April 02, 2015
A person in front of a post box on Tuesday prepares to mail a copy of a petition calling on the Chinese government to release five detained feminists.
Courtesy of Lu Jun
The supporters in China of five feminists who were detained in early March are continuing to agitate on their behalf, despite intimidation and the censorship of online discussion by the authorities.
On Tuesday, the feminists’ supporters mailed a petition that they said more than 1,100 people had signed — including men and women, students and employees — to public security and other state offices, calling for the women’s release. The petition also demanded that the authorities carry on the work for which the women were detained by issuing warnings against sexual harassment in public transport. The five women — Li Tingting, Wang Man, Wei Tingting, Wu Rongrong and Zheng Churan — were taken into custody on March 6 and 7 as they were preparing to mark International Women’s Day on March 8 by distributing stickers and leaflets protesting molestation in buses and subways.
The petition also says the police action was “illegal in multiple ways.” A version of the petition seen online before the link went dead warned that the women’s detentions harm the “interests of the state,” especially in a year when China wants to be part of celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995. At that event, a landmark declaration said that “women’s rights are human rights,” helping ignite a new women’s movement in China, where gender equality is guaranteed by the Constitution. The petition was sent to the Haidian District Public Security Bureau and to the Haidian District Detention Center in Beijing, where the women are being held, as well as to district and municipal prosecutors’ offices and the All-China Women’s Federation, the state women’s organization.
“It was put out by citizens and friends,” said the lawyer for Ms. Wei, Wang Qiushi, “because a lot of people really care.” He added that he was not directly involved in the action. An organizer of the petition asked not to be identified, citing fear of reprisals.
Several supporters of the women have reported official pressure to desist. Some university students who joined earlier protests against the detentions said they were warned that their actions could affect their prospects for further education and jobs. And about 10 prominent feminists have left their residences in major cities such as Beijing for smaller towns or for friends’ or relatives’ homes.
“Normal life and new projects are on hold,” one of them, Zhao Sile, said in a message from her hideaway in the south of China, as it was too risky to continue campaigning for now. “We’re still doing bits and pieces, but most everything has stopped.”
Mr. Wang, the lawyer, added that it would become clear this coming weekend — when the women will have spent 30 days in detention — whether they were to be formally charged. They were detained on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a criminal offense in China.
