Guo Qizhen's Essay Extolling Civil Rights Lawyer Gao Zhisheng

In 2007, a PRC appeals court upheld a lower court's judgment finding Guo Qizhen (郭起真) guilty of inciting subversion of state power on the grounds that he "distributed a large number of articles on the 'Democracy Forum' website, attacked and cursed the State government, and disseminated speech that damaged the State regime, the socialist system, and the judicial system." Below is a translation of one of the articles cited by court: "Announcement Regarding Participating in Gao Zhisheng's Hunger Strike." A full translation of the court's judgment can be found on p. 365 of "State Prosecutions of Speech in the People's Republic of China: Cases Illustrating the Application of National Security and Public Order Laws to Political and Religious Expression," available for free download at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4168412. More information about civil rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng can be found here:

• Almost Every Major Chinese Internet Company Bans Searches for Gao Zhisheng: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/05/almost-every-major-chinese-internet.html
• Global Times: Gao Zhisheng's "Name Is Blocked On the Web." Meanwhile, Baidu Stops Showing Censorship Notice for Searches for "Gao Zhisheng": http://blog.feichangdao.com/2014/08/global-times-gao-zhishengs-name-is.html
  

Announcement Regarding Participating in Gao Zhisheng's Hunger Strike

(March 16, 2006)

Within a 12 hour period yesterday, I received calls from three foreign journalists, specifically Radio Free Asia, The Epoch Times, and Voice of Hope. The following are the answers I gave to the questions of common concern of the three journalists. And I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to them for the interview!

1. What do you think of Gao Zhisheng as a person?

Perhaps it is because I have suffered grievances for over the past twelve years, enduring too many ups and down in a fickle world where I am limited by my own narrow interests, but in my heart I long for there to be more good people like lawyer Gao. Good people who will pay attention to and help more poor people in need. Therefore, when I think about the fact that lawyer Gao spends one-third of his time and energy every year to provide legal aid for people who have no financial means, I am very moved, even to the point of tears.

In particular, over the last ten days I have read almost all the articles about Lawyer Gao, and I have come to understand more about why Lawyer Gao does not stand by doing nothing and remaining silent in order to avoid the "third rail" of Falun Gong that everyone fears so much. Instead, he bravely stepped forward and faced the flames, and endured all kinds of pressure and terror from the government, and he has been able to fight with special persistence to this day without turning back.

Lawyer Gao grew up in an impoverished family, and even the countryside where he lives now is extremely poor. As young man with outstanding academic achievements and ambition he had to drop out of middle school due to poverty. One can imagine how irresistible the temptation of money and career would be for such a poor person.

Frankly speaking, if I had experienced as rough a life as Lawyer Gao, a lawyer who only had a middle school education, obtained his lawyer qualification through self-study, and worked hard in a capital full of talent without any social background, and miraculously reached the peak of my own law firm, then I would certainly have stayed in line and tacitly abided by the "iron law" that can only be understood and not spoken, and enjoy the fruits of white-collar aristocratic life. I would take my comfort in being an enormous hog and a zombie. I might even find 10,000 reasons for my depravity and jadedness.

But there is more than one thought that separates angels from devils! We can be assured that human history will forever be inscribed with the holy love that Lawyer Gao brought to the world. In the presence of such an angel, if I were to continue to remain silent I would be a waste of a human being.

2. Why do you want to participate in Gao Zhisheng's hunger strike to protest  government persecution?

First of all, what Lawyer Gao has done in recent months is in full compliance with the legal rights conferred on every citizen by the law. In spite of this, the government has imposed nearly three months of residential surveillance, internal and external investigation, and spreading rumors against Lawyer Gao. This is not only a violation of the legitimate rights and interests of a citizen and a very serious and particularly egregious violation of the criminal law, it is also a challenge to a cause recognized by the world as a just one.

Therefore, any Chinese person with a conscience, every kind person, should firmly support lawyer Gao Zhisheng's just actions. Lawyer Gao did his best to help the poor and those who needed attention when he was at the height of his success, and he deserves more attention when he is facing great losses. To pay attention to Lawyer Gao means to pay attention to the future of the Chinese nation; to support Lawyer Gao means to support the just actions of the early rejuvenation of the nation.

Other reasons for participating in Gao Zhisheng's hunger strike are: I reported Ma Guichen, the leader of that unit [n.b. Ma was the Director and Secretary of Housing Management Office in Cangzhou, Hebei), for violating the law and discipline, and as a result I was arrested and jailed many times and dismissed from public office. In addition, out of concern for two innocent people who were sentenced to death on suspicion of murder (who were acquitted in 1999), I complained to the relevant authorities, and was twice charged with subversion of state power and sent to a black prison, and suffered 12 years of imprisonment and brutal persecution. Furthermore, in Cangzhou, Cui Hongtao (tel. 0317-2224398, his mother Wang Jinru), an innocent citizen in Renqiu City, Cangzhou, has been detained in prison for more than ten years. He was sentenced to death four times, but to this day the case remains open due to insufficient evidence.

3. When did you join the hunger strike?

In view of the deteriorating human rights situation in China, I decided to go on a hunger strike from 12:00 on the 8th to 12:00 on the 9th in order to respond to and participate in lawyer Gao Zhisheng's hunger strike.

And for the nearby hunger strikers who supported Lawyer Gao, they provided their current residence as a venue for activities. Contact Telephone: 0317-3077580.

The hunger strike will continue until the government stops all actions infringing upon  Lawyer Gao, allows Lawyer Gao's office to resume normal operations, and the my unjust cases are resolved openly and justly.

