The Center for Human Rights is hosting a student essay contest with a grand prize of $4,000. To learn more, please visit our website at humanrights.catholic.edu.
Will Deatherage: Hello, everybody. Welcome to another episode of the Barefoot Lawyer Reports on China. My name is Will Deatherage, the producer, and joining me as always is Chen Guangcheng.
Chen Guangcheng: Hello, everyone. I’m glad to see you here again.
W: Yeah, and today we’re going to talk about some small but notable uprisings in Communist China. There’s a couple different instances or incidents that have happened since the United States put the tariffs on China. Guangcheng, could you tell us what’s happening?
G: Yeah, yeah. Today, I will talk about three new things, one that happened in April, and the person, his name is Mei Shilin, and he lives in Sichuan Province in Chengdu City. Chengdu is the biggest city in Sichuan Province.
And he put banners on the bridge in the city and wrote something on them to encourage people to change the one-party system in China.
W: Gotcha. So it was a protest banner?
G: Yeah, a protest banner, yes. So a lot of people shared the pictures online, a lot of people [are] discussing this. Later, someone found his ID and picture, and shared it out. Of course, you know, several years ago, someone in Beijing wrote something on the bridge that made the CCP so mad, and the CCP installed cameras on every bridge and ordered someone to stay there and watch the bridge.
That happened four years ago. Of course, the same situation happened. So the CCP is very scared about this.
W: Quick question: so the guy who did it this time, could you tell us a little more? So, he wrote about changing the one-party system, is that right? That’s what he wrote?
G: Yes, yes. One [read], “Change the one party system.” Another one [said] that, “Chinese democracy is where we should go.”
W: Got it.
G: Okay. So yeah, the problem is, we don’t know where he is now.
W: Got it.
G: Yeah, yeah, no one can contact him.
W: Do you think there’s a chance that the police got him?
G: Yeah, I think the CCP arrested him; put him in [a] black jail. But, we do know, if we get more information, we will expose [them] quickly.
W: So, Guangcheng, what’s the other situation that’s happened in China?
G: Another situation is: two professors wrote a long article and shared it on the internet to encourage the young people to stand up against the CCP regime to try to make China become a democratic country.
W: Where are these professors from, Guangcheng?
G: One professor, her name is Lin Yang. She is the leader of South China University, the college leader.
W: Wow!
G: And Han Shuangyan, she is the leader’s assistant. So they wrote this [article] to encourage the young people to stand up, to change the regime, to stop the one-party system.
W: Okay. Did this also happen in April?
G: Yes. A lot of people shared the content on the internet in mainland China, and a lot of people [are talking] about this online now. But the problem is, we don’t know where the professors are. Until now, we never got the information. The CCP arrested them.
W: Right.
G: But no one can contact them. So, if we get more information, we will make a podcast [about them] too.
W: Yeah, or put it on our website.
G: Yeah, put it on our website, let our listeners understand it.
W: Gotcha. So, Guangcheng, what’s the third event that happened in China?
G: Yeah, the third — I should introduce this. You know, in mainland China, around 1,400 years ago, someone stood up against the king.
W: The king?
G: Yeah, the king. His name was Huang Chao. You know, Huang Chao is a very famous activist in history. You know, today, people are sharing a lot of his quotes.
W: Okay. Sharing them across social media, Guangcheng?
G: Yeah, [they] share all that on social media.
W: Okay. Why do you think that’s significant?
G: Because it’s a symbol for standing against tyranny.
W: Gotcha, okay. This would be like us sharing quotes from Paul Revere or, you know, George Washington or people like that who stood up against tyranny, right?
G: Yeah, yeah. So, of course, these made the CCP very scared, too. SO the CCP asked online, “Please try to prevent them [from sharing Huang Chao quotes],” but it looks like it doesn’t work.
W: Right. So, you think that this is a result of a lot of the tariffs, Guangcheng?
G: Not this direct reading, but altogether, because the tariffs made the CCP weaker, and that gives the opportunity to Chinese people to stand up against them back, too. So yeah, both sides together, maybe, will tear down the CCP. I think this is a historical opportunity.
W: Alright, well, we’ll continue to update you guys on all these situations, and the translations that we mentioned, especially for those who are listening and not watching, they’ll be available on humanrights.catholic.edu. Guangcheng, thank you so much for all the news updates form today.
G: Thank you, Will. Thank you, everyone. I will try to get more information and share it with you. Thank you.
W: 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.