The marriage application remains unsuccessful for 450 days: Li Xiaobo asks the Ruan prison to give a paper written answer

According to a statement released on September 9 by the Defence Network, Li Xiaobo declared that she had entered the 450th day of marriage with Chongqing, who was serving in Shandong Ruan prison.After months of running between prison administration, civil affairs and administrative reconsideration channels, Li Xiaobo officially submitted a letter to the Ruan prison on September 6, asking for a written response to the marriage application; at the same time, submitted a government information disclosure application, and submitted a supervision application to the Shandong Provincial Prison Administration.

450 days: Why is a marriage application delayed without a clear answer?

Li said that after the Spring Festival this year, she began to continue to process marriage registration with Chongqing.In March, the Ruan prison told her that the relevant application had been filed last year, the prison side "can not be the master"; in May, the Shandong Provincial Prison Administration again asked her to seek a solution to the prison and civil affairs department, and said the agency mainly assumed the direction and supervision duties.

In July, the administrative review submitted by Li was rejected by the government of Shandong Province. According to her information, the rejection reason is that the marriage application belongs to the prison's fulfillment of the punishment and related duties. On August 24, the civil affairs department said that according to the relevant regulations of marriage registration, the marriage registration requires the presence of both parties, so she still needs to coordinate with the prison.

From the prison to the prison administration, then to the government and civil affairs department, Lee took a turn and eventually returned to the Ruan prison where he originally applied.

“Not handled or rejected in writing” becomes the core of the problem

On the 25th of August, Li went again to the Ruan prison. According to her public account, the staff said on the scene that the prisoners were only released from the surveillance parental system, and that Li Zhi never met the conditions. When she continued to ask for the specific grounds, a 15 prison district employee named Li asked her to review the prison law on her own.

This has shifted the controversy from “can marriage be registered” to a more basic procedural question: Why not make a clear, written decision if the prison considers the application impossible?

“No implementation, no rejection, no substantive answers, and I want to do my best not to leave traces...”

In an open letter, Li Xiaobo wrote that she and Zhongxiang still do not know how long it will take to work hard to realize this basic civil right.

Three procedural requests submitted on September 6

Li said she took further action on September 6:

• Submit a letter to the Ruan Prison requesting a written rejection of the marriage application;
• submit a government information disclosure application requesting the publication of the names, positions, alarm numbers and the preservation of the law enforcement records of the four employees who received her on August 25;
• send a supervisory application to the Shandong Province Prison Administration to supervise the process.

By then, a marriage application originally in the field of personal life has evolved into a long-term deal around prison administration, administrative procedures, information disclosure and subsequent legal remedies.

Why is a written response important?

Li Xiaobo insisted that the result of the written processing should be left to the Ruan prison, not merely pursuing a formal document. For anyone who is prepared to continue to fight for rights through administrative reconsideration, litigation or other legal procedures, clear processing authorities, processing decisions, factual reasons and written records are an important basis for initiating subsequent remedies.

When the relevant authorities do not allow marriage registration to be effectively implemented, nor do they delay in giving a clear written decision, the parties are trapped in a state of procedural suspension: things can not actually be done, but it is difficult to continue to seek remedies against a clear decision.

Focus on Chinese comments: 450 days of waiting, care is not just marriage registration problem

The application for the marriage of Li Huizhou and Zhong Yong lasted 450 days, and the most worthy question was not only "Can prisoners get married?" the real question was: "When a citizen makes a clear request for rights, whether the institution that has the actual decision-making power must be clearly answered and bear the responsibility for their decisions that can be questioned, reviewed and sued."

From “it has been,” to “to go to the prison and civil affairs,” to “the two sides must be present,” and eventually back to the Ruhnan prison, between several links formed an administrative cycle that continuously pushed the applicant back to the point of origin.

If the executive power can long-term replace formal decisions with verbal answers, departmental referrals and procedural cycles, then eroded is not only the right to marriage of Li and Zhou Jing, but also the basic right of citizens to ask the authorities to leave records, explain reasons and receive legal remedies.

450 days later, Lee asked for a paper that would be clearly “not approved” because it forced power to move from a vague word to a formal decision that could be recorded, reviewed and prosecuted.