(Beijing, China – November 19, 2023) On the 18th, the son of prominent human rights lawyers Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan attempted suicide by taking pills. He was unable to bear the anguish of being separated from his parents and the pressure of being under the surveillance of police, an act which is an abuse of their power. After being rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, he is now out of danger. This incident has sparked strong attention and reactions online, with many individuals unanimously urging the Chinese authorities to immediately release Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan.
Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan have been detained since April 13, 2023 till present.
On November 18, human rights lawyer Ms. Wang Yu informed that at around 9:00 p.m. on November 18, 2023, she received a call from a man claiming to be a Mentougou police officer with the last name Li, using the cell phone of Yu Wensheng’s son, Yu Zhenyang. He stated that lawyer Yu Wensheng’s son, Yu Zhenyang, is now in emergency treatment at the Mentougou District Hospital in Beijing after he overdosed in a suicide attempt.
Lawyer Wang Yu continued, Mr. Yu Wensheng and Ms. Xu Yan are both still in custody. Her husband, lawyer Bao Longjun, and herself were on a business trip to Zhengzhou therefore are unable to visit Yu Zhenyang. Wang Yu hoped “for friends who are available to go and visit him.”
Lawyer Liang Xiaojun heard the news and went to the hospital to visit Yu Zhenyang, the son of Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan.
According to Liang Xiaojun after his visit, “the child is currently awake and is being treated through vomiting after ingestion of water according to the doctor’s instructions. He is out of danger at the moment.”
Human rights lawyer Mr. Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan are both Christians, and were invited to visit the European Union office in China. On April 13, 2023, on their way there, they were intercepted by four plainclothes state security guards and then verbally summoned to the Bajiao police station in Shijingshan district, Beijing. Subsequently, they were criminally detained on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
On April 14, their residence was subjected to a police search, during which the police read a notice of the criminal detention of Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan to their son Yu Zhenyang, who had just turned 18. While living alone, Yu Zhenyang was guarded by four police officers. On May 21, 2023, Yu Wensheng’s elder brother received notification from the police that the two were formally arrested. Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan may also face an additional charge of “inciting subversion of state power,” a matter on which the police have refused to provide information when queried by their lawyers.
The 18-year-old Yu Zhenyang, was callously deprived by the police of the shared way of life with his parents. Unable to endure the pain of separation from his parents and the excessive use of control over him went beyond his limits of endurance, leading Yu Zhenyang to attempt suicide by taking pills. Faced with this profoundly mournful news, it should serve as a stark warning to the authorities in Beijing. The most effective way to prevent further tragedy is the immediate release of Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan.
Human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng was arbitrarily detained as early as January 2018 when he was surrounded by police while escorting his 13-year-old son, Yu Zhenyang, to school. His detention came shortly after he made a lawful and well-intentioned proposal to leader Xi Jinping, suggesting that the chairman should be elected from multiple candidates in accordance with the constitutional guarantee of the right to vote in China. His benign and legal suggestions, including constitutional amendments, were deemed problematic after being published online.
Authorities deprived him of his license to practice law. Yu Wensheng was prosecuted and secretly detained in extremely harsh conditions where it feels unbearable to keep living. During this period, he developed health problems in his right hand. He was sentenced to four years in prison, released in March 2022, only to be arrested again a month later, together with his wife, Ms. Xu Yan.
Yu Wensheng was unfairly penalized for merely expressing his good intentions out of concern for the future of China. This situation is not only a personal and familial tragedy but also a profound sorrow for the nation.
For the sake of their son’s future, the Beijing authorities should carefully reassess the reason behind detaining Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan.