4. What is your appeal to the global media and the world?

I hereby strongly appeal to the just forces all over the world to pay attention to China, and make unremitting efforts to push our country, which has a population of more than one billion people, to rid itself of barbaric rule as soon as possible, to make a peaceful transition to a democratic system as soon as possible, and to integrate into the mainstream global civilized society as soon as possible. 

关于参加高智晟律师绝食抗议活动的声明/郭起真

(2006年3月16日)

    昨天十二小时以内，我收到三个境外记者采访的电话，他们分别是亚洲自由电台、大纪元和希望之声。下面就三位记者共同关注的问题做以下答复。并对她们的采访表示衷心的感谢！
    
     1、你怎么样看待高智晟本人？ (博讯 boxun.com)

    
    也许是讫今为止我蒙受了整整十二年的冤屈，经受了太多太多酸甜苦辣和世态炎凉，又仅仅囿于个人狭隘的利益，内心自然渴望着像高律师这样的好人多点，再多点，好人都能够关注和帮助更多需要帮助的穷人。所以，当我知道高律师每年要用三分之一的时间和精力，来为没有经济能力的人承担法律援助，内心就特别的感动，甚至深深感动的热泪涌流。
    
    特别是最近十几天，我几乎看了介绍高律师的所有文章，更加了解了高律师为什么会在法轮功这个世人唯恐避之不及的"高压线"上没有袖手旁观，没有听之任之，没有保持沉默，而是勇敢的挺身而出、引火烧身，而且承受着政府方面的各种压力和恐怖，还能够义无反顾的特别执着的奋斗到今天。
    
    高律师是生长在一个特别贫穷的家庭，即使是现在他所居住的农村也相当的贫穷。一个学习特别优秀，胸怀大志的少年因贫穷中学辍学，可想而知金钱和事业对于如此贫穷的人，是会有多么不可抗拒的诱惑力。
    
    坦率的讲，如果我经历了高律师如此坎坷的人生道路，一个仅有着中学学历，靠自己的刻苦自学获得律师资格，在人才济济的京城又没有任何的社会背景下打拼，竟然奇迹般的拥有了自己的律师事务所，说的上是达到了如日中天的颠峰时刻，我肯定会按部就班、心照不宣的去恪守只可意会不应言传的"铁律"，轻而易举的坐享白领贵族的生活，从而心安理得的充当丧尽天良的"大大陆猪"和一块行尸走肉。我甚至可能会为自己的堕落和世俗找出一万个理由！
    
    但是，魔鬼与天使之间，岂止是在一念之间呀！想必人类历史终将永远的铭刻高律师给人间带来的圣爱。面对如此的天使，如果再保持沉默，真的是枉披了一块人皮。
    
    1、为什么要参加高智晟以绝食形式抗议政府迫害活动？
    
    首先，高律师在近几个月所做的一切，完全符合法律赋予每一个公民的合法权力，而政府因此对高律师采取停业、兴师动众的近三个月的监视居住、内查外调和造谣生事、粗暴的骚扰，以及发展到了蓄意谋杀的境地，这不仅是对一个公民合法权益的践踏和非常严重、特别恶劣的触犯刑律行为，也是与全世界认同的正义事业的挑战。
    
    因此，任何一位有良知的中国人，每一位善良的人，都应该旗帜鲜明的坚决支持高智晟律师的正义行动。高律师在"春风得意"的时候尽全力的帮助穷人和需要关注的人，他在"败走麦城"时，理应得到更多人的关注。关注高律师，就是关注中华民族的未来；支持高律师，就意味着支持民族的早日振兴的正义行动。
    
    另外一个参加高智晟绝食活动的原因就是：不仅仅是因为我举报本单位领导马桂臣的违法乱纪行为，多次被抓监入狱和开除公职，而且因为我关注俩位涉嫌杀人而打入死牢的无辜百姓（已于99年无罪释放），并向有关部门喊冤，两次被扣上颠覆国家政权罪打入黑牢，蒙受了十二年的残酷迫害。而即使在沧州的今天，沧州辖区的任邱市一位无辜的百姓崔洪涛（电话0317－2224398，其母王金如），在监狱里关押了十几年，四次判处死刑均因证据不足，至今没有结案。
   
    2、何时加入到绝食活动中？
    
    鉴于国内的人权状况日益恶化，我决定在八日中午12点绝食至九日中午12点，以此响应和参加高智晟律师的绝食活动。
    
    并且为附近声援高律师的绝食人士，提供自己现居住的住宅为活动场所。联系电话：0317－3077580。
    
    在政府没有停止对高律师的一切侵权行动，并恢复高律师的事务所正常营业之前；我的冤案没有得到公开、公正的解决之前，会持续的进行绝食活动。
    
    3、你对世界媒体和各界有什么呼吁？
    
    在此特别强烈的呼吁全世界的正义力量都来一起关注中国，为推动我们这个拥有十几亿人口的大国，早日摆脱野蛮统治，尽快和平过渡到民主制度，早日的融入到文明世界的主流社会而不懈努力。

Gao Zhisheng's 2006 Hunger Strike Announcements

 Gao Zhisheng was named one of the PRC's top 10 lawyers by the Ministry of Justice in 2001  (https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/world/asia/03dissident.html) and was one of 14 PRC civil rights lawyers named Asia Weekly's "People of the Year" in 2005: https://twitter.com/wafarris/status/1553555033282977792.

