Liu Ping: “Vote for Me, and I Will Be Your Spokesperson”

• Author: China Law Digest compiled news

Liu Ping (47), is a former employee of the Materials and Equipment Department of the state -owned Xingang Steel Group, one of “Top 500 Companies in China” based in Jiangxi Province.

In 2009, at the age of 45, Liu Ping was forced to retire by the company. Following her retirement from Xingang Group, this single mother, whose former salary had been 1900 RMB per month, found herself having to subsist on a monthly wage of 435 RMB, in a locality where the prevailing minimum wage was 660 RMB per month. According to the National Labor Law and relevant regulations, female employees may work until the age of 50, though these individuals must file a retirement application before that time. Unable to obtain satisfaction from the courts, Liu Ping thrice travelled to Beijing to petition her case. Through the efforts of Liu Ping and others, in October of last year, Xingang Group not only extended its mandatory retirement age by three years, but also raised its monthly compensation payments to 660 RMB for more than 10,000 mandatory retirees. For her efforts, Liu Ping has won significant admiration and respect from the local common people.

Unlike tens of thousands of other petitioners in Beijing, Liu Ping came to recognize the connection between suffrage and the protection of individual legal rights. In a statement announcing her candidacy for people’s representative, she declared, “For a long time now, I have worked tirelessly on the front lines of the legal rights movement . . . Vote for me, and I will be your spokesperson.” Liu Ping believed that, relying on the popular support that she has garnered through her victory on behalf of Xingang employees, she would have no difficulty being elected. On April 15, the Yushui District of Xinyu City held elections for the local People’s Congress, and Liu Ping travelled around the district giving speeches at public transportation stops, mahjong parlors, and other public venues in order to secure votes and obtained eighteen signatures from people who promised to recommend her as a candidate. According to regulations passed pursuant to the Elections Law, a candidate for the position of local representative must obtain the nomination of at least ten voters. But on April 30, the list of candidates for representative was published without Liu Ping’s name. According to local authorities, Liu Ping was not qualified to run for office under the Constitution of the Communist Party, because she was not a party member and had...