Performance or Petitions?

The media recently reported that local governments hired a firm called Beijing Anyuanding Security Co. to establish numerous "black jails" in Beijing. The goal: To restrict the freedoms of people who petition the central government with grievances and return them to their hometowns – by violent means, if necessary.

China's laws clearly do not let local governments obstruct petitioners, and certainly do not let local governments subcontract the right to restrict personal freedoms to private entities. This approach seriously violates principles of individual freedom.