Gao Zhisheng and his law firm defended clients in many seminal civil rights cases, such as the 2005 prosecution of Xiao Yunfei for publishing Christian literature without government authorization. A translation of her court judgment can be found here: https://ssrn.com/abstract=416841. In 2006, Gao Zhisheng was sentenced to 3 years in prison, suspended, and 5 years probation for subversion of state power after he launched a hunger strike. Two of his announcement that were published online are translated below. More information about civil rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng can be found here:

• Almost Every Major Chinese Internet Company Bans Searches for Gao Zhisheng: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/05/almost-every-major-chinese-internet.html
• Global Times: Gao Zhisheng's "Name Is Blocked On the Web." Meanwhile, Baidu Stops Showing Censorship Notice for Searches for "Gao Zhisheng": http://blog.feichangdao.com/2014/08/global-times-gao-zhishengs-name-is.html

Proposal for the Formation of a Hunger Strike Solidarity Group
Author: Gao Zhisheng, et. al.
(February 4, 2006)

Over the past few years, all parts of China have been constantly shocked by the despicable incidents of government leadership deploying brutal and malicious means to undertake illegal and brutal beatings, kidnappings, detentions, and even killings of citizens who were peacefully defending their rights in accordance with the law. This is an inevitable phenomenon of  barbaric dictatorship and tyranny in their dying stages. In this uncivilized and immoral system that despises the basic dignity of human beings, the corrupt judicial system itself is the most ferocious organic component of this evil force opposing human civilization. The public security, procuratorial, and legal systems are absurd, but under this system, they have inevitably become the most murderous thugs who violently stifle and block citizens' legal demands. The environment for citizens to protect their rights according to law has deteriorated sharply in the past six months. The underworld forces in the Guangdong provincial government are arrogant and conceited in their brutal and violent acts against peaceful citizens defending their rights. The value of legal restraint is completely absent, and the central government has kept silent, making the underworld forces against human civilization in Guangdong Province even more reckless. Lawyers were violently beaten, lawyer Guo Yan was violently beaten, villagers in Taishi Village were violently beaten, and more than a dozen villagers were illegally detained along with Guo Feixiong. Since then, barbaric violence under the leadership of the government has spread everywhere. Xin, Qi Zhiyong, Xu Zhiyong, Hu Jia, Li Fang and other famous human rights activists have been violently beaten, Gao Zhisheng was repeatedly threatened with violence, and Chen Guangcheng of Shandong was violently beaten. In the past two days, the underworld forces in Guangdong, with the secret police as the main body, have conducted themselves like thugs and repeatedly surrounded Guo Feixiong's family, followed his wife, surrounded his children to take pictures, videotaped, violently beat Tang Jingling, and knocked around Guo Feixiong himself.. Shandong citizen Chen Hua was savagely beaten for visiting Chen Guangcheng, a blind man who had been surrounded for months by underworld forces dominated by secret police in Shandong province during the Chinese New Year.

Given this rapidly deteriorating environment for rights defense, and given that the judiciary has completely become the most ferocious reactionary force that prevents citizens from safeguarding their basic human rights, and given that the persecution of individual citizens by domestic underworld forces has reached the point of lawlessness and unscrupulousness, with the persecuted individuals currently being completely isolated and helpless, we advocated and initiated the formation of a human rights hunger strike solidarity group (hereinafter referred to as the Solidarity Group). The purpose is, from the date of the formation of the Solidarity Group, to use hunger strikes to express solidarity with any citizens at home and abroad who are subjected to violence and illegal persecution. That is to say, it is a hunger strike to express solidarity against the illegal persecution, violent beating of domestic workers, peasants, intellectuals, free believers and members of various groups of the party, government, military and police (including petitioners and pro-democracy activists everywhere) and the brutal persecution of foreign citizens (such as the brutal persecution of North Korean refugees by the Chinese government in the last two years).

This hunger strike will not take into account nationality, race, region, creed, education, or wealth. The form of hunger strike is carried out in various locations. The members of the Solidarity Group may be concentrated in an appropriate location, and in each location (such as the Shengzhi Law Firm in Beijing) each member should participate in a one-day hunger strike at each location. After a 5-day hunger strike is relayed in one location, it will be relayed to another location (for example, after the 5-day hunger strike in Beijing, it can be relayed by a certain location in Shaanxi Province, and a  hunger strike diary will be released to the world every day, such as: The persecution incident of so-and-so, the hunger strike diary in Beijing area Announcement 1...) Any member who participates in the hunger strike Solidarity Group, as well as any non-member, who is brutally persecuted, violently beaten, or illegally arrested by the uncivilized evil forces will trigger a relay hunger strike solidarity process. The relay hunger strike for each victim must be carried out in locations where there are members of the hunger strike Solidarity Group all over the country. While the illegal persecution continues, the relay hunger strike solidarity action will be repeated.
    
When the membership of the Human Rights Hunger Strike Support Group have reached a certain size, the method and venue of the relay hunger strike can be adjusted for situations like the Shanwei Murder Incident.
    
All domestic and foreign members who voluntarily join the Solidarity Group please sign to confirm:
    
Gao Zhisheng, Ma Wendu, Guo Feixiong, Zhao Xin, Hu Jia, Qi Zhiyong, Wang Guoqi, Qian Yumin, Ren Wanding, Jia Jianying, Yang Jing, Li Hai, Gao Jie (Japan), Teng Biao (Gao Zhisheng OBO), Li Heping ( Gao Zhisheng OBO), Tian Yongde (Inner Mongolia), Du Daobin (Wuhan), Cai Chu (USA)

倡议组成维权绝食声援团作者：高智晟等

(2006年2月04日)

