Petitioners and dissidents in China have been rounded up or suppressed to keep them out of the public eye so as to not disrupt one of the largest political events of the year, happening today, known as the “two sessions.” The meetings of China’s rubber-stamp legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), and its top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) are usually preceded by a crackdown. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched its own process of appeal to the ruling party in 1951 called a “petition system.” However, it has often failed to protect Chinese people as offices from regions outside of the center do not have the authority to solve many of the issues brought by petitioners. Even worse, many of the issues brought by petitioners involve corruption by CCP officials who have power. Every year at this time, when thousands of delegates descend on …