From AP, via Newsday.com:
They flock to the capital by the thousands during the annual meeting of China’s legislature — farmers, laid-off workers and evicted families who travel for days from the destitute hinterlands hoping to have their grievances heard by the central government.
Bearing complaints ranging from corruption to personal injuries to land conflicts with officials, they got no satisfaction from local authorities and hope the National People’s Congress will provide a forum for their woes.
Wanting to break that cycle, Chinese leaders imposed a law in January telling officials to take care of cases locally so that aggrieved parties do not make their way to Beijing.
But they just keep coming, echoing a centuries-old tradition of appealing to Beijing that predates the start of Communist rule in 1949.
