Re-education through labour

I'll be very sad if these two old ladies are sent to a "re-education through labour" camp. That's what they have been threatened with by the Chinese authorities. Reason? During the Beijing Olympics, they applied for a permit to protest against eviction from their homes due to construction work for the Olympics.

Before the Games began, the Chinese authorities said they would allow demonstrations in accordance with Chinese law. They opened "a demonstration area" in three Beijing parks for people to speak freely but none of the 149 applicants for a demonstration permit were given approval.

Among them were 79-year-old Wu Dianyuan and her neighbour, Wang Xuiying, 77. Instead of the approval, the authorities told them that they would be sent to a labour camp for a year. Sad.