FREE GAO

Focal Point: Whether Gao Zhiyi Will Be Allowed to Visit Gao Zhisheng

2012-01-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

By Zhang Min, Anchor, Spiritual Journey, Radio Free Asia
January 7, 2012

Gao and his son

On January 1, 2012, Gao Zhiyi received a notice from the Shaya Jail, which did not mention when the family could visit Gao Zhisheng.

The previous program reported that, on December 16, twenty months after the human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was disappeared, Xinhua News Agency issued a brief English release, saying Gao would be sent back to jail to serve his three year terms due to violation of probation rules. However, since then, there had been no further information on which prison Gao would be put into, and no verdict available to the family, and no notice on when the family could visit him, till January 1, 2012, when Gao Zhiyi, brother of Gao Zhisheng who lives in north Shan’an Xi, received a notice from the Shaya Jail of Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region telling him that his brother was jailed there, yet short of mentioning when the family could visit him.

Last week, relatives of Gao Zhisheng, in China and overseas, made many phone calls to the Shaya Jail, but failed to reach anyone. Gao Zhiyi has contacted several attorneys in most recent days, and plans to travel to the jail with the power of attorney.

Gao Zhiyi: The power of attorney is ready. I will leave for the Shaya Jail as soon as I obtain the ticket.

Before the deadline set for the first broadcast of this program, I called Mr. Gao Zhiyi.

Anchor: Have you received the signed power of attorney?
Gao Zhiyi: Yes, I have.

Anchor: When will you leave for the jail?
Gao Zhiyi: It is hard to say. I am waiting for the tickets I booked.

Anchor: How about your communications with the jail?
Gao Zhiyi: I called them. But they did not answer.

In December 2006, Gao Zhisheng was sentenced to three years in prison with a probation of five years, and deprived of political rights for a year for inciting subversion of the state power. As his five-year probation came to an end at end of 2011, Xinhua News Agency issued a statement saying that the First Intermediary People’s Court of Beijing decided to revoke the probation of Gao Zhisheng and send him back to jail due to his serious violation of probation rules. However, the statement neither mentioned the rules Gao had violated, nor his long-time disappearance which lasted twenty months.

Geng He: Two lawyers, Mo Shaoping and Ding Xikui, have agreed to represent the family.

A week has passed since Gao Zhiyi received a notice from the Shaya Jail. I once again interviewed Madam Geng He, Gao’s wife, who fled to America with her daughter and son three years ago.

“We have been calling the jail. But no one answers. Today my brother-in-law received the power of attorney from the law firm signed by Mo Shaoping and Ding Xikui. And he will be on his way as soon as he gets the ticket. He booked both air ticket and train ticket. And he will take whichever is available first,” said Geng.

Anchor: Do the lawyers plan to go?
Geng He: I think the lawyers will not go at this time. My brother-in-law will go first with the power of attorney.

A brief introduction of Gao Zhisheng and his case:

The human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who was involved in the defense of the oil field case of north Shan’an Xi and the case of Falungong, sent three open letters to the supreme leaders of China calling for the stop of persecutions against Falungong practitioners from December 2004 to December 2005.

In November, 2005, Beijing Shengzhi Law Firm was banned by the department of justice of Beijing.

On December 22, 2006, Gao was sentenced to three years in prison with a probation of five years, and deprived of political rights for one year for inciting subversion of the state power, and later returned home.

In September 2007, Gao Zhisheng was arrested again. His article Dark Night, Dark Hood, and Kidnapping by Dark Mafia surfaced after his release, in which he detailed his torture including toothpicks to his penis.

Gao Zhisheng was awarded Courageous Advocacy by American Board of Trial Advocates.

In the early morning of February 4, 2009, Gao Zhisheng was taken away by the police from his hometown in north Shan’an Xi right in front of his families.

In early 2009, Gao Zhisheng’s wife, daughter and son fled China, and came to the United States as refugees.

After his kidnap, the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, the police and other sauces gave different accounts of his whereabouts. No accurate information was available till March 27, 2010.

On March 28, 2010, the phone number of Gao Zhisheng was posted online. And he could be reached at this number. Ten days later, the number was disconnected. Gao was once again disappeared.

Geng He: The following is the full text of the notice the Shaya Jail sent to Gao Zhiyi. The signature was not Gao Zhisheng’s.

On January 6, 2012, Geng He recounted what happened these days, first detailing the letter and the full text of the notice Gao Zhiyi received from the Shaya Prison.

According to Geng He, the letter was addressed to Gao Zhiyi, Little Shibanqiao Village, Jiahu Town, Jia County, Shan’an Xi Province. And the addresser is Criminal Section, Shaya County, Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region, and the zip code is 842208.

Inside the envelope is a notice on criminal check-in. Control Number: (2011) Xin Sha Xing 0400. Name: Gao Zhisheng. Crime: Inciting subversion of the state power. Sentence type: fixed-term imprisonment. Terms: three years. Sentencing organ: Beijing First Intermediary People’s Court. Check-in date: December 19, 2011. Family Contact: Gao Zhiyi. Relations with the criminal: brother. Home address: Little Shibanqiao Village, Jiahu Town, Jia County, Shan’an Xi Province. Issued by: Tian XX (per Gen He, the signature is illegible). Date of issuance: December 21, 2011. In the middle is a return receipt.

On the right is the notice which is entitled Xingjiang Shaya Jail Criminal Check-In Notice, and numbered 2011 Xing Sha Xing 0400, and states as follows:

Comrade Gao Zhiyi:

You are hereby notified that your brother, Gao Zhisheng, who has been sentenced to three years in prison by Beijing First Intermediary People’s Court for inciting subversion of the state power, was sent to Xinjiang prison to serve his terms (sealed by the Shaya Jail).

The addresser is Criminal Section, P. O. Box 15, Shaya County, Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region.

One column of the notice should contain the signature of Gao Zhisheng. “I saw the signature. It is Gao Zhisheng’s signature. It is not,” said Geng He.

Geng He: How I feel and my letter to Gao Zhisheng

It was on December 31, 2011, when Geng He learned of the information. She shared her feeling at that moment, and how she thought about writing a letter to Gao Zhisheng on the New Year’s Day.

“At the news, I felt heavy-hearted. I thought it was an illusion. And I didn’t know who I was. When my kid talked to me, I just stared at them, and didn’t know what they were talking about. I was so dumbfounded,” recalled Geng He.

“The next day, my friend invited me to attend a New Year party hosted by a church. I went there with my kids. I felt warm-hearted to see people dressed up, singing hymns hand in hand, and shoulder by shoulder, and acting like a big family. Realizing my situation was quite different from what I saw, I felt so numb that I could not be part of the party. And I said to myself, “I need to forget it. I need to join the party.” Though I knew I went there to seek comfort and a spirit home, I just could not join other people. After the hymns, people greeted each other. And kids were playing. I stayed in a corner, and felt that kind of happiness did not belong to me.”

“Therefore, I wrote out my feeling in a letter which represents how I felt.”

Geng He read out the whole letter, and couldn’t help crying.

聚焦：高智义能否探视高智晟成焦点

2012-01-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

高智晟的妻子和女儿，儿子

RFA张敏
（自由亚洲电台“心灵之旅”访谈节目主持人张敏采访报道2012，01，07）

*高智义1月1日收到沙雅监狱通知书，其中未提及家属何时可探监*

前面节目中报道了，中国维权律师高智晟再次被失踪二十个月后，新华社12月16日发出英文短讯，称高智晟律师违反缓刑规定，已被送回监狱执行原判三年实刑。但是，在当时和之后的两周内，没有关于高智晟在哪个监狱服刑的消息，家人也一直没有看到裁定书，没有得到家人什么时候可以探视的通知。

直到2012年1月1日，高智晟律师的大哥、在陕北家乡的高智义，收到了新疆维吾尔自治区沙雅监狱刑事执行科寄给他的“罪犯入监通知书”。这一通知书上仍然没有提及家属什么时候可以探视。

一个星期以来，高智晟在海内外的亲属给沙雅监狱打过很多次电话，一直无人接听。近日，高智义办理律师委托手续，并准备带着办好的委托文件前往沙雅监狱。

*高智义：律师委托手续已经办好，等拿到订的票即动身前往沙雅监狱*

在本节目第一次播出前即将截稿的时候（1月6日），我打电话给高智义先生。

主持人：“现在您收到律师签了字的委托文件了吗？”
高智义：“收到了。”

主持人：“请问您什么时候动身出发前往监狱？”
高智义：“等着票啊，说不上来。”

主持人：“现在和监狱方面联络情况怎么样？”
高智义：“打电话他们不接。”

2006年12月，高智晟律师被以“煽动颠覆国家政权罪”判刑三年、缓刑五年、剥夺政治权利一年。2011年年底，他的五年缓刑即将期满。新华社的报道说“高智晟多次严重违反缓刑期间的规定，北京第一中级人民法院决定取消缓刑，将他收监”。报道没有提到高智晟违反了什么规定，也没有提到在过去的20个月里，高智晟一直处于再次被失踪状态。

*耿和：家人委托莫少平、丁锡奎二位律师代理，律师已接受委托*

高智义在家乡收到沙雅监狱寄来的“罪犯入监通知书”，到现在已经一个星期了。我再次采访了高智晟律师的太太、三年前带着儿女逃离中国现在在美国的耿和女士。

她说：“我们一直给监狱打电话，打不通。今天大哥接到了律师事务所（律师签了字的家属）委托书，由律师莫少平和丁锡奎律师代理。大哥一拿到票就会启程。现在飞机票和火车票都订了，看哪个先拿上，就走哪个。”

主持人：“律师有没有打算去监狱？”
耿和：“我估计律师可能先不去，大哥先带着委托书过去。”

*高智晟律师与高案简介*

参与过陕北油田案、法轮功等案辩护的维权律师高智晟2004年12月至2005年12月，曾经三次发出致中国最高领导人的公开信，要求停止迫害法轮功修炼者。

2005年11月，他出任主任的北京晟智律师事务所被北京市司法局停业。2006年12月22日，高智晟律师被以“煽动颠覆国家政权罪”判刑三年、缓刑五年、剥夺政治权利一年，回到家中。

2007年9月高智晟再遭抓捕，获释后传出他的文章《黑夜、黑头套、黑帮绑架》，自述受到包括用牙签插入生殖器在内的酷刑。

高智晟获美国出庭律师委员会的“勇气呼吁奖”等人权奖。

2009年2月4日凌晨，高智晟当着亲人面，被警方从陕北老家绑架。

2009年初，高智晟的妻子儿女逃离中国，后来被以难民身份安置到美国。

高智晟被警方从老家绑架后，有关他的情况，来自中国外交部发言人、警方和其它方面的说法种种不同。直到2010年3月27日，外界一直得不到他的确切消息。

2010年3月28日，网上突然公布高智晟电话号码，外界可以打电话给高智晟律师。十天后，外界再拨打这个号码，停机。高智晟律师再次失踪。

*耿和：新疆沙雅监狱寄给高智义的信的全部内容，高智晟应签字处不是高智晟的字*

2012年1月6日，耿和回顾了近几天的情况。她先详细谈了高智义所收到的从沙雅监狱寄出的信，以及其中通知书的全部内容。

耿和说：“信封上写的是‘陕西省佳县葫芦镇小石板桥村高智义收’，下面落款是‘新疆维吾尔自治区沙雅县监狱刑事执行科，邮政编码842208’。

信封里是通知书。内容是：新疆沙雅监狱罪犯入监通知书。存根，（2011）年新沙刑通字第0400号。姓名高智晟。罪名，煽动颠覆国家政权罪。刑期种类，有期徒刑。刑期，三年。判决机关，北京市第一中级人民法院。入监时间，2011年12月19日。家属姓名，高智义。与罪犯关系，兄弟。家庭住址，陕西省佳县佳葫镇，小石板桥村。签发人（耿和说：签字写得特别潦草，我看不清），田XX。签发时间，2011年12月21日。中间是一个回执。

右面就是通知书：新疆沙雅监狱罪犯入监通知书，2011年新沙刑通字第0400号

高智义同志：你的弟弟高智晟因犯有煽动颠覆国家政权罪，经北京第一中级人民法院依法判处有期徒刑三年，于2011年12月19日送到新疆监狱服刑，特此通知（沙雅监狱的章子）。通信地址是：新疆维吾尔自治区，沙雅县15号信箱刑事执行科。”

通知书上有一栏应该是高智晟律师本人签字，耿和说：“这个字我看到了，不是高智晟的字，那不是高智晟的字！”

*耿和：我的真实心情与书信表达*

耿和得知这一消息是在美国西部时间2011年12月31日晚上。她谈当时的心情和后来怎样想到在元旦这一天给高智晟律师写一封信。

耿和说：“接到这个消息，心里很沉重，我觉得是一种恍惚，不知道我自己是谁。孩子跟我讲话，我瞪着眼睛看他们，不知道孩子说的什么，很木的反应不过来。

第二天，朋友约我说‘今天正好是教会迎新年，你去参加吧’，我就带着孩子去了。看到教会里人们穿着盛装，手拉着手、肩靠着肩唱圣歌，感觉特别温暖，就跟个大家庭一样。我觉得自己和这个场景差得这么远，我很木，眼睛直直的进入不到那里面去。我心里说‘我要忘掉，我要进入！’，因为我知道是找安慰来了，是找心灵的家园来了，但是我进入不了这种状态。唱完歌，人们互相问候，孩子们都在那儿玩，我就在一个墙角呆着，我觉得这个幸福不属于我。

所以，我就连夜把这种感觉写出来，写成一封信，代表我的心情。”

耿和全文读出了这封信，她止不住地抽泣——

智晟：你好

今天是元旦，我和孩子在教堂里参加新年祝福。看着周围人们都穿着节日的盛装，手拉着手，欢乐的节日气氛洋溢在人们的脸上。休息时，人们互相谈笑着，问候着，孩子们互相追逐嬉闹着，大人们的欢声笑语和孩子们的嬉笑声充满了教堂的每个角落。可是，我的心情很沉重，不能融入这欢乐的气氛中。昨天晚上从大哥那儿知道你被关进监狱，在新疆的沙雅县。我的心情非常沉重。

这20个月来，我一直提心吊胆地到处打听你的消息，没有任何音讯。我常常幻想，一旦哪一天有你的消息了，我就能平静下来，平静地带孩子，带着孩子出去转一转。可是，得到你的消息后，我的心不仅没有放下来，反而心里更难受。他们对你非法“判三年缓五年”，可是这五年你一直在他们的手心里，你一直没有离开他们的视线。到头来又说你违反了规定，到底是谁违反了规定？这是为什么！这是为什么！！

此时我多想冲破一切困难到你身边，想在你监狱旁边租个房子住下，陪你度过未来的这段时间。可是，为了孩子，我的心愿不能两全。

爸爸、妈妈在新疆住了46年，也没有听说过沙雅这个地方，它太远了，我在喀什待了四年，也没有听说过这个小县城。但是今天这个县是全家最向往的地方，我这几天给家里打电话问，他们说全家有十个人报名要去看你，我非常感动，全家的这种爱和对你的关心，你一定要挺住！家人会陪你走完未来的几年。现在全家都在搜索着沙雅的天气预报呀，各种信息，想知道那里的所有情况。

天昱的英语很好，中文我在家里教他，课后他学了游泳、滑冰、画画，还到了童子军俱乐部。周六我带他去科技馆、图书馆、航天馆。在我三年的坚持努力下，天昱对航天、科技、宇宙、数字兴趣浓厚。星期天我带着孩子去教会。

我常对孩子说：“妈妈非常感谢你，是你的兴趣、爱好，促使着妈妈带你到任何你想去的地方，也让妈妈的车开得越来越好。”

他说：“是呀！开始你是在小路上开，现在你可以在高速路上开，到时侯你就可以在警察局开。”这句话的意思是什么呢？他知道我曾经跟警察同在一个屋檐下，我看见警察就发抖，这个毛病到现在还没去掉。

记得天昱一次在梦中惊醒，哭着说：“妈妈，爸爸没有拉住我的手，丢了爸爸。”我反覆自语着这句话，觉得这句话像提醒我，像在跟我说，是呀，这三年了，没有拉住他的手，到现在音信全无。

你还记得天昱不到三岁时说的话吗？“我心里有一根红线，不管爸爸走到哪里，红线就连到哪里。”

现在我想说，我们全家心里都有一根红线连着，不管你到哪里，就是你到天涯海角，我们也要跟你连上。这次我们一定要紧紧抓住你的手，不能丢了你，更不能断了联系。

我会经常给你写信，更盼望着能够收到你的信。附上孩子的照片。
祝好！

耿和 2012年元旦

我就按照（沙雅监狱来信的）这个地址给高智晟寄出这封信，不知他能不能收到。

别人也给我信息，说这个监狱特别大，比如分一监、二监、三监，有十四个监区。我觉得可能这个地址不详细，我也没办法，我写了‘转高智晟’”。

*沙雅监狱不接电话*
主持人：“得到沙雅监狱这个消息之后，家人与狱方做了什么联络？”

耿和：“知道这个通知书，我立马跟我的家人讲了。我妹妹从网上查到监狱电话就给他们打，打了三、四天都没有人接。我打也没人接。我就让我妹妹问114刑事执行科的电话号码，114说是保密不能讲。

我们家人急切地想知道，决定收监执行实刑的裁定书在哪儿？那上面应该有准确的哪一天开始、哪一天结束的时间。”

地图上标明沙雅县距乌鲁木齐1，130公里。近日，我也多次拨打沙雅监狱的电话——（彩铃录音），每次都是彩铃响过一分钟后挂断。

*耿和：现在就等着大哥带着律师委托信去监狱，见到高智晟再说*

耿和说：“我打也是没人接，家里人打四、五天也是没人接。现在就等着大哥带着仅有的手续过去，让高智晟签字。去一趟不容易，先见到他再说。

现在这个小县城是我们全家魂牵梦绕的地方。我的心情也是蛮沉重的，但我老是这种哭哭啼啼的，这种感觉也不好，但是我也振作不起来。”

*耿和：感谢各界关注！你们的帮助支持不可缺少，反映出人性的光辉*

耿和说，非常感谢各界关注、支持、帮助高智晟和她家人的人士。她说：“我非常感谢你们！关注和支持是必不可缺少的，这是为中国人权事业走向光明的力量所在。同时，你们的帮助和支持反映出人性的光辉，将照耀那些为人权事业奋斗的勇士们。”

*傅希秋牧师：除非高智义探监与高智晟会面，才能确认高智晟在沙雅监狱*

一直关注高智晟律师和他家人处境的美国民间机构对华援助协会主席傅希秋牧师说：“我们非常关注也忧虑，高智晟律师现在到底他的身体状况如何？因为虽然中国政府透过监狱当局，寄给高智晟的大哥高智义先生一份公函，只是列明了法院对他进行三年入监，但是没有具体说明是否让家属在何时前去探监。我们现在还是在密切关注着事件的发展。

我们也促请国际组织和西方外交界也能够继续施加压力，并且关注高律师现在被关押期间的状况。

除非高律师的哥哥能够亲自去监狱跟他会面，并且谈话确认后，才能够正式的说，高智晟就关在那个地方。

因为就以前的包括中国驻外使馆及外交部发言人（发布的）各种消息，实际上是一种变相欺骗措施，欺骗国际舆论。那么，我觉得这一次，还是应该有他的家属亲自确认之后，才能够百分之百地说，高律师是被关在沙雅监狱。”

以上自由亚洲电台“心灵之旅”访谈节目由张敏在美国首都华盛顿采访编辑、主持制作。

"Red String": A letter from Gao's wife to Gao

2012-01-04T09:18:00.000-08:00

Jan 4, 2012: http://pjmooney.typepad.com/my-blog/2012/01/the-red-string.html

From left: Gao's daughter Geng Ge, Gao's wife Geng He,
Gao Zhisheng, Gao's son Gao Tianyu.

Human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, held incommunicado by the Chinese authorities for the past 20 months, has been sent back to jail, according to a report on December 16 by the official Xinhua News Agency. What's puzzling is that the court was quoted as saying that the decision was justified because Gao had “seriously violated probation rules” several times. It would have been quite difficult for Gao to have violated the terms of his probation as he has been under police detention for the past 20 months.

Below is a rough translation of a moving letter Geng He, Gao's wife, wrote to him on New Year's Day:

Zhisheng,

How are you?

Today is New Year’s Day. I and the children just attended the New Year’s celebration at church. The people all around us were wearing splendid holiday attire and holding each other’s hands as they sang hymns, their faces beaming with the festive holiday spirit. During the intermission, everyone was smiling and talking, and expressing regards to one another, while children ran after one another. Every corner of the church was full of the happy voices of the adults and the children’s laughing and playing. However, I was absent-minded, unable to blend in with everyone’s happiness. Yesterday, I got the news from your elder brother that you have been sent to a prison in a remote part of Xinjiang, and my heart was heavy with sadness.

During these past 20 months, we have been on tenterhooks, running everywhere to get news about you. But there has been no news at all. During my search for you, I often had a fantasy that as soon as I had word about you, I could relax my heart, and that I would be able to peacefully play and study with the children.

However, after I got the news about you yesterday, I could not relax my heart, which was like a twisted piece of dough. They originally gave you an illegal “three year sentence that was suspended for five years,” but during these past five years, you have always been in their hands, and in the end they said you violated your probation. Why did they do this? Why?

Right now I want to break through all the barriers to be by your side, I really want to rent an apartment next to your prison and live there, so that each month I can visit you right on time. However, because of our children, I cannot realize all of my aspirations.

My mother and father have lived in Xinjiang for 46 years, and I never heard of this place called Shaxian. It’s too remote and no one knows about it or cares about it. Now, this small town at the end of the earth has has actually become the place of our greatest concern, a place we yearn for. Our whole family has begun to carefully search for any scrap of information about this desert town, hoping to learn everything about this place.

Tianyu’s English is quite good; I teach him Chinese at home. After class he learns swimming, ice skating and other extracurricular activities. He likes to study and has a deep interest in science and technology, the universe and math. On Saturdays, I take him to the Aerospace Museum, all sorts of science and technology museums and the library.

I often say to him: “Mama is very grateful to you, because your interests and hobbies have forced me to take you to the places you want to go to, making me a better and better driver. He replied; “That’s right! In the beginning, you drove on small roads, but now you drive on the highways, and you’re even able to drive in front of the eyes of the police.” What he’s saying is that I’m no longer afraid of the police. Before, I would get nervous when I saw police, because while I was in China, I was often bullied by the police, which left me paranoid.

Gege is already accustomed to her life and studies here. Her grades are all As, but she has to work a bit harder on her spoken English. This year she will attend university, and she has already applied to several schools. In her own words: “The schools I’m applying to, will give you and Baba face.” Gege has also gotten her driver’s license.

Tianyu once woke up in the middle of a dream, and said to me crying: “Mama, Baba didn’t hold my hand, and I lost him.” I repeated these words over and over again to myself.

Do you still remember what Tianyu said when he was three? “I have a red string in my heart, and no matter where Baba goes, the red string will be tied to him.”

Each one of us has a red string connected to you, no matter where you go. Even if you go to the ends of the earth, we will remain connected to you. This time we will hold your hand tightly, and we won’t lose you, or break contact.

