Some veteran military cadres have proposed a hunger strike relay on the Internet, calling on over three million ex-military cadres to participate in the relay to defend their rights. The campaign is intended to urge authorities to consider the welfare of discharged military cadres.
All over China during the Beijing Olympics, ex-military cadres who intended to launch mass appeals were intercepted, placed under house arrest, or monitored so that they were unable to have their requests heard. According to a report by Boxun.com on Thursday, a number of veteran military cadres proposed over the Internet to respond with a “hunger strike relay.” The Internet post mentioned that the Beijing Olympics had come to an end, while the Paralympics was now approaching the end of its run. Veteran military cadres have resumed various human rights activities through all channels, including petitions, appeals, administrative suits, and Internet petitions. But on top of this, cadres are about to stage a “hunger strike relay” to defend their rights.

On behalf of ex-military cadres, Ms. Shan Chun, an ex-military cadre discharged from the Beijing Military Area General Hospital, told The Epoch Times, “Our human rights activities have been reported for a long time. We have gone through proper channels, such as petitions and administrative suits. Yet these efforts have had little effect, with few problems resolved. A large number of people, about three million nationwide, make up ex-military cadres, and the few cases who have had their problems resolved were not dealt with through the proper channels mentioned. As a result, we have come up with another way to voice our wishes. Certain groups in other countries have staged hunger strikes, but probably not by relay. So we are going to resort to a hunger strike relay to express our wishes.”

Each participant is to engage in a one-day hunger strike by relay, starting from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. at their respective location. The hunger strike was to start from the very final day of the Paralympics (September 18). Concerning the differences between the military cadres’ hunger strike relay and the one launched by human rights lawyer Mr. Gao Zhisheng, Ms. Shan Chun said, “Our hunger strike is somewhat different from theirs. Since we are discharged military cadres, our main purpose is to solve our own problems, or, honestly speaking, very practical problems concerning our welfare. Compared with Lawyer Gao’s appeal for China’s democracy, our appeal is relatively self-serving. Our real purpose is to solve our own problems.” The hunger strike has received feedback from dozens of veteran military cadres from over ten provinces within few days, said Ms. Shan Chun.

The posted proposal mentioned that China’s military cadres are encountering difficulties on their path to human rights. Appeals have turned out to be wasted efforts; most administrative suits were not accepted. The Internet petitions sounded hopeful but brought about nothing. Mass appeals set off a shockwave among the public but few results were achieved. Applications for a rally in the demonstration area established by the authorities were rejected. Another petitioner told the reporter that they only demanded the authorities to enforce their own policies: “I did not ask them to solve any of my problems, because the central government has formulated policies regarding our problems. I am demanding them to enforce the relevant policies. So far, no action has been taken to carry out these policies. What can I expect of them?”

Radio Free Asia