Chen Jiangang, threatened for representing Fiona Huang, tells officials “I will be waiting for you”

ChinaAid

Chen Jiangang and Fiona Huang (Photo: Twitter @WanHuang2

(Beijing—July 5, 2019) Reports say lawyer Chen Jiangang is facing threats of disappearance and beatings for work providing legal aid to Fiona Huang, an American citizen who is banned from exiting China.

In a July 5 Twitter video, Chen says, “Today is July 5, 2019. [The officials] threatened me face-to-face, saying they will make me disappear” (partial translation).

He is referring to a threat he received by the Beijing Bar Association, where he was almost beaten.

陳建剛律師@chenjglawyer ：2019年7月5日，在北京市律师协会，今天我总算收到官方当面“你会失踪”的威胁了，还差点当面被殴打。 pic.twitter.com/uO7ERNlvoK

— 欧彪峰 (@oubiaofeng) July 5, 2019

陳建剛律師再拍視頻公開宣告：無懼赤裸裸的威脅和恐嚇，並且不會躲避⋯⋯ pic.twitter.com/UdfmQcc4iX

— 欧彪峰 (@oubiaofeng) July 5, 2019

Jiangang remains resolute despite threats and says via video how

“[They] let me go for profit in exchange for morality, let me break faith and abandon right. If I won’t obey them, a naked threat will be coming and they will make me disappear. If you really have guts, do not hesitate. Do it today; I will be waiting for you.”

Huang described work with Chen as “very enjoyable” in a July 4 Tweet. Chen has gained international notoriety for his legal skills and bravery.

On April 1, Chen was barred from leaving the country as he prepared to board a flight to the United States. He was traveling to study English before studying law and human rights in America as part of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, according to China Change.


The outlet writes how the customs official at Beijing Capital Airport refused to give any reasoning for the travel ban.

However, Chen says officials at the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau (Beijing PSB) told him the exit ban on him and his family was due to work representing fellow persecuted human rights lawyer Xie Yang and concerns about “who knows what they are getting up to in getting you to come to the US,” China Change reports.

Chen says his family was placed on the Beijing PSB “blacklist” in 2017 and he was already prohibited from leaving the country by the PSB before the July 9 2015 mass roundup of lawyers.

In mid-April, the U.S. State Department spokeswoman, Morgan Ortagus said on Twitter the Department was “disturbed by reports” that Chinese authorities prevented Chen from leaving.

She urged China to “respect Chen’s freedom of movement and to view lawyers and rights defenders as partners in strengthening Chinese society through development of rule of law.”

We urge #China to respect Chen’s freedom of movement and to view lawyers and rights defenders as partners in strengthening Chinese society through development of rule of law.

— Morgan Ortagus (@statedeptspox) April 10, 2019

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