I’ll write letters to you often, and I look forward to receiving your letters. I’ll send you photos of the children.
Hope you’re well.

Geng He
January 1, 2012

Original Chinese Version

智晟：

你好。

今天是元旦，我正和孩子参加教堂的新年祝福。周围的人们都穿着节日的盛装，手拉着手唱圣歌，欢乐的节日气氛洋溢在人们的脸上。休息时，人们互相谈笑着，问候着，孩子们相互追逐着，大人们的欢乐声和孩子们的嬉戏声充满了教堂的每个角落。可是，我却感觉恍惚，不能融在这欢乐之中。昨天我从大哥那里得到你被关进新疆边远监狱的消息，心情沉重得像吊了铅块。

近20个月来，我们一直提心吊胆地到处打听你的消息，可一直杳无音讯。在寻找你的过程中，我常常幻想，一旦有了你的消息，我的心就能放下，就能平静地和孩子一起游玩和学习。可昨天得到你的消息后，我的心不仅不能放下，还拧成麻花。当初他们非法对你“判三年缓五年”，可这五年你一直在他们的手心里，到头来他们倒说你违反了规定，这是为什么！为什么呀！！

此时我多想冲破一切困难到你身边，多想在你的监狱旁边租个房子住下，好每月按时准点探望你。可是，为了孩子，我的心愿不能两全。

我的父母在新疆生活了46年，都没听说过沙雅县这个地方，它太偏远了，远得无人知晓和关心。如今，这个天边的小镇却成了我们最关心、向往的地方，我们全家开始仔细搜索沙雅的各种信息，想知道那里的所有情况。

天昱的英语很好，中文我在家教，课后学了游泳、滑冰等兴趣班。他喜欢读书，还对科技、宇宙及数字兴趣浓厚。周六带他去航天馆和各种科技馆及图书馆。我常对他说：“妈妈非常感谢你，是你的兴趣，爱好，促使着妈妈带你到你想去的地方，让妈妈的车开得越来越好。”他说：“是呀！刚开始在小路上开，现在在高速上开，到时就可以在警察眼前开。”他的意思是，我现在不怕警察了。以前我见了警察就紧张，是因为在国内常被警察欺负而留下的后遗症。

格格已经适应这里的生活及学习，学习成绩都是A，不过她的英语口语还需要努力。今年她就要上大学了，已经报了几个大学，按她的话说：“我报的大学要让你和爸爸脸上能说的过去。”格格也考上了驾照。

天昱一次在梦中惊醒，哭着说：“妈妈，爸爸没有拉着我的手，丢了爸爸。”我反复自语着孩子说的这句话。

你还记得天昱快三岁时说的话吗？“我心里有个红线，不管爸爸走到哪里，红线就连到哪里。”
我们心里都有一根红线连着你，不管你到哪里，就是海角天涯，我们也要和你相连。这次我们可要紧紧抓住你的手，不要丢了你，断了联系。我会经常给你写信，也盼望收能收到你的来信，给你寄去孩子的照片。

祝好！

耿和
1月1号2012年

Missing Chinese Lawyer Said to Be in Remote Prison

2012-01-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

By EDWARD WONG - The New York Times

Published: January 1, 2012

BEIJING — The brother of a prominent dissident rights lawyer who had been missing for 20 months said Sunday that the lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, was being held in a prison in the remote western region of Xinjiang.

The brother, Gao Zhiyi, told two news agencies that he had been informed that Gao Zhisheng was in a prison in Shaya County. The brother said he had received an official notice on Sunday telling him that Mr. Gao was now back in prison because a court had revoked his probation, and that he would have to serve three more years.

Mr. Gao, a Beijing lawyer known for taking politically delicate cases, was sentenced to three years of probation in 2006 for inciting subversion of the state. The official Xinhua news agency reported last month that his probation had been revoked.

But human rights advocates say Mr. Gao was never on probation because he had been missing for 20 months, presumably in police custody. Over the years, Mr. Gao has disappeared for lengthy periods and re-emerged to say he had been tortured by security forces.
After his 2006 conviction, Mr. Gao was supposedly released on probation, but then disappeared. He resurfaced briefly, and apparently was seized by security officials again in 2009. He re-emerged in April 2010 and gave an interview to The Associated Press, presumably with the permission of officials, and then disappeared again. Mr. Gao’s brother said at the time that he had seen Mr. Gao in the custody of public security officers.
Mr. Gao is one of China’s most outspoken dissidents, and his case has attracted support from foreign governments and human rights groups. The United States government has called on China to release Mr. Gao, who once defended practitioners of Falun Gong, a banned spiritual group.
Scholars of China’s legal system say security forces are acting with growing impunity and increasingly do not feel constrained by the law. Since last February, when Chinese leaders grew fearful that widespread protests might erupt because of the antiauthoritarian uprisings in the Middle East, security forces have regularly detained intellectuals, lawyers and rights defenders without giving any legal cause for doing so.
The government is now considering revising its criminal procedure law to effectively legalize secret detentions, the scholars say.
Mr. Gao has said that security officials tortured him by beating him with electric batons, pistol-whipping him and holding burning cigarettes close to his eyes.
The western region of Xinjiang is a vast area, much of it desolate, that makes up one-sixth of China’s territory. During the dynastic eras, rulers struggled to bring it under their control and use it as a buffer zone between the Chinese heartland and neighboring areas of Central Asia. Along with criminals, ethnic Han Chinese suspected of being a threat to the imperial court would sometimes be exiled to Xinjiang.

A version of this article appeared in print on January 2, 2012, on page A9 of the New York edition with the headline: Missing Chinese Lawyer Said to Be in Remote Prison.

Missing China dissident Gao Zhisheng 'held in Xinjiang'

2012-01-01T19:29:00.000-08:00

The Telegraph Sunday 01 January 2012

China has jailed a prominent dissident lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, in its far western region of Xinjiang, the first confirmation of his whereabouts in more than 20 months, his brother and a rights group said on Sunday.

Protesters carrying placards featuring the photograph of jailed Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng walk to the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Photo: GETTY

Mr Gao – who defended some of China's most vulnerable people including Christians and coal miners – was arrested in February 2009 and has been held largely incommunicado by authorities except for a brief release in March 2010.

"I received the decision letter this morning saying Gao Zhisheng is in Shaya prison in Xinjiang," his brother, Gao Zhiyi, told AFP. He added the document was issued by a Beijing court.

The official Xinhua news agency said last month that Mr Gao had been sent back to prison after a court ruled he had violated the terms of his probation, though it gave no date.

A Beijing court sent him back to jail for three years after ruling he had "seriously violated probation rules a number of times," the report said.
Bob Fu, head of Texas-based rights group China Aid, likened the jailing to internal exile.

"The Chinese government can use this remote jail to prevent concerned people to visit attorney Gao," he said in a statement.

The case has drawn the attention of both the United States government and the United Nations.

In December last year, the United States urged China to "immediately release" Gao and to clarify his whereabouts.

Days later, UN officials also called on China to release Mr Gao after state media said he had been sent back to prison for three years.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8987021/Missing-China-dissident-Gao-Zhisheng-held-in-Xinjiang.html#.TwCKAxusii0.email

China sends long-missing lawyer Gao back to jail

2011-12-17T19:48:00.001-08:00

AP foreign, Friday December 16 2011 By SCOTT McDONALD

Associated Press= BEIJING (AP) — More than a year and a half after prominent civil rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng disappeared, China's government gave the first sign Friday that he is alive, saying he would be sent to prison for three years for violating his probation.

A brief report by the state-run Xinhua News Agency did not answer key questions about Gao — the condition of his health and his whereabouts now and in the 20 months since he disappeared, presumably at the hands of the authorities.

"Are they sending him to a proper prison? Which prison was he at before? Where were they hiding him?" said Gao's brother, Gao Zhiyi, who has been on a quest to find his sibling. Gao's wife said from the United States she was still uneasy because of the lack of information.

Charismatic and pugnacious, Gao was a galvanizing figure for the rights movement, advocating constitutional reform and arguing landmark cases to defend property rights and political and religious dissenters. Convicted in 2006 of subversion and sentenced to three years, he was quickly released on probation before being taken away by security agents in 2009 in the first of his forced disappearances that set off an international outcry.

The Xinhua report referred to his 2006 subversion conviction and said Beijing's No. 1 Intermediate People's Court found that Gao "had seriously violated probation rules for a number of times, which led to the court decision to withdraw the probation."

The report did not explain what violations Gao had committed but said his five-year probation was due to expire next Thursday — timing which legal experts said may have prompted the government to send Gao back to jail. "He would serve his term in prison in the next three years," the report said.

Calls to the No. 1 court and the city's appeals court rang unanswered Friday.

Gao has been held incommunicado in apparent disregard of laws and regulations for all but two months of the last three years. When he emerged from the first 14-month bout in April 2010, he told The Associated Press that he had been shunted between detention centers, farm houses and apartments across north China and repeatedly beaten and abused.

He said he had been hooded several times. His captors made him sit motionless for up to 16 hours and threatened to kill him and dump his body in a river.

"'You must forget you're human. You're a beast,'" Gao said police told him in September 2009.

At one point, six plainclothes officers bound him with belts and put a wet towel around his face for an hour, bringing on a feeling of slow suffocation.

"It's hard to fathom what they might be referring to when they say that he violated his parole given that he seems to have been under constant supervision," said Joshua Rosenzweig, a human rights researcher based in Hong Kong. "It's kind of cynical."

Formalizing Gao's detention as a prison term, Rosenzweig said, gives Chinese leaders a ready response to queries from foreign governments and officials. Gao's case has repeatedly been raised by the U.S. and European governments, drawing cryptic responses if any from Chinese officials. U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke mentioned him in a public statement last weekend.

Gao's wife, Geng He, fled China with their two children, escorted by human traffickers overland to Southeast Asia, around the time he first disappeared. They now live in the United States.

"When I heard what they said, all I could think was 'Oh, it means he's still alive,'" Geng said, crying, in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

Now living in California, she said she learned about the Xinhua report when a friend called her as she was taking her daughter to school. "We've asked them (the Chinese authorities) so many times, and they would never tell us anything," Geng said.

She said the family has yet to receive any notice from the police or courts about Gao's case and they still have no idea where he is.

Adding to the confusion and uncertainty, Geng said local police called Gao's elder sister in Shandong province on Thursday, and asked if Gao was there with her.

"I am not at ease," Geng said. "I still don't know where he is or what kind of condition he's in."

Activists in China seemed astounded and outraged by the news. Huang Qi, who runs a rights monitoring group in Sichuan province, strongly condemned what he said was the use of the judicial system to persecute dissidents and he offered his services to Gao's family.

"Gao Zhisheng has used his actions to write a glorious page in the history of the Chinese democracy movement," Huang said in a statement.

Amnesty International called the move to send Gao to prison "a travesty."

"This inhuman treatment must stop. Gao Zhisheng and his family have suffered enough and he must be freed," Catherine Baber, deputy director in Asia for the group, said in a statement.

German Human Rights Commissioner Markus Loening called the report on Gao a cause of "great worry" and said he would urge China once more to shed light on his case.

"I will push for Gao Zhisheng being able to live a life in dignity and freedom," he said in a statement.

Maran Turner, executive director of Freedom Now, a Washington D.C. rights group that has campaigned for Gao's release said that Gao's formal imprisonment was "blatant repression behind a thin facade of legality."

Bob Fu, the founder of China Aid, a Texas rights group that focuses on Chinese issues, and a friend of Gao's said in an email that the court decision was "totally unacceptable and laughable.

"The top Beijing government leadership owes a clear explanation to the international community and Gao's family for this new hideous detention," Fu said.

He added that "silence was not a diplomatic option" and urged the United States and global community to tell Beijing the Gao case would hinder its interest in the world.

While Gao may be the most prominent government critic to be treated so harshly in years, the authorities have done so with other dissidents.

Du Daobin, an outspoken critic also convicted of subversion and sentenced to three years in prison in 2004, did not immediately start his sentence, according to the Laogai Research Foundation, a Washington-based advocacy group that runs a website for which Du wrote. Instead, Du was released and lived under probation for four years before being sent to prison in 2008, apparently because he continued to criticize the government online.

Gao's family and supporters meanwhile have continued to campaign for him, with little result. His brother, Zhiyi, has been on a constant search for information. When he asked Beijing police in September about his brother, one officer told him Gao Zhisheng was a "missing person and no one knows where he is."

---

Associated Press writers Alexa Olesen and Gillian Wong contributed to this report.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/9999003

Beijing court withdraws probation on ex-lawyer convicted of overthrowing state

2011-12-17T19:47:00.000-08:00

www.English.news.cn 2011-12-16 18:15:39

BEIJING, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- A Beijing court Friday withdrew probation on a former lawyer convicted of inciting to overthrow the state power and put him back in jail.

Gao Zhisheng, 47, was sentenced to three years in prison with five years of probation and deprived of political rights for one year on Dec. 22, 2006, said a statement from the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court.

He had seriously violated probation rules for a number of times, which led to the court decision to withdraw the probation, the statement said.

Gao, holding a residence permit of the city of Urumqi in Xinjiang, had been a lawyer based in Beijing before the conviction.

He would serve his term in prison in next three years, the statement said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2011-12/16/c_131311157.htm

Statement of CECC Chairman Christopher Smith and Cochairman Sherrod Brown on Human Rights Lawyer Gao Zhisheng

2011-08-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

August 22, 2011

CECC Chairman Christopher Smith and Cochairman Sherrod Brown call on Chinese authorities to immediately account for and free China's most famous human rights lawyer, Gao Zhisheng.

"China's shocking treatment of Mr. Gao is unconscionable and cannot be reconciled with China's desire for international respect and recognition," said Commission Chairman Representative Chris Smith. "It has now been five years since authorities abducted Mr. Gao on August 15, 2006, escalating their brutal repression of Gao and his family. Since then Mr. Gao has been tortured, threatened with death, sentenced to prison, and forcibly 'disappeared,'" Smith said.

"Mr. Gao has been missing in China since April 2010, with no word as to his health or whereabouts. His wife and two children have fled to the United States. Mr. Gao's life is clearly in danger, and the conspicuous silence only raises more questions about his fate," said Commission Cochairman Senator Sherrod Brown. "These are not the acts of a country based on the rule of law. The Chinese government wants a seat at the table of world powers, but its repression of human rights cannot be tolerated. We cannot turn a blind eye to its brutal repression of those who seek universal rights of freedom and justice."

Under both Chinese and international law, China is obligated to assure Mr. Gao's safety, free him immediately, and let him resume his important work of defending the rights of his fellow citizens.

The Chinese government initially praised the self-trained Gao as one of the country's top lawyers. But he angered authorities when he used the law to defend China's oppressed. A Christian house church member, Mr. Gao represented fellow Christians accused of "illegally" distributing Bibles and reported on government raids of house churches. In a high-profile labor case, Mr. Gao bravely defended workers detained for protesting low wages and poor working conditions. He also documented the torture and abuse of Falun Gong practitioners. In addition, Mr. Gao has advocated on behalf of victims of land expropriation and those harmed by China's population planning policy.

In response, authorities revoked Mr. Gao's law license in 2005. In 2006, they sentenced Mr. Gao to three years in prison on trumped-up "inciting subversion" charges. Authorities suspended the sentence for five years, but their harassment and abuse only worsened.

After Mr. Gao wrote an open letter to the U.S. Congress in 2007 criticizing China's human rights record and hosting of the Olympics, authorities abducted and brutally tortured him for 50 days. Officials reportedly beat him with electric prods, abused him with toothpicks and threatened to kill him if he told anyone of his treatment. Mr. Gao later "disappeared" into official custody, resurfaced briefly in early 2010, and has been missing since April 2010.

"Mr. Gao's plight reflects the dire state of human rights lawyers and activists in China today," said Chairman Smith. "Since the beginning of this year, Chinese officials have launched a major assault on the country's vocal community of rights defenders and activists."

Cochairman Brown added, "The more recent crackdown has defied Chinese and international law. Numerous citizens have been detained, forcibly disappeared, and subjected to every form of abuse and harassment."

Smith and Brown noted that the victims include prominent artist Ai Weiwei, writer and activist Ran Yunfei, democracy activist Zhu Yufu, and rights defense lawyer Ni Yulan. They pointed out that the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances has spoken out against China's abuses as violating international law. Recently, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has declared Gao's detention to be arbitrary and has demanded his release. They also declared that the imprisonment of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo and house arrest of his wife Liu Xia violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In addition to urging for Gao's immediate release, Chairman Smith and Cochairman Brown reiterated their call on the Chinese government to "immediately cease its crackdown on rights activists and religious people, to free all political prisoners, and to protect Chinese citizens' fundamental rights to freedom of speech, religion, and assembly, and right to be free from arbitrary detention."

Representative Christopher Smith was recently appointed as Chairman of the CECC and Senator Sherrod Brown was appointed as Cochairman in May.

http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=163601

(video) U.S. VP Expected to Urge Gao's Release

2011-08-20T15:16:00.001-07:00

August 17, 2011
U.S. VP Expected to Urge Gao's Release

http://youtu.be/npHWTyjgf_A

European Parliament VP writes to Gao Zhisheng’s Wife in Support of Her Efforts to Free Gao

2011-08-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

China Aid Association

(Brussels, Belgium – Aug. 15, 2011) On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the arrest of Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, the vice president of the European Parliament has written a letter to Gao’s wife reiterating his admiration for Gao and his support of her efforts to win his freedom.

In the August 12 letter to Gao’s wife Geng He, Edward McMillan-Scott called Gao “a truly great man” and said, “I believe [he] will one day be part of China’s future.”

McMillan-Scott recalled the discussions he had had with Gao before the lawyer disappeared into police custody and said, “If my contact with him formed any part of his subsequent difficulties I am truly sorry: he did however tell me that he knew the risks he ran for the cause of democracy, human rights and reform in China.”

Gao was arrested on Aug. 15, 2006, and sentenced later that year to three years imprisonment and five years probation. The sentence was later suspended, but in the past five years, Gao has disappeared into police custody no less than six times. His most recent forced disappearance occurred 16 months ago, in April 2010.

McMillan-Scott said, “Gao’s welfare remains my absolute priority.”

Read his full letter below:

Edward McMillan-Scott MEP
Vice-President of the European Parliament
Democracy and Human Rights
Yorkshire & Humber, UK
Tel +32 (0) 2 28 45959
www.emcmillanscott.com
August 12 2011

Dear Geng He,

Thank you very much for the letter (below) which you wrote on July 11 from New York and which has been passed on to me concerning the fifth anniversary of Gao Zhisheng’s arrest on August 15 2006.

I was really touched by the nature and content of the letter. Your attitudes reflect the values which shone through my discussions with your husband, and which illuminate his letters and other writings. He is a truly great man and I believe will one day be part of China’s future. If my contact with him formed any part of his subsequent difficulties I am truly sorry: he did however tell me that he knew the risks he ran for the cause of democracy, human rights and reform in China.

I know too of the regard in which he held you and the love he had for you and the children, especially his anguish that he was causing you to have a hard life. I hope that he knows that you and the children have found safety and freedom in the USA and I have nothing but admiration for the way in which you took this decision, and also for those who organised your escape from Beijing.

As you know, there are millions in China and elsewhere, especially victims of religious repression and persecution, who patiently await a China more just, to use Gao’s own words, and who venerate him for his courageous championship. Please be assured that Gao’s welfare remains my absolute priority.

I am copying this letter as well as yours to Lady Ashton, the EU’s High Representative for External Relations, as well as to the President of the European Parliament, both of whom have taken a close personal interest in your husband’s imprisonment, torture and disappearance.

Yours very sincerely and in hope,

Edward McMillan-Scott

Translation of Geng He’s July 11 letter to McMillan-Scott:

Dear Edward;

I hope you are doing well! I am Chinese human rights lawyer Gao, Zhisheng’s wife. I wish I could have gone to Europe for the launch of my husband’s book in the Czech Republic and I could have met you in Europe. Regretfully, I could not make it due to the pre‐engagement my children have for the summer. Nevertheless, I would like to send you my most sincere appreciation for your continuous attention and appeal for Gao. It always warms our heart when we think of what you have done for our family.

As you may already know, Gao has disappeared again in April 2010 after his brief appearance. It has been about 15 months. We completely have no idea his whereabouts. As his wife, I constantly wonder where he is and whether he is being tortured. There is always pain that penetrates deeply into my heart and makes it difficult for me to either sleep or eat. My two children have also been miserable. I told myself, I can’t wait any longer, I must fight even harder to gain my husband’s release.

Gao chose the lawyer profession for simple reasons. He hoped to protect social justice through legal means and to seek justice for those persecuted. Unfortunately, he was illegally arrested on August 15, 2006. He then was sentenced to a three‐year suspended prison sentence over a five year reprieve for subversion. Even according to the Chinese communist’s own laws, August 14th of this year should be the date when Gao should be completely free and can come home. I strongly demand the Chinese communist government to release Gao and compensate all of his sufferings. I know, however, that this goal can’t be accomplished without enough outside pressure placed on the regime. I hope you could continue to help us to gain Gao’s freedom and have him come home on time. Our whole family really appreciate all of your help!

Sincerely Yours,

Geng, He
July 11, 2011

To Gao Zhisheng: Waiting for you to come home!

2011-08-10T09:33:00.000-07:00

Geng He and her children

By Geng He, Gao Zhisheng’s wife

It’s late in the night. Our son and daughter long ago drifted off into Lala-land. As the old saying goes,“The thoughts of the day are reflected in the dreams of the night.” Maybe in their dreams right now, they are happily reunited with their father whom they miss all the time…. I really hope they can have this kind of brief and happy dream every night. In contrast, I am dreamless, sitting in front of this computer, going through your articles, watching videos of you and seeking your shadow. I came across a twisted and mangled photo and an excruciating pain suddenly shot through my whole body and pierced me to the marrow. Missing you is painful, yet I enjoy the pain of sharing this moment with you.

During the day, I have to take care of many practical things and I don’t have the time to think about you. Each time you’ve been kidnapped, you’ve been held longer and longer, and each time the torture has gotten worse and worse. After the kids go to sleep at night, I return to those times when we were together and it makes me wish the night could be a little longer.

I want you to know: the first thing my father does each morning after getting out of bed is to hurry to the top of Hongguang Mountain and kowtow to every god he sees and burn incense. That’s the only way he can get through the day in peace. Brother No. 4 and Eldest Brother take turns going to Baiyun Mountain to draw lots for your safety. Some friends recite mantras for you; others pray for you. Those in this world who hate you and torture you are just a handful of extremely violent and wicked thugs. They are the exception; everyone else who knows your story supports you and wishes you well in their hearts. With so many people and family members who love you, you have to make it through.

You have no idea how important you are to us. Even if I and the children get to heaven, if you are not free, then we still cannot be happy….

Our son’s birthday is just a month away. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said: “I’d like to call daddy.” How we want to hear your humorous and confident voice again. That would be such a comfort to me and Gege [their teenage daughter].

You were illegally arrested on August 15, 2006. Even according to their own law and the sentence of “three years of imprisonment with five years probation,” this August 14 is the last day of the probation period and should be the date when you regain freedom. I am looking forward to this day and to hearing your voice and to our family being reunited. The whole family looks forward to this day!!

I hope the stars in the sky can deliver my message and hope: We are waiting for you to come back home!