     最近几年来，中国各地不断惊现在政府主导下的、以凶残下流的黑社会手段，非法野蛮殴打、绑架、拘禁甚至杀害依法和平维权公民的恶劣事件。这是野蛮的专制独裁暴政至垂死期的必有现象，在这种蔑视人类基本尊严的、反文明的、反道德的体制中，腐败司法制度本身既是这种反人类文明的邪恶力量中的最凶残的有机组成部份。公、检、法荒诞地、却又是在这种制度下必然地成了暴力扼杀、阻绝公民法律诉求的最为凶残的打手，公民依法维权的环境近半年来急剧的恶化，太石村事件中，广东省政府中的黑恶势力，针对和平维权公民凶残施暴的气焰嚣张无羁。法律对之的制约价值完全缺位，中央政府又默不作声，使广东省反人类文明的黑恶势力更加肆无忌惮，各地邪恶势力纷纷起而效法，继而发生了艾晓明教授被暴力殴打，唐荆陵律师被暴力殴打、郭艳律师被暴力殴打、太石村村民被暴力殴打，十几名村民和郭飞熊一道被非法关押，此后，在政府主导下的野蛮暴力之风在各地蔓延，相继有北京的赵昕、齐志勇、许志永、胡佳、李方平等著名维权人士被暴力殴打，高智晟被多次以暴力相威胁，山东的陈光诚被暴力殴打。最近两天里，广东的以秘密警察为主体的黑恶势力再次作出了包围郭飞熊的家庭、跟踪他的夫人、围住他的孩子拍照、摄像，暴力殴打唐荆陵，推搡郭飞熊本人的流氓行径。山东公民陈华因过年去探望被山东省以秘密警察为主的黑恶势力包围了数月之久的盲人陈光诚而遭到野蛮殴打。 (博讯 boxun.com)

    鉴于这种迅速恶化的维权环境，鉴于司法已完全成了阻绝公民维护基本人权的最为凶残的反动势力，鉴于国内黑恶势力对个体公民的迫害已完全到了无法无天肆无忌惮的地步、而被迫害者个体又完全处于孤立无助的境地之现状，我们倡导，并由我们发起组成以反非法迫害、反野蛮暴力的维权绝食声援团(下称声援团)，目的是，从声援团组成之日起，对国内外任何遭遇暴力及非法迫害的公民以可能的绝食声援。即对国内无论是工人、农民、知识份子、自由信仰者以及党、政、军、警各界各团体成员（包括各地上访者、民运人士）的非法迫害，暴力殴打，以及对外国公民的野蛮迫害事件（诸如最近两年中国政府对北韩难民的野蛮迫害）以绝食声援。这种绝食声援将不分民族、种族、地域、信仰、受教育程度、财富状况。绝食的形式由各地接力展开，声援团成员在每地可集中于一个适当的地方（诸如在北京市即可在晟智律师事务所）绝食，每个成员每次在其所在地应参加一天的绝食，一个地方接力绝食5天后，由另一个地方接力展开（诸如在北京市接力绝食5天后可由陕西省的某地接力展开，每天向全球公布绝食日记，诸如：某某被迫害事件北京地区绝食日记公告一……）任何一个参加了维权绝食声援团的成员及任何非为声援团成员者，但遭到反文明的黑恶势力野蛮迫害、暴力殴打及非法抓捕者，声援团都将启动接力绝食声援程序。对每个受害者的接力绝食声援，都必须在全国有绝食声援团成员的地方接力展开一遍，非法迫害没有停止前，接力绝食声援行动将循环往复进行。
    
    当维权绝食声援团成员组成具有了一定规模时，对类汕尾杀人事件般的情势，可调整接力绝食声援的方式和场所。
    
    凡自愿加入声援团的国内外成员请签名确认：
    
    高智晟、马文都、郭飞熊、赵昕、胡佳、齐志勇、王国齐、钱玉民、任畹町、贾建英、杨静、李海、高洁(日本)、滕彪（高智晟代）、李和平（高智晟代）、田永德（内蒙古）、杜导斌（武汉）蔡楚（美国）

Gao Zhisheng's Urgent Statement Regarding the Hunger Strike to Defend Human Rights and Resist Violence

(February 18, 2006)

From February 18, 2006, 6:00 am to 6:00 am on the 19th, I will be on a 24-hour hunger strike in my office.

1. To express solidarity with my compatriots who have been illegally detained and persecuted by the Chinese government because of their hunger strikes in their own homes.
    
2. To protest the Chinese government's illegal actions, brutally trampling upon the civilized consensus of human society and basic human dignity, and protest the government's barbaric trampling upon China's Constitution, and serious violations of the rights of my family by extremely malicious means.
    
Merely because I proposed a hunger strike to defend human rights and resist violence,  the government of China recently embarked upon a brutal, maddening, and lawless persecution of the disenfranchised Chinese people who participated in the hunger strike and my entire family, which has reached disgraceful proportions. A large number of citizens who participated in the hunger strike were illegally detained, jailed, beaten and placed under house arrest. On February 16, following the disappearance of Qi Zhiyong and the Hu family, three of my staff members were illegally kidnapped by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. Among them, Ouyang Xiaorong, as a volunteer who helped me, arrived in Beijing and in less than 24 hours he was illegally kidnapped, and is still missing. After being illegally detained for more than ten hours, my assistant, lawyer Wen Haibo, was placed under house arrest indefinitely and could not meet with me. My home phone, office phone, fax and computer network are cut off (the computer network is now cut off every 1-2 minutes); my family is surrounded, followed, and harassed 24 hours a day. Official power has been so shameless that it has completely invaded the private life of my family!

