Chen Qingxia, who had been petitioning the authorities over her husband's unfair treatment for a decade, has been detained in a morgue in Yichun of Heilongjiang Province for three years.

In the past decade, Chen had been intercepted while petitioning, shut in a detention house, and even served her "reeducation through labor" sentence. Due to these unfair treatments, she is confined to a wheelchair, and her health has seriously deteriorated. Chen also lost her kid after she herself was intercepted while petitioning.

The local government has formed a committee to review Chen's case. The problems of local authorities exposed by this case are obvious.

The first thing that needs to be investigated is which people are responsible for Chen's three years of illegal detention and who have abused their power.

According to a national political and legal work conference earlier this month, reforms of the reeducation through labor system, the petition system, the operation of judicial power and the household registration system are major tasks this year.

Petitions have been particularly highlighted, which is a signal of reform sent by the Party leadership.

The petition system is meant to let officials help people who have been treated unfairly. However, in order to get smooth political promotion, some officials stop people's petitions by restricting their movements or even beating and detaining them.

The central authorities have clearly stated that such attempts to stop people from petitioning must be stopped.

Chen's misfortune shows the miserable fate of a nameless person from the grass-roots level. Over the last decade, her life fell into misery but she could do nothing about it.

In the whole process, we could see officials' abuse of power and their callousness. Petitioners like Chen make us see how imperfect our society is and how urgently reforms are needed.

Authorities should attach high importance to Chen's case and solve it through legal means. Meanwhile, they should deepen reform of the petition system as soon as possible.

Beijing Youth Daily