ChinaAid ContactsBob Fu, President; Mark Shan, Spokesperson
Tel: 1+(888) 889-7757 Cell: (267) 205-5210
Email: Bob@ChinaAid.org Mark@ChinaAid.org
Website: www.ChinaAid.org www.MonitorChina.org

Geng He’s Letter to Congressmen

2011-08-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

July 4, 2011

Dear Member of Congress,

I am the wife of Chinese lawyer Gao Zhisheng. Now that I’m residing in the land of the free, the United States of America, I know the joy of freedom. But at the same time, I am suffering deeply and full of worries because there has been no news whatsoever of my husband since his most recent illegal detention by the Chinese Communists. Following his brief re-appearance in April 2010, I have once again lost contact with him, and it has now been a year and three months. As a wife, I have no clue where my husband is. When my children ask, “Where is daddy?” I have no answer. My septuagenarian parents ask me from time to time, “Any news of him?” The pain is like thousands of arrows piercing my heart and I often am unable to eat or sleep.

My husband is a lawyer, and for a long time, he persisted in taking on pro bono cases for the socially disadvantaged and the poor, from persecuted individuals to class action suits, including victims of forced demolitions and evictions, religious believers, and the case of the oil fields in northern Shaanxi province. Because of these cases, the authorities shut down his law office and revoked his lawyer’s license. He was arrested on August 15, 2006, and later sentenced by the authorities to three years in prison with a probation period of five years on the charge of “inciting subversion of state power.” During the probation period, he has been forced to disappear no less than six times, and each time he has been tortured. From his twisted face, I can imagine how much he has suffered, and I feel as though I have suffered the same thing. It makes me incredibly sad. All he was doing was upholding the principles of human kindness and following one’s conscience.

According to China’s own law, Gao Zhisheng should be coming home on August 14 this year. Furthermore, a United Nations investigation has determined that Gao Zhisheng was forced to disappear by the government. We demand that the Chinese Communist government immediately release Gao Zhisheng and compensate him for injuries caused. Whether the Chinese Communist government will let Gao Zhisheng come home still depends on pressure from the rest of the world. Therefore, I sincerely hope you can provide all the help you can so that Gao Zhisheng can regain his freedom as soon as possible and come home as scheduled, so that my children and I can know he is safe and sound, and so that all the people around the world who are concerned about him can be at peace about him.

Thank you very much for your help!

Sincerely yours,

Geng He

ChinaAid ContactsBob Fu, President; Mark Shan, Spokesperson
Tel: 1+(888) 889-7757 Cell: (267) 205-5210
Email: Bob@ChinaAid.org Mark@ChinaAid.org
Website: www.ChinaAid.org www.MonitorChina.org

Probation period of “disappeared” Lawyer Gao Zhisheng will end soon. Family pleads for his freedom.

2011-08-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

An interview by Zhang Min, hostess of the Radio Free Asia talk show “Journey of the Soul,” July 16, 2011.

Translated by China Aid Association

(Gao Zhisheng briefly reappeared in April 2010. This Associated Press photo was taken during an interview with an AP reporter about his time in police custody.)

*The probation period of “disappeared” Lawyer Gao Zhisheng’s sentence will soon end. His family and those who have been watching the case are taking a wait-and-see attitude about whether he will regain his freedom.*

August 14 is the final day of the five-year probation period that “disappeared” Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was sentenced to. That day is less than a month away. Exactly where is Lawyer Gao Zhisheng? Can he regain his freedom on August 14? His family and people all over the world have been watching this case are taking a wait-and-see attitude with regard to these questions.

Gao Zhisheng’s wife Ms. Geng He, who fled China more than two years ago with her son and daughter and is now living in the United States, said, “Gao Zhisheng was illegally arrested by the Chinese Communists on August 15, 2006 and was sentenced to three years in prison with five years probation. August 14 this year should be the day he regains his freedom as that is the final day of his probation. Probation is supposed to be served at home. Yet, not only is he not at home, none of his family members knows where he is.”

*Brief introduction to Lawyer Gao Zhisheng and his case*

From December 2004 to December 2005, Gao Zhisheng, the human rights lawyer who had served as a defense counsel in cases including those involving Falun Gong practitioners and [local people trying to protect their interest in] oil fields in northern Shaanxi province, wrote three open letters to the highest-ranking leaders of China, demanding that they stop persecuting Falun Gong adherents.

In November 2005, the Shengzhi Law Firm of Beijing, of which he was the director, was shut down by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice. On December 22, 2006, Lawyer Gao Zhisheng was convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” and sentenced to three years in prison, placed on probation for five years probation, and deprived of political rights for one year. He was sent back home. In September 2007, Gao Zhisheng was once again taken into custody. After his release, his article “Dark Night, Dark Hood and Kidnapping by Dark Mafia” was disseminated. In it, he describes the tortures he was subjected to during his detention, including the insertion of toothpicks into his genitals.

Gao Zhisheng won the American Board of Trial Advocates’ Courageous Advocacy Award as well as other human rights awards.

Before dawn on February 4, 2009, Gao Zhisheng was kidnapped by the police right in front of his relatives from his hometown in northern Shaanxi province.

In early 2009, Gao Zhisheng’s wife and his children fled China. They arrived in the United Sates in March and later were granted political asylum.

After Gao Zhisheng was kidnapped by police from his hometown, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, the police and other sources gave many conflicting reports regarding his whereabouts. Up until March 27, 2010, no one on the outside could get any accurate information about him.

On March 28, 2010, Gao Zhisheng’s phone number suddenly showed up on the Internet and people on the outside could now call Lawyer Gao Zhisheng. Ten days later when people called the number again, it was disconnected, and has remained so ever since.

*Geng He: Gao Zhiyi called to make inquiries and the Domestic Security Protection Department said they had “lost” Gao Zhisheng again; the whole family awaits a call from Gao.*

I asked Ms. Geng He: “Has anyone in the family back in China made inquiries recently or looked for him?”

Geng He: “His eldest brother called a person surnamed Sun in Beijing (at the Domestic Security Protection Department). He (Sun) said: ‘We don’t know, we’ve lost him. Don’t call me again.’ Calls to his brother’s home don’t go through. Either nobody answers or there’s a recorded message saying, ‘This number is not a working number.’ This is not normal because this is a home landline number. Three or four months ago, I said to him: ‘Eldest brother, we can’t get through to you on this number. You should stop paying for it. It’s okay to disconnect it.” But his eldest brother said: ‘We can’t disconnect it. This is the only number for Runhui (Gao Zhisheng’s nickname) to call us when he comes back home. What if he calls….’ He’s thinking what if he [Gao] has a moment’s freedom and could call them. We’re all just waiting for a phone call.

“Whenever Gao Zhisheng’s older sister sees a caller ID that she doesn’t recognize, she always gets excited and asks herself, ‘Could this be my Third Brother?’ I once called her on the phone and the call was disconnected before I heard anyone’s voice. I called again but couldn’t get through. She wound up waiting the whole night.”

*Geng He: Gao Zhiyi wrote a “missing person” ad and asked me to post it on the Internet.*

Hostess: “When was the last time anyone had any information of Gao Zhisheng?”

Geng He: “Speaking for myself, the last time I was in contact with him was April 15 or 16, because of the time difference with China. We were planning to celebrate our daughter Gege’s birthday on April 17 and we began looking for her father. We couldn’t find him and we couldn’t get through on his number. And that’s how it’s been ever since. His eldest brother told me on the phone that Domestic Security Protection told him they’ve ‘lost him,’ so his eldest brother has written a ‘missing person’ ad. He wants me to post it on the Internet. I have it here.”

Hostess: “How is it written?”

Geng He: “Let me read it for you: ‘Missing Person: Gao Zhisheng, 49, male, Han ethnicity, 1.80 meters tall, Beijing resident. In the second month of 2010 of the lunar calendar, he went to his hometown for the Qingming Festival to visit his mother’s grave. On the way, he was accompanied by several plainclothes police. Afterwards, he returned to Beijing. About 10 days later, we talked on the phone. To date, it’s been more than a year. There hasn’t been a scrap of news. The whole family is extremely worried.

‘In the past year or so, I have made several calls to Section Chief Sun of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. He said he had lost him. On September 13 last year, I went again to inquire at the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau’s Petition Office and they told me they didn’t know anything. As an ordinary citizen, there is little I can do. If anyone has any information, please let us know. We will be very grateful. Contact person: Gao Zhiyi, cell phone number -- 15191985726.’

The date that I received this e-mail was June 6. One of his relatives sent it to my mailbox.

*Gao Zhiyi: I remember Gao Zhisheng came home at the Qingming Festival last year for two, three days of grave sweeping. A few days after he left, we lost contact with him and he is still missing.*

On July 11, I interviewed Mr. Gao Zhiyi at his home in northern Shaanxi province.

Hostess: “May I ask you what made you write that ad for a missing person?”

Gao Zhiyi: “It’s been more than a year with no news of him. I asked them several times and they told me they didn’t know anything. I wrote it out of desperation.”

Hostess: “How many times did you ask the people involved in this case?”

Gao Zhiyi: “In the ninth month of the lunar calendar last year, I went to the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau’s Petition Office. They told me they didn’t know anything. I called Section Chief Sun several times and he told me they had lost him. I said: ‘How could you have possibly lost him when he was in your custody?’ He said: ‘Even if your brother was with me, he can still be lost while in their custody.’ At the Qingming Festival last year, he came back home. It’s now been more than a year with no news of him whatsoever. They are closemouthed about this. When I called him again, he wouldn’t take my calls.”

Hostess: “When I called the number of this Section Chief Sun from America, the operator in China said: ‘The number you have dialed is not a working number.’”

I asked Mr. Gao Zhiyi: “What did Lawyer Gao Zhisheng do when he returned to his hometown for the Qingming Festival last year?”

Gao Zhiyi: “He stayed only for two or three days. What could he do? He was being followed.”

Hostess: “How many people were tailing him?”

Gao Zhiyi: “One came into the house. Four vehicles came from Yulin. After that, there was no news of him whatsoever.”

Hostess: “Was he allowed to stay at home? How was his health? Any wounds?”

Gao Zhiyi: “Yes, [he was allowed to stay at home]. Judging from his condition at the time, he must have suffered injuries in prison. He was tortured like that. He was coughing, they must have hurt him somehow in his lungs. His coughing was not normal coughing. I’m almost 60 years old, I can sense it.”

Hostess: “How many nights did he stay at home?”

Gao Zhiyi: “It was either two nights or three nights. Qingming Festival is the traditional day for people to offer sacrifices to the ancestors. Our big family of 20 to 30 people went together to the grave.”

Hostess: “After that, when did you stop getting information from him?”

Gao Zhiyi: “After he left, that is to say, about a week to 10 days later. He called us once from Beijing. After that, nothing.”

*Gao Zhiyi: I wanted to go to Beijing during this year’s legislative sessions, but the police wouldn’t let me. They said they would give me news in a few days, but in the end, they gave me nothing. *

Hostess: “Before Lawyer Gao returned to his hometown this last time, you had contacted Beijing and the police said he was lost. You just said that they said they had lost him. Was it after he returned home this time that the police said again that he was lost?”

Gao Zhiyi: “Yes, after he came back, I contacted Section Chief Sun and that’s what he said.”

Hostess: “When was the last time you inquired about Lawyer Gao?”

Gao Zhiyi: “Last year, in the ninth month of the lunar calendar, I went to Beijing and went to the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau’s Petition Office. I don’t know if they were officers or soldiers, in any case, they were the ones on duty. They said they didn’t know anything, that there was nothing they could do. They said his case was a special case and they couldn’t talk to me. So, I had no choice but to come back [home]. I am the only one in the family who has gone looking for him. No one else has.

“This year, when the two legislative sessions [National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference] were meeting in March, I was planning to go [to Beijing]. But a call came from Beijing to Yulin, and then the Yulin Municipal Public Security Bureau called me and told me not to go. [They said] the next day or the day after that ... in a few days, we’ll call you back. Ai-yah, we are just ordinary citizens, what can we do except obey the government? The whole problem is this society. There’s nothing we can do. If they say ‘jump,’ I jump. So I didn’t go. When the legislative sessions ended, I contacted them again but they were closemouthed.”

Hostess: “So they said they’d give you an answer in a few days, but in the end, they gave you nothing, right?”

Gao Zhiyi: “Yes, that is what I mean.”

*Gao Zhiyi: If by the end of the probation period they still haven’t given me an explanation, that’s totally unacceptable. The authorities have to give some kind of explanation.*

Hostess: “It is now already mid-July. Lawyer Gao’s five-year probation period ends on Aug. 14. How do you feel?”

Gao Zhiyi: “How do you think I feel? Even if he were sentenced to life in prison, the family should have the right to visit him in the prison and should know how he is doing. And probation is supposed to be served at home. Yet, they won’t give us any scrap of information about him. And what can you do?”

Hostess: “Are you able to communicate normally?”

Gao Zhiyi: “I have disconnected my landline phone. It had stopped working altogether. All we were doing was paying for something that we couldn’t use. We had no other choice. I keep my cell phone on 24 hours a day. If things go wrong, my cell phone might end up like my landline phone (non-functional). Under normal circumstances, this sort of thing wouldn’t happen. What can we ordinary citizens do?”

Hostess: “It’s been so many years. Is there anything else you would like to say about Lawyer Gao’s case and how it has affected your personal life, your emotions, your family?”

Gao Zhiyi: “When I’m working, I work very hard. It’s only at night when I lie down to sleep … whenever it is quiet, then my mind is full of thoughts of him.

“When I’m watching TV, my mind is full of him: is he still on this earth? … I’ve thought about all the possibilities. How could I not? I’ve told you more than once or twice, when our father died, he was only 11. In the 1970s, life was hard and we all got through by sticking together through thick and thin. So how can I not think of him? A person suddenly evaporates from the face of the earth, can you not think about him? Things couldn’t be any worse. There’s nothing I can do, especially during this time.”

Hostess: “When that day comes, how do you plan to wait for Lawyer Gao?”

Gao Zhiyi: “My initial plan is go to Beijing. But in any case, I can’t make a final decision right now. I’ve taken everything into consideration. I think I will contact them a few days beforehand and see if they can give me an explanation.”

*Geng He: The authorities warned Gao Zhisheng’s sister that her children’s jobs would be threatened if she left home to look for Gao Zhisheng.*
During my interview with Ms. Geng He, I asked if Lawyer Gao Zhisheng’s older sister had tried to look for Gao Zhisheng.

Geng He: “His older sister has not dared to look for him because the authorities have already warned her: ‘You must not leave this place. If you do leave, it will affect your children’s jobs.’ That’s because her husband died many years ago and the two girls are too inexperienced to fend for themselves. Not getting any news of her brother is even more of a mental and physical torture for her.”

*Gao Zhisheng’s older sister: We hope we to get news of him soon. When the time comes (the end of the probation period), they should release him.*

I interviewed Lawyer Gao Zhisheng’s older sister who lives in Shandong: “Have you had any news of Lawyer Gao?”

Gao’s sister: “No. We haven’t had any news of him whatsoever.”

Hostess: “Up to now, when was the last time you heard any news of Lawyer Gao?”

Gao’s sister: “It was April 2010, that was the Qingming Festival. We talked twice on the phone. After that, the calls wouldn’t go through.”

Hostess: “What did you talk about?”

Gao’s sister: “We greeted each other, then didn’t say much.”

Hostess: “What did Lawyer Gao say when you were talking, did he say where he was, when he could contact you again? What else did he say?”

Gao’s sister: “He said he went to Xinjiang to his father-in-law’s, and then there was no news at all. He did go to Xinjiang and he never phoned us again. Later I called his father-in-law and his father-in-law said he was tailed when he was in Xinjiang, he said there were three people, probably from Beijing. In Xinjiang, he didn’t stay at his father-in-law’s, he stayed at a guest house.”

Hostess: “In a month, Lawyer Gao’s probation period will end. There has been no news of him for over a year. How are you feeling now?”

Gao’s sister: “Ai-yah, what am I feeling…. When a loved one is missing, of course a person is going to feel bad and be worried. But what’s the use of worrying? There’s nothing I can do. Now that the time (for the end of the probation period) has come, they should release him. No matter what, they should let us visit him in person. Now we can’t even visit him. When you ask them, it’s clear Gao Zhisheng is in their custody, but they say they don’t know. We think my younger brother must be in the hands of the government. He is a human being, and it’s been so long. As family members, there’s nothing we can do but worry and hope to get some news as soon as possible. Even if the authorities have done something serious to him, they should let us know.”

Hostess: “Are there any pressures on you?”

Gao’s sister: “It seems not this year. Last year, whenever there was a holiday, they called me to see if I was at home. They were afraid I might have gone out looking for my brother.”

*Geng He: I hope the international community can help bring Gao Zhisheng home soon.*
Geng He said: “According to the Chinese Communists’ own law, August 14 is the date when Gao Zhisheng will have finished serving his sentence and that is the date when he should finally come home. The entire family is waiting for this day. Everyone who has been following this case and been concerned about Gao Zhisheng is fixed on this day. The ‘missing person’ ad written by his eldest brother expresses the family’s hopes, because the family has run out of any other options. Oh, the bitterness in looking for him! There’s nothing we can do. Ordinary people can only express their feelings in this way.

“Through an attorney, I have also told some U.S. members of Congress about this situation. A year and three months have gone by with no news of him whatsoever. According to the Chinese Communists’ own law, on August 14 this year, they should let him come home and let him regain his freedom. I have also written letters to members of the European Parliament. Whether Gao Zhisheng can regain his freedom and whether he can come home will depend on the pressure exerted by the rest of the world. I hope they can help in getting Gao Zhisheng home soon and on schedule.”

*Geng He: Since the state doesn’t seem to want him, the family needs him and the children need him, so I hope they can allow us to be reunited.*

Hostess: “How is your family in China?”

Geng He: “My father is almost 80 now. Near my house is Hongguang Mountain. Every morning when he gets up, my father goes to Hongguang Mountain to burn incense and kowtow, praying for Gao Zhisheng’s safety. That’s the only way he can feel at peace for the day. I can’t get through to the Xinjiang phone numbers using Internet phone. Using a phone card (which doesn’t show the caller’s number), I can sometimes get through. My mother is a little muddle-headed now so I don’t call very often.”

Hostess: “How is life for you and your children here?”

Geng He: “The children and I are fine now. The date is drawing nearer and nearer. I want this day to come soon. My son often asks me…. On Father’s Day, my son said to me ‘Mom, it’s Father’s Day today and I want to call my dad.’ That was when there was flooding in Beijing. I said: ‘You see. There’s flooding everywhere in Beijing and you can’t get in touch with your dad.’ He said: ‘Okay. Then, can I call dad on my birthday?’ My son’s birthday is August 27. I said: ‘Okay, I don’t think there should be any problems.’ [Our daughter] Gege is doing okay in school now. She’s gotten used to everything. With regard to Gao Zhisheng’s ordeal of these past several years, he has ‘been disappeared’ no less than six times and each time he was tortured.

“He is such a good man and such a good lawyer. Society needs people like him. Yet, he is attacked and persecuted in China. Since it appears that the Chinese Communists have no use for him and the state has no need of him, our family needs him and my children need him. I hope we can be allowed to be reunited. A father is very important when children are growing up. I hope we can be reunited as a family.”

*Geng He: My son said, “My good father, I’ve forgotten what you look like.” I hope Gao Zhisheng can wish his son a happy birthday.*
Geng He said this is her greatest wish right now: “One month from now is our son Tianyu’s 8th birthday. I really want to hear Gao Zhisheng wish his child a happy birthday, and I really want to hear his humorous and confident voice, because that would be a comfort to me and Gege. Right now, everyone in the family, my parents and all the family members are all waiting for that day.

“I have a pile of papers here in front of me. My son likes to go through them aimlessly. [Once] he came upon a photo of his father and buried his face in it saying, ‘Ai-yah, my good father, I’ve forgotten what you like!’

“Oh, the feelings, I didn’t dare say anything, if I said anything what kind of answer could I give the child? In fact, in front of the child, I have avoided answering his questions about his father. With science so developed and telecommunication so advanced, the distance between people is becoming shorter and shorter and the earth is becoming smaller and smaller. Yet, ironically, for us to make a phone call is so difficult, and we are so far away.”

*Geng He recalls the escalating pressures and Gao Zhisheng’s attitude in 2004 after his involvement in the northern Shaanxi oil fields case and rights defense for Falun Gong practitioners.*
Ms. Geng He, who hopes Lawyer Gao Zhisheng can come back soon to be reunited with his family, recalled Lawyer Gao’s experiences of recent years ---

Geng He: “The reason Gao Zhisheng chose to become a lawyer was because he always had a wish, and that was to use the law to be a channel of fairness, justice and a voice of conscience.”

Hostess: “When did he formally become a lawyer?”

Geng He: “It was in 1996, in October, I think. He started out in Xinjiang. I remember the first case he got when he started practicing was a medical malpractice case, a pro bonocase… Gao Zhisheng was very serious about every case he took: criminal cases, contract cases, and individual cases that developed into class action suits. The domestic media at the time reported a lot of the cases in which he was involved. Finally, it was because he got involved in cases of rights defense, such as forced demolitions and evictions, religious persecution, the case of northern Shaanxi oil fields, and so forth that the government interfered and sought him out for ‘talks.’ As a lawyer, he stood firmly on the side of his clients, even if they were poor people getting pro bono help. He never stopped providing assistance to the poor.”

Hostess: “When did the pressure start?”

Geng He: “The pressure started in 2004. He took on the Cai Zhuohua case [in which the Christian Cai Zhuohua was sentenced to three years labor camp for warehousing tens of thousands of Chinese Bibles and books]. After that, it was the northern Shaanxi oil fields case; he spent more than a month investigating that. At the time, I was on duty at the office (Geng He was employed at the law office). The Justice Bureau kept calling and calling and asking, ‘When will Gao Zhisheng come back? When he comes back, he has to come to the Justice Bureau.’

During this period, they often came to our law office – today it’s a tax audit, tomorrow it’s a lawyer inspection. During that time, we felt obvious pressure. We also came under the pressure in the cases of forced demolition and eviction as well as in petition cases, cases of persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and Christians, …”

Hostess: “When did the pressure intensify?”

Geng He: “In August and September of 2005. People from the Justice Bureau kept coming to our law firm, doing inspections. At the time, Gao Zhisheng was in that oil field in northern Shaanxi. In September, they suspended our business for rectification. Later, they issued a formal ‘Business Suspended for Rectification’ notice.

“In 2005, an incredible number of people came to him for asking him to take on their cases. They were ones that local lawyers refused to take and that couldn’t be handled through normal legal procedures. I remember one was a petitioner’s case that had dragged on for more than 10 years without result. Those people said: ‘We don’t want to live anymore. We are going to kill ourselves.’ Gao Zhisheng said to them: ‘Come see me and let me review your cases. Though I can’t give you much substantial help, I’ll go through the entire appeals process with you. There is no time limit to appeal.’

“When I asked Gao Zhisheng why, he said: ‘It’s hard enough for the litigants. Over such a long period of time, they lost in the trial of first instance and the trial of second instance. When they come to me, I should give them some hope and not let them give up on themselves. That wouldn’t be safe for society either.’”

