In preparation for the Olympic Games last year, an order went out from Beijing to local governments to stop petitioners from coming to the capital, in order to “create a healthy social environment for the successful hosting of the Beijing Olympics”. Although the order from the Ministry of Public Security did say the system should be more responsive to people's needs and officials must act in a “civilised” way, the emphasis was on stopping petitioners from ruining the show. This put pressure on local officials to step up their interception efforts. According to human rights groups, repression and illegal detentions increased during the Olympic period.
去年在奧運會籌備期間，北京向地方政府下達了命令，要求阻止上訪者進京，「爲北京奧運會成功舉辦創造良好和諧的社會環境」。儘管這條下達自公安部的命令的確提到，信訪制度應更好地回應人民羣衆的需求，官員們必須「文明」行事，但其重點卻是阻止上訪者擾亂奧運盛會。這爲地方官員帶來了加大攔截力度的壓力。人權組織稱，奧運期間的壓制活動和非法拘留均有所上升。