petitioners have no effective avenue to seek justice by encouraging them to claim they came to Beidaihe for sightseeing,” he said. “Those who refuse are threatened with criminal detention.”
According to Yu, police questioned Gu and Liu three times and repeatedly demanded that they change their statements. Both refused. On July 24, the two were escorted back to Shanghai, where they were questioned again by local police before being released.
Liu was subsequently placed under de facto house arrest by local authorities, while Gu returned home to seek medical treatment, according to those familiar with the matter.
Criminal Detention Despite Serious Illness
In the days following his return, officers from Shanghai’s Zhoujiajiao Police Station repeatedly telephoned Gu, asking how he had traveled to Beidaihe, what he had told local police there, and what was included in his interview records.
Yu said Gu’s refusal to alter his statements in Beidaihe angered Shanghai authorities.
On the morning of Aug. 1, three officers from Zhoujiajiao Police Station arrived at Gu’s home and took him away, telling him he would be placed under criminal detention. The officers did not present formal detention documents at the time.
Gu has advanced prostate cancer and severe hypertension, conditions that should make him ineligible for detention under China’s Criminal Procedure Law and regulations governing detention centers.
Song Jiahong, founder of an online platform documenting alleged secret detention facilities in Shanghai, told The Epoch Times that he telephoned Zhoujiajiao Police Station on the evening of Aug. 1.
“An officer at the public security desk confirmed that Gu Guoping had been placed under criminal detention,” he said.
Song said Gu and Liu had been detained almost immediately after arriving in Beidaihe.
“They had only enough time to eat one meal before they were arrested,” he said.
Song argued that the incident reflects the authorities’ priority during the Beidaihe period.
“On the surface, the Beidaihe meetings are about governing the Party,” he said. “In reality, they are about controlling ordinary people. The first targets are grassroots citizens, who are watched so closely that they are not allowed to speak or act freely.”
Tight Security Across Beidaihe
Petitioners say security in Beidaihe has intensified as the annual leadership gathering gets underway.
Ma Bo, a petitioner from Heilongjiang Province who currently lives in Beidaihe, told The Epoch Times that authorities from across China have dispatched personnel to the resort to monitor petitioners.
“The atmosphere in Beidaihe is very tense now,” Ma said. “Temporary security personnel from all over the country have been sent here, and people from outside are basically not allowed to enter.”
In late July, Ma said she noticed five vehicles bearing license plates from her home province parked outside her apartment building.
“The vehicles leave in the morning and return at night,” she said. “This unusual situation has made me deeply concerned for my personal safety.”
Separately, a female petitioner from northeastern China recently described what she said was a violent encounter with police in Beidaihe. She told The Epoch Times on condition of anonymity that officers from Dalian fractured her thigh while detaining her. She also said police prevented emergency medical personnel from entering her hotel, motivating her to slit her wrist in protest. Local authorities have refused to open an investigation into the incident, she said.
The Epoch Times could not independently verify those allegations.
Li Xi contributed to this report.