Hostess: “Later, when the pressure really became intense, what was Gao Zhisheng attitude?”

Geng He: “In 2005, when the Justice Bureau issued the order suspending our business for rectification, I immediately wrote statements for all our lawyers saying they were free to leave our law office and that they were in no way connected with the law office financially. This way, they could go work in other law offices. If I had been a little slower in these actions, and if the Justice Bureau had taken away our company chop and financial chop, they would not have been able to leave.

“During this time, Gao Zhisheng was at home every day writing articles and receiving [government] petitioners and people whose houses had been demolished and who had been relocated. He helped them put their documents in order, and when the time was right, he would publicize their case.

“In May and June 2006, his brother-in-law (his sister’s husband) was sick and in critical condition. He thought, ‘The law office is shut down anyway.’ He figured it didn’t matter where he did his writing, so he went to Shandong to take care of his sister and his brother-in-law. After he went to Shandong, I wasn’t involved with what he was doing there.”

*Geng He: So sad – I’d always wanted to listen to Gao Zhisheng as defense counsel. I never imagined that the first time I entered a courtroom, it was to hear his sentencing. *

Hostess: “Later we learned that Lawyer Gao Zhisheng was kidnapped from his sister’s home in Shandong and disappeared. He was arrested later and sentenced. Is there anything in this process that is worth recalling?”

Geng He: “Talking about this, I feel so sad… Every time one of Gao Zhisheng’s cases went to trial, he would tell me what kind of defense he gave, how he brought his skills into full play. He was always talking like this, so I would joke with him, saying: ‘Okay, since I was not there, you are free to brag any way you like.’ After that, he stopped telling me. Then it was from his assistant that I heard about the spectacular defenses Gao Zhisheng gave in every case. So I said to him: ‘Gao Zhisheng, I’d like to go to the court with you once.’ Gao Zhisheng said: ‘No problem. I’ll bring you to court with me for the next trial.’ I thought that since that was his profession, there was a lot of time, so I didn’t bring it up. I thought I had plenty of opportunities.

“What’s so sad is, when the opportunity came and I went into the courtroom for the first time, it was to hear him being sentenced. He is such a stellar person, such an outstanding man. I had been eagerly anticipating listening to him giving an excellent defense. Yet what I heard in the courtroom was his sentence. They cut short his career much too early.”

*Geng He: They revoked human right lawyer Gao Zhisheng’s license, shut down his law firm, sentenced him, tortured him, put his family under surveillance and finally barred our daughter from school.*
Ms. Geng He continued to recall some of the things that happened later: “Following the sentencing, he came back home in late December 2006. As soon as he entered the house, Gao Zhisheng said: ‘The entire family must leave Beijing.’ ‘Why?’ I asked. My understanding was that the authorities were afraid people might come to our house and if too many people came, that would be too much pressure on them. The next day, he said that if the entire family left Beijing together, it would attract too much attention. So he would leave first. Then, he left. That was in late December. He went back to Shandong and wandered all over the place, and they followed him the whole time.

“He didn’t come back until February or March of the following year. The local police came knocking on my door all the time to see if he was there. People like that person surnamed Sun from the Domestic Security Protection Department of the Beijing Public Security Bureau also came knocking on my door to talk with him.

“A major incidence of persecution occurred in 2007. It was because of two articles he wrote. I think they were articles on the Olympic Games. He never talked to me about those articles. I only know that on that night, he said: ‘They want me to go out with them.’ I said: ‘Then go with them.’ He’d no sooner stepped foot out the door when some Domestic Security Protection officers came to me and said: ‘Let’s go to the local police station,’ so I went.

“When we got there, they said, ‘Look at these articles written by Gao Zhisheng. Do you know about them?’ I glanced at them and saw they were about the Olympic Games. I said, ‘I didn’t know he wrote these.’ He said, ‘You haven’t fulfilled your responsibility as his guardian. We’ll educate him for two days.’ And so they took him away. After some 50 days of suffering, he came back. Very slowly, I learned that he’d been tortured.

“I said, ‘Why don’t you write it down?’ He said, ‘I will never forget this. I’ll remember it in my bones.’ Gao Zhisheng is a human rights lawyer. Money and power hold no allure for him, and darkness and power cannot break him. He regards the practice of law as more than just a career, it is the way he spreads fairness, justice and a voice of conscience. It’s this kind of excellent lawyer that people need, and the government goes and suspends his license, shuts down his law office, puts our family under surveillance and even stops our daughter from going to school.”

*Geng He: Reading Gao Zhisheng’s articles and watching his videos, steeped in the pain of missing him and sharing his suffering are also an enjoyment.*

Geng He talked about how she misses Lawyer Gao and her feelings for him. She said: “During the day with my children, I have to put on a smiling, happy face and rally up my spirits. Until the children are asleep, then, ai-yah… I sit at the computer and read Lawyer Gao’s articles, all these things. He never told me what he was doing and what he was writing. I didn’t know any of this. Reading Gao Zhisheng’s articles, watching videos of him on the Internet, listening to his confident talk, to his humorous analogies, I feel safe and at ease.

“Then I see his twisted face, ai-yah… I get a pain that goes straight to the marrow. But even this, I feel… I’d rather be steeped in such a pain. I feel that even the pain of missing a loved one is a kind of enjoyment. Such pain is a kind of enjoyment to me.”

Hostess: “How is this an enjoyment? Let us share a bit of how you feel.”

Geng He: “It’s just that I feel I can share in his sufferings. I’m willing to share in his sufferings. The torture he suffered, it’s as though it was inflicted on me, too. I feel that Gao Zhisheng and I have shared a life together for so long, he and I are as one. Whatever he feels over there, I also feel it here. So his suffering, the torture inflicted on him, it’s like it is happening to me. I’m willing, so long as we can be together and I can share in his sufferings. I really hope it can be this way.”

*Geng He: Gao Zhisheng’s case is not an isolated one. China’s many bloody stories reveal the problems common in the legal system.*

Geng He said: “In fact, Gao Zhisheng’s case is not an isolated case in China. I’m thinking of Chen Guangcheng, Hu Jia, Guo Feixiong, Xu Wanping, Yang Tianshui, Guo Quan, Ai Weiwei, … many other bloody stories. They are the result of abuse by the tyrants in China. All the bloody stories of these families and individuals reveal problems that are common throughout the legal system.

“Really, I don’t want to dwell on the past at all. All I want to get some news of Gao Zhisheng on August 14. First of all, let this weary family rest for a few days. Now, I think only of the future and the future only, how he will come back, how to gradually restore him to health. Right now, I’m only looking forward to the future.”

*Pastor Bob Fu: More than 100,000 people from more than a hundred countries, including government officials from the West and NGOs, are calling for Lawyer Gao Zhisheng’s freedom.*

China Aid Association president Pastor Bob Fu, who has long been concerned about Lawyer Gao Zhisheng and his family, said: “China Aid Association has watching [this case] closely and been concerned about Gao Zhisheng from the start and eagerly looks forward to seeing him regain full freedom.

“The case of Lawyer Gao Zhisheng, a law-abiding Chinese citizen and a lawyer who safeguards the dignity of law, the entire way it was handled, the fact that it was handled in such an illegal way, and just the fact of Gao Zhisheng’s ordeal show how the entire legal system has become blackened and mafia-like, backward to the extreme… this is an obvious epitome.

“We have also launched a ‘Free Gao’ campaign (www.FreeGao.com). To date, more than 100,000 people from more than a hundred countries all over the world have signed the petition. More than 100,000 people have been watching this [case] and conscientious government officials in the West, including those in Eastern Europe as well as some NGOs, have been appealing without break for Lawyer Gao’s freedom.”

Zhang Min is the interviewer, editor and producer of the Radio Free Asia talk show “Journey of the Soul” in Washington D.C.

"Dark Night, Dark Hood and Kidnapping by Dark Mafia"

2011-07-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

(My account of more than 50 days of torture in 2007)
By GAO ZHISHENG

These words from me today will be finally revealed one day. It will expose its true face in today’s China. It will disclose the unimaginable heart and characteristics of the “ruling party” in China. Of course, these words will inevitably bring unpleasant and even upset embarrassed feelings to those global “good friends” and “nice partners” of today’s CCP- IF these global “good friends” and “nice partners” still have some fear to the value of human conscience and morality in their hearts.

Today, the suddenly well off CCP has not only gained more and more global “good friends” and “nice partners” but also has made those perverted slogan such as “China is a country rule of law” lauder and lauder.

Both will be disastrous to the progress and development of the human rights of the Chinese people.

Around 8 p.m. on September 21, 2007 the authorities notified me orally that I should go for a mind re-education (reform) talk. I found there were some unusual things happening at this time. The secret police, who used to follow me very closely, kept a further distance. I was walking down the street one day and when I turned a corner, about six or seven strangers started walking towards me. I suddenly felt a strong blow to the back of my neck and fell face down on the ground. Someone yanked my hair and a black hood was pulled over my head immediately.

I was brought to a vehicle and was put in it. Although I couldn’t see, it seemed to me that it had two benches with a space in the middle. I was put in the space in the middle on the floor. My right cheek was on the ground. All of a sudden a boot was put on my face holding me down. Many hands started searching all over me. My belt was pulled off and then used to tie my hands behind my back. At least four people put their feet on me holding me down.

About 40 minutes later I was dragged out of the car. My pants were falling down around my knees and I was dragged into a room. No one had said anything at all to me until that time. The hood was pulled off of my head at this time. Immediately men began cursing and hitting me. “ **, your date of death has come today. Brothers, let’s give him a brutal lesson today. Beat him to death.”

Then, four men with electric shock prods began beating my head and all over my body. Nothing but the noise of the beating and my anxious breathing could be heard. I was beaten so severely that my whole body began uncontrollably shaking. “Don’t pretend to do that!” I was shouted at by a guy whom I later learned was named Wang. Then a very strong and tall (1.9 meters) man grabbed my hair and pulled me up off the ground. Then Wang began beating me on the face terribly. “**, you are not worthy to wear black clothes. Are you a Mafia leader? Pull off all of his clothes.”

All my clothes were pulled off and I was totally naked. Wang yelled again, and someone kicked me in the back of my legs, and I collapsed to the floor. The big guy continued to pull my hair and forced me to lift my head to see Wang. At this time, I could see that there were five people in the room. Four of the men were holding electric prods, and one was holding my belt. “You listen, Gao, today your uncles want nothing but to make your life worse than death. I tell you the truth, your matter is not only between you and the government. Look at the floor! There is not a single drop of water. After a while the water will be above your ankles. After a while you will learn where the water will come from.”

While Wang was saying this, the electric shock prods were put on my face and upper body shocking me. Wang then said, “Come on guys, deliver the second course!” Then, the electric shock baton was put all over me. And my full body, my heart, lungs and muscles began jumping under my skin uncontrollably. I was writhing on the ground in pain, trying to crawl away. Wang then shocked me in my genitals. My begging them to stop only returned laughing and more unbelievable torture. Wang then used the electric shock baton three more times on my genitals while shouting loudly. After a few hours of this I had no energy to even beg, let alone, try to escape. But my mind was still clear.

I felt my body was jerking very strongly when the baton touched me. I clearly felt some
water sprinkled on my arms and legs as I was jerking. It was then I realized that this was sweat from me. I realized what Wang meant about the water.

It seems that the torturers themselves were also tired. Before the dawn came, three of them left the room. “We will come back later to give him the next course,” Wang said. The two left in the room, put a chair in the middle of the room and pulled me up and set me in the chair. One of them had five pieces of cigarettes in his mouth. One man stood behind me and the man with the cigarettes was in front. The man behind grabbed my hair and pulled my head forward and down. The other man used the cigarettes to fill my nose and eyes with smoke over and over. They did this with the utmost patience. After a while I didn’t have any feeling except for some tears dropping on my legs. This continued for about two hours.

Then some other guys came in replacing the previous two. My eyes could not see because they were now swollen shut. The new guys started talking, “Gao, are you still able to hear with your ears? I tell you the truth, these guys are experts in cracking down on Mafia guys. They are heavies. This time they are chosen specifically and carefully by the authority above for this purpose. Can you hear who I am? My last name is Jiang. I followed you to Xiajiang after you were released last year.”

“Are you the one from Penglai City, Shandong?” I asked.

“Yes, your memory is still good. I told you, you would come back sooner or later. When I saw you the way you behaved in Xiajiang, I knew you would be back. You even looked down upon our police. Shouldn’t we help you have a better lesson? You wrote that letter to American congressmen. Look at you, you traitor. What could you be given by your American lord? The American Congress counts for nothing. This is China. It is the Communist Party’s territory. To capture your life is as easy as stepping on an ant. If you dare to continue to write your stupid articles, the government has to make its attitude clear. Now, did you see that attitude tonight?” Jiang spoke slowly.

I asked, “How can you face the beating of Chinese and use Mafia tactics on Chinese taxpayers?”

“You are an object to be beaten. You know that in your heart better than most. Taxpayers count for nothing in China. Don’t talk about this term taxpayers.”

While he was saying this, someone else entered the room. I recognized the voice to be Wang’s. “Don’t talk to him with your mouth. Give him the real thing. Your uncles have prepared 12 courses. We only finished 3 last night. Your chief uncle doesn’t like to talk and so following you will see that you will have to eat your own S*** and drink your own piss. A toothpick will touch your light (sexual organs). Don’t you talk about torture by the Communist Party yet, because we will give you a comprehensive lesson now! You are correct, we torture Falun Gong. Everything is right. The 12 courses we’re going to give to you were practiced on the Falun Gong, to tell you the truth. I am not afraid of you if you continue to write. We can torture you to death without your body being found. You stinky outsider (meaning, not from Beijing)! What are you thinking even being here?”

In the following hours of torture I passed out several times, because of lack of water and food and heavy sweating. I was lying down on the cold floor naked. I felt several times someone come and open my eyes and shine a flashlight in them to see if I was still alive. When I would come to, I smelled the strong odor of stinky urine. My face, nose, and hair were filled with the smell. Obviously, but I don’t know when, someone urinated in my face and on my head.

This torture continued until around noon on the third day. I don’t know where I got the strength to endure, but somehow I struggled to get away from their grasp and began to beat my head on the table. I was shouting the names of my two children (Tiangyu and GeGe) and trying to kill myself. But my attempt did not succeed. I thank Almighty God for this. It is Him who rescued me. I truly felt God drag me back from that state and give me my life. My eyes were full of bleeding, though because of my head banging. I fell on the ground. Immediately, three people sat on my body. One was on my face. They were laughing. They said I used my death to try to scare them. They said they have just seen this too many times. They then continued the torture again until that night. I could not see anything with my eyes anymore. I could still hear my torturers though, and again they gathered after they had dinner.

One of them came and pulled my hair dragging me up. “Gao, are you hungry? Tell us the truth?”

I said, “I am very hungry.”

“Do you want to eat? Tell us the truth?”

I said, “I want to eat.”

My face instead was slapped repeatedly, a dozen times or more,and I again collapsed to the ground. A boot stomped on my chest and I was shocked with the baton on my chin. I screamed. Then the baton was put into my mouth.

“Let’s see how different your mouth is from others. Don’t you want to eat? You said you are hungry. Are you worthy?” The baton was in my mouth but was not turned on. I didn’t know what they wanted to do.

Wang said, “Gao, do you know why we didn’t destroy your mouth? Tonight your uncles want you to talk the whole night. We want you to talk about nothing, but about how you are a womanizer. You are not allowed to say you are not one. You are not allowed to say there are just a few women, either. Don’t forget any details. You can’t leave any details out. Your uncles like this. We have slept and eaten enough, it’s your time to talk.”

“Why didn’t he talk? Beat him up brothers?” Wang shouted. Three batons began shocking me. I was crawling all over trying to get away still naked. After more than 10 minutes, I was shaking uncontrollably again.

I begged them. “I didn’t have an affair. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you.” I heard my voice was quivering.

“Are you becoming a fool? Let’s use the baton to light you and see if you start talking.”

Then two people stretched out my arms and pinned them to the ground. They used toothpicks to pierce my genitals. I can’t use any language to describe the helplessness, pain, and despair that I felt then. At a point like that, language and emotion do not have the power to explain. Finally I made up stories, telling them about affairs that I had with four women. After more repeated torture, I had to describe how I had sex with each of these women. This continued until dawn the next day.

At that time, I was dragged to where I had to sign the transcript of my confession about my affairs. “If we send this out, you will become stinky dog’ s *** in half a year.” Wang said loudly. (After I was released, I learned that the day after the torture the interrogator named Sun Huo informed my wife about “the truth” they learned about my affairs. My wife told them it was none of their business; she said, “I still trust Gao.”)

After this torture for days, I often lost consciousness and was unable to determine the passage of time. I don’t know how long had passed. A group of them were preparing to torture me again. Another guy came in though and rebuked them. I could hear it was a deputy director from the Beijing PSB. I had seen him many times before. I thought him to be a good person. I could not see him though, because my eyes were still swollen. My whole body was beaten and unrecognizable. He sounded angry because of my condition. He found a doctor to attend to me. He said he was appalled and surprised. He said, “This torture doesn’t represent the Communist Party!”

I asked him, “Who directed this?”

He didn’t reply. I asked to be sent back home or even just back to prison. He didn’t reply. He brought my torturers back into the room and rebuked them. He ordered them to buy clothes for me and give me a blanket and food. He told me he would try his best to either get me back to prison or back home.

As soon as the deputy left, Wang began cursing me. “Gao, you even dream to go to prison? No, that is too easy. You won’t have any chance to do that as long as the CCP is still in power. Don’t even think about that.”

That same night, I was transported to another location but I didn’t know where, since I had a black hood over my head again. I was continuously tortured there again for another 10 days. Then one day, they put the hood on me again, and I was put into a vehicle. My head was forced in between my legs and I had to remain that way for more than an hour.

The suffering was more than I could stand, and I wanted to die.

After another hour at a new location, the hood was removed. Four of the previous five torturers were not there. But, I saw the same group of secret police who used to follow me.

From then on the physical torture stopped, but emotional torture continued. I was told the 17th Communist Party Congress was starting and that I had to wait for the higher authorities’ opinions about my case.

During that time some officials came to visit my cell. Their attitude was softer, and I was also allowed to wash my face and brush my teeth. Some officials proposed to me to use my writing skills to cure Falun Gong instead, and that I could charge whatever I wanted for doing that.

I said it is not a technical problem but an ethical problem. “So,” they proposed, “if that is too hard, then write articles praising the government, and again charge whatever you want.” Finally they proposed, “If you write what we direct and that you were treated well after prison and that you were fooled by Falun Gong and Hu Jia, things will go well. Otherwise, how can you find an end to your suffering? Think of your wife and children.”

In exchange, I did write an article that said the government treated my family well. I wrote the open letter to the U.S. Congress and gave the reason that I was fooled by Falun Gong and Hu Jia.

Before I was released to go home, though, I was brought to Xian city. I was brought to call Geng He (my wife). On the date of the mid-autumn festival, the authorities asked me to call my wife and comfort her since she was holding a protest and trying to commit suicide over the government’s treatment of our family. The content of the call was all designed by the authorities. (Later I learned that my wife’s response was also
choreographed.) I could still not open one of my eyes at that time and since the call was being taped, I was told to explain that it was from myself-inflicted wound.

In the middle of November 2007, after I got home, I learned that my house was thoroughly searched again without a single document or search warrant. During those more than 50 days of torture, I had many strange feelings. For example, sometimes I could hear “death” and sometimes could hear “life.”

After the 12th and 13th day of my kidnapping, and when I could again partially open my eyes, I saw my body was in a horrifying condition. Not a single square centimeter of my kin was normal. It was bruised and damaged over every part.

Every day while I was being held, the experience of “eating” was unusual. Whenever I was at the point of starving, they would bring up “mantle” (steamed bread) and offer it to me. If I would sing one of the three famous revolutionary Communist party songs I could have some bread. My deepest desire was that I wanted to live until that was no longer possible. My death would be torturous for my wife and children, but at the same time I didn’t want to dirty my soul. But, in that environment human dignity has no strength. If you don’t sing these songs you will continue to be starved, and they will continue to torture you, so I sang.

When they used the same tactic though, pressuring me to write articles attacking FalunGong, I didn’t do it. But, I did compromise by writing my statement saying the government didn’t kidnap and torture me and that they treated my family well. I did sign that document.

During these more than 50 days, more horrible evils were committed than I told here.

Those evils were not even worthy of any historical records by any human governments.

But those records will further enable us to see clearly that how much further the leaders f CCP are willing go in its evil crime against humanity in order to protect its illegal monopoly power! Those evils are so dirty and disgusting, that I don’t want to mention it at this time and perhaps will never mention it in the future. Every time when I was tortured, I was always repeatedly threatened that, if I spelled out later what had happened to me, I would be tortured again, but I was told, “This time it will happen in front of your wife and children.” The tall strong man that pulled my hair repeated this over and over during the days I was tortured. “Your death is sure if you share this with the outside world.”

This was repeated many times. These brutal, violent acts are not right. Those that did it, themselves, knew this clearly in their hearts.

Finally, I want to say a few words which won’t be liked by some folks. I want to remind those so-called global “good friends”, “good partners” called by the CCP that the increasing degree of brutality and coldness against the Chinese people by the CCP is the direct result of appeasement by both you and us (our own Chinese people).