In view of the current reality of violence and terror, in view of the brutal situation that the brave citizens participating in hunger strikes are being brutally persecuted by the Chinese government, and in view of the illegal deprivation of my working conditions as a volunteer for human rights protection and anti-violence, I hereby make the following special forms of hunger strike for human rights protection in the future. Emergency declaration:
    
1. From today onwards, I will personally go on a 24-hour hunger strike every Saturday in my office.
    
2. In view of the government's lawlessness and thuggish violence, I propose that from now on, domestic citizens can join the hunger strike voluntarily (the phone number may not be announced), or they can join the hunger strike by using a pseudonym; those who participate in the hunger strike with a single pseudonym will be listed for the sake of their continued hunger strike, on the condition they will be recorded as not participating in the hunger strike. (The original hunger strike relay in Hunan, Shandong, and Guizhou provinces was changed to a spontaneous decision.)
    
3. For the hunger strike every Saturday, I will personally publish a hunger strike log containing the names (including pseudonyms) of spontaneous hunger strikers across the country.
    
4. In the future, whenever there are massacres and bloody violence against citizens, or serious judicial persecution and political persecution by the government, I will resolutely launch a nationwide hunger strike and protest in due course.
    
5. I would like to express my special thanks to Mr. Ho Chun-yan, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council and a well-known lawyer. Mr. Ho expressed his solidarity with our tragic hunger strike every Wednesday with a 24-hour hunger strike. My respects to him.
   

高智晟关于绝食维权抗暴的紧急声明

(2006年2月18日)   

     从2006年2月18日早晨6点到19日早晨6点，我将在自己的办公室进行24小时的绝食。
    
    一、 声援我的那些因在自己家里绝食抗争而遭受中国政府非法关押、非法迫害的同胞。
    
    二、 抗议中国政府妄行不法、粗暴践踏人类社会的文明共识和人类基本尊严，抗议政府野蛮践踏中国宪法，以极其下流的手段严重侵犯我一家人权利的恶行。
    
    只因我提出了绝食维权抗暴的倡议，中国政府最近几日对参加绝食的无权利的中国人及我全家迫害的野蛮疯狂及无法无天，已经到了彻底不顾廉耻的地步。大量参加绝食的公民遭到非法抓捕、关押、殴打和软禁。2月16日，继齐志勇、胡家失踪后，我的三名工作人员被北京市公安局非法绑架，其中欧阳小戎作为帮助我的志愿者来到北京还不到24小时，就被非法绑架，至今下落不明。我的助手温海波律师在被非法关押十几个小时后，被无限期软禁在家，不能与我见面。我的家庭电话、办公室电话、传真和电脑网络被切断（电脑网络现又改为每1-2分钟切断一次）；我的家人被24小时包围、跟踪、骚扰。官权已无耻到完全侵入我家人的私人生活领域！
    鉴于目前的暴力恐怖现实，鉴于参加绝食抗争的勇敢公民遭到中国政府野蛮迫害的残酷现状，鉴于我作为维权抗暴义工的工作条件已全部被非法剥夺，现就今后维权绝食抗暴的形式特作以下紧急声明：
    
    一、 从今天起，今后每周六我个人将在自己的办公室进行24小时的绝食抗议。
    
    二、 鉴于政府的无法无天及流氓暴行，我建议从即日起，国内公民可自发地参加绝食（可不对外公布电话），也可以以化名的方式参加绝食；单一化名参加绝食者，叙以供不绝食日志为条件。（原定的湖南、山东、贵州省绝食接力改为自发决定。）
    
    三、 每周六的绝食，我个人将公布一份包含全国各地自发绝食者姓名（含化名）的绝食日志。
    
    四、 今后凡发生政府针对公民的屠杀和血腥暴力事件、严重的司法迫害和政治迫害事件，我将适时坚定地发起全国性绝食抗议联动。
    
    五、 在此我特别感谢香港立法会议员、著名律师何俊仁先生。何先生在每周三对我们的绝食抗暴的悲壮之举以24小时的绝食进行声援。向他表达我的敬意。
    
    2006年2月18日

Another Civil Rights Law Firm Shuttered - Daoheng

If one looks at the first two decades of the 21st century, the three PRC law firms that had the strongest track records for defending civil rights were (in no particular order): Fengrui, Daoheng, and Mo Shaoping.

Fengrui was the primary target of the 7.09 crackdown, and many of its lawyers/employees were imprisoned by the PRC government on subversion/inciting charges, based mainly on their writings/meetings/organizing connected to high profile civil rights cases. I have an entire section of my casebook - "State Prosecutions of Speech in the People's Republic of China" - devoted to those prosecutions. Its available as a free PDF download on my website here - https://www.feichangdao.com/publications/state-prosecutions-vol-1. 

Yesterday, Liang Xiaojun, formerly lawyer at the Daoheng Law Firm, tweeted that the Daoheng Law Firm has also been shuttered - https://twitter.com/liangxiaojun/status/1537069973713084416. 

Here is a translation of @liangxiaojun's post about the PRC government's revoking the Daoheng Law Firm's operating license.

Today, a former colleague sent the decision of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice to cancel the Daoheng Firm.

After my license was suspended, my colleagues tried to keep the law firm going. But whether they tried to add a partner or transform it into a private firm, the Bureau of Justice would not agree. Now with the cancellation, the remaining lawyers can only transfer or set up a new law firm.

We have always known that this small law firm is like a boat in the ocean. Although it carries our life and dreams, it was almost inevitable that it would capsize.

This world will never see another Daoheng Firm, and I will spend my remaining years unanchored and unmoored.

