Chinese renowned independent journalist Gao Yu reported on Twitter on August 26th that the internet, landline, and mobile phone at her home had all been cut off by public security authorities. Gao’s friends overseas expressed concerns as she was in a state of information blackout, warning that if she remained silent, she might face being “disappeared.”
In a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the 80-year-old Gao Yu stated yesterday, “This morning, public security cut off my broadband, landline, and my mobile phone. They have severed all my communication links.” She further added, “I can’t even dial 120 now. This tweet was composed in a restaurant.”
Two hours later, Gao Yu made another post asserting that freedom of speech and communication freedom are protected human rights under the constitution. She declared that she would not submit to the trampling of authoritarian tools and would continue to “piggyback on the internet to keep tweeting.”
In response to this situation, Gao Yu’s friend in the United States and founder of Guang Media, Wang Ruiqin, told Voice of America that the outspoken Gao Yu has long been harassed by the Chinese Communist authorities, especially facing more severe harassment this year, including being repeatedly subjected to “forced vacations” during the Two Sessions, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and the Third Plenary Session. The authorities aim to silence her voice.
Wang Ruiqin mentioned that prior to cutting off Gao Yu’s internet and communication, the Chinese security had approached Gao Yu multiple times, pressured her, and demanded her to shut down her Twitter account. “She is now basically in a complete state of information blackout, which is very worrying. If she remains silent, it essentially means she may be disappeared. So, we are very concerned.”
Wang Ruiqin pointed out that many elderly dissidents have gradually aged, and there are few individuals like Gao Yu who are alive, clear-minded, and brave enough to speak out. Gao Yu can be considered a primary target for CCP stability maintenance, as the authorities’ monitoring and oppression directed towards her have never ceased, but in fact, intensified. Despite this, Gao Yu has continued her resistance without compromise. Due to Gao Yu’s defiance, her son has repeatedly lost his job, with the security finding his employers to demand his dismissal, leading to his current unemployment. Gao Yu herself has been imprisoned three times, and her whole family has paid a significant price.
Wang Ruiqin stated that the current attempts by the CCP authorities to isolate Gao Yu are laughable. “This is the era of the Internet, unlike the time of Mao where the CCP could silence anyone as there was no Internet. Now, I think the Communist Party has actually exhausted all means at its disposal. Despite facing many restrictions when she goes out, given that it is the Internet era, she can go to any store and use the store’s network, which the security cannot control. Therefore, the CCP’s actions are very absurd.”
Born in Chongqing, Gao Yu has been working as a journalist for years, having worked at both Xinhua News Agency and Economic Observer, where she served as the deputy editor-in-chief. During the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, the Economic Observer extensively covered the Beijing democratic movement. Gao Yu’s “Yan Wen Dialogue” was considered the direct reason for the Economic Observer’s suspension. Gao Yu was detained by the Beijing State Security Bureau in the early morning of June 3, 1989. Over the following thirty years, she spent almost half of her time in prison, under surveillance, and in judicial proceedings.
For exposing social injustices, Gao Yu has received multiple international journalism awards since the 1990s, including the “Golden Pen of Press Freedom” from the World Association of Newspapers, the “Courage in Journalism Award” from the International Women’s Media Foundation, the inaugural UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize from UNESCO, and the “50 Press Freedom Heroes of the 20th Century” award from the International Press Institute.