Gao Zhisheng
Written on November 28, 2007 at my besieged home in Beijing

Authorized to be released to international community on February 9, 2009

黑夜、黑头套、黑帮绑架 (Chinese original):http://hrichina.org/public/PDFs/PressReleases/2009.02.08_Gao_Zhisheng_account_CHN.pdf
Dark Night, Dark Hood, and Kidnapping by Dark Mafia (English translation):http://hrichina.org/public/PDFs/PressReleases/2009.02.08_Gao_Zhisheng_account_ENG.pdf

http://iso.hrichina.org/public/contents/press?revision_id=147981&item_id=126636

被失踪的高智晟律师缓刑将满家人陈情盼他自由

2011-07-17T00:13:00.000-07:00

(图：高智晟曾在2010年3-4月短暂出现，
并向美联社记者讲述他被监禁的遭遇)

RFA张敏
（自由亚洲电台“心灵之旅”访谈节目主持人张敏采访报道2011-07-16）

*被失踪的高智晟律师缓刑将满，能否自由，家人和关注者拭目以待*
8月14日是目前仍处于被失踪状态的中国维权律师高智晟五年缓刑期满的日子，现在距离这一天已经不到一个月了。高智晟律师究竟在什么地方，8月14日能否获得自由，他的家人和海内外关注者都拭目以待。

两年多以前带着儿女逃离中国、现在美国的高智晟的妻子耿和女士说：“高智晟是2006年8月15日被中共非法逮捕的，判三缓五，今年8月14日应该是他重新获得自由的时候，刑满到期的日子。缓刑应该是在家里的，他现在不仅没在家里，人在哪里我们全家都不知道。”

*高智晟律师与高案简介*
参与过陕北油田案、法轮功等案辩护的维权律师高智晟2004年12月至2005年12月，曾经三次发出致中国最高领导人的公开信，要求停止迫害法轮功修炼者。

2005年11月，他出任主任的北京晟智律师事务所被北京市司法局停业。2006年12月22日，高智晟律师被以“煽动颠覆国家政权罪”判刑三年、缓刑五年、剥夺政治权利一年，回到家中。
2007年9月高智晟再遭抓捕，获释后传出他的文章《黑夜、黑头套、黑帮绑架》，自述受到包括用牙签插入生殖器在内的酷刑。

高智晟获美国出庭律师委员会的“勇气呼吁奖”等人权奖。

2009年2月4日凌晨，高智晟当着亲人面，被警方从陕北老家绑架。

2009年初，高智晟的妻子儿女逃离中国，同年3月到达美国，后来获得美国政治庇护。

高智晟被警方从老家绑架后，有关他的情况，来自中国外交部新闻发言人、警方和其它方面的说法种种不同。直到2010年3月27日，外界一直得不到他的确切消息。

2010年3月28日，网上突然公布高智晟电话号码，外界可以打电话给高智晟律师。十天后，外界再拨打这个号码，停机，直到现在。

*耿和：高智义打电话询问，国保又说高智晟“丢失了”，家人都在等着高的电话*
我问耿和女士：“近期有没有在国内的家人去问过、找过？”
耿和：“他大哥给北京（国保）姓孙的打电话，他（孙）说‘我们不知道，丢失了，别给我打电话’。大哥家的电话打不通，要不然没人接，要不就说‘没有这个电话’这是不正常的，因为家里是座机。三、四个月前，我说‘大哥，这个电话打不通，你也别交钱，停了行了’。大哥说‘我们不能停，这是闰慧（高智晟的小名）回家唯一的线，万一他给我们打电话。。。’就想着他万一突然能有瞬间自由，能跟那边联系。都在等着电话。

高智晟的姐姐一旦看到来电显示是不认识的电话，就兴奋得想‘会不会是我三弟？’有一次，我给她打电话，没听到声音就断线了，我又打，没打通。她就等了一晚上。”

*耿和：高智义写了“寻人启事”委托我放到网上*
主持人：“从什么时候开始，所有人都没再得到高智晟的消息？”
耿和：“从我这来说，最后跟他联系是4月十五、六日，因与国内有时间差。4月17日准备给丫头格格过生日，开始找她父亲，没有找到，就没打通这电话，直到现在。他大哥电话说，国保回答说‘丢失了’，他大哥就写了寻人启事。想让我放在网上，现在我手里。”

主持人：“怎么写的？”
耿和：“我给您唸一遍——‘寻人启事。高智晟男49岁，汉族。身高一米八左右，北京市人。于2010年2月（指阴历）清明节回老家给母亲上坟，回家时还有几个便衣。之后回北京，大体十天左右通过电话，至今已有一年多了，再无一点音信，家里人焦急万分。

在这一年多，我给北京市公安局孙处长打了几次电话，他说走失了。我也在去年9月13日到北京公安局信访去问，他们说不知道。我一个老百姓也没有什么办法。如有知情的人请转告家人，定有恩谢！联系人高智义手机15191985726 ’

我收信的日期是6月6日，是他一个亲戚给我发在邮箱里了。”

*高智义：回忆去年清明节高智晟回家两、三天扫墓，走后几日失去联系至今*
7月11日，我采访了在陕北家中的高智义先生。

主持人：“请问您写那个‘寻人启事’是怎么想的？”
高智义：“十几个月了一点消息都没有，几次问他们，他们说不知道，我着急写的。”

主持人：“您中间有几次问过相关人士？”
高智义：“我去年农历九月到北京市公安局信访办问他们，他们说不知道。好几次给姓孙的处长打电话，他说‘走失了’。我说‘你们看管下的，他咋能走失呢？’他说‘你弟就是跟我，也在他们看管下走失的’。去年清明节，回家里走了一回，到现在十几个月了一点消息也没有。一问三不知。再给他打电话，他也不接。”

主持人：“我从美国拨打这位孙处长的电话，对方接线员说‘您拨打的号码是空号’。”

我问高智义先生：“去年清明节高律师回家几天，都做了什么？”
高智义：“也就是两、三天，回来能做什么？还跟着人。”

主持人：“几个人跟着？”
高智义：“家里来了一个，榆林来了四个车。再就没有一点消息了。”

主持人：“他能在家里住吗？他身体怎样，有没有伤？”
高智义：“能。当时看他的情况，反正在监狱他肯定伤过，他受过那号罪。他咳嗽，肺上肯定是他们有过什么。他咳嗽是不正常的咳嗽，我快六十岁的人了，能感觉出来。”

主持人：“在家里住了几宿？”
高智义：“不是两夜就是三夜。清明节就是传统的祭祖节日，我们一大户人家二、三十人一块儿上的坟。”

主持人：“后来从什么时候就得不到他的消息了？”
高智义：“他走以后，也就是一个礼拜到十天，他在北京给我们来过一次电话，再就没有来。”

*高智义：今年“两会”我想赴京，公安不让去，说几天给我消息，结果什么消息也没给*
主持人：“高律师这次回家之前，您曾经找过北京方面，警察就说他走失了。您刚才说他们说‘走失’，是这次回家之后，警方又说一次走失？”
高智义：“回家以后。呃。我与姓孙的处长联系，他就是这话。”

主持人：“您最近一次去打听高律师的消息是在什么时候？”
高智义：“去年农历九月十二到的北京，到北京市公安局信访办，我不知是当官的还是当兵的，就是值班的。他们说不知道，没办法。他们说他这个案子特殊，不跟我说，我只好回来。家里只有我去找了，再谁也没有找。

今年3月份他们开‘两代会’的时候，我准备过去，北京打过来电话，转到榆林，榆林市公安局给我打来说，叫我不要去，明后天。。。几天里给你个话。哎呀，咱个老百姓哪能不听政府的话呢？整个就是这个社会，没有法，你们说咋我就咋，我没过去。‘两会’开完了，一联系，一问三不知。”

主持人：“说几天里给您个话，结果什么也没给？”
高智义：“是。就这个意思。”

*高智义：等到缓刑期满日子再不给我说法，我坚决不让，当局总要有个交代*
主持人：“现在已经是7月的中旬了。8月14日高律师五年缓刑期满，您心情怎样？”
高智义：“你说我心情能好吗？他就是判个无期徒刑，家里也有权利探监，应该知道情况，本身缓刑他应该是在家里，可就是一点消息也不给你说，你又能咋的？”

主持人：“您现在通讯是不是正常？”
高智义：“我现在座机电话撤了，后来根本不行了，光能交费不能打，没办法。手机我24小时不关机，搞不好我的手机也很可能给我报销（不能用）了，正常的话不会出现。老百姓有什么办法？”

主持人：“这么多年来，因为高律师的事，对您个人生活、心情、家人影响方面，您还有什么要补充的吗？”
高智义：“干活干得紧张。就是晚上睡下。。。只要清静的时候，基本上脑子里都是他。。。

看电视脑子里‘哗哗哗’都在想他，他究竟现在在不在人世？。。。什么都想了。咋能不想？
跟你说了也不是一次两次，我父亲下世时他才虚龄十二岁，七几年那么困难，那个时候只能同甘共苦、共命运过来的，能够不想？一个人从地球上蒸发怎么能不想？糟糕到极点了，没办法，尤其这段时间。

等到了这个（缓刑期满）时候，他们再不给我说法，这个我坚决不让，坚决不让！到时候我们得见了人，我原先也说过，你们政府爱关他多长时间你继续关，我们管不了，如果说这个人你们能每个交代的话，那我坚决不让，我就是用我的笨办法，反正他们总要给个交代。”

主持人：“到那个日子那天，您准备怎样等高律师？”
高智义：“我初步打算想到北京去。反正现在还定不下来，我什麽也想了。我想提前几天再跟他们联系，看看能不能给个话。”

*耿和：当局警告高智晟的姐姐，如果离家去找，要影响两个孩子的工作*
我在采访耿和女士的时候，问到高智晟律师的姐姐有没有去寻找过高智晟律师。

耿和说：“他姐姐没有敢去寻找，因为当局已经给她警告过了‘你就不能离开这儿，你要是离开，就要影响你两个孩子工作的。因为她先生早死了，两个女孩儿也是势单力薄。她得不到弟弟的消息，对她们的精神和身体折磨更厉害。”

*高智晟的姐姐：盼早点有他的消息，（刑满）时间到了，就应该把人放出来 *
我采访了住在山东的高智晟律师的姐姐：“您有没有高律师的消息？”
高姐姐：“没有，什么消息都没有。”

主持人：“到目前为止，最后一次知道高律师消息是什么时候？”
高姐姐：“2010年4月，就是清明节时，一共才通了两次电话，再就打不通了。”

主持人：“都说了些什么？”
高姐姐：“互相问候一下，也没说什么。”

主持人：“高律师怎么跟您讲的，说他在哪儿，什么时候再跟您联系，当时怎么说的？”
高姐姐：“他说去新疆看他的老岳父，再啥消息也没有。新疆他是去了，但是一直再没跟我们通话。以后我给他老岳父打电话，他老岳父讲，他去新疆的时候就跟着人，说跟着三个人，可能是北京这边的人。去了新疆没在他老岳父那儿住，在招待所住。”

主持人：“还有一个月时间高律师的缓刑期就满了，他一年多没消息，现在您是什么心情？”
高姐姐：“哎呀，什么心情。。。自己的亲人失踪了肯定心情不好着急，着急又有什么办法？没办法。既然（刑满）时间到了，他们就应该把人放出来，不论怎么说，得叫我们见一下人，现在连人都见不上。一问他们，明知道在他们手里，他们说不知道。我们想，我弟弟肯定在政府手里，他这么大的一个人，这么长时间，我们家人只有着急，盼他早点有消息，哪怕就是把他怎么样了，给我们个消息。”

主持人：“您自己有没有什么压力？”
高姐姐：“今年好像还没有。去年一到了过节什么的，有电话打进来看我在不在家，害怕我们出去找我弟弟。”

*耿和：希望国际社会提供帮助，让高智晟早日回家*
耿和女士说：“按照中共自己的法律，8月14日应该是高智晟刑满到期的日子，也应该是他终于回家的日子，全家人都期待着这一天。关注和关心高智晟的人，都在注视这一天。他大哥写的‘寻人启事’，写出全家人对他的期待，因为全家人没有办法。寻找的这种苦呀，没有办法！老百姓只能以这种方式表达。

我自己也通过律师，给美国国会议员说这个情况，一年零三个多月没有任何一点消息，到今年8月14日按中共自己的法律，也应该让他回家，让他自由。我还给欧盟议员写信。高智晟能否自由，能否回家，还有赖于外界压力。希望他们能提供一些帮助，让高智晟尽早回家，如期回家。”

*耿和：既然国家不需要他，家庭需要他，孩子需要他，希望允许我们全家团聚*
主持人：“您在国内的家人现在情况怎样？”
耿和：“我父亲快八十岁了。我家周围有个红光山，我父亲每天一早起来，必须要到红光山磕头烧香求高智晟能平安，然后才能安心一天。新疆的电话我从网络是打不过去的，用电话卡（不显示发话号码）有时能打过去。我母亲有点糊涂了，我打电话不多。”

主持人：“这边您自己和孩子情况怎样？”
耿和：“我跟孩子现在挺好。日子一天一天临近，希望这天赶紧到来。儿子经常问。。。‘父亲节’那天儿子就说‘妈妈，今天就是父亲节，我想给爸爸打个电话’。正好是北京发大水的时候，我说‘你看，北京到处发大水，和你爸爸联系不上’。他说‘那好吧，能不能我过生日的时候给爸爸打电话？’因为儿子过生日是8月27日，我说‘行吧，应该没问题。’格格上学现在还可以，也都适应了。从高智晟近几年的遭遇看，不低于六次以上的失踪，每次都有酷刑。

像他这么好的一个人、这么好的一个律师，社会这么需要他的人，在中国受到打压和迫害。既然中共不需要他，国家不需要他，我们家庭需要他，我的孩子需要他。我希望允许我们团聚，孩子成长离不开父亲，我们希望全家团聚。”

*耿和：儿子说“好爸爸，我都忘了你长什么样” 希望 8月27日高智晟能给儿子生日祝福*
耿和说出她此时此刻最大的心愿：“再过一个月，就是儿子天昱的八岁生日了，我真希望能听到他给孩子祝贺生日，真能希望听到他那幽默自信的声音，因为对我跟格格来说都是一种安慰。现在我们全家，我父母、家里人都在等这一天。

我这儿有一堆资料，儿子无意中就翻，看见他爸爸的照片。他把那张纸，捂在脸上说‘唉呦，我的好爸爸呀，我都忘了你长什么样！’

那种感觉呀，我都没敢往下接，接了以后，你怎么给孩子回答？其实在孩子面前，我都回避了他爸爸的问题。科学这么发达，电讯技术也这么先进，人与人之间的距离更近，地球也更小，反而我们要通个电话，就这么难，这么远。

*耿和：忆2004年以后因参与陕北油田、法轮功维权等案压力不断升级，高智晟的态度*
盼望高智晟律师能尽快和家人团聚的耿和女士，回顾了高智晟律师近年来的经历——

耿和：“高智晟选择作律师，一直有个愿望，就是能通过法律的渠道传达公平正义和良知。
主持人：“他正式成为律师是那一年？”

耿和：“1996年，是10月吧，一开始在新疆。记得他当律师的时候，接的第一个案子是医疗事故，就是免费的案子。。高智晟对每个案子都非常认真负责，刑事案子、合同案子，到最后从个体的案子发展到群体的案子。那时报道他介入的案子，国内媒体报道很多。最后就是因为他参与了一些维权方面的案子，如强制拆迁、信仰迫害、陕北油田案等等，政府就干预他，找他谈话。他做律师，坚定不移站在当事人一边，尽其所能为穷人提供免费帮助，常年不间断为穷人提供帮助。”

主持人：“从什么时候开始有压力？”
耿和：“有压力是从2004年。代理过蔡卓华案，然后是陕北油田案，调查有一个多月。那时我在办公室值班（耿和在办公室任职），司法局就拼命打电话，问‘高智晟什么时候回来，回来到我们司法局来一趟’。在这期间，就经常对我们律师事务所今天税务检查，明天律师检查，经常检查，那时就感觉到明显压力。强制拆迁案子也受到压力，还有上访案、迫害法轮功案、迫害基督徒案。。。”

主持人：“后来压力升级是在什么时候？”
耿和：“2005年八、九月份。司法局就老来查我们律师事务所，那时高智晟在陕北油田。9月份对我们‘停业整顿’，后来有个‘停业整顿书’。

2005年时，找他办案的人非常多，都是一些当地不受理，又进入不了法律程序的。我记得有个上访人员的案子，拖了十几年没结果，那些人就说‘我们不想活了，我们就要自杀了’。高智晟说‘你们到我这儿来，我看看你的案子。虽然我给你实质性帮助不了什么，我陪你把这个案子走完所有申诉程序。申诉没有时间限制。

我就问高智晟为什么，他说‘当事人已经很不容易了，这么长时间的一审败诉、二审败诉，到我这儿来我要给当事人有点希望，不能让他们自暴自弃，对这个社会也是不安全的。”

主持人：“后来高智晟在压力特别大的情况下，当时是什么态度？”
耿和：“2005年司法局下达停业整顿以后，我立马给本所律师都开出同意他们离开我们律师事务所、他跟我们律师事务所财物都是两清的证明，他们就能到别的律师事务所去工作。我要是行动得晚了，万一司法局提前把公章、财务章拿走以后，他们就走不掉了。

这时候高智晟就在家里每天写文章，接待上访人员、拆迁的人到家里来，帮他们整理资料，适当的时候给他们发表。

到了2006年五、六月份，他姐夫癌症病危，他就想‘反正律师事务所也停了’在哪儿写都一样，到山东能照顾她姐姐姐夫，他到了山东，我没管过他。”

*耿和：悲哀，一直想旁听高智晟作律师辩护，万没想到第一次进法庭却听对他宣判*
主持人：“后来我们知道高智晟律师就是从山东姐姐家被绑架、失踪，后来被捕、判刑。这个过程中，有什么特别值得回忆的？”
耿和：“说到这里，我是挺悲哀的。。。高智晟每次案子开庭完，他就说他在法庭上怎么辩护，怎么发挥，经常说。我就跟他开玩笑说‘行，我没有去，你就瞎吹吧’。以后他就不跟我讲了。以后我就听他的助手说，他每个案子怎么精彩辩护。我就说‘高智晟，以后我也去一趟’。高智晟说‘没问题，下次开庭我就带你去’。我想，那是他的职业，时间很长，也没有要求，觉得我是有机会的。

非常悲哀的就是，到这机会来了，我第一次进法庭，就是听对他的宣判。这么好的一个人、优秀的人。。。我一直期待着能到法庭上听他善于辩护，但在法庭上听到的是对他的宣判。这么早就结束了他的律师生涯。

他把律师事业看作生命，现在我们家没有留下他的律师执照，复印件都没有，都给没收了。”

*耿和：对人权律师高智晟吊照关事务所，判刑，酷刑，监视家庭直到不让女儿上学*
耿和女士继续回顾后来发生的一些事情：“判了以后，2006年12月二十几日他回家。高智晟一进门就说‘咱们现在全家就要离开北京’，我说‘为什么？’我理解意思是（当局）害怕有人到我们家来，来的人太多有压力。过了一天，又回话说，我们全家都离开目标太大，让他离开。他就走了，那是12月底。他回过山东，到处转，他们跟着他。

到了第二年二、三月他才回来，当地派出所随时敲我家门，看他在不在。北京市（国保）姓孙的他们那些人也经常敲我家门找他谈话。

2007年有一次大的迫害，就是他写了两篇文章，好像是有奥运会的文章。文章他没给我讲过。我只知道那天晚上，他说‘他们叫我出去一趟’，我说‘那你去吧’。他前脚刚走，后面国保就来找我，说‘咱们到派出所去一趟’，我就去了。

到那里，他们说‘你看看这是高智晟写的文章，你知道吗’，我扫了一眼，是说奥运会的，我说‘我不知道他写’。他说‘你没有尽到监护人的责任，我们把他教育两天’，就叫去没回来，折腾了有五十天左右回来了。慢慢知道他受了酷刑。

我说‘要不然你写下来？’，他说‘这次永远忘不掉，记在骨子里了’。高智晟是一位人权律师。金钱和权力诱惑不了他，黑暗和权力压倒不了他，不仅把律师作为一种职业，更是通过这一职业向大众传播公平正义和良知。就是这样一位人们需要的好律师，政府吊销了他的执照，关闭了他的律师事务所，监视我们的家庭，直到不让女儿上学。”

*耿和：看高智晟的文章和视频，沉浸在痛苦思念中分担他的痛苦也是享受*
耿和谈他对高律师的思念和感情。她说：“白天面对孩子的时候，我要强装笑脸，强打精神。直到孩子都睡觉了，哎呀。。。我就坐在电脑前，看着高律师的文章，这些东西。。。他做什么，写什么，他没给我讲过，我不知道。看着高智晟的文章，在网上看他的视屏、他的身影，听他自信的语言、幽默诙谐的语言的时候，感觉到挺安全的、挺踏实的。

再一看到他那张扭曲变形的脸，哎呀。。。我就是感觉到那种深入骨髓的痛苦。就这样，我还感觉到。。。我还愿意沉浸在那种痛苦当中。我觉得那种痛苦的思念都是一种享受。这种痛苦对我来说是一种享受。”

主持人：“为什么是享受？我们来体会一下您的这种心情。”
耿和：“我就觉得他的那个苦，我能给他分担，我愿意分担他那个苦。他受的那种酷刑，就跟在我身上一样。我觉得我跟高智晟我们这么长时间生活，我们特别有那种融为一体的样子，他那边有什么感觉，跟我这边就有一样。所以他那种苦，受的那种刑呀，就像在我身上。只要能在一起，能给他分担，就是挺愿意的。我真希望是这样子的。”

*耿和：高智晟的案子不是一个个案，中国一个个血泪故事暴露了普遍存在的法制的问题*
耿和说：“其实高智晟这个案子，在中国不是一个个案。我想，现在像陈光诚、胡佳、郭飞雄、许万平、杨天水、郭泉、艾未未。。。等等血泪故事，就是中国暴政侵害的结果。一个个家庭或者个人的血泪故事，暴露了普遍存在的法制的问题。。。

真的，我是一点也不愿意回忆过去。我只想8月14日有了高智晟的消息，先让这个疲惫的家庭停下来，有几天休息一下。我现在就光想着将来了，光想着以后了，他怎么样能回来，调养好身体，我现在只展望将来了。”

*傅希秋牧师：西方官员、NGO组织、一百多国十几万人在为高智晟律师的自由而呼吁*
一直关注着高智晟律师和他家人的在美国的对华援助协会主席傅希秋牧师说：“对华援助协会这个机构一直在密切关注着、关心着、并且也十分盼望着高智晟能够获得完全的自由。

整个对高智晟律师的处理手法，不仅仅是对一个守法的中国公民，对这样一位维护法律尊严的律师，竟然受到如此非法对待。高智晟律师遭遇的本身，可以说是整个法制的黑暗化、黑社会化、极端倒退。。。这是个明显的缩影。

我们也发起了‘自由高智晟’（FreeGao.com 点击进入该网站）行动，迄今为止，十几万签名，来自世界一百多个国家的，十几万人都在关注。包括所有有良心的西方的和包括东欧的一些国家的政府官员，还有非政府组织，都在一刻不停地为高智晟律师的自由而作出呼吁。”

以上自由亚洲电台“心灵之旅”访谈节由张敏在美国首都华盛顿采访编辑、主持制作。

Ai Weiwei reported pleading guilty with a confession under torture. US senior senator Lieberman made a declaration

2011-05-15T19:54:00.000-07:00

(Published on April 24, 2011 by Boxun)

Apple Daily/BBC

Playing the video of torturing Lawyer Gao Zhisheng just as it happened

In February of last year, artists in Beijing demonstrated in Chang’an Street. Ai Weiwei (left) was broadcasting alive at the scene. Internet.

The website of the US-based biweekly “Human Rights In China” reported yesterday that according to the news from a reporter of Xinhua News Agency who uses an alias, the case on Ai Weiwei is over for the time being. Beijing Public Security Bureau used torture to obtain a confession and showed Ai Weiwei the video of torturing Lawyer Gao Zhisheng years ago. Fu Zhenghua, Director of the Public Security Bureau, claimed that “whatever we used in dealing with Gao Zhisheng, we’ll use that to subdue Ai Weiwei.” After continuous torture, Ai Weiwei was forced to admit tax evasion. Ai’s family called on the outside world yesterday to show concern on this incident.

Ai Weiwei was taken away on April 3 at an airport when he was trying to leave China. 20 days has passed and there has been no news of him. The website of the biweekly Human Rights in China posted a report yesterday by the reporter of the Xinhua News Agency who uses an alias as Rong Shoujing that on April 19, officials from the headquarters of Xinhua News Agency in Beijing and the Department of Propaganda of Ministry of Public Security confirmed that the case involving Ai Weiwei’s tax evasion is over. The report also quoted an official with conscience at the Ministry of Public Security Bureau that Ai Weiwei suffered torture during the interrogation as the police wanted to get a confession from him.

Getting himself into trouble by leading artists in a demonstration

The artists in the demonstration were stopped by the police. Ai Weiwei negotiating with the police.

