© Want China TimesThe 12 petitioners display their petitions in Beijing, Dec. 10.
Twelve people from Wuhan in central China's Hubei province attempted to commit suicide together in Beijing after their petitions against the forced demolition of their houses three years ago received no response.
They have been hospitalized after drinking pesticide but two have since fled and another three are otherwise unaccounted for, reports Hong Kong's China Review News Agency.
The petitioners, three men and nine women from Wuhan's Jiangan district, drank pesticide in Zhengyangmen in Beijing at around 4pm on Tuesday to protest against the forceful demolition of their houses and unfair compensations.
Their houses were demolished when their village, Xinchun, was remodeled in 2010. They did not reach an agreement on compensation with the village committee but their houses were destroyed without their consent. They had traveled to Beijing to petition multiple times over the past few years.
One of the three men in the group said they had planned to kill themselves in November but they were prevented by officials who discovered their plan.
They stated their suicide plan in Beijing again in the same month and to multiple government departments in Wuhan in the hope of securing their attention.
Comment: For those looking for a humane approach to raising children see the following books:
Nelson Jane, Positive Discipline
Sears Robert, M.D., The Baby Book
Solter Aletha J., The Aware Baby
Thomas Lewis, M.D, Fari Amini, M.D. and Richard Lannon, M.D., A General Theory of Love