(Minghui.org) The motion to reconsider Ms. Zhang Yi’s request to publicize the legal basis for her former employer to completely wipe out her years of service was accepted by the Beijing High Court on January 12, 2022.
Ms. Zhang, a former highway construction cost engineer from Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, was arrested on January 28, 2015 while studying the teachings of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. She was later sentenced to three years in prison and fined 10,000 yuan. She was relentlessly tortured at Sichuan Province Women’s Prison.
After being released, she was devastated to learn that she had been fired from her job, and her 23 years of service was reduced to zero. Despite the fact that she had reached the legal retirement age of 50, she was unable to enjoy any retirement benefits and is now facing dire financial difficulties in covering her basic living expenses.
Ms. Zhang filed an application with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on May 14, 2020, demanding that they publicize the document titled “The State Labor Administration’s Opinions on Handling Several Specific Issues in Implementing the ‘Provisional Regulations of the State Council on Retirement and Resignation of Workers’.” The document, issued in 1978, was used as the justification by her workplace to wipe out her years of service.
After the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security rejected her request, she filed a complaint with Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Court, which has jurisdiction over the region where the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security is located.
The judge rejected her case on December 29, 2020, with the excuse that her case didn’t fall into the scope of administrative litigation. He urged Ms. Zhang to file a complaint with the government agency that handles the disclosure of government information.
Ms. Zhang appealed with the Beijing High Court, which rejected her and upheld the lower court’s ruling on July 19, 2021.
Ms. Zhang argued that the document she requested should be public information. Before filing the complaint, she had already asked the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security to disclose the document. Only after her request was rejected did she file the complaint against them. The “Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues concerning the Trial of Administrative Cases of Government Information Disclosure,” Article Three ruled that if the plaintiff didn’t agree with the reply of the administrative organ, or if it fails to reply within the time limit, the plaintiff may file a lawsuit with the court against the agency.
Ms. Zhang further filed complaints with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Beijing High Court, the Supreme People’s Court, the Beijing Second Procuratorate and Beijing Procuratorate, against the judges of the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Court and the Beijing High Court for their misconducts. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection’s website replied that they have received her complaint.
The reporting platform of the Beijing High Court later replied to Ms. Zhang, saying that her complaint should be handled by the judicial department, not the discipline inspection or supervision department. She was urged to follow the legal procedure with relevant judicial department. The Beijing Second Procuratorate and Beijing Procuratorate didn’t respond to her complaints.
Ms. Zhang filed a motion to reconsider her case with the Supreme People’s Court and the Fifth Circuit. The Supreme People’s Court directed her case to the Beijing High Court, which informed her on January 12, 2022 that her motion has been accepted.
Perpetrators’ names:
Tian Yan (田燕), presiding judge of Beijing City High CourtWang Ning (王宁) and Fu Xiaohua (付晓华), judges of Beijing City High CourtYao Xinyue (姚心悦), judge’s assistantMeng Xin (孟欣), court clerk
Falun Gong Practitioners’ Motions to Reconsider Their Cases Accepted by the Intermediate Court