Officials pointed out that Ai Weiwei’s case is jointly handled by the Economic Investigation General Brigade of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau and the General Brigade of Domestic Security Protection Squad. Fu Zhenghua, Director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, told the agents in charge of this case to show Ai Weiwei the video of torturing Gao Zhisheng they took a few years ago, including insertion of a police baton into Gao’s anus with blood, semen, urine and feces running down his body. Fu also gave the order: “Whatever we used in dealing with Gao Zhisheng, we’ll use that to subdue Ai Weiwei.” After a few days of torture, Ai Weiwei was finally forced to sign on a statement of confession and admitted tax evasion.

According to the news, the reason why Fu Zhenghua used this torture on Ai Weiwei is because in February of last year, artists in Beijing, led by Ai Weiwei, went to demonstrate in Chang’an Street protesting the forced demolition of the art district and the use of the underworld gangsters in beating the people there. The demonstration by Ai Weiwei and others almost dashed the dream of fortunes of Fu Zhenghua and others and almost cost Fu Zhenghua’s political career. This is the main reason why Fu Zhenghua used this tactics on Ai Weiwei.

According to the news, after rallies of Jasmine Revolution broke out in mainland China, General Secretary of the CPC Hu Jintao commented that this concerns the very existence of the Party state and ordered local governments at various places to crack the cases within a limited time and strictly prevent such cases from happening again. The Beijing authorities use this opportunity to punish and neutralize Ai Weiwei. Under the order of Fu Zhenghua, the police forced at least 10 arrested web activists and artists to identify Ai Weiwei as the sponsor and behind-the-scene manipulator of the Chinese Jasmine Revolution with the aim of totally thwarting Ai Weiwei’s efforts. When Fu Zhenghua uses the public resources to avenge his private grudges and punishes Ai Weiwei by utilizing CPC’s fear for Jasmine Revolution, it is tantamount to kidnapping CPC and Hu Jintao.

Sister Gao Ge is concerned

Though there has been no confirmation of this news, the outside world and Ai Weiwei’s family are paying great attention to this. During a telephone interview with a foreign media, Ai’s sister Gao Ge said she is very concerned that her brother would suffer torture. She again calls on the authorities to tell the public the whereabouts of Ai Weiwei. In the meantime, she hopes that since there is no way to confirm the allegation, she wants to broadcast this to the entire world to make the outside world pay attention to this incident.

In writing a short essay about Ai Weiwei for this current issue of Time magazine’s “Time 100,” Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr., the US ambassador to China, says: “It is sad that the Chinese government has seen a need to silence one of its most innovative and illustrious citizens.” He also says: “Ai, 53, has shown compassion for his fellow citizens and spoken out for victims of government abuses, calling for political reforms to better serve the people.”

Artists protesting forced demolition
Demonstrating in Chang’an Street which infuriated the Beijing officials.

Police taking away the artist in the demonstration.

On the early morning of February 22 of last year, Chuangyi Zhengyang Art District located in Changdian Village of Jinzhan Town of Beijing was forcibly torn down. The authorities not only sent over bulldozers, it also dispatched over 100 strong-bodied men dressed in dark-colored clothing who wore masks. They carried with them clubs and broadswords and approached the artists guarding the art district in a frenzied assault with clubs and broadswords, resulting in the injury of seven artists, including the Japanese artist Satoshi Iwama. The incident brought indignation of the artists. At 4 p.m. on the same day, Ai Weiwei led 16 artists in a demonstration in Chang’an Street. The injured artists sat in the wheelchairs and displayed such banners as “Severe Punishment on the Killers! Crack down on Underworld and Evil Gangsters!” “We Want Our Human Dignity Back!” “Citizens’ Rights.” They walked from East Chang’an Street toward Tiananmen Square. It is the first such protest demonstration after the massacre on June 4.

Ai Weiwei was not only the organizer, he was also in charge of photography and news report. After the demonstrators walked for about 20 minutes, they were blocked by a large number of police and police vehicles. Again, Ai Weiwei, on behalf of the artists, negotiated with the police. The incident attracted the attention of the world media and was breaking news at the time.

Because of this incident, Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau was reprimanded by its superior. Fu Zhenghua who had just become Director of the Public Security Bureau lost a lot of face and almost lost his job. Besides this, Ai Weiwei has taken an active part in the past few years in other non-government rights defense events, such as claiming damages from the government for parents whose young children have got kidney stones because of the melamine tainted milk. Give these activities, Ai has become the thorn in the flesh in Beijing authorities.

Beijing’s “Global Times” also reported the demonstration on Chang’an Street by the artists. After the report, the authorities conducted an investigation and Wentao, the reporter who wrote the article, was fired by the newspaper. After that, he went to work as one of the volunteers in Ai’s studio. When Ai Weiwei was made to disappear in April 3, Wentao was also made to disappear. There has been no news of him so far.

Police mistreating Gao Zhisheng
Electric shocks on anus. Tooth-picks inserted into the private part.

Gao Zhisheng was once tortured by the police for a confession.

In November 2007, Gao Zhisheng published on the Internet how he was brutally kidnapped and brutally tortured by the police. The means the police adopted against him were ruthless. They beat him in the head and the body and took off all his clothes and gave him electric shocks with electric batons in the anus and private part. They inserted toothpicks into his penis and smoked his nose and eyes with burning cigarettes. It is shocking to read it and it is too brutal to look at.

Gao Zhisheng wrote that he was kidnapped by the plain-clothed police on the evening of September 21, 2007. They dragged him to a room where they madly beat him with police batons. He was so beaten that he lay trembling all over on the floor. They slapped him on the face and they took off all his clothes. The police yelled at him: “You son of bitch, listen. We the lords want nothing from you today except that we want you to be suffering in life that is worse than death!”

The police placed him in a kneeling position and poked his penis with toothpicks. “Even now, there is no way I can describe with language how helpless, miserable and despaired I was at the time.” He said he rolled on the floor and begged them to spare his life. What he got back was guffaws and more frenzied torture.

Forced to sing “The Communist Party is Good.”

When he was in pains and hungry, the police forced him to sing “Socialist is Good,” “The Communist Party is Good.” Each time he sang a song, he could get a steamed bun.

Gao’s article caused a sensation in the outside world. Because of this, he again went missing. In early 2009, his wife, son and daughter fled China and went to reside in America. In April 2010, Gao reappeared in Beijing for some time and received interviews from foreign media. After that, the outside world again lost contact with him. There is a report that Gao Zhisheng is now in Xinjiang under supervised residence. The US and other Western countries have demanded on many occasions that China release Gao Zhisheng.

In Next Wednesday’s Human Rights Dialog, America will raise the issue of Ai Weiwei.

China and the US will hold a human rights dialog next Wednesday on April 27 in Beijing. The US State Department issued a statement two nights ago, saying that the US will raise the issue of disappearance of Ai Weiwei and other issues such as forced disappearance of many Chinese dissidents and freedom of religion.

Congressman’s statement in support of Ai Weiwei.

The human rights dialog between the US and China started in 1990. In 2004, because the US supported a UN bill criticizing China in human rights issues, China announced termination of the dialog and it was not resumed until last year. After the dialog between the US and China on human rights, some events and incidents have happened, such as the winning of Nobel Peace Prize by Liu Xiaobo and the “forced disappearance” of the artist Ai Weiwei.

The arrest of Ai Weiwei has brought concerns from the US mainstream society and media. Quite a few Congressmen in the US, including the senior senator Joe Lieberman who has made a statement in support of Ai Weiwei. The person in charge of the US side in this upcoming dialog is Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State in the State Department for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

A family letter from his adolescent years is published: “I want to go my own ways.”

The family letter was written in 1978. Ai Weiwei was 21 then and was a student at Beijing Film Academy. The family letter described his memories of the childhood years: No beautiful fairy tales, no infinite family feelings, no colorful flowers. There was only an emaciated child carrying firewood in a smoking land, abused and bullied everywhere he went…. “Child at such a young age suffering such evils.” It is written in the family letter that he had now a little awakened to the ideal that “One must be one’s own master in life and must have a purpose in life and must go his own ways.” “Whatever one does, one must do it whole-heartedly. One must have determinations and think further into the future and do not depend on smartness only.” Finally, he said: “I have confidence and I will work hard and live up to my brother’s expectations.”

Published by Boxun Free Article District.

Tortured by Police, Artist Ai Weiwei Confesses After Seeing Video of Gao Zhisheng’s Torture

2011-04-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

China Aid Association 04/25/2011
Tortured by Police, Artist Ai Weiwei Confesses After Seeing Video of Gao Zhisheng’s Torture

The “HRIC Biweekly Chinese Journal” on April 21 carried the following report submitted by a writer from mainland China using the pseudonym Rong Shoujing who describes himself as a Xinhua News Agency reporter. The original Chinese-language report can be viewed here: http://biweekly.hrichina.org/article/985

Editor’s note: ChinaAid provides the following translation of the report but is unable to independently confirm its veracity or analysis. (Note that bracketed material in the text was provided by the translator for clarity’s sake; parenthetical material is part of the original Chinese-language text.)

The Shocking Conspiracy Behind Ai Weiwei’s Forced Confession Under Police Torture; Fu Zhenghua and Liu Qibao Use Their Official Positions For Personal Revenge

On April 19, 2011, officials from the Beijing headquarters of the Xinhua News Agency and the Propaganda Department of the Public Security Ministry’s Political Department confirmed that one phase of Mr. Ai Weiwei’s tax evasion case had come to an end. A Public Secuity Ministry official with a conscience revealed that during the interrogation Ai Weiwei was subjected to torture in order to extract a confession. He said that the Ai case was being jointly handled by the Economic Investigation Corps and the Domestic Security Corps of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. Fu Zhenghua, the chief of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, instructed those handling the case to show Ai Weiwei the video of Gao Zhisheng being tortured, including shots of electric batons being inserted into Gao’s anus and his blood, semen, feces, and urine spurting out. Fu Zhenghua also issued an order saying: Whatever methods were used on Gao Zhisheng, use the same ones to make Ai Weiwei give in. After several consecutive days of torture, Ai Weiwei was finally compelled to sign a statement of confession, admitting to tax evasion.

Even Ai Weiwei, the beloved son of the great poet of his generation Ai Qing and known among the masses as “one who loves God,” had no choice but to bow his head and confess his “guilt” under the police brutality of the Beijing Public Security Bureau’s corporal punishment and torture. The police officers of the Beijing Public Security Bureau’s Economic Investigation Section, after prevailing over Ai Weiwei, boasted to the Public Security Bureau that the methods used by the Domestic Security Department were too soft, so how could they think they could get the upper hand over this lecher Ai Weiwei. We are the only ones who are the most qualified loyal guards of the Party.

The Background of Ai Weiwei’s March Along Chang’An Avenue

Why did the Beijing police treat Ai Weiwei in such an evil way? The story needs to be told from the beginning.

Fu Zhenghua, chief of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, and Xiao Xingguo, chief of the Chaoyang District Branch, both started out as criminal police; they are closer than brothers and are as close as close can be. Fu Zhenghua and Xiao Xingguo are the long-time protectors of the dark evil [mafia] forces of Zhang Rongyi, Guo Deliang, Zhao Hui and others. Zhao Hui is one Beijing’s four organized crime chiefs of the past 20 years, holding controlling power in many Beijing nightclubs. For about 10 years, he’s had his fingers in places such as the [the nightclub at] the Beijing New Otani Chang Fu Gong Hotel and the Great Wall Sheraton’s Passion Night Club. Zhang Rongyi is the legal representative of the Beijing Zhengyang Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. (Guo Deliang is deputy general manager). At the same time, Zhang is also the legal representative of the Beijing Dongfanggong Hotel. Fu Zhenghua and Xiao Xingguo hold a large number of shares in the Beijing Zhengyang Construction Engineering Co., Ltd.

On February 22, 2010 at about 2 a.m., numerous tow trucks and excavating machines from the Beijing Zhengyang Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. started to demolish the Chuangyi Zhengyang Art District in Changdian hamlet, Jinzhan village [in Beijing’s Chaoyang District]. Zhao Hui was at the head of more than 100 mafia thugs wearing masks [over their mouths] and wielding sticks and machetes who injured seven artists, including Japanese artist Satoshi Iwama. At 3 p.m. the same day, Ai Weiwei led 16 artists on a march down Chang’an Avenue with a banner reading “We Want our Human Dignity Back” to protest the demolition. They became the focus of worldwide news attention. Zhang Rongyi, accustomed as he was to going around Beijing beating up and murdering people, never imagined that Ai Weiwei and others could have such great influence. The pressure of public opinion was so great that Fu Zhenghu and Xiao Xingguo had no choice but to temporarily throw Zhao Hui and others into the detention center on suspicion of creating trouble and intentional injury and to pledge to start a formal investigation. But more than a year has passed and Zhao and Zhang still have not gotten the punishment that should be meted out to the forces of evil, the lights are still bright at the Beijing Dongfanggong Hotel, and Fu Zhenghua, Xiao Xingguo, Zhang Rongyi, Zhao Hui and others are still making important decisions in their luxurious fifth-floor offices in the Dongfanggong Hotel.

Hu Jintao’s Lackey Fu Zhenghua Almost Loses his Job Forges Because of Ai Weiwei’s Chang’An Avenue Demonstration and Forms a Personal Grudge Against Ai Weiwei

Fu Zhenghua owes his appointment to chief of the Beijing Public Security Bureau and his ability to hold on to this position to several people: [deputy head of the legislature] Wang Zhaoguo[1], [Central Committee party secretary] He Yong[2] and [Politburo member and Beijing party secretary] Liu Qi. Liu Qi was recommended to go to Beijing to be Beijing vice mayor and Beijing party secretary after Wu Yi became an alternate member of the Politburo and a State Councilor.[3] Soon after, [Beijing mayor] Jia Qinglin saw that he was biddable and made him Beijing party secretary.[4] Originally he was in Jiang’s clique. Liu Qi is one of those mediocre officials who has no accomplishments whatsoever and has no reformist ideas, but these mediocre officials excel at going the way the wind blows. Originally a Jiang [Zemin] man, Liu Qi saw that the forces of the [Communist Youth] League faction [of Hu Jintao] were slowly gaining power, so he switched over to supporting Hu Jintao. If not for “turncoat” Liu Qi giving the nod to promote him to the central government-level, Fu Zhenghua would not have been named chief of the Beijing Public Security Bureau. He Yong, Wang Zhaoguo and Fu Zhenghua are all from Tangshan, Hebei province (from Qianxi, Fengrun and Luan counties, respectively). Having them as sworn brothers, Fu Zhenghua used them to bribe Hu Jintao and finally succeeded in becoming Beijng Public Security Bureau chief and deputy party secretary of the Beijing Politics and Law Committee.

Ai Weiwei’s demonstration nearly destroyed the get-rich dreams of Fu Zhenghua, Zhang Rongyi and others, and almost destroyed Fu Zhenghua’s political future. For more than 20 years, no one has dared to march down Chang’an Avenue. Whoever causes such a thing to happen is the one who is held responsible. Never mind the fact that even before this demolition incident there were many instances of mafia hooligans involved in forced demolitions (but they were all covered up by the Chaoyang District Branch of the Public Security Bureau under Xiao Xingguo), and Zhang Hui and others should already have been characterized as “forces of evil.” After news reports of the protest spread around the world, an important Public Security Ministry official from Jiangxi province told the central government that Fu Zhenghua should be removed from his post. But because of the joint efforts of He Yong, Wang Zhaoguo and Liu Qi, Hu Jintao agreed to let Fu Zhenghua stay on, because this was not only a game of personal interests, it was also a political game [of internal struggles among factions].

In the course of the forced demolition, if it were not for the equity interest of Fu Zhenghu and Xiao Xingguo in the affair, the Beijing police would not have dared─even if they had all the guts in the world─to encourage the mafia to beat the artists. Cops and the criminals acting as one brought about the forced demolition of the artists’ district, and the Ai Weiwei protest on Chang’an Avenue that followed caused Fu Zhenghua to form a personal grudge against Ai Weiwei.

Hu Jintao’s General Liu Qibao Almost Loses His Job Because of Ai Weiwei’s Sichuan Investigations and Forms a Personal Grudge Against Ai Weiwei

It used to be that the Ai family had connections of one sort or another with everyone at the highest levels of the Chinese Communist Party. Ai Weiwei’s father Ai Qing was the most famous contemporary Chinese poet. Beginning in the Mao era, at Yanan[5], the Mao family and the Ai family had a relationship based on poetry; Mao Zedong would bring all the poems he’d written to Ai Qing for him to read and discuss. In 1957, Ai Qing made a so-called “incorrect statement,” saying, “Our party has split into two factions, one faction persecutes people, the other faction are the ones being persecuted.” When Mao heard this, he had Tian Jiaying [his household manager and personal secretary] go straight to Ai’s house to deliver the “imperial order” to go to Zhongnanhai[6] to see “his majesty.” But the straightforward Ai Qing immediately responded to Tian Jiaying with one sentence: Has the old man got any new poems? Tian Jiaying returned to Zhongnanhai and used Ai’s own words in his report to Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong shot back with one sentence: “This person doesn’t know to be grateful for favors.” So, Ai Qing was sent out to northwest China’s Xinjiang[7] in the 1957 Anti-Rightist Movement, where he cleaned toilets for 15 years. After reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping, Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang showed great care and favor to Ai Qing, and Ai Qing was given ministerial-level treatment in the Communist Party system. In the Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao eras, the regime also treated Ai Qing well to the very end, and when he was dying, Jiang and Hu gave instructions on many occasions to spare no effort in saving him. After he passed away, the first of the top Communist Party leaders to go to Ai Qing’s home to express his condolences was the Fourth Generation[8] General Secretary Hu Jintao.

According to regulations set in place by Jiang Zemin, each family of Communist Party officials above the ministerial rank must have at least one family member who is a cadre of ministerial rank; this policy was continued in the Hu Jintao era as well. After the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Hu Jintao was inclined to gift Ai Weiwei with the title of member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference or even member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC, both to reward and to comfort Ai Weiwei. But Ai Weiwei had seen so many innocent lives lost in the Sichuan earthquake, had heard the tragic and grief-stricken cries of so many parents, and saw from the Sichuan provincial government’s website how it had carried out the orders of [Sichuan party secretary] Liu Qibao and [Sichuan deputy party secretary] Jiang Jufeng, by irresponsibly removing from the provincial website the official notice that the Wenchuan city propaganda bureau had released about the disaster of the earthquake and even “refuting the rumor” and claiming no earthquake had even occurred, resulting in the deaths of 800,000 people and tens of thousands of people being injured in the earthquake. Ai Weiwei’s conscience told him he could not accept this kind of goodwill from the regime because it would be like accepting amnesty from the enemy and enlisting to fight for them. No one ever followed up and investigated Liu Qibao’s disregard for human life but he (Ai Weiwei) could not pretend that he never saw anything. Actually, if [fellow Sichuan earthquake investigator] Tan Zuoren[9], Ai Weiwei and the others had continued their investigations, Liu Qibao would have been left with no escape route. Because if Liu Qibao had not canceled the notice about the earthquake warning, the residents would have left their residences a day or two before the earthquake, schools would have canceled classes, and there certainly would not have been the resulting 800,000 deaths in the middle of the day.

Mao Zedong said Ai Qing “didn’t know to be grateful for favors, while Hu Jintao and Liu Yongqing said Ai Weiwei was “too arrogant to accept an honor.” Hu Jintao’s wife Liu Yongqing is the director of the Beijing Urban and Rural Planning Commission. In 2002, Liu Yongqing’s younger sister saw a piece of land she liked in Chaoyang District valued at several billion yuan. Some relevant department reported this to the secretariat and Hu Jintao immediately called Liu Yongqing asking her to stop right away, or else he would announce their divorce on China Central Television, because this kind of activity would directly impact Hu Jintao’s career. But after Hu Jintao became general secretary, Liu Yongqing continued to enrich herself with money, goods and land, and Hu Jintao never again tried to control his old lady. When Zhang Huixing, deputy head of the party Central Organization Department and deputy party secretary of the party Disciplinary Committee, found some businessman to give Liu Yongqing a set of huanghuali[10] wood furniture worth several million yuan, she immediately gave it to her daughter Hu Haiqing to use.

With regard to the Ai Weiwei affair, Liu Yongqing said, He wants to expose our Liu family faults─such a person needs to be shown a thing or two. It was only with this “imperial decree” from Liu Yongqing that Liu Qibao and the Sichuan Public Security Department dared to give Ai Weiwei such a horrendous beating.[11]

Taking Advantage of the Jasmine Revolution, Fu Zhenghua and Liu Qibao Join Hands to Beat Ai Weiwei and Get Their Personal Revenge

After the Jasmine Revolution, Hu Jintao gave instructions that the case had to be broken within a month. Whereupon Beijing Public Security Bureau chief Fu Zhenghua hooked up with the Public Security Ministry official, Sichuan Provincial Public Security Department and Sichuan Provincial Party Secretary Liu Qibao and together attacked Ai Weiwei.

Since the second half of February 2011, Beijing and Sichuan have also been the two places that have apprehended the largest number of people. Under the direction of Fu Zhenghua, the Domestic Security and Economic Investigation departments of the Beijing Public Security Bureau have forced at least 10 detained web activists and the artist Song Zhuang to say that Ai Weiwei was the initiator and the main mobilizer of the Jasmine Revolution in China. Disregarding forged and fake written records, they [the police] all pointed to Ai Weiwei as the source and had them finger him as the strategist; and they directed them to spread online content about the Jasmine Revolution over the Internet claiming that Ai Weiwei was mobilizing all the Chinese people to subvert the Communist Party. Once the Beijing Public Security Bureau, the Sichuan Public Security Department and the State Security Department had concluded that Ai Weiwei had engaged in activities with subversive tendencies, it was only a matter of time before Ai Weiwei was arrested and a crime was picked to punish him with (as early as in the mid-1990s, Jiang Zemin had instructed that political problems would be settled in non-political ways). This time, Hu Jintao took the lead in signing off on the report submitted by Fu Zhenghua, and the other eight Standing Committee members had no choice but to follow suit and sign as well. This elevated the Ai Weiwei-initiated Jasmine Revolution in Fu Zhenghua’s report to being more serious than even the March 14 Tibet Incident[12] and the July 5 Xinjiang Incident[13] as a “matter of the life and death of the party and the nation.”

This case of Fu Zhenghua and others using their official positions for personal revenge has turned into a great trap for Hu Jintao; in effect, it has forced Hu Jintao into a dead end. This Ai Weiwei incident was entirely due to the corruption of the Liu clan and the personal enmity between Fu Zhenghua and Ai Weiwei, and it has held the entire top echelon of the party leadership hostage. The uncompromising Ai Weiwei truly earned their undying hatred by revealing and challenging official corruption and the disregard for human life. As for Hu Jintao, he’s following the same path of Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution: praise those who obey me, kill those who go against me. He indulged the corruption of the Liu clan and the lawlessness of Fu Zhenghua, ultimately causing─through his handling of the Jasmine Revolution and Ai Weiwei incident─a further deterioration in China’s human rights situation, and a huge setback and collapse of China’s international reputation.