Daoheng and Liang Xiaojun appear in several places in "State Prosecutions":

• Liang was one of the lawyers who defended Chen Wei in 2011. A PRC court imprisoned Chen Wei for nine years for subversion for publishing statements on the Internet such as "The people have been deprived of their ideology and belief," and "The entire Communist Party of China utilizes violent mechanisms to control the people." Daoheng argued this was free speech, but the court dismissed that saying those statements were "rumors" and "defamation" that "severely harmed the interests and security of the State." The full Chinese and English texts of Chen's court judgment are available in "State Prosecutions."
• A PRC court also imprisoned a Daoheng lawyer, Yu Wensheng, in 2020 for inciting subversion for "publishing open letters on the Internet through 'Twitter' and 'Facebook' to attack the State regime and the socialist system." Yu's court judgment and a translation of his post are available in "State Prosecutions."

Censorship Associated with the UN Visit to Xinjiang

In late May, 2022, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet made an official visit to China. Here is an excerpt from her statement issued on May 28:

I should state from the outset what this visit was – and what it wasn’t. This visit was not an investigation – official visits by a High Commissioner are by their nature high-profile and simply not conducive to the kind of detailed, methodical, discreet work of an investigative nature. The visit was an opportunity to hold direct discussions – with China’s most senior leaders – on human rights. . . 

This screenshot was taken on June 15, and shows Baidu claiming it has indexed over 80k web pages of the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (http://ohchr.org).

But Baidu can't (apparently) locate any web pages from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' website containing the word "Xinjiang" (新疆). These screenshots were taken on  June 15, 2022, and show that searches for "Xinjiang site:ohchr.org" and  "新疆 site:ohchr.org" returned no results.

Yahoo was able to 84 results (including Bachelet's statement).

According to her statement, Bachelet visited "the Kashgar Experimental School, a former Vocational Education and Training Centre" (前身是职业教育培训中心的喀什市特区实验学校). PRC Internet companies regularly censor topics relating to Xinjiang generally, and these "Vocational Education and Training Centers" in particular. This screenshot was taken on May 21, 2022 and shows what happens when a user used Sogou's English language search engine to search for "Xinjiang" – no results.

Prior to June 2022, Tencent-owned Sogou worked with Microsoft's Bing to provide English language results at https://english.sogou.com. If a user searched for a censored term, Sogou returned no results. This screenshot was taken the same day and shows the Bing search results that Sogou was censoring.

These screenshots show that Sogou's Bing-powered English language search engine could find results for "reeducation," (left) but none for "reeducation camp" (right - despite the fact that the first result for "reeducation" was titled "America's 'Re-Education' Camps").

This screenshot shows that a search for "reeducation camp" in English on Sogou's own Chinese-language search engine only returns results from PRC-based websites.

The left screenshot shows that a Baidu search for "Xinjiang reeducation camps" in May 2018 returned results from foreign websites with .org and .gov domains. The right screenshot was taken on May 21, 2022 and shows the same search only returns results from media under the direct control of the PRC govt.: Xinhua, CCTV, China Daily, China Radio International, China Military Net, http://china.com.cn, or http://china.org.cn.

And lest someone should speculate that there might be .org results (like those from wikipedia or the United Nations) buried in a later Baidu SERP, this screenshot taken the same day show that Baidu searches for "Xinjiang reeducation camps" limited to .org domains returned zero results.

The same thing happens in Chinese - these screenshots show that a Baidu search for "Xinjiang Reeducation" (新疆 再教育) limiting results to the United Nations returns no results, while the same search on Bing returns four results.

These screenshots show that Baidu has indexed the first 2 Bing search results, so the most likely explanation for why they don't appear in a search for "Xinjiang Reeducation" (新疆 再教育) is Baidu is restricting results for those keywords to government-approved sources.

Finally, its worth noting that censorship used to be much more transparent, and what gets censored varies over time. For example, this screenshot taken in 2009 shows that at that time Sogou blacklisted searches for "Xinjiang Government Flaws" (新疆 政府 缺陷), and only returned a censorship notice.

Today, Sogou conceals their censorship of "Xinjiang Government Flaws" (新疆 政府 缺陷) by not showing a censorship notice, while appearing to show a variety of results, when in fact the results are all from websites under the direct control of the PRC government.

 

Censorship on the 33rd Anniversary of June 4, 1989

After 33 years PRC websites continue to censor information about what happened in Beijing on June 4, 1989. Let's start with some obvious examples – censorship of the date. In English Baidu web search returns 2 results, in Chinese 6 results, all from PRC state-sponsored media.

Baidu's main social media product - "PostBar" (贴吧) has forums dedicated to "1988" and "1990," but searching for "1989" just yields a censorship notice "In accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and policies, relevant results have not been displayed."

Baidu's Q&A product (知道) finds tens of thousands of results for "Tiananmen 1988" and "Tiananmen 1990," but zero results for "Tiananmen 1989."

Tencent-owned Sogou web search also censors information relating to what happened in Beijing in June, 1989. A search for "Tiananmen 1989" returns no results, but the same search for "Tiananmen 1988" and "Tiananmen 1990" returns thousands of results.

The same thing happens with Sogou's image search - Sogou has no trouble finding images for "Tiananmen 1988" and "Tiananmen 1990," but is unable to locate a single image for "Tiananmen 1989."

And again, the same thing happens with Sogou's WeChat search engine - plenty of results for "Tiananmen 1988" and "Tiananmen 1990," but a search for "Tiananmen 1989" yields no results.

The same kind of censorship occurs on PRC social media sites. For example, these screenshots show that Sina Weibo has no problem finding results for "32nd Anniversary" and "34th Anniversary," but finds none for "33rd Anniversary."

Now for a look at PRC censorship of the iconic "Tank Man" images. This screenshot shows a Baidu search for "Tank Man" in English returns no results.

