The Center for Human Rights at the Catholic University of America has recently published an op-ed by Chen Guangcheng commemorating the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. To view this article, check the link in the description or go to humanrights.catholic.edu.
Will Deatherage: Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of The Barefoot Lawyer Reports on China podcast. My name is Will Deatherage, the producer. Joining me as always is Chen Guangcheng.
Chen Guangcheng: Hello, everyone. I’m glad to be here today. Thank you, Will.
W: Guangcheng, we’ve got Thanksgiving coming up here. By the time we release this episode, it will be Thanksgiving week of 2025. And every year, for those who don’t know, we make sure to record an episode about what we’re thankful for, specifically, you know, Guangcheng in the context of living in this country for how many years now, Guangcheng?
G: Now, I came here 13 years [ago].
W: 13 years ago? Wow.
G: Yeah. That’s a special day, you know? That is very good time to think what we should be thankful for. Yeah, I want say, yeah, I’m forever grateful to the American people for welcoming me and my family to the United States. This country is [a] great country, so I live here, I feel very healthy and safe. Now, we are free. I can continue to do my human rights work here. And I want thank you, the people who helped me and supported me when I lived in mainland China since 13 years ago. I want share my knowledge, my experience, so that you will understand how fortunate and blessed you are living in the United States. You know, the US is the beacon of the whole world. We live in this special country, and we have the special responsibility for the whole world.
So, I want to say thank you, everyone, and I hope to win this fight hand-in-hand with you. The CCP never stops try[ing] to destroy our freedom life. So, I think we, we shouldn’t think the CCP is far away. The CCP surrounds you and me. They always think how to influence our life.
So, I hope you and me can join hands together to fight the evil enemy of humanity, the CCP.
W: Yeah, Guangcheng, I like how you stressed that the CCP is all around us. That’s a recurring theme on our podcast, and if you need any evidence, just look at all the videos and podcasts that we’ve recorded about that. Right, Guangcheng?
G: Yes, yes. Yeah, thank you, Will. Yeah, I’m so happy we can keep sharing the news every week with our listeners.
W: Yeah. And Guangcheng, this year in particular, in 2025, is there anything that you’re especially thankful for?
G: Yeah, I think, more and more people understand how evil of the CCP. More and more people think how to stand up and confront the CCP. And because more and more people understand the CCP’s evil, they think how to find another way to do business. And that made the CCP’s economic situation get worse and worse. So, that will help Chinese people to change the tyranny.
W: Yeah. Guangcheng what… why do you think it is that more people this year are aware of the CCP? How are they learning about the CCP, you think?
G: I think the CCP did a lot of bad things. For example, [they] keep stealing new technology from the foreign countries. And the CCP ordered the bad guys in the US to beat the activists. Some media report about this, and the CCP ordered some spies to try to influence the officials in the US.
As the news keeps exposing, more and more people understand what the CCP [is] doing [to] our country. The CCP [doesn’t] just harass the Chinese people, you know? They are still trying to change our life.
W: Yeah, here in the United States?
G: Yes.
W: Guangcheng, do you think social media, like X and things like that, has made more people realize how dangerous the CCP is?
G: Yes. I believe that it working. Because social media [is] getting stronger and stronger, [it’s] almost replaced the traditional media.
So, this is why the CCP try to spend money to buy YouTubers who have a lot of followers to use them to protect [the] CCP, to help [the] CCP.
W: Right.
G: And use them as a tool to attack the activists who did [a] good job in human rights. So, I think in the future, we should think [about] how to use the new technology, use social media, to help us to let Chinese people know why the constitutional government, why the rule of law, is very important.
If the people understand this, they will stand up to work with us to tear down [the] CCP in mainland China.
W: Yeah. No, that sounds great. Well, Guangcheng, thank you so much for talking about, you know, the last year or so and what you’re grateful for, especially as it pertains to your work of standing up for the rule of law, protecting our values, and promoting democracy in Communist China. Thank you, Guangcheng.
G: Thank you, Will. Thank you, everyone. See you next time. Happy Thanksgiving!
The Catholic University of America’s Center for Human Rights has published a documentary on the United Nations’ Universal Declaration on Human Rights. The documentary features world-class human rights experts, from former State Department officials, to ambassadors and human rights activists. It can be found on our website at humanrights.catholic.edu.