Epress.am News from Armenia
On Aug. 18, 77-year-old Zhuang Jinghui went naked on her knees in order to call Shanghai’s justice system to account for their ineptitude. She wore nothing but a sign in black and white that says, “I want my case to be investigated. Champion the laws. Return to me the right to sue.” Despite repeated clamors for justice from her and her fellow petitioners standing outside the courthouse, no one stood out to answer her needs on the court’s behalf, writes Ministry of Tofu, translating an article from Canyu.org, a Chinese human rights advocacy website.
This is actually her second nude protest. She first resorted to such extreme measures after being deceived and denied compensation after the demolition of her private clinic in 2008. She was then protesting in order to simply be given a replacement unit for her clinic, which also happens to be her home.
She returned again earlier this month to protest the fact that not only does the unit have no water or electricity, but she is not even the legal owner of the property.
After being taken into custody, she was reportedly urged by officers to settle outside of court.
In an interview with France 24’s Observers, Ms. Zhuang says, “Three weeks ago, I stripped naked and knelt down outside the courthouse for almost half an hour. They said I was mad, and threatened to send me to an asylum. I am not mad. I am desperate, and obtaining justice is the only way I will be able to subsist. All these years fighting the courts, I have often only eaten biscuits for meals.”
In the video, Ms. Zhuang, far off with her back facing the camera, and a dozen petitioners off screen, chanted repeatedly “Yu wang,” or the Shanghai dialect for yuan wang, meaning unjust treatment (or injustice) in Mandarin, and “I want the case(s) to be heard.” Ms. Zhuang is eventually covered with a blanket and carried away by officers.