On July 15, Chinese human rights activist Jie Lijian was attacked near the Queens Botanical Gardens. He was allegedly assaulted by men he believes are Chinese Communist Party agents. This is his message from the hospital.
Jie Lijian: Hello everyone. I’m doing much better today.
Over the past two days, my phone has been kept inside this protective box. This is to prevent interference from electronic devices and new monitoring equipment. Today, I am feeling much better, so I wanted to give everyone an update and let everyone know that I am safe.
I have seen many phone calls, text messages, and private messages from people asking about my condition. I want to give everybody one unified response.
Recently, near the Queens Botanical Garden, I was violently attacked. I suffered a severe blow to my head. Although I was badly injured, I somehow managed to make it onto a bus. After that, I do not know what happened.
Even now, there are many things I still cannot remember. I cannot remember what happened from July 16 until today. I have been in the hospital this entire time. The doctors told me that emergency responders found me on the bus and rescued me because my head was bleeding. That was the situation at the time.
There are many things that I still cannot remember. I asked the doctors when I would be able to leave the hospital. The doctors told me that my condition is not fully stable yet. I still need to continue being observed and monitored. Once my condition is safe, they will tell me when I can be discharged.
In July, several important things happened.
On July 9, our lawyers formally expanded our lawsuit to include the Chinese government, the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, the consulate security personnel involved, and several Chinese government departments. These cases were filed according to international law and relevant international conventions.
Pursuant to the Hague Service Convention, legal documents and summonses are currently being delivered to the Chinese government and Chinese diplomatic and consular institutions.
Thank you everyone for your concern. I will continue updating everyone about my situation.
Jie Lijian is involved in a number of lawsuits against the Chinese Communist Party. He believes this makes him a target of their attacks. Here is another message recorded from the hospital.
Jie Lijian: On July 9, our lawyers formally expanded our lawsuit to include the Chinese government and several of its departments.
The second matter involves [redacted], whom I allege is a CCP agent and spy.
Regarding this case involving an alleged CCP agent, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has continued contacting me. They have asked me to continue providing additional evidence, write more case statements and declarations, and submit more supporting materials to assist with the investigation.
The third matter involves a case currently being handled by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office. The investigators and prosecutors are continuing to gather and supplement information related to these cases.
When all of these things are considered together, especially the fact that this attack happened within one week of these legal actions, I cannot rule out the possibility that the Chinese government may take even stronger measures against me.
They may cause further harm to me. They may cause even greater harm to other victims. They want to silence us. They want to silence every one of us. They want to intimidate us.
These cases, through legal processes, have uncovered more crimes that we believe were committed by the Chinese government and CCP agents. They want us to shut up. They want to use violent attacks, even attacks that could result in death, to frighten us into silence. They want to stop us from continuing.
But I want to say this: To the CCP: Know this will not work.
It will not happen. It is absolutely impossible. They will never make us stop exposing their crimes to the world.
As long as I still have even one breath left, I will continue what I have said before: I will pursue these cases to the very end. I will make sure that more people around the world understand what has happened. Unless they kill me and silence me, I will not stop.
Again, I hope all other victims will pay attention to your safety. Please stay safe. Please, stay safe. Protect yourselves. Stay healthy. Stay alive. Continue telling more people about the crimes of the Chinese Communist Party.
Please share this video with people around the world. Tell more people what happened. Spread this message.
We will not be afraid. We will not fear the threats, the violence, or the deadly attacks connected to the CCP’s campaign of transnational repression.
Thank you, everyone. Thank you.
If I die, it won’t simply be my own death. Assume it is connected to the CCP’s actions.
I do not know what will happen next. So consider this video, in a way, my last will and testimony. Thank you, everyone. Thank you.