While a search for "Tiananmen 1989 Block Tanks" in Chinese returns no results, Baidu says its has found 22,070 "relevant images"! Not surprisingly, however, clicking that Baidu Image link lands users on a page telling them that, in fact, Baidu cannot find any relevant images.

Other PRC-based image search engines, such those of Qihoo and Tencent-owned Sogou, are unable to find any image results for searches for "Block Tanks."

Even terms with no obvious connection to what occurred in Beijing in June 1989-like "Tiananmen Mothers"-are censored. In addition to a screenshot showing Baidu finds no results for that query, I've included a screenshot of a Yahoo SERP for the same query to show what Baidu is censoring.

The Wikis operated by PRC Internet companies take different approaches to censoring the history of what happened in Beijing in June 1989. Today, the "This Day In History" sections show:

• Baidu: Khamenei elected supreme leader
• Qihoo: Nothing for 1989
• Sogou: Nothing for 1989

The top search results for "1988 year" and "1990 year" on Tencent-owned Sogou are Sogou's own Wiki articles about those years. The top result for "1989 year" is an article on Taylor Swift's album by that name. It appears Sogou simply has no article about the year 1989.

Sogou does have a Wiki article about "Tiananmen Square," but according to their article, nothing worth mentioning happened in Tiananmen Square between 1976 and 1997.

Qihoo does have a Wiki article about 1989, but unlike its Wiki articles about 1988 and 1990, Qihoo's article on 1989 has no section on "Major Events." So there's nothing to indicate anything noteworthy happened in/around Tiananmen Square (or anywhere else) that year.

Baidu has articles on 1989 and Tiananmen Square. But according to Baidu nothing happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989, and the only noteworthy events on June 4 were:

• Walesa elected prime minister of Poland
• Khamenei elected supreme leader of Iran

Here's another stark example of how PRC Internet companies treat modern Chinese history - this screenshot shows a search for "64 Remembrance" (六四 纪念) on Baidu returns ZERO results. Someone in the PRC would be better off using a Korean search engine like Naver. . .

Finally, it should be noted that people in the PRC haven't forgotten, and still get punished for peaceful attempts to commemorate, what happened in Beijing in June 1989. For example,  Jie Ruixue was jailed for wearing a t-shirt  in Tiananmen Square in 2019. According to the court judgment, the t-shirt Jie was jailed for wearing in Tiananmen Square in 2019 read "Freedom of Speech, Vindicate June Fourth, Oppose Repeating the Tragedy." The court judgment claimed this "caused severe chaos," but cited no evidence to support that claim.

There's an entire section of my casebook "State Prosecutions of Speech in the PRC" devoted to PRC government documents showing people getting punished for commemorating and discussing what happened in Beijing on June 4, 1989.

You can download the casebook free at my website: https://feichangdao.com/publications/.

COVID-19 Series: "This is Our Last Generation"

A video began circulating on May 12, 2022 showing police threatening a couple that failure to cooperate with COVID policies will "follow you for three generations." A man is heard replying "This is our last generation, thank you." More here: "Shanghai couple says 'we're the last generation' when rejecting quarantine camp":

The video on Twitter reportedly shows a police officer notifying a couple that they must enter a quarantine camp or face demerits on their record that will last for "three generations." The man rejects his threats and replies "we are the last generation."

These screenshots were taken on May 15, and show that a search for "This is our last generation" on Bing video returned several results with copies of the video, while the same search on Baidu video returned no results for that video.

The video is sensitive, not only because it shows PRC citizens standing up to authority, but also because the idea that people could choose not to produce a next generation runs counter to government policy that views increasing child production as an economic imperative.

 

Not only was the video itself censored, but also social media discussion of the phrase. On the Q&A service Zhihu a user asked "How should one evaluate young people saying 'This is our last generation, thank you.'"? It was deleted after getting over 2 million views.

The top answer seems innocuous: "This is the best solution to be found for the case of 'Your grandfather makes a mistake, and my grandfather ends up begging for food.'" But it could be interpreted as throwing serious shade at the Communist Party, because it is likely a reference to a 1990's PRC sitcom "I Love My Family," where a young boy praises a  classmate's grandfather, and puts down his own father  as a "beggar." The classmate's grandfather (a retired Party cadre) tries to justify someone begging for food in the 1960's saying:

"That was the result of some of the mistakes we made in our work." The young boy turns to his classmate and delivers the punchline: "You see?  Your grandfather makes a mistake, and my grandfather ends up begging for food."

The second most upvoted answer to the censored Zhihu question "How should one evaluate young people saying 'This is our last generation, thank you.'"? was more direct in making its point – here is my translation.

These screenshots show the censorship of another Zhihu post asking "What does 'This is our last generation' embody?"

Here's my translation of the censored Zhihu post asking "What does 'This is our last generation' embody?"

And here's my translation of some of the top responses to that censored Zhihu post asking "What does 'This is our last generation' embody?"

Hu Xijin: Censored Speech in China is Better than Free Speech in the West

Hu Xijin (胡锡进), former editor of the state-sponsored media outlet "Global Times," is no stranger to censorship. Here are some examples of his own editorials and articles being censored:

• Global Times Deletes Own Article About June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Incident 
• Global Times Deletes Chinese (But Not English) Language Article About Great Firewall
  

Hu also has experience with self-censorship, as evidenced by the time he acknowledged he had to delete a series of Weibo posts he made contending that without those such as Liu, Ai, & Pu, China would be North Korea ("没有刘、艾、浦等，中国就是朝鲜。"). 

And Hu has been clear that he thinks there is such a thing as "Western" free speech, and that its not right for China:

Some people argue that it is acceptable in the Western world that people can launch verbal attacks on their government and even their presidents, so why is this not allowed in China? The argument seems ostensibly reasonable, but the same activities are usually regarded differently in two divergent political and legal systems. 

