Petitioners Beware: Detainment, Detainment, Then ‘Reeducation Through Labor’

By Rona Rui
[Theepochtimes.com] Epoch Times Staff Created: Feb 23, 2010 Last Updated: Feb 23, 2010

This billboard reads 'Persistent and Noisy Petitioners: First time—detention, second time—detention, third time—Reeducation Through Labor,' set up by 'The Chinese Communist Party Tianxin Township Committee, Tianxin Township People's Government.' (Photo by anonymous citizen)

A billboard with a foreboding message erected beside a road in Jiahe County, China’s Hunan Province, is indicative of the ruling regime’s tighter control of dissent, according to commentators: “To All Persistent and Noisy Petitioners: First time—Detention; Second time—Detention; Third time—Reeducation Through Labor.”

According to an eyewitness, this sign is located in Tianxin Township in Jiahe County to the right of a highway. Standing in a fork in the road, the sign stood at 7-8 square meters and was inscribed with “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Tianxin Township Committee, Tianxin Township People's Government.” Photos of forced labor detainees, large handcuffs, and policemen with austere expressions made it a startling sight, according to an observer. More