(Washington, D.C. — July 18, 2025) A pressing and somber question continues to echo throughout the global human rights community: “Where is Gao Zhisheng?” Hailed as “China’s bravest lawyer” and a two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Gao Zhisheng has endured relentless persecution by the Chinese government for his unwavering defense of human rights, particularly religious freedom. Since 2006, he has been repeatedly arrested, imprisoned, and subjected to brutal torture. Today, his whereabouts remain unknown, a painful testament to the immense personal cost of seeking justice and freedom under an authoritarian regime.
Gao Zhisheng’s journey as a human rights advocate is inextricably linked to his personal faith. After converting to Christianity, he became deeply motivated to defend the religious freedom of all people ardently. This profound spiritual conviction, combined with his unyielding conscience, led him to make a courageous yet perilous choice: to remain in China and endure the systemic
persecution that followed. His story epitomizes the ultimate sacrifice made in the pursuit of justice.
A Candid Conversation on Rule of Law and Religious Freedom
Held on July 9 at the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) in Washington, D.C., this powerful and insightful dialogue received significant attention. The event was moderated by Professor William Saunders, Director of the Center for Human Rights at the Catholic University of America, who guided the discussion between two distinguished and exceptionally courageous human rights advocates: Chen Guangcheng, a Distinguished Fellow at Catholic University, and Dr. Bob Fu, President of the U.S.-based nonprofit ChinaAid, which tirelessly advances religious freedom and rule of law in China through advocacy and legal aid.
Professor Saunders humbly introduced himself as a human rights attorney with extensive experience, having long focused on China-related issues. He spoke of his deep interest in human rights projects, specifically noting his work with figures such as Chen Guangcheng, which has given him invaluable hands-on insights.
Chen Guangcheng’s Harrowing Testimony: “Miraculous” Survival
Chen Guangcheng, the world-renowned “barefoot lawyer” who exposed the horrific practices of forced abortions and sterilizations of Chinese women, recounted his personal experiences, detailing the CCP’s brutality. His testimony echoed the suffering endured by Gao Zhisheng.
When introducing Chen’s account, Professor Saunders urged the audience to read his memoir, passionately remarking:
“If you haven’t read his book, we read a portion of it yesterday at an event. Maureen Ferguson, who is on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said that his memoir was the most gripping thing she has ever read, and I agree. So I would imagine here, or almost everybody here, is a Christian or a theist, so if you don’t believe in miracles, read just how he escaped from China, and you will believe in miracles. It is impossible.” Professor Saunders underscored the extraordinary nature of Chen Guangcheng’s survival.
Chen Guangcheng recalled a brutal timeline beginning in 2005, opening his remarks with a chilling account of state violence: “In just half a year, the CCP arrested 6 hundred thousand people in black jails and forced people to do forced abortion, I think a hundred thirty thousand people.” He stated that his investigation into these atrocities took him to Beijing, where he sought out journalists to expose the truth. It was during this period that he first met Gao Zhisheng. “At that time, I met Gao Zhisheng, and since then, we became good friends.”
Chen Guangcheng’s investigative work brought swift and merciless consequences. “2005, August 11, the CCP ordered more than 60 guards to surround my village and put me and my family under house arrest. I cannot go out, no one can come in to visit me, so later the CCP kidnapped me and put me in a black jail.” His lawyer went to the police station to inquire about his whereabouts, but was told that they did not know.
Chen also spoke on the 709 Crackdown, stressing the CCP’s harassment, arrests, and persecution of human rights lawyers. His own escape from such suffocating surveillance, he noted, was nothing short of miraculous. His dangerous journey ultimately brought him to Washington, D.C., where he continues his vital work, giving voice to human rights activists still suffering under the persecution of the CCP.
“The 709 Crackdown” and Targeted Persecution of Lawyers
The dialogue then delved into the broader context of the CCP’s systematic repression, which extends far beyond isolated incidents. Professor Saunders described the Chinese Communist Party as “the most oppressive regime in the world is arguably the Chinese Communist Party,” actively working to realize “the nightmare vision of 1984.” He vividly portrayed its omnipresent surveillance: “Constant surveillance, everybody under suspicion, hundreds of millions of cameras watching every citizen. Then these nightmare things, where they put people in black jails and torture them and they disappear them. And we are going to talk about this very famous person who has been disappeared. And we want him getting out of disappearance. ”
He highlighted several critical periods of intensified repression, including the Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989, when the Communist Party “crushed the students in particular,” and in 1999, the CCP began the persecution of Falun Gong: “They had more members than the Communist Party, back when the Communist Party had around 69 million, so they started to question Falun Gong, which they continue today.”
Among the persecution of human rights defenders, the 2015 709 Crackdown stands as a pivotal moment. As a lawyer, Professor Saunders underscored the unique role of human rights attorneys: “As far as lawyers go, the best kind of lawyers are human rights lawyers, because they stand for something bigger than themselves.”
Gao Zhisheng was a primary target of this crackdown. Professor Saunders explained: “He was actually Guangcheng’s lawyer. He upset the Communist Party, so he was put in prison. He was tortured. He got out of prison, he was kidnapped into a black jail and tortured again.” Saunders continued: “He got out again. Then he was caught up in this 2015 crackdown, and he has disappeared in 2017,” He added, “We are going on to the eighth year…they’ve disappeared him. Nobody knows where he is. No one knows what has happened to him. Nobody knows anything.” Saunders noted that Gao’s wife had also attended an event the day before: “She is a wonderful person, but she is torn to pieces by this.”