See: State Media: "Western Speech Freedom Not Fit for China"

On April 23, 2022, Hu posted a Weibo with his perspective on Internet censorship following the censorship of a video entitled "Voices of April" that had been posted the day before. See: Covid-19 Series - Censorship of the "Voices of April."

Below is full translation of Hu's Weibo post.

After being locked down for a long time, Shanghai people have some grievances, and need  channels to release them. People in other parts of the country are somewhat anxious, and have the same need for release. People express themselves on the Internet, and there's nothing odd about that.

The fact that network administrators delete posts does not mean that local governments do not take opinions seriously. On the contrary, expressing opinions on China's Internet is far more effective than complaining in Western countries. The reality in China is often like this: As the post is deleted, the government pays attention to the content and sentiment of the post, and efforts to improve will follow. The situation in the West is that when you express dissatisfaction, you can often say whatever you want, but basically no one listens to you, so speaking is pointless.

The Internet was invented by the West, and it was tailored to their system. When it entered China, it needed to be "sinicized" to a certain extent to address the realities here. China must have network management, otherwise the Internet will politically "transform" China. It is necessary that some posts be deleted. At the same time, various measures should be proportionate, and the deletion of posts should not be polarized. Network management should not only maintain social order, but also leave due space for people to express their opinions.

To tell the truth, this is a very difficult process of exploration. It is necessary and desirable, the intent is good, and the implementation can lead to all kinds of encounters. I believe shortcomings are normal, and the goal should be to do the best one can.

There will be some friction, and even conflict, in such a process, which I don't think is really worth making a fuss about. Our society needs to be resilient to these frictions and situations. Friction in governance needs to be desensitized. Is it possible for such a big country to be too calm and too regulated? We need to adapt politically to "there is no problem here, but there is a problem there," and constantly maintain dynamic stability and balance.

In my opinion, the enormous scale of Chinese society is what gives it a particular stability. No matter how raucous something may be at a given time, it is likely to be quickly consigned and replaced by something new. Don't be afraid that there are many problems, some we can solve, and some we can't, but as the tide rises, they sink and their harm recedes. Whether its the government or the public, the whole of society should have confidence in China's resilience.

封控久了，上海人有一些怨气，需要有释放的渠道。全国其他地方的人们也有焦虑，同样需要释放出来。大家在互联网上做表达，这真的不奇怪。
网络管理者删帖，不意味着各地政府不重视意见。恰恰相反，在中国互联网上表达意见，比在西方国家抱怨管用得多。中国的实情经常是这样的：一边删帖，政府一边关注帖子的内容和传递的情绪，改进的努力会随之而来。西方的情况则是，表达不满往往可以随便说，但基本没人听，说了也白说。

互联网是西方发明的，与他们的制度是量体裁衣关系，进入中国，它需要在一定程度上“中国化”，与我们这里的现实对接。中国的网络管理必须有，否则互联网就会在政治上“改造”中国。一些删帖也是必要的。同时，各种措施都应有度，删帖不能极化，网络管理既要维护社会秩序，也要给民众表达意见留下应有空间。

讲真这是个挺不容易的摸索过程，既要又要，愿望好，实现起来什么情况都可能遇到。有不足我相信是常态，尽量做好应是目标。

在这样的过程中出现一些摩擦，甚至冲突，我觉得真不值得大惊小怪。我们的社会需要有对这些摩擦以及各种情况的承受力。治理中的摩擦需要脱敏，这么大的国家，太平静太规则怎么可能？我们需要从政治上适应“这儿不出问题那出问题”，不断维护动态的稳定与平衡。

我认为，中国社会的超大规模就是特殊的稳定器。什么事不管当时多么轰轰烈烈，但很可能很快翻篇，被新的热点替代。不怕问题多，有些我们能解决，还有些解决不了，但因水涨船高它们下沉而减少危害。不分官员民众，全社会都应当对中国的韧性有信心。

Original URL: https://weibo.com/1989660417/LpHknfsfj
Archived: https://archive.ph/d9umJ

Below are translations of the top five comments on Hu's post.

Let the people speak, the sky won't fall [38,000 likes]

Let the people of Shanghai speak! Don't block their messages pleading for help! [12,000 likes]

This is a purely rational statement, but in this world, people still have emotions, psychological construction and support, and even in some extreme moments, the power of sensibility will be greater than that of reason. The inner support has collapsed, and it is useless to say anything rational. [9,309 likes]

[Thumbs Up][Thumbs Up][Thumbs Up]"The reality in China is often like this: As the post is deleted, the government pays attention to the content and sentiment of the post, and efforts to improve will follow. The situation in the West is that when you express dissatisfaction, you can often say whatever you want, but basically no one listens to you, so speaking is pointless." [3,401 likes]

I really feel more and more that this society is too divided. Two extremes are colliding and fighting every day, the extreme left and the extreme right. Where is the future? [2,411 likes]

让人说话，天塌不下来

让上海人说话！不要封闭他们的求助信息！

这是纯理性的说法，可是人活在这个世界上，还有情感、心理建构和依托，甚至在一些极端时刻，感性的力量会大于理性。内心的依托塌了，说什么理性的话都没用

[赞][赞][赞]“中国的实情经常是这样的：一边删帖，政府一边关注帖子的内容和传递的情绪，改进的努力会随之而来。西方的情况则是，表达不满往往可以随便说，但基本没人听，说了也白说。”

真的越来越觉得这个社会太分裂了，两种极端天天在碰撞打架，极左和极右，未来在哪？