(Beijing – April 15, 2024) Beijing human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan’s son, Yu Zhenyang, have once again fallen into despair due to the continued detention of his parents. Over the past few months, Zhenyang has been rescued from a life-threatening situation twice due to overdosing on medication.
Yu Zhenyang, the 19-year-old son of Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan, dropped out of high school after both of his parents were arrested. He has been severely affected by his parents’ suppression, leading to serious depression. He has been hospitalized twice for overdosing on medication.
Just over a month ago, Yu Zhenyang was arrested and charged with the crime of “assaulting a police officer” after he resisted harassment and control by Beijing police in a public space. He was detained but was released on bail not long ago. Recently, Yu Zhenyang took an overdose of tranquilizers (prescribed for his depression). He took twenty-five pills at once, which was three times the lethal dose. After timely medical intervention, his life was then out of danger. His family is trying to find a way to get him hospitalized for treatment.
Yu Zhenyang’s emotional issues cannot be solved with medication alone. The direct cause of his mental breakdown comes from feelings of abandonment due to the detainment of his parents by the Chinese Communist Party, which has left him feeling without a future.
Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan were invited to attend a seminar at the German Embassy on April 13, 2023. On their way, they were intercepted by the police and taken away. They were later arrested on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” On April 15, 2023, more than seven police officers went to Yu Wensheng’s residence and informed his son, who had just turned 18 at that time, that Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan had been criminally detained. By the end of May that year, they were additionally charged with inciting subversion of state power.
After both of his parents were simultaneously detained by the Chinese Communist police, Yu Zhenyang experienced immense mental and psychological pressure, leading to a state of depression.
This was the second time Yu Zhenyang had to endure his father’s long-term detention. The first instance occurred in January 2018 when his father, Yu Wensheng, was taking him to school. The police surrounded his father in front of him, and he was suddenly detained and sentenced to four years in prison. This experience caused him long-lasting trauma. However, during his father’s imprisonment, his mother, Xu Yan, was by his side, which helped him balance his emotions.
Yu Wensheng had previously acted as legal counsel in several cases involving civil practitioners and had represented several lawyers arrested in the “709” crackdown. His wife, Xu Yan, was very active in seeking diplomatic rescue during her husband’s imprisonment and was also an active participant in the rights defense activities for the families of those arrested in the “709” crackdown.
Currently, Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan are detained in a detention center in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.
During a lawyer visit, Yu Wensheng expressed his concern for his son. When talking about his son, Yu Zhenyang, Yu Wensheng appeared “dejected, he bowed his head, and struggled to pull up his handcuffed hands and proceeded to wipe the corners of his eyes lightly with his cuffs.”
The Chinese authorities’ crackdown on rights activists, including human rights lawyers, has severely threatened their safety and that of their families, deeply affecting the mental and physical health of the “second generation of conscience” and leading to many families breaking up, with wives and children torn apart from each other.
