According to media reports, President Trump of the United States is set to visit China in mid-May for a two-day summit with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. On May 5th, retired worker and activist in Shanghai, Song Jiahong, wrote a letter regarding human rights and mailed it to the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai, hoping that the United States would pay attention to the deplorable human rights situation in China. The letter was held by the post office for three days without being sent out, and Song Jiahong was informed that mail to the U.S. Consulate General needed to be inspected.
In the letter, Song Jiahong expressed, “Upon learning that U.S. President Trump will visit China on the 14th and 15th of this month, in order to show the welcome of the people of Shanghai, I sent a registered letter titled ‘Human Rights Letter’ to the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai on May 5th.”
In the letter, Song Jiahong wrote, “From information gleaned on the internet: Your President, Mr. Trump, will visit China in mid-May. I, representing myself as a ordinary retired worker from Shanghai, extend a warm welcome to President Trump’s visit to China! Through you, please convey to President Trump an extremely heinous incident of human rights violation happening in Shanghai, led by the Chinese government, which is a black prison incident that is not well known in the world yet. I hope President Trump and our American friends will pay high attention to this!”
He added, “Details can be found in the ‘List of 156 Cases of Black Prisons in Shanghai, China’ which I have investigated, documented, and compiled. This is the first volume. The second volume is also being actively edited and will be dedicated to you in the future. With respect, I prioritize human rights over sovereignty!”
Shanghai’s internal mail is usually delivered within a day. After Song Jiahong sent out the letter, he anxiously checked the progress of the mailing every day. After three days, he discovered that the letter was still held at the Wanggang Mail Processing Center.
On the evening of May 8th, Song Jiahong called the Wanggang Mail Processing Center to inquire about the progress of the mail processing. Mr. Zhang, a staff member, responded, “According to internal postal regulations, mail to the U.S. Consulate General must be inspected by relevant departments before being sent out.”
Song Jiahong told the Epoch Times that he asked Mr. Zhang, “Which department? What law specifies this? Are there any document numbers for the regulations?” Mr. Zhang replied, “I don’t have any basis or document to show you. This is an internal regulation, and we refer to them as relevant departments. The mail has been cleared and sent out now.”
He expressed, “It has been cleared now. However, this practice is also illegal. The Chinese Communist Party has been implementing the policy of ruling the country by law for thirty years, but they are still operating by a different set of rules.”
“The 40th article of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China states, ‘The freedom and privacy of communication of citizens of the People’s Republic of China are protected by law.’ How do you explain this? My letter is public and should be protected by the law, but (the CCP) can’t do it. Moreover, government actions must be authorized by law, but Mr. Zhang couldn’t specify which law authorizes this, so China is still far from talking about human rights!” He said.
At the age of 80, Song Jiahong is a retired worker from the Instrumentation System in Shanghai who has faced persecution in black prisons during his rights defense process. Currently, he has compiled a list of black prisons constructed by various district governments in Shanghai, as well as information on activists persecuted in black prisons, and has created the “Shanghai Black Prison List,” exposing relevant situations on the internet.