Photo: Authorities released Hu Shigen after his seven-and-a-half-year sentence (ChinaAid source)
(Beijing, China—March 28, 2023) Hu Shigen, a prominent Chinese pro-democracy activist and elder of several house churches in Beijing, completed his seven-and-a-half-year sentence on March 23. He returned home on the morning of March 26.
Unknown whereabouts
Elder Hu Shigen was supposedly released three days before he returned home. It is unclear where he was the days after his release. At present, his good friend Kang Yuchun and many friends have confirmed that Elder Hu Shigen returned home on the 26th.
His physical state
Zhao Changqing, a pro-democracy activist, reported on Hu Shigen’s condition: “Teacher Hu Shigen is safely back in Beijing’s Deshengli neighborhood, don’t worry! From the photo taken after his release from prison, it is evident that Teacher Hu has aged a lot, but it is good to see that there’s brightness in his eyes and his spirit is still the same. I hope he recuperates well and takes care of himself for the sake of the country!”
report from a former church member
Ms. Li Huanjun, a former church member of Elder Hu Shigen, lamented the toll Hu’s imprisonment took on his body: “Elder Hu Shigen has finally returned home, but he has become much, much older. Teacher Hu must have suffered a lot in the Chinese Communist Party’s prison… It is heartbreaking to watch.”
Photo: Elder Hu Shigen holds and reads a copy of the Bible (ChinaAid source)
A Notable classmate
69-year-old Elder Hu Shigen is from Nanchang, Jiangxi, and a former lecturer at the Beijing Language Institute. He was admitted to Peking University in 1979. Among his classmates was Hu Chunhua, a future member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier of the State Council. Hu Chunhua is now the vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. For quite some time, it was alleged that he would be Li Keqiang’s successor, but he was pushed out by Xi Jinping.
Hu Chuhua’s previous relationship
An anonymous classmate of Hu Shigen with the pseudonym “Oak Tree” published an article about the campus life between Hu Shigen and Hu Chunhua. Oak Tree mentioned: “[Hu Shigen] was short and strong, and paid extra attention to exercising his muscles. After lights out in the dormitory, he would take roommate Hu Chunhua and others to lift dumbbells and barbells in the corridor, then enter the washroom, fill the washbasin with cold Beijing tap water, and pour it on their heads.”
Elder Hu’s imprisonment is unchanged
‘Oak Creek’ wrote about Hu Shigen’s relationship with the national leader not affecting his imprisonment. “Just because his junior from the same dormitory has been promoted to a national leader, Hu Shigen’s situation did not improve much. In the first few years, during the holidays, or the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, he will be forcibly supervised and lose his freedom of movement. Arrested twice in 2014 and 2015. In the summer of 2016, news spread from the WeChat group chat of overseas Peking University alumni that Hu Shigen, had been arrested and disappeared for many days. He was sentenced to seven and a half years for subversion of state power.”
An elder and activist
After Hu Shigen became a Christian, he was ordained as an elder of Beijing House Church – Sheng Ai (Holy Love) Fellowship, Zhongyuan Church, and Yahebo (Ahavah) Covenant Church. He was the ‘ringleader’ in China’s “709 Crackdown” incident in 2015, bearing the longest sentence.
Translator’s note: Ahavah is a Hebrew word for love.
Over 20 years of imprisonment
The Chinese Communist Party recognized Elder Hu Shigen’s unremitting perseverance in the cause of democracy. As a result, they imprisoned him for a total of 24 and a half years.
His most recent imprisonment
While serving his sentence, Elder Hu Shigen was separated from his wife and children. He had no title or job, his health deteriorated, and he suffered from heart disease. His family members had repeatedly submitted applications for “medical parole.” After all, Hu was nearly 70 years old and suffered from various diseases. Despite the family’s best efforts, their requests for parole were denied. Hu served his most recent sentence in Changtai Prison in Tianjin.
Messages of support
The authorities charged Elder Hu Shigen with “subversion of state power.” His classmate Oak Tree couldn’t help but ridicule: “A bookworm like Lao Hu can overthrow one of the world’s largest countries; isn’t this a slander of the million-dollar stability maintenance team that our country spends so much taxpayer money on? Are they all useless?”
Translator’s note on Lao Hu: In the Chinese Language, adding Lao, literal translation – old, in front of a person’s name is used as a term of endearment and expresses a close relationship between the persons.
Liu Yuying
Liu Yuying, a female professor at Peking University, defended Hu Shigen. She said: “Those allegations are not true.”
David Meng
David Meng Yuanxin is a pro-democracy activist residing in the United States. He was a co-worker of Hu Shigen while serving church ministry in China. He missed Hu Shigen very much and left a message saying: “Teacher Hu: In a blink of an eye, it has been almost 8 years, and your voice, face, and smile often emerge in front of me! Please take care of your health. May we meet again in gladness soon!”
Bob Fu
Considering Elder Hu Shigen’s current situation, Bob Fu, president of ChinaAid, invites the public to “pray for the freedom of Elder Hu Shigen.”
~Gao Zhensai, Special Correspondent ChinaAid
