In recent days, the San Francisco Bay Area youth organization “WipeStar Office” launched an activity to send postcards to conscience prisoners in mainland China. On that day, more than 30 Bay Area residents gathered together to personally write cards and couplets, sending warm Chinese New Year wishes to them.
The event invited several conscience prisoners and some of their family members to share the stories behind the letters they receive in prison. Among them, Yang Hai, a former student leader from the June 4th movement who had been imprisoned for a year, shared the story of his imprisoned comrades Zou Xingtong and her fiancé Ye Du. Additionally, Wang Yuhua, the sister of conscience prisoner Wang Bingzhang, introduced the latest situation of Wang Bingzhang.
Zou Xingtong, former vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance, and lawyer, has been detained for over 3 years on charges of “inciting subversion of state power”. Her fiancé is Ye Du, a Chinese rights activist, poet, and dissident. On her 40th birthday a few days ago, Zou Xingtong wrote from prison: “As long as we do not despair, we do not lose hope, this city (Hong Kong) will not die.”
During the event, Yang Hai shared a story about a day when Ye Du took a few people to Xi’an for a trip, and someone asked him, “Your fiancée has been arrested, and you’re still cheerful?” to which Ye Du replied, “Zou Xingtong in prison told me to be happy, not even allowing myself to feel sad. To live happily is to live up to her being in prison.”
Yang Hai stated that political prisoners in China are the backbone of the Chinese nation; without them, the nation would lose support, becoming weak and even inferior. However, it is precisely because of their perseverance that we can stand proudly among the nations of the world. They are the pillars of the nation; therefore, we should care for and support them.
He also added that it is unnecessary to worry about whether the prisoners of conscience will receive the postcards we send; it is enough that the Communist Party can receive them. When postcards flood the prison like snowflakes, even if they are not delivered to the prisoners, it will create significant psychological pressure on the wardens, political officers, and guards. Just like in prison, more visitors, more remittances, and more inquiries about news will naturally lead to an improvement in the treatment of detainees. Therefore, as long as the postcards are sent out, they will have an effect, continuous and unremitting support may even save a life.
Yang Hai further discussed the cross-border persecution of overseas democracy activists by the Chinese Communist Party, even involving his younger brother. The Communist Party analyzes each person’s vulnerabilities. He said, “We must break through this fear, this fear is a distortion of our humanity, our survival, our lives.”
During the event, Wang Yuhua, who now lives in Canada, connected remotely to share the latest updates on Wang Bingzhang with the audience.
Wang Bingzhang, a medical doctor, founded the magazine “China Spring” in 1982 and is a pioneer of overseas Chinese democracy activism. At the age of 77 this year, he has been separately detained by the Chinese Communist Party for 23 years since being abducted by Chinese agents during a trip to Vietnam in June 2002.
Wang Yuhua mentioned that since 2011, she has been banned from visiting mainland China to see Wang Bingzhang, and they have been unable to meet for over a decade. During these long 23 years of imprisonment, their parents have passed away, and although Wang Bingzhang is aware, he dares not mention it in his letters, and she dares not bring it up with him.
In 2013, Wang Juntao, co-chairman of the China Democracy Party National Committee, held a “co-prisoner with Wang Bingzhang” event in New York. At that time, he erected a cage in Times Square in New York and locked himself in it for 28 days, symbolizing serving his sentence with Wang Bingzhang. This action attracted widespread international media attention and successfully prompted the Chinese Communist Party to improve Wang Bingzhang’s detention conditions by transferring him from Beijiang Prison to a better-conditioned Shaoguan Prison.
According to Wang Yuhua, Shaoguan Prison is considered a model prison in Guangdong Province. Though Wang Bingzhang is still held in solitary confinement, he has a small courtyard where he can plant some crops. Moreover, he has not been subjected to forced labor. He can subscribe to newspapers published within China, purchase books, and watch television programs, all of which are strictly filtered.
She noted that before being imprisoned, Wang Bingzhang suffered from severe varicose veins. If a blood clot forms and reaches his lungs or heart, it could lead to sudden death, which is his family’s greatest concern. Additionally, Wang Bingzhang also suffers from hypertension and pollen allergies. He had fallen once in the winter of the previous year.
She mentioned that after being imprisoned, Wang Bingzhang could no longer engage in democratic activism and instead devoted all his energy to studying the Bible and discussing major global issues. Currently, he can send one letter a month to his family, while his family can write to him without limitations. However, all letters are subject to review, and although some letters from family members can be delivered, many others do not reach him. Additionally, he does not receive support postcards from the public.
She also stated that whether in the United States, Canada, or China, Wang Bingzhang could have lived a comfortable life. However, he chose to dedicate himself to the democracy movement not for himself and has never regretted it. Even before his arrest, people from the Chinese authorities had contacted him, asking, “You’re involved in democracy movements, don’t you want to be the president?” to which Wang Bingzhang replied, “You underestimate me, I don’t want to be the president; I will always be a critic of the government.” His children, Wang Daishi and Wang Tianan, later became human rights lawyers, advocating for fairness and justice, following their father’s ideals and spirit.
It is reported that Wang Yuhua will send a book written by Wang Bingzhang before his imprisonment, “The Road to China’s Democratic Revolution,” to young people in the San Francisco Bay Area who are concerned about the cause of Chinese democracy, to further spread Wang Bingzhang’s ideas. ◇