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Chen Guangcheng: Later, Xie Yang’s wife escaped and came to the United States with their children. And later the CCP had to released him after more than one year.
Will Deatherage: Okay.
G: And 5 years ago, when the human rights activist Zhang Zhan wanted to understand what’s happening in Wuhan City when the CCP closed the whole city, right? Because of coronavirus, the CCP arrested her and put her in jail.
W: And we’ve also covered her on the podcast.
G: Yeah. And he wanted to fly to Shanghai to help Zhang Zhan’s family. And the CCP ordered the officials to come to Xie Yang’s house and threaten him. “You cannot come to Shanghai. You cannot support Zhang Zhan.” Xie Yang said, “Why? I’m a lawyer. In our country, we have the law.”
No law can prevent the lawyer to visit the client. But at that time, the CCP created the system to control the people. In mainland China, everyone have a health code.
W: Okay.
G: The health code was created to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. If your health code color is green, it’s okay, you can go somewhere you want. If your health code became yellow, you have to stay at home. If your code became red, Everyone can report [you] to the CCP and arrest you.
So then the CCP gave the computer and change his health code. Even his health is no problem.
W: Yeah, wow.
G: Later in 2022, the CCP arrested him and put him in jail, and they never let any lawyer visit him. And they held him in pre-trial detention. So later, you know, because a lot of people spread the story on media, and the CCP just let one lawyer visit him one time.
And last month, the CCP sentenced him in secret. But by the time his trial, he had been imprisoned for 50 months.
W: That’s 5-0, right, Guangcheng?
G: Yeah, 5-0. Yeah. And now the CCP sentenced him to prison for 5 years.
W: Yeah.
G: The 5 years includes the time he’s already been in prison. So he just has about 9 months left.
W: Yeah, that’s crazy though, that they just held him for that long. Like, they retroactively imposed the punishment on him. That’s pretty insane.
G: Yeah, yeah. In jail, you know, he has a small room every moment. Still is worse than prison. And last month when the CCP sentenced him, [they] just allowed 2 or 3 family members to listen to the court. And the CCP ordered the police or the officials to take all the seats.
So if his supporters wanted to listen to the sentencing, the CCP would say there are no seats available.
W: Right, so only his family could.
G: Yeah, when the CCP sentenced me, they used the same way too.
W: Right.
G: Yeah. So Xie Yang’s case proved [that] in mainland China, if the CCP wants to persecute anyone, they don’t care about the law.
W: Yeah. Guangcheng, did you mention to me something about, you’re only allowed to keep somebody in jail for 2 years before a trial or something?
G: Yeah. In Chinese law, you know, sentencing should happen within 90 days after arrest. But a court can appeal the process to last longer until it goes to the central court. Imprisonment before trial are not supposed to last more than 2 years.
W: Yeah, I think we should also add here that detaining someone indefinitely without trial constitutes a violation of not only Chinese law, but international human rights law. Right, Guangcheng?
G: Yeah. So don’t believe the CCP will obey the law.
W: So Guangcheng, his family’s here in the United States, right?
G: No, his wife have children living in the United States. His sister came there to listen to the sentencing.
W: Gotcha. So do you think he’ll stay in China after he’s released, or—
G: I think the CCP will control him. They will not let him leave.
W: Jeez.
G: A lot of activists, a lot of human rights lawyers, the CCP control them; [they] even control their children. And [if] their children try to go to another country to study in some university, the CCP will stop them in [the] airport.
W: Wow. You can’t leave, but you can’t stay and do human rights work either, right?
G: Of course. If you stay there, they will try to put you in trouble. For example, the CCP always follows you. If you found a job, they will call the boss that “you cannot let [him] work in your company.” Yeah, if they try to find a school for their children, the CCP will call the president of the school: “Refuse his or her children to study in your school.”
W: Right. But then if they try to leave the country, at the same time, they can’t do that either.
G: Yes. Yes. And even, [if] you rent a house somewhere, they will call the landlord, ask them to kick them out. Yeah. Yeah. That is happening.
W: Definitely sounds like they’re trying to make an example out of these people and warn people not to become human rights activists.
G: Yeah. So They use that way to threaten the people. Yeah, yeah. So I hope after 9 months he can escape.
W: Yeah, well, we’ll continue following his case, and you can learn more about that and other human rights abuses committed by the Communist Party on our website at humanrights.catholic.edu. And, you know, Guangcheng will definitely be giving us updates on his case. But thank you so much for all the information today.
G: Yeah, thank you everyone. We will keep updated about this case.
The Center for Human Rights has published countless articles and reports on issues facing China, the U.S., and the world. Reports from late 2022 revealed the existence of secret Chinese police stations operating around the world, including in the United States, raising serious concerns about foreign intimidation. A detailed analysis from the Center for Human Rights examines documented cases in Europe and the U.S. and reviews the legal frameworks that could help address this growing challenge. To read this report, go to our research and analysis page on humanrights.catholic.edu.