On the fifth day of the trial of Wang Shujun, Secretary-General of the Hu Yaobang Zhao Ziyang Foundation, accused of acting as a foreign agent, an unexpected turn of events took place in court. When the defendant Wang Shujun was about to personally appear for his defense, he immediately announced his decision not to testify after the judge, Denny Chin, rejected his two requests.
Wang Shujun suddenly hired Ye Ning as his co-lead attorney on that day, intending for Ye Ning to question him during his “self-defense.” Wang Shujun attempted to submit two pieces of evidence as part of his defense: one was a Chinese newspaper clipping reflecting the transparency of the activities of the Hu Zhao Foundation; the other was a resignation letter he sent to President Li Jinjin in August 2019, four months after being searched by customs at JFK Airport, in which he claimed that passing information to QINGDAO National Security Ji Jie was for the purpose of “spreading democratic and freedom information.”
Judge Denny Chin rejected Wang Shujun’s evidence in court, deeming that these materials were insufficient to constitute a defense argument. He pointed out that the core issue was whether Wang Shujun was being manipulated by the Chinese Communist government and following its orders. Statements like “no intention to harm others” and “the information provided to the national security is public” did not constitute a defense under the “Foreign Agents Registration Act” and could only be considered in determining the severity of the sentence.
The judge also denied the request for Ye Ning to join the defense team at that time. Ye Ning is a well-known lawyer in the pro-democracy movement and has a close relationship with Wang Shujun. Judge Chen emphasized that the burden of proof lies with the government, not the defendant.
Following this, Wang Shujun decided not to testify. The judge explained to him that it was his right whether to self-defend or not. Wang Shujun was reminded that if he chose to testify, he would have to answer questions from both the defense lawyers and the prosecutors. Testifying required him to swear to tell the truth; perjury would result in legal consequences, and the government could press charges based on his testimony. Wang Shujun insisted that he had always been truthful in his life and had never lied.
The judge allowed the defendant and his lawyers to discuss whether he should appear in court for his defense. During the discussion, there was a brief altercation outside the courtroom, prompting an increase in court security. After the discussion, Wang Shujun, disappointed by the judge’s refusal to allow Ye Ning to appear in court that day and the rejection of new evidence, decided not to testify.
Subsequently, Wang Shujun stood up with a piece of paper in hand, attempting to make a statement in court but was interrupted by Judge Chen, who only wanted to know if he had changed his mind. Wang Shujun firmly cut off the judge, reiterating that he would not testify because his two requests had been rejected.
Judge Chen explained that the new attorney had not been involved in the presentation of the case documents and evidence at the beginning, and intervening at the last minute on the fifth day of the trial was unreasonable. He stated, “This is too crazy, absolutely crazy, and could potentially create unbelievable issues.” Therefore, he rejected the new attorney’s intervention and declared the end of witness testimony, scheduling closing arguments for the following Monday.
Before the trial on July 31st (the third day of the trial), a Taiwanese-background Chinese-American juror raised concerns about her safety and that of her family due to the case involving Chinese national security and requested to be excused. Judge Chen announced before the trial that he had no choice but to relieve her of her duties and have an alternate juror fill the vacancy. This incident sheds light on the influence of cross-border pressure from the Chinese Communist Party and the threat to individual freedoms.
The prosecution also charged four Chinese national security personnel with allegedly acting as Wang’s superiors. These officials are currently fugitives believed to be in China. The U.S. Department of Justice has been actively combating the CCP’s “transnational repression” activities in recent years, which include surveillance, intimidation, and sometimes extradition or assassination of anti-communist activists.