[1] deputy chairman of the National People’s Congress and deputy chairman of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions
[2] party secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee and deputy party secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
[3] now retired from her last post as vice premier, Wu Yi was deputy mayor of Beijing from 1988 to 1991 and became an alternate member of the Politburo in 1997 and a State Councilor in 1998
[4] Liu Qi was president of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee.
[5] In the mountains of Shaanxi province; the Chinese communist capital and the center of the Chinese Communist revolution from 1936 to 1948, regarded by Chinese communists as the birthplace of the revolution.
[6] The area in central Beijing, adjacent to the Forbidden City, that serves as the central headquarters for the Communist Party and the State Council.
[7] Now known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, this area of far northwestern China borders Russia, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and the Central Asian republics and from at least the second half of the 18^th century has been a place where China’s rulers sent exiles.
[8] The current Chinese leadership are known as the Fourth Generation leaders. The First Generation included Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, the Second Generation Deng Xiaoping, Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang, and the Third Generation Jiang Zemin and Li Peng
[9] An environmentalist and writer, Tan called for an investigation into the deaths of schoolchildren killed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake due to the shoddy construction of their school buildings. Because of this, he was convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” and sentenced to a five-year jail term.
[10] Huanghuali wood, Dalbergia odorifera, the principal hardwood used for furniture from mid Ming until the first part of the Qing dynasty.
[11] In August 2009, Ai went to Sichuan to try to testify in Tan’s defense at his trial (see footnote 9). He was prevented from doing so by 20 uniformed and plainclothed police who barged into his hotel room at 3 a.m. and beat him up and detained him for 11 hours so that he never made it to the trial. The beating was so severe that Ai suffered a brain hemorrhage and had to undergo emergency surgery several weeks later in Munich where an exhibition of his was opening. See this post-operation photo showing the fluid that was extracted: http://artasiapacific.com/News/AiWeiweiHospitalizedAfterBeatingByChinesePolice . Read Ai’s account of these events here: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-04-06/ai-weiwei-reflects-on-his-2009-ordeal/#
[12] Also known as the 3-14 Riots, these began with observance of in 2008 of Tibetan Uprising Day on March 10 that turned into street protests by monks that by March 14 had turned into riots, looting and burning and killing. Chinese media reported 18 civilians killed. The violence was broadly due to ethnic grievances.
[13] These riots in 2009 erupted in the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi and continued for several days, with hundreds of Uyghurs and Han Chinese at a time clashing violently. The official death toll was 197, with 1,721 injured, but Uyghur exile groups say the real death toll was much higher and human rights groups said many Uyghur men disappeared into police custody. More than 400 people were charged for their involvement in the riots and at least 26 people were given the death sentence.

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U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry Calls for the Immediate Release of Gao Zhisheng

2011-03-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN KERRY

For Immediate Release March 28, 2011

CONTACT: SFRC Communications, 202-224-3468

Chairman Kerry On The Disappearance Of Chinese Lawyer Gao Zhisheng

Washington, D.C.: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) issued the following statement today in response to the judgment by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in the disappearance of Chinese lawyer Gao Zhisheng:

“I commend the thorough investigation by the independent UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention into the disappearance of Gao Zhisheng, the Chinese lawyer and human rights advocate. I am deeply concerned for Gao’s welfare, and I call on the Chinese government to release him immediately and reunite him with his wife and family. Once celebrated by his government as a hero for fighting corruption and promoting justice for ordinary people, Gao ran into trouble for one reason: he took seriously Chinese laws that protect basic human rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The Chinese government can reaffirm its respect for these laws and the universal human rights they embody by releasing Gao immediately.”

Advocating for freedom of belief, a UN organization calls for release of Gao Zhisheng

2011-03-30T11:11:00.001-07:00

---A comprehensive report by Ye Xiu, the reporter from KanZhongGuo
Published on March 29, 2011. 01:55

Members of China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group outside the China Liaison Office in Hong Kong on February 4, 2010, demanding the release of Beijing human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng. Whereabouts of Gao Zhisheng are still unknown today. (Photo: Getty Images)

According to a report from BBC’s Chinese website, today (March 28), a UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention consisting of experts in human rights and international law from Pakistan, Chili, Senegal, Norway and Ukraine accused the Chinese Communist authorities of violating the international law by detaining the prominent human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng. It calls on the authorities to release him.

Gao Zhisheng once served as a defense lawyer for Falun Gong adherents and exposed how the coal miners and other disadvantaged groups suffered. In 2009, he was taken away from the residence of his relatives. For a time in April of last year, he received interviews from foreign media, but his whereabouts after that have always been unknown.

Gao Zhisheng’s wife and daughter are now under asylum in the US. His wife Geng He published an article on Sunday’s New York Times in which she calls on US President Obama to pressure the Chinese authorities and urges Obama to contact Hu Jintao and ask him to let Gao Zhisheng’s family contact him and try to gain his release. When Hu Jintao visited America on January 19 of this year, Geng He also expressed her hope at a press conference that Obama raise these questions when he met Hu Jintao. She also described how Gao Zhisheng was tortured.

Analysts point out that China has in the past few months strengthened its restriction on the freedom of dissidents and human rights activists.

According to a report by New Epoch Weekly, Gao Zhisheng was born in a poor countryside in Northern Shaanxi. His father died when he was 10. In the subsequent days, he made his living by digging medicinal raw materials, digging coal and working at odd jobs everywhere. He dropped out of high school because of lack of money. Yet, he self-studied law for a college associate degree in a 3-year program for a career as an attorney-at-law. In 1994, he graduated from the self-study associate degree program, and in 1995 he passed the Chinese bar test. In 1996, he began his practice as a lawyer. Due to his own family background at the bottom of the social ladder, Lawyer Gao is full of sympathies for the disadvantaged social groups. He once said, “The very first lawsuit I took since I became a lawyer was a pro bono service. After that, I devoted one third of my energy to pro bono service for the poor. I adhered to this percentage in all these seven years.” In 2001, he was chosen as one of the Ten Honorary Lawyers of China.

On December 31, 2004, after Lawyer Gao got involved in the case of Falun Gong adherents in Shijiazhuang, he was fully sympathetic with the victims for their sufferings and was fully aware how CPC’s terror of power works. Therefore, he sent “An Open Letter to the National People’s Congress” in which he proposed that Falun Gong adherents should be protected by China’s Constitution. On October 18, 2005, he wrote his first open letter to Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao. On November 29, after he and his colleagues broke away from about 20 plain-clothed agents who tried to stalk and besiege them, they went everywhere day and night in their investigations of the truth behind the persecution of Falun Gong adherents. On December 12, Lawyer Gao again wrote a letter to Hu and Wen titled “The Barbarian Acts of Exterminating Our Nations Conscience and Morality Must be Stopped!” After it was disclosed that organs were harvested from Falun Gong adherents alive in Sujiatun, Shenyang, he publicly declared he would participate in the investigation into the truth of Sujiatun Incident. Finally, he was arrested by the authorities on the charge of inciting the subversion of state power. Gao Zhisheng was praised as the “Conscience of China.” In 2008, he was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize. In exposing this persecution, he believes that “God is with us in facing and fighting the evil.”

Beijing authorities refuse to accept the demand of the UN on release of Gao Zhisheng

2011-03-30T11:10:00.000-07:00

---A report by Fa Guang from KanZhongGuo
Published on March 29, 2011

A Hong Kong-based human rights organization calling for the release of Gao Zhisheng

Beijing authorities today refused to accept the demand from a UN organization on releasing the prominent human rights activist Gao Zhisheng. Gao Zhisheng has been under secret detention by the Chinese authorities for over two years, but Beijing authorities claim China is a country under rule of law.

During the reporters’ inquires, Jiang Yu, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, said China attaches great importance to its cooperation with UN human rights organizations, but at the same time, this spokesperson calls on UN organizations to respect China’s sovereignty. This spokesperson claims that China is a country under rule of law.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention subordinate to the United Nations Council on Human Rights recently published a report demanding that China release Gao Zhisheng. The investigation report of this group has concluded that China’s detention of Gao Zhisheng has violated the international law and the Chinese law.
This UN document calls Gao Zhisheng an outstanding lawyer who is famous for protecting human rights. Gao Zhisheng was arrested by the authorities in February 2009 and has been under secret detention ever since.

The Chinese police and the judicial authorities refuse to present the arrest warrant and refuse to publicly state the charges against Gao Zhisheng. They are not even willing to publicly admit that they are detaining Gao Zhisheng and refuse to explain to his family why they took away Gao Zhisheng.

According to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the detention of Gao Zhisheng has violated the universal principles of human rights and has also violated the UN conventions on human rights that the Chinese government has signed.

This UN organization demands that the “Chinese government release Gao Zhisheng immediately” and demands that the Chinese government be in line with the international law in arresting, detaining and sentencing people.

Gao Zhisheng awarded Bindmans Law and Campaigning prize---Speech from Gao’s wife Geng He

2011-03-25T22:57:00.000-07:00

24 Mar 2011 London

Chinese lawyer Gao Zhisheng was named the winner of the Bindmans Law and Campaigning Award at tonight’s Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression awards, sponsored by SAGE.

Gao Zhisheng was unable to attend and his wife, Geng He, accepted the award on his behalf, via video. She said:

I wish Gao Zhisheng could receive this award, instead of me accepting on his behalf.

I would have been proud to see him here, I would have cheered for his regained freedom and once again I would have been able to breathe freely, to think freely, and to speak freely.

My husband is a human rights lawyer. He resisted unbearable pressure to support his clients. He voluntarily represented the poor to the best of his ability. He never bowed to money or power; he stood up to threats from people in authority. He regarded his law profession not only a job, but also as a means to propagate fairness, to reinstate justice, and conscience. He was an attorney in great demand until the government revoked his license, closed his law firm, placed our whole family under surveillance. They even deprived my daughter of her education.

Since my husband’s last public appearance we have endured nearly a year of total silence. All those days, our children and I have lived with worry and anxiety. Gao’s disappearance, in the past, has synchronised with brutality and shocking torture by the state. My husband’s case is a true presentation of China’s ongoing human rights crisis.

On behalf of my husband Mr Gao Zhisheng, thank you Index On Censorship for this honourable award which recognises Gao for his efforts in safeguarding human rights and freedom of speech in China.

Again, I appreciate your support for Gao and I hope it will help protect his safety.

About Gao Zhisheng

Chinese lawyer Gao Zhisheng has been persecuted by the state for speaking out on human rights issues. Gao, a self-taught lawyer, forged a career representing the underdog in cases involving medical malpractice, land redistribution, employment disputes and forced sterilisation.

He has also defended journalists and religious minorities including Christians and members of Falun Gong. In 2005, he resigned from the Communist Party and wrote an open letter to President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, documenting the suffering of Falun Gong practitioners and calling on the leaders to end their “large-scale, organised” abuse.

Security forces took Gao from his home in Shaanxi province on 4 February 2009. Gao claimed the security forces tortured him. The state denied any knowledge of his whereabouts until January 2010, when a foreign ministry official said the lawyer was “where he should be”. Gao disappeared again in April 2010, and the Chinese state has refused to register him as a missing person.

Subject: Freedom of Expression Award 2011 - The Shortlist - Gao Zhisheng is on the list!
Hi All,

For those of you are concerned about Mr. Gao Zhisheng and his family, here is the great news to share with you. Mr. Gao Zhisheng has been nominated as one of the award recipients by Index of Censorship, a London base well-known publishing organisation for freedom of expression, which produces an award-winning quarterly magazine of the same name. The award ceremony will be held on next week (3/24/11) in England. Please be prepared to hear the announcement by then and get ready to congrats Mrs. Gao - Geng He:-). Mr. Gao is in one of the categories called "Law and Campaigning". Here I found the shortlist (three people) info in their website for your information.

Just so for your point of reference, there three Chinese people have won the award for the past few years. 2009 Books: Ma Jian, Beijing Coma; 2007, Whistleblower: Chen Guangcheng; 2006, Whistleblower: Huang Jingao.

Here is the Wikipedia regarding Index on Censorshhip info if you are interested.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_on_Censorship
http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2011/03/free-expression-awards-2011-law-and-campaigning/

(Picture of Gao Zhisheng: from http://www.gaozhisheng.org/)

Gao Zhisheng as an Nominee of Free Expression Awards 2011: Law and Campaigning

2011-03-25T22:55:00.000-07:00

Index on Censorship 11 Mar 2011

Awards judge Gugulethu Moyo introduces the nominees for the Bindmans Law and Campaigning award

When thinking about freedom of expression, it’s easy just to focus on the headlines. But it is often the work behind the scenes that makes the difference, so the law and campaigning award is crucial in recognising the champions of free speech. This year’s shortlist demonstrates clearly that tools to silence are used by both dictatorships and democracies – and that those committed to making sure unheard voices are listened to often do so at great personal risk. This year we turn our attention to Pakistan, where those working to change an incredibly hostile climate for free speech have found themselves under fierce attack. In China, those defending campaigners against land redistribution or promoting religious freedom meet with heavy penalties and often risk their lives. And we look at the United States, where the government’s preoccupation with national security has overridden one of its citizen’s human rights. It’s more important than ever to honour those who take on this difficult and complex work – and it’s thanks to them that rigorous legal work plays a key role in keeping freedom of expression in a prominent position on the international stage.

David Coombs

David Coombs is the criminal defence lawyer leading the defence of Specialist Bradley Manning, the 23-year-old US army intelligence analyst accused of leaking classified material to WikiLeaks. Manning faces a court martial and up to 52 years in prison.

Despite Coombs’s complaints, Manning has been held in solitary confinement in a military brig on a Prevention of Injury (POI) order since July 2010. This order, usually used for short periods prior to a psychological evaluation, limits his social contact, news consumption, ability to exercise and sleep. Coombs has used his blog to detail Manning’s experiences in solitary confinement.

Coombs called an assertion by a Pentagon Press Secretary that Manning is being treated like every other detainee at the Quantico brig “patently false”. His work has been pivotal in making Manning’s ordeal public.

Gao Zhisheng

He has also defended journalists and religious minorities including Christians and members of Falun Gong. In 2005, he resigned from the Communist Party and wrote an open letter to President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, documenting the suffering of Falun Gong practitioners and calling on the leaders to end their “large-scale, organised” abuse.

Security forces took Gao from his home in Shaanxi province on 4 February 2009. Gao claimed the security forces tortured him. The state denied any knowledge of his whereabouts until January 2010, when a foreign ministry official said the lawyer was “where he should be”. Gao disappeared again in April 2010, and the Chinese state has refused to register him as a missing person.

Sherry Rehman

Sherry Rehman is a member of Pakistan’s parliament and chair of the Jinnah Institute, a think tank committed to “policies that promote fundamental rights, tolerance and pluralism”. For ten years Rehman served as editor-in-chief of the Herald, and from 1988 to 1998 she served as a member of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors.

In November 2010, Rehman submitted a bill proposing amendments to Pakistan’s blasphemy law, which is routinely used to silence dissent and as a tool of intimidation against non-Muslims and members of minority Muslim sects.

Rehman and her late PPP colleague Salman Taseer were vocal critics of Pakistan’s blasphemy law. They were vociferous in their support of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death after Muslim neighbours claimed she had blasphemed against Islam following an argument. After the assassination of Taseer by his bodyguard, Rehman was forced to withdraw her bill in February 2011.

http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2011/03/free-expression-awards-2011-law-and-campaigning/

(Video) Chinese activists disappear amid calls for protests

2011-03-05T00:14:00.000-08:00

Human Rights Lawyer Tang Jitian (right)

(By Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY) BEIJING — Chinese human rights activists have been disappearing ever since a mysterious call went out on the Internet for a "Jasmine Revolution" similar to the uprisings against authoritarian regimes in the Middle East — a call that was made again this week.

Jiang Tianyong, an activist lawyer in Beijing, vanished Feb. 19, a day before the protests called for in Internet postings in the Chinese capital. Jiang has not been heard from since. The anonymous group posting to the website Boxun.com called this week for fresh protests Sunday.

Jiang and two other human rights lawyers, Tang Jitian and Teng Biao, have disappeared into China's labyrinthine security system in the past two weeks, says China Human Rights Defenders, a Hong Kong-based group. More than 100 other people have had their movements restricted, and six activists face subversion charges, possibly for posting information online about the "Jasmine Rallies," according to the group.

Jiang's wife, Jin Bianling, says she has tried for years to persuade her husband to switch to a safer profession. She fears the worst.

"He might be sentenced on some charge," says Jin of her 39-year-old husband. "But I am most worried they will torture him. He has high-blood pressure, but the police refuse to deliver his medicine. I worry about his personal safety."

Several foreign journalists were warned by Chinese police this week that they risk having their visas revoked if the continue to report on the Jasmine Rallies.

The disappearances began shortly after a website postings appeared last month and called on Chinese to "take a stroll" in specific spots in dozens of cities in China on Sunday afternoons.

Organizers ridicule the communist leadership and its slogans and accuse the government of corruption, asking Chinese where the money is going from the sale and leasing of properties to foreign companies.

"We only need one slogan for our Jasmine Revolution, and that is ... terminate one-party rule," one posting said, according to the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based newspaper.

The post was carried on Twitter and other social networking sites, but the website is blocked inside China, so it is not known how many people are aware of the calls. The word "jasmine" has been censored from many websites, the newspaper says.

On Sunday, Feb. 27, hundreds of uniformed and plainclothes police broke up crowds at city centers in Beijing and Shanghai and detained more than a dozen people, mostly journalists who had arrived to see what would happen. On Feb. 20, the Associated Press reported that Shanghai police used whistles to disperse a crowd of about 200, but it was not known whether any of the people were there as part of what remains a phantom protest.

Though the calls have not led to any observable protests, they have provoked the government into unusually harsh police actions, experts say.

The three lawyers' detention "is not just the usual, unauthorized beating and release" but appears to be the start of a criminal process, says Jerome A. Cohen, a U.S. expert on Chinese law and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. "The oppression is getting worse than it has been in some years."

The Chinese government threatened to revoke the visas of foreign correspondents if they continue to try to report on demonstrations. Dozens of foreign journalists who tried to cover gatherings Sunday were summoned to police stations for interviews, the Foreign Correspondents Club of China said Thursday in a warning to members.

In a statement Tuesday, the Jasmine organizers claimed, "China's government clearly shows its horror and fear of the people, as if facing a deadly enemy. A modest amount of people, just by walking, has demonstrated people's power, and the government's response has revealed its weakness to the world," the Post said.

The Chinese government has created what it calls "no reporting zones" in areas of Shanghai and Beijing where the organizers have scheduled the silent protests.

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing says it has repeatedly raised with authorities the disappearance of Gao Zhisheng, a self-taught lawyer who has represented members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement and Chinese Christians. Gao was imprisoned for 14 months and upon his release in March last year described to the Associated Press how he was tortured by his jailers. He asked that his interview not be published until he was safe. Two weeks later, he vanished. China has refused to discuss his case with the United States or his relatives. The AP subsequently published a story about his interview.

Three police officers at separate stations believed to be involved in Jiang Tianyong's detention refused to answer questions when contacted by USA TODAY. His wife's concerns, and lack of information, are commonplace among the relatives and friends of people targeted in recent weeks by Chinese security forces.

"I can't sleep at night," says Pang Jinhua, mother-in-law of lawyer Teng Biao, missing since Feb. 19. "I don't understand why he has been taken. He takes on cases to help ordinary people. He doesn't break rules or do anything bad," she says.

Cohen says lawyers such as Teng draw attention by defending "sensitive" clients such as dissidents or members of Falun Gong, whose members have been severely repressed.

"These are three terrific people, and China's future will be better if they are participating," Cohen says. "Jiang Tianyong was a schoolteacher but so interested in human rights he felt he better become a lawyer. He's a totally admirable person."

Cohen says President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton need to continue to speak publicly about such cases if the activists are to have a chance at their freedom.

"It may not get them out but it increases the pressure," he said.

Other rights lawyers say they are receiving increased police surveillance.

Lawyer Li Heping says his home is under constant watch and up to four plainclothes policemen tail him when he leaves his home.

"I told the police I have nothing to do with the Jasmine rallies and I'm not participating, but still they want to control me. To the authorities, " 'every bush and tree seems an enemy,' " Li says, using a Chinese phrase.

In Chengdu, a major city in southwest China, friends of writer and blogger Ran Yunfei remain in shock over his detention Feb. 20 and the subsequent charge of "subversion of state power," a more serious crime than the "inciting subversion" charge used to jail Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo in 2009, says Wang Yi, a local church leader.

"Ran is a typical example of an intellectual who opposes violent or overnight change and instead tries to gradually build up China's civil society, not bring about revolution," Wang says. "If any of us go to the street or spread information in the hope people can express their opinions, that is within a citizen's rights and not subverting state power, let alone inciting subversion."

The clampdown shows "the government is very nervous, and their reaction is to pre-empt social discontent merging with the mobility of activists and the power of the Internet, as happened in the Middle East," says Wang Songlian, a researcher for China Human Rights Defenders.

As world attention is focused elsewhere, China's security forces are seizing the opportunity to crack down on perceived opponents, she says.

Jin Bianling hopes her husband, Jiang, will be released, worried that he will be abused or worse in prison. Even if he is set free, she doubts he will curb his efforts on behalf of people targeted as enemies of the authoritarian state.

"He says that helping disadvantaged people is the most meaningful thing he can do," she says.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-03-03-china04_ST_N.htm?sms_ss=gmail&at_xt=4d710b5895111033%2C0

(Video) Bob Fu Urges Release of Gao during Obama-Hu’s Meeting in Washington DC

2011-01-22T13:34:00.000-08:00

Bob Fu Calls for Course Change in US-China Relations and Urges Release of Prisoners of Conscience in China during Obama-Hu’s Meeting in Washington DC.

Produced by ChinaAid Visual Studio

Wife of China dissident speaks out on abuse

2011-01-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

By Shaun Tandon (AFP) – 3 days ago

WASHINGTON — The wife of missing Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng is going public to urge President Barack Obama to raise her husband's case, saying she fears for his life after revelations of abuse.

Gao, who has defended some of China's most politically sensitive groups including the Falungong spiritual movement and underground Christians, has not been heard from since April, when he recounted a brutal two-day beating. (Geng He, wife of missing Chinese dissident human rights lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, says she fears for his life)

His wife, Geng He, sneaked out of China in early 2009 with their two children, journeying by foot to Thailand before escaping to the United States. She has since kept a low profile but traveled Tuesday to Washington as Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived for a closely watched state visit.

"I want him to release my husband immediately so our whole family can be reunited," Geng told AFP. "I am hoping that I can get my message out."

Geng pleaded for Obama to ask Hu about her husband, pointing to the US leader's own writings about growing up with an absent father.

"My 17-year-old daughter and my seven-year-old son miss their father very much. It has been so painful for them," she said.

"Maybe when you missed your father, you knew where he was. But my children don't know where their father is right now. Maybe he's no longer alive or maybe he's being tortured by many people right now."

Geng was visibly nervous as she prepared for a week of speaking out about her husband, but said: "My husband is worth it. I need to do this for him."

"My husband is a lawyer. He always fights for the suppressed, the minority groups, the persecuted. Power and money will not be able to tempt him to change his principles," she added.

"I think any lawyer like this deserves help from all of us."

