(Washington, D.C. – July 15, 2025) Nearly eight years after Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was forcibly disappeared, a relief sculpture honoring his memory and legacy was solemnly unveiled at the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America. This event served not only as a profound tribute to a tenacious and courageous defender of justice, but also as a silent yet powerful testament — a heartfelt expression of respect for all those who have stood up for faith, conscience, and freedom.

The relief sculpture was personally designed and created by Gao Zhisheng’s family in 2022 — a commemorative work completed using 7,355 bullet casings collected from California’s Mojave Desert. Once instruments of death and oppression, these casings have now been transformed into a sculpture symbolizing hope and resilience. Just like Gao Zhisheng’s life journey — faith refined through suffering, blossoming into a flower of light from darkness.

Gao Zhisheng: From the Loess Plateau to the Conscience of China

Gao Zhisheng’s life began in the Loess Plateau of northwestern China. He was born in 1964 in a cave dwelling in Jia County, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, into a family living in extreme poverty. At the age of 11, he lost his father. As a child, he and his mother, along with six siblings, struggled to survive, living off foraged herbs, manual labor, and coal mining. His childhood was steeped in loess and soot, shaped by hunger and biting cold.

But this barren land did not destroy his thirst for knowledge. While pushing a vegetable cart to make a living, he taught himself law. Through sheer willpower and conviction, he became a licensed attorney in 1995. Beginning in 1996, while practicing in Urumqi, Xinjiang, he devoted three-quarters of his caseload to pro bono legal services for marginalized communities — his first echo of his heartfelt concern for injustice.

In 2000, he moved his law firm to Beijing, founding Shengzhi Law Firm. In 2001, he was named one of China’s “Top Ten Outstanding Lawyers.” He represented major cases, such as the Shaanbei oil field rights case, defending the interests of tens of thousands. Yet what made him truly memorable was not the professional accolades, but his defense of religious freedom and his unwavering commitment to truth.

Starting in 2004, Gao Zhisheng courageously exposed the Chinese Communist Party’s brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. He sent open letters to central leadership, fearlessly standing with the persecuted. His rights defense firm and compelling, illuminating the darkness, which in turn brought upon him relentless retaliation. His law license was revoked. He was tortured, imprisoned, placed under house arrest, and ultimately forcibly disappeared. However, he never surrendered.

On August 13, 2017, he was forcibly disappeared once more in his hometown in Shaanxi. Since then, there has been no trace of him, for eight long years.

Writing a Vow of Light in the Midst of Darkness

Even in captivity, lawyer Gao Zhisheng never abandoned his commitment to justice. In his secretly written book The Year 2017, Stand Up, China, he wrote:

“I will use every faint thought to resist their reshaping. I know the future does not belong to darkness. Darkness can cover my eyes, but it cannot cover my faith. These beliefs are carved into my soul, stroke by stroke. When the light comes, I will speak out for even more people.”

His words seem to flow from blood and bone, crystallized in fire — sharp, searing, and yet warm. As the commentator “Chuan Ye @qiufengzhang77” said:

“Torture, exile, disappearance… These are not what defines Gao Zhisheng’s life. What truly defines him is that in the face of all inhuman treatment, he continued to be ‘human.’ He chose not to compromise, not to be silent, not to be deformed — that is the most precious legacy he left to the world.”

Voices from the Unveiling Ceremony

At the unveiling ceremony, numerous human rights activists and legal professionals delivered deeply moving speeches, collectively honoring the unwavering conscience and courage of this warrior.

Human rights activist Mr. Chen Guangcheng expressed in an indignant speech in front of Gao Zhisheng’s relief sculpture:

“A human rights lawyer has been kidnapped and forcibly disappeared by the Chinese Communist regime for nearly eight years, with no news. There is no excuse left for defending such tyranny.”

William Saunders, Director of the Center for Human Rights at The Catholic University of America, expressed in his speech:

“I believe every lawyer — whether in the U.S. or in China — should learn from Gao Zhisheng’s example, to risk their lives for causes that truly matter.”

“When I stand before this statue, I feel as if I see him — the familiarity, the warmth — it makes me feel at home here… This is a profound affirmation of my husband’s lifetime of faith, courage, and struggle, and the highest tribute to all who have sacrificed for the truth.”

She expressed her family’s heartfelt gratitude on their behalf:

“In these nearly eight years of his forced disappearance, it is your concern, support, and persistence that have kept this faith from extinguishing. This is not just a memorial to Gao Zhisheng — it is the passing on of hope and courage. On behalf of our entire family, on behalf of Gao Zhisheng whose life or death remains unknown but who has never given up hope, I offer you our sincerest respect.”

Remember His Eyes, And Also Remember That Silent Cry

A netizen with the ID “Tao” wrote on social media:

“That familiar figure, that gaze filled with both firmness and gentleness — it feels as if he is still standing among us. His freedom has been stripped away, and there has been no word. However, here, he is commemorated with sincerity and placed with tenderness …… justice will not remain silent forever. Conscience will leave its mark. He has not truly left — he simply walks with us in a different form.”

This relief sculpture not only carves out the tragedy and resolve of one man, but it also lifts up the torch of a nation’s conscience. It reminds us that though the night is deep, justice will break forth like the light of the dawn. Those who stand up for faith, freedom, and dignity may be crushed, but they will not be forgotten.

As it is written in 2 Corinthians 4:8–9 (NIV):

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

May this relief be more than just a memory, but even more so be a call, a call for us to keep walking the path of righteousness, suffering, and yet unyielding hope.

(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai of ChinaAid)