On January 27, 2014, the Wall Street Journal published a letter (English | Chinese) from Cui Zheng (崔筝) to her husband, Xu Zhiyong, who had been sentenced to four year’s imprisonment the previous day. Some excerpts:
Additional coverage of Xu Zhiyong:
Finally, I’ve figured it out. Everyone has their own things they hold fast to – a bottom-line they won’t change to cater to or please others. I, too, have lines I won’t cross, no matter how much you beg me to. Therefore, I don’t blame you at all for today’s result and I accept it calmly. But it is not because what you persist in doing is noble to me. It’s because fate has pushed you the point where you must chose to persist and give up on everything else.These screenshots show that on January 28th and 29th, posts containing references to the letter were repeatedly deleted.
. . . .
You should discuss the details of a second trial with Lawyer Zhang before the Spring Festival. I don’t have the energy to get involved any more. But still I hope you will walk the path of this process to the end. I don’t want you to give up, even if there is only a theoretical chance of success.
我最终想通了，每个人都有各自坚守的东西，一条不为取悦或是顾及他人而改变的底线。我也有一些无论你怎样请求，都不会改变的东西。所以，今天的结果我并不怪你，也坦然接受，但并不是因为你所坚持的东西在我看来有多么高尚，而是因为命运真的把你推到了需要去选择坚持而放弃其他一切的这一步。
. . . .
我也无力再掺合了，但还是希望你走到程序的最后一步，哪怕只是理论上的可能，我也不希望你放弃。
Additional coverage of Xu Zhiyong:
- Sina Weibo Censors Call to Release Those Who Called for Disclosure of Officials' Assets: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/06/sina-weibo-censors-call-to-release.html
- Xu Zhiyong Detained (Again), China's Web Sites Censor It (Again): http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/07/xu-zhiyong-detained-again-chinas-web.html
- After Lawyer Xu Zhiyong is Detained His Baidu Encyclopedia Entry Disappears: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/07/after-lawyer-xu-zhiyong-is-detained-his.html
- China's Web Sites Censor Searches for Information on Lawyer Xu Zhiyong's Detention: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/07/chinas-web-sites-censor-searches-for.html
- China's State Media Talks About Xu Zhiyong, While China's Social Media Bans Discussion: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/08/chinas-state-media-talks-about-xu.html
- Xu Zhiyong Sentenced to 4 Years Imprisonment - A Chronicle of Recent Related Censorship: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2014/01/xu-zhiyong-sentenced-to-4-years.html
- Baidu Censors Results for Xu Zhiyong's Closing Statement to the Court: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2014/01/baidu-censors-results-for-xu-zhiyongs.html