Gao, during his brief reappearance in April, said he was stripped naked and violently pistol-whipped for two days in September 2009. He said the beating was even worse than during a previous disappearance, when he said he suffered electric shocks to his genitals and cigarette burns to his eyes.

"You must forget you're human. You're a beast," Gao said his jailers told him, according to an interview he gave to The Associated Press.

The news agency said Gao asked that the account not be published unless he went missing again or found safe haven abroad.

His wife said she had been fearing the worst about Gao. She said his brother saw him last April and told her that "he has been through death."

Obama invited Hu for a state visit, which will include a red carpet welcome at the White House and a lavish dinner, part of a US effort to broaden cooperation between the world's largest developed and developing nations.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs insisted that the warm welcome would not mute US appeals to China to improve its human rights record.

Human rights groups have roundly criticized the Obama administration on China, particularly Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statement after taking office that rights concerns would not "interfere" with cooperation.

But Clinton said Friday that human rights were at "the heart" of US diplomacy and insisting that China, as a founding member of the United Nations, "has committed to respecting the rights of all its citizens."

Clinton explicitly called on China to improve treatment of minorities and free dissidents including Gao and the writer Liu Xiaobo, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in absentia last month.

Bob Fu, the founder of Christian rights group China Aid who brought Gao's family to the United States, welcomed Clinton's speech as a new tone by the administration but disagreed with its overall assessment of ties with China.

"As long as Mr Gao Zhisheng is still missing and brutally tortured simply for promoting human rights and the rule of law, it's not appropriate to call that regime an equal partner," Fu said.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iI66pM8yNKaTXxQOcT8kb3QZoCYg?docId=CNG.cf3f9df69d3ee50f7a0a62316dbb5b65.1c1&index=0

(Video) Gao's Wife Petition For Him During China President Hu's Visit

2011-01-21T14:46:00.000-08:00

Representatives Chris Smith and Frank Wolf led a news conference on human rights in China. Former Chinese political prisoners and human rights activists talked about various issues, including religious freedom, the rights of women, and abuses in Chinese labor camps.

Words from the Heart --By Gao Zhisheng

2011-01-13T11:59:00.000-08:00

China Aid Association (Jan. 13, 2011)

Editor's note: This essay was written by Gao just days before his family escaped to the United States in January 2009. His wife, Geng He, carried the letter with her and has now authorized its release in advance of Chinese President Hu Jintao's upcoming Jan. 18-21 visit to Washington, D.C. in hopes that it will draw more attention to her husband's continued disappearance and win his release from illegal government custody.

Words from the Heart

by Gao Zhisheng

Under Heaven's watchful eye and in this vast free and civilized world, there is no evil that the Chinese Communist Party would recoil from or is incapable of. It is truly shocking!

Among 1.3 billion fellow citizens, my family is so bereft of support and helpless.

Prior to September 2007, there were only four people in all of China who refused to listen to the Chinese Communist Party and persisted in openly being friends with me. As a result, one of them is constantly being followed by the police and the other three were kidnapped in September and suffered brutal beatings and mental torture. In 2008, (AIDS activist and Buddhist believer) Hu Jia, who continued to refuse to heed the Party, was illegally detained. (Human rights activist) Huang Yan was kidnapped and imprisoned with Falungong practitioners where she suffered cruel torture. In addition, Huang saw and heard and with her own eyes and ears torture of Falungong adherents that was even more terrifying. Under the threat of torture, no one in China today dares to communicate openly with me.

Not only is it now extremely difficult for me to make my voice heard, but is also extremely dangerous. In the past three-plus years, the authorities invested a great deal of manpower, physical resources and funds, and employed the most merciless methods, to achieve their goal of silencing me. Even when I traveled out of town last November and stayed in a hotel, a policeman was in my very room, putting me under intimate surveillance. They have actually achieved their goal of turning me into a living but useless thing. I often tell my wife Geng jokingly: “Six billion people live together in our global village, but our family is severed from the rest of the world.” Outsiders may feel that my family’s life is unspeakably miserable, but actually, it is my wife who has suffered the most. I am optimistic by nature, and I am a Christian. Even when I was tortured to near-death, the pain was only in the physical body. A heart that is filled with God has no room to entertain pain and suffering. I and my two children often loudly sing songs together, but my wife never joins us. All my efforts are insufficient to wipe out my wife’s suffering.

Her suffering is rooted in the fact that our daughter, Gege, cannot go to school. After she was forbidden to go to school, I also was in despair for a while, feeling that nothing could be more traumatic to me than this. Shocked and outraged, I continuously protested to the authorities. My wife, Geng He, is on the brink of a mental breakdown over this matter.

I'd like to take this opportunity to appeal to those friends on the mainland who still enjoy a certain measure of freedom to continue to show your concern for (human rights lawyer) Guo Feixiong, and to help his wife and children. Today, when the Communist Party's hired thugs are everywhere, when our nation's spirit has deteriorated into a rare state of stagnation, we need heroes like Guo who fight for the people. These courageous heroes─Guo Feixiong, Hu Jia, (veteran dissident writer and blogger) Yang Tianshui, (blind legal activist) Chen Guangcheng, (democracy and human rights activist) Xu Wanping, (senior political activist) Wang Bingzhang and (China New Democracy Party founder) Guo Quan─who sacrifice and risk their lives to defend religious freedom are the true hope of China. If we offer more help to them and their loved ones today, there will be less that we need to be ashamed of when our children and grandchildren look back on this chapter of history.

In today's China, people know in their hearts that it is extremely dificult to live as a kind and moral person. Hu Jia's fate further demonstrates this harsh reality of our society: it is not only difficult but also dangerous to be a morally righteous person. Since ancient times, people have long believed that kindness will be repaid with kindness, and evil with evil, but today, when the Communist Party’s culture has infiltrated into every aspect of practical life, this belief has been fatally destroyed. In traditional Chinese society, people who cherished and protected virtue and kindness were everywhere, but in today's China, the upholding of moral values and goodness has been swept away and uprooted. The Chinese communist regime has become the synonymous with immorality and evil.

China’s so-called economic miracle has been achieved at the price of this “fatal destruction.” What people are jumping for joy over is a superficial prosperity resulting from distorted economic progress. Meanwhile they turn a blind eye to the horrific damage to China’s environment and the reality that so far nearly 70 percent of Chinese have been placed in the inhumane situation of having no guarantee of any social rights whatsoever. In today's China, villagers living in areas traditionally abundant in water resources have no water to drink, those living in traditional dairy farming areas have no milk to drink, farmers are afraid to eat their own harvests, and food manufacturers are afraid to eat their own food products. This already has been the reality for some time. People deceive themselves and insist that a deer is a horse. Calling what’s beautiful ugly and what’s ugly beautiful has already become fashionable in society. Meanwhile, in the midst of all this, the bad example set by the Chinese Communist Party of dishonesty and immorality is rampant.

The depraved government of China makes regulations to suppress the good and encourage evil, causing evil people to get the upper hand. In any competition, whoever has power will always prevail; whoever is without morals will also prevail. This is how elite groups are formed. A justice system without justice, where evil cops have the upper hand, just produces hate and contempt among the people for those power groups that arose from the unjust economic reforms. The protests and violence taking place all over the country are an inauspicious warning bell that China is headed into yet another cycle of violence.

In Chinese society today, national spirit has been devastated. In the whole of society, it is not just that a few people are seriously corrupt, but rather that the majority of people are generally morally degenerate. While the powers that be took great pride in hosting the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the Games allowed the regime to enforce its totalitarian rule upon this grand sports event, replacing the Olympic spirit with its spirit of totalitarianism. The mass, choreographed performances at the Games fit right into the dictatorial culture of the regime to hype the image of the so-called “peaceful rise” of China. In this process, the command performances of singing and dancing covered up the tragic cries for help from people at the bottom of Chinese society and covered up the Communist Party's evil acts of trampling on human rights. When I was in Xinjiang, I learned that the crowds that cheered for the Olympic torch relays along the streets were organized by the Chinese authorities. A warning was also verbally communicated through work units to each and every family along the Olympic torch relay route: “No one is to open his window or door. No one is to raise any banner or shout slogans. Otherwise, you will be shot by snipers who are to be stationed everywhere on the streets, and you will be solely responsible for the consequences.” People didn’t see the fake preparations that were behind all the hoopla: on the surface, it was all celebration and harmony, but underneath, it was naked threats, brazen use of force and intimidation. This is how the Communist Party controls the people and suppresses the different voices of the Chinese people in order to present its false image of China to the world.

Most of the power players in China clearly realize that all these false impressions created by the Communist Party can not save it from its inevitable demise. When the hoopla is over, corrupt officials and evil police go back to their old ways, and protests rise up anew all over China.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those people overseas who have been sincerely concerned about China's future. I would like to urge more overseas Chinese to work together for a democratic China. I would like to urge overseas groups working for democracy, rights protection and religious freedom to work together and persevere in advocating for a peaceful transformation of China into a democratic state. I would like to suggest establishing a human rights committee to represent each and every victim of China's human rights violations. After all, there are more victims of human rights abuses in China than one could ever count. We should make every effort to collect information about every single known case of human rights abuse and present them to the U.N. Human Rights Commission and the human rights organs of countries around the world. I would also recommend founding a “Human Rights” newspaper to report daily on human rights violations and to publish the victims' names and cities so the truth of the huge body of the tragedies of China’s human rights violations can displayed before the world. The proposed human rights committee should have branches in every province and major city, with their work focused on collecting reports about and supporting cases of human rights abuse. The committee can have working groups to handle issues of religious freedom, petitioners’ problems, farmland seizures, and June 4 Tiananmen Square democracy crackdown problems. To be able to act in a real and concrete way on behalf of actual victims of human rights abuses, that is the basis of the value of a constitutional democracy.

I also want to take this opportunity to suggest that people take action to unite all Chinese who are against totalitarian rule, including those ethnic groups seeking autonomy, and through broadcast networks and other means make known the benefits to the nation and the people of a federal autonomous union of provinces. For instance, it will lead to the realization of autonomy for ethnic groups as naturally as water finds channels to flow in. It will also develop health care, pensions and other universal social welfare benefits; develop an independent judicial system; make good on a promise that all actual victims of dictatorial government persecution will get government compensation every year paid out from a fund that is a certain percentage of the national budget; criminally prosecute those who committed the worst of the Communist Party’s evil acts. We need to effectively disseminate these ideas the way the doctrines of the "Nine Commentaries" were disseminated, so as to awaken our countrymen.

Also, I specially call for groups in China and overseas to make every effort to rescue Guo Quan and Liu Xiaobo. The arrest of Liu Xiaobo laid bare the utter shamelessness of this regime.

Also, I cannot help but say a few words to those in the Chinese democracy and human rights movements. Currently many democracy and human rights advocates are no longer activists; rather, they have become fame-seeking opportunists. They turn a blind eye to the persecution by the Chinese Communist regime of Falungong practitioners as if nothing were happening when it is actually the most horrifying and cruel persecution in the history of China's disasters. After I publicly spoke out for Falungong practitioners, those who contacted me in private called me radical. This kind of “consensus” view has fed the greatest evil ever committed in China, and added fuel to the fire of the persecution inflicted on our countrymen. The hunger strike I started was peaceful and lawful, but those fame-seeking democracy activists, instead of showing any support, came at me from all sides and criticized me in all manner of ways. The writers among them even raised up the banner of “justice” to attack me from behind. They didn't stop even after I was behind bars – I can only sigh with regret over this. Why did they do this? I don’t get many opportunities to speak out anymore, so today I must make this explicitly clear: Those are actions by the dark side of human nature, the selfish nature! Stop it! No matter how skillfully you articulate your shameless views, it's all in vain. After enduring torture, these are the words of my suffering heart. While not pleasant to hear, they are definitely not spoken with a voice of anger.

The Chinese Communist Party has “good friends” and “good partners” all over the world today. They all should be well aware of the reality of the anti-civilization nature of the Chinese Communist Party, the darkest regime of the current times. However, many of these “good friends” and “good partners” of the Chinese Communist Party, in pursuit of material benefits, have become a part of this black government. In the case of some other “good friends” and “good partners” of the Party, they have been blinded by the Party’s exquisite lies. They are totally ignorant of the Communist Party’s basic evil nature, and they even sing the Party’s praises even though what they see is a sham.

Finally I would like to thank those foreign friends who truly care about human rights in China. Thanks to Mr. Scott, Mr. Norwalk, the two Mr. Davids in Canada, and the ladies and gentlemen of the European Union! You gave us your selfless moral support, and your support is the basis of our hope in fighting for freedom and human rights.

The publication of this article will cause me to be kidnapped again. Kidnappings are a normal part of my life now. If it comes again, then let it come!

Gao Zhisheng,

Jan. 1, 2009

Wall Street Journal: Please Return My Father

2010-10-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

October 29, 2010

By Grace Geng

Please Return My Father

Activist Chinese lawyer Gao Zhisheng has been missing since he was kidnapped by the government in April.

Six months ago last week, the Chinese government kidnapped my father, Gao Zhisheng. He was abducted for exercising his right to freedoms of speech and association, rights enshrined in the Chinese constitution. My father's exercise of these most fundamental of freedoms cost our family our livelihood, our country, and now, I fear, my father's life. As President Barack Obama heads to the Group of 20 meeting in Seoul next month and meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao, I beg him to raise my father's case.

My father is a lawyer, an increasingly dangerous profession in China. As all lawyers should, he defended his clients vigorously. He exposed the torment faced by oppressed religious minorities in China. He demanded rights guaranteed by law for disabled children, coal miners and other vulnerable groups. But in return, the government shut down my father's law firm. They took away his access to the courts, effectively taking away his livelihood. But even that wasn't enough.

The government placed our entire family under constant, humiliating surveillance. Police beat my mother, tearing her clothing and calling her a beast. Police beat me too; I was 12 years old.

Security agents soon arrested my father and charged him with inciting subversion. They tortured him for weeks. My mother tried to protect me from knowing what happened. But I knew enough. I knew that when my father came home to serve his suspended sentence, his skin had turned black. I knew that my father couldn't get out of bed in the morning without my mother's help. And I knew that my father was scared.

My father wasn't scared for himself alone—he was scared for our family. Security agents moved into our apartment building in Beijing. Four policemen escorted me to school every day, calling me a slut in front of my friends and monitoring me as I sat in my classroom. They even followed me into the bathroom. Then, when I was 15, the government stopped allowing me to attend school. My mother knew that we had to escape. Last January, my mother smuggled my brother and me out of China. Fortunately, the three of us were granted asylum in the United States.

We never said good-bye to my father. It was too dangerous. In February 2009, shortly after we left, security agents took my father away again. The government refused to admit to detaining him. I thought he was dead. My mother and I couldn't bear to talk about it, but I know she thought he was dead too.

Over a year later, at the end of this March, my father suddenly reappeared and was allowed to return to our old home in Beijing under strict surveillance. He wasn't allowed to talk about what happened to him or where he was during that terrifying year. But I was able to tell my father that I love him over the phone.

On April 20, my father was again taken by security agents from my grandfather's home in western China. He was supposedly placed on a plane back to Beijing. But my family's apartment in Beijing is still empty. And no one has heard from my father since.

China experts tell my mother it is likely that the government released my father in March to quiet the increasing international pressure surrounding his disappearance. The experts believe that the government detained him again once it judged that the international community was no longer paying attention.

This is why I must ask my new country for help. The Chinese government must know that the international community is still paying attention to my father's disappearance. President Obama, as the father of two girls yourself, please ask President Hu to tell this daughter where her father is. I know my father is just one man. But I also know that if the Chinese government is allowed to blatantly violate its own law with respect to my father, it is only a matter of time before the next father disappears.

If the Chinese government has murdered my father, I beg President Obama to ask President Hu to let us bury him. I am 17 now. I'm old enough to understand that it might be better for my father to be dead than for him to undergo more unspeakable torture. But for my brother, Peter, who is only seven, not knowing whether our father is alive or dead is an unfathomable cruelty. I can hardly stand to hope that Peter and I will see our father again.

Ms. Geng is the 17-year-old daughter of Chinese human-rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng. A related editorial appears nearby.

Source: Wall Street Journal, October 29, 2010

BBC News: Daughter Pleads for Lawyer Gao Zhisheng

2010-10-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

By Damian Grammaticas
BBC News, Beijing

The teenage daughter of one of China's most prominent human rights activists has appealed to President Barack Obama for help.

Grace Geng said nothing had been heard of her father, Gao Zhisheng, since he was kidnapped by Chinese state security agents six months ago.

She made her appeal in an open letter, saying her father had been tortured and she too had been beaten by police.

Mr Gao, a lawyer, is one of China's leading human rights defenders.

Seventeen-year-old Grace Geng opens her letter to Mr Obama with the words: "Six months ago last week the Chinese government kidnapped my father. He was abducted for exercising his right to freedom of speech."

In the letter, published by the Wall Street Journal, she says: "President Obama, as the father of two girls yourself, please ask President Hu Jintao of China to tell this daughter where her father is."

Gao Zhisheng became one of China's most prominent human rights lawyers by defending controversial cases, including Christians and Falun Gong members who claimed they were being oppressed.

He was barred from practising as a lawyer, then abducted. He said he was tortured by state security agents.

Grace Geng says she too, aged 12, was beaten by police and barred from going to school; she finally fled China with her mother and brother last year.

She ends her letter by saying: "If the Chinese government has murdered my father, I beg President Obama to ask President Hu to let us bury him."

Human rights advocates often cite Mr Gao's case along with that of Liu Xiaobo, the jailed academic awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month, as examples of what they say is the Chinese Communist Party's increasing persecution of human rights defenders in China.

Source: BBC News, October 29, 2010

Wall Street Journal: Again, Where Is Gao Zhisheng?

2010-10-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

Oct 28, 2010

The pioneering human-rights lawyer represents a disturbing extreme case in China's approach to troublemakers.

Liu Xiaobo's Nobel Peace Prize has brought much-need attention to the struggle of others working for liberty in China. Gao Zhisheng, a human-rights lawyer who has been missing since April, is another example of how Beijing silences troublemakers. Mr. Gao hasn't had the privilege of courts and jails but has simply disappeared, without any official word on the circumstances of what his family and most observers believe to be his detention by the government.

Last week Mr. Gao's older brother was turned away when he went to a Beijing police station to ask about his whereabouts. Officers refused to file a missing persons report or take a written statement from the brother. "They dismissed me entirely; there was nothing I could do," he told us by phone.

Gao Zhisheng's plight began in 2006, when he was charged with "inciting subversion" for defending religious minorities and other controversial clients. The authorities revoked his license to practice law, and he released an open letter detailing the torture he suffered during detention. After his sentence was suspended, he was harassed and periodically detained before being kidnapped by security forces in February 2009.

Mr. Gao resurfaced in March this year, apparently as a result of a government effort to allay international concerns for his safety. At a news conference, he announced that he was giving up activism for his family's sake: "My children need me by their side growing up." He vanished again shortly thereafter and has not been heard from.

Mr. Gao's presumed detention is the most egregious example to date of China's new willingness to circumvent its own laws when persecuting troublemakers. No dissident of his prominence has ever been detained for such a long time without official explanation. And because he is "missing" and outside of the legal system, Mr. Gao lacks all judicial and personal protections. Jailed activists are at least allowed phone calls and family visits; Mr. Gao has not even been able to contact his family and tell them he is alive.

As a litigator, Mr. Gao once spearheaded China's movement toward a modern legal system, making use of new laws protecting individual rights against state power. In 2001, the Chinese Ministry of Justice named him one of the country's 10 best lawyers. For all of Mr. Gao's work to empower his fellow citizens, it has become increasingly clear that the Chinese government's regard for the rule of law stops at any challenge to its monopoly on power.

Earlier this month, 29 members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed an open letter urging President Barack Obama to push for the release of Messrs. Liu and Gao. Elsewhere in our pages today, Mr. Gao's 17-year-old daughter makes the same plea. Her story is a reminder that the obligation to free Mr. Gao and other dissidents is not merely a legal one—it is also a moral one.

Source: Wall Street Journal, October 29, 2010

Gao Zhisheng's Brother Appeals in Beijing

2010-10-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

ChinaAid
October 22, 2010

BEIJING -- On the afternoon of October 20, 2010, Gao Zhisheng’s oldest brother, Gao Zhiyi tried to speak with police about the disappearance of his brother. The police officers were very evasive and would not file anything about this case.

Accompanied by attorneys Teng Biao and Li Heping, Gao Zhiyi traveled to Xiaoguan Police Station in Chaoyang District on the afternoon of October 21, 2010. Gao Zhisheng has been missing since April 20 of this year and ever since then, there has been no information on him whatsoever. Gao Zhiyi is extremely worried about him, and often finds himself in tears since his brother vanished.

Teng Biao asked about Gao Zhisheng’s whereabouts, and an officer with badge number 033530 said he knows there is such a person called Gao Zhisheng and he knows what he does, but he does not know Gao Zhisheng's present location. According to this officer, Gao’s case is “a little special” and he has been reported as missing before. The officer then told them to wait for news at home and that no files would be made for Gao’s disappearance.

Suddenly, Teng Biao asked, “What makes Gao Zhisheng special?”

Immediately, the officer stepped away to avoid his question.

Police dodged more questions and refused to file the case, so Gao Zhiyi, Teng Biao and Li Heping left Xiaoguan Police Station around 5:10 p.m feeling helpless and desperate for answers.

To contact Gao Zhiyi, call +86 151 9198 5726

David Taylor, ChinaAid’s legal counsel, said this “clearly shows edema unhealed and reveals incontrovertible evidence of torture. We must save him from these evil forces. I believe our prayers must be combined with unceasing demand for his release on every front that we can find.”

Gao's Story

2010-04-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

Christian human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng was seized by a dozen police officers from his apartment on February 4, 2009. He disappeared for more than a year at the hands of the Chinese Government, leading to grave speculation about his whereabouts and condition.

Gao Zhisheng has been repeatedly kidnapped, arrested, imprisoned and tortured by Chinese authorities for defending the persecuted. He has been an unyielding and iconic advocate for justice in the Chinese courts and has been nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize (2008 and 2010).

In December 2009, rumors of Gao's death from torture in prison spread uncertainty. One misleading informer in January 2010, said Gao Zhisheng had gotten "lost and went missing while out on a walk" in September, 2009. The following week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry publicly acknowledged that Gao Zhisheng was in still their custody. The false reports of his death and disappearance devastated Gao's wife and children.

On March 27, 2010, Gao Zhisheng suddenly resurfaced, after being hidden for more than one year. He spoke with his family for the first time since his abduction and connected with friends, colleagues, and even international media. His every movement was watched and monitored by the Chinese government.

On April 15 and 16, Gao visited his in-laws in Xinjiang, telling them he would be flying home to Beijing at 10 AM on April 20. Gao Zhisheng never arrived home to his apartment, and has not been seen or heard from since. See media reports on Gao Zhisheng’s forced "Re-Disappearance."

Gao's life will be in danger as long as he is in the custody of the Chinese government. During this complex and difficult time, efforts are already in progress to push for Gao's release from China and for a safe reunion with his family in the United States.

Video Demonstrated How Gao Was Tortured by Chinese Government

2008-01-22T14:01:00.000-08:00

This video was filmed according to Gao's diary during his detention.