Professor Saunders concluded: “He is a great example for us lawyers. Gao Zhisheng is a great human rights lawyer, I hear some of my Chinese friends call him ‘Mr. Human Rights Lawyer of China.’ Think of the most eminent person you have heard of, and yet they have made him disappear into this bottomless pit.”
The Immeasurable Human Cost of Freedom
Dr. Bob Fu, President of ChinaAid, brought a deeply personal and emotional dimension to the discussion, emphasizing the devastating “human cost” of fighting for freedom in China. Dr. Fu revealed: “Just Yesterday, Gao Zhisheng’s wife shared in a conference … Over the past eight years, three lives within Gao Zhisheng’s family were lost.”
Even after Gao Zhisheng’s enforced disappearance, the CCP did not end the persecution against his family. He then shared a shocking detail: Gao Zhisheng’s sister developed cancer and needed life-saving cancer medication. However, after Gao Zhisheng was kidnapped and subjected to enforced disappearance, state security agents blocked her from picking up medication for her cancer treatment, and ultimately, she ended her own life.
Dr. Bob Fu condemns the CCP’s cold silence: “The CCP, at the minimum, should be made accountable to give the whole world a simple answer, a very simple answer. It is really hard to hear what Gao Zhisheng’s wife has requested, pleading to the international community, Obama administration, trump to Biden to now the second trump term, asking the free world to ask the CCP simply to give us an answer: where is my husband? Where is the father of my children? Is he still alive or dead? If he is still alive, could he make a phone call to one of his family members who is still living? This touched the bottom line of humanity. So that is the human cost.”
Chen Guangcheng confirmed the CCP’s total control: If the CCP decides to prosecute someone, they will use every means to trouble their family. As in Gao Zhisheng’s case, they will attempt to prevent his wife from finding employment. They will prevent his children from going to school. Any company that tries to offer Gao’s wife a job will be contacted by the CCP, which will advise against hiring her. If the children are attending a school somewhere, they will receive a call from the CCP office to remove them. If they are renting a place, the CCP will call the landlord and have the lease terminated. What Chen Guangcheng stated demonstrates the state’s comprehensive retaliation against human rights defenders and their families.
The CCP’s wanton abuse of power is undeniable. Chen Guangcheng revealed that the CCP’s secretary, in response to his call about illegality in putting him and his family under house arrest, said, “Illegal? I said, ‘Yes, you are against the law; who gave you the right to do this?’ He said What is the law? I am the law, you know I am the law in mainland China. CCP is the law.” This shocking admission underscored the complete absence of the rule of law, where those in power themselves embody “the law,” rather than upholding it.
Lawyers as “the most faithful microphones”: Fighting for the Rule of Law
A core paradox of the CCP’s repression is that it targets lawyers who merely seek to uphold the nation’s own laws. Dr. Fu noted that the requests of the human rights lawyers are not beyond what is prescribed in the CCP’s own Constitution and law.
“Everything prescribed under the Constitution, the guarantees of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, all the basic freedoms are very similar to our First Amendment. Ironically, even Xi Jinping told the whole world that he wants to follow the rule of law.”
Dr. Fu emphasized, “So these lawyers are his most faithful followers, like Chen Guangcheng, (they) really are followers of the CCP’s calling and their Constitution… They were not engaging in collective civil disobedience or attempting to break the law.”
Professor Saunders echoed the same sentiment: “The greatest irony is, these human rights lawyers, as Bob was saying, they were simply trying to get the Communist Party to abide by the public laws it says it abides by — that’s all they were doing. They weren’t setting fires; they were simply following the law, and yet they were crushed as if they were terrorists or something. That gives you a sense of the nightmare, as Guangcheng would say, the rule of law is no law, it’s lawlessness in China because the CCP can do whatever it wants to do, and it does it.”
Gao Zhisheng’s Miraculous Faith and Unyielding Resolve
Beyond legal advocacy, Gao Zhisheng’s deep Christian faith became an incredible source of strength and the foundation of miraculous experiences during his suffering. Professor Saunders noted that the brutal persecution and torture Gao endured directly led to his conversion to Christianity, making him “a devout Christian.”
Dr. Fu shared another shocking story detailing Gao’s experience during one instance of torture. He was put in a basement by three military interrogators and took off all his clothes and each of them turned on their eclectic battens and started torturing him. “He offered his first prayer quietly, while these guys were torturing him, wet with sweats, he said suddenly there was a supernatural experience and he felt he could smell the burning of his skins and not a single bit of pain can be felt, no more pain to the point he said he fell asleep right on the ground and started snoring.”
This incredible testimony of faith, that torture could not break his spirit, deeply shook the interrogators, they “poured cold water on him” to wake him up. When asked what had happened, Gao Zhisheng replied that the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4) Dr. Fu noted that Gao didn’t even know that verse at the time and quoted it supernaturally, it was a miracle.
Dr. Fu also spoke about Gao Zhisheng’s fearless spirit. After Gao was released, he was placed under house arrest, yet he miraculously managed to write a book documenting his experiences. “We were able to smuggle in several iPads into his cave… He does not know how to operate an ipad so he handwrote everything and took pictures. And we smuggled some phones and he sent the photos out.” The manuscript was later translated and published, an act of defiance, and ultimately he disappeared once again. Dr. Fu quoted Gao Zhisheng: “Gao said he is the most dangerous man on earth in the eyes of the Communist Party, and he has declared in the book, ‘I already got rid of fear. No more fear from me. Actually, it is the Communist Party that is afraid of me.’”
This powerful statement captures Gao Zhisheng’s unyielding courage in the face of tyranny.
Global Call to Action: Driving Change
The urgency of the current situation demands a strong response from the international community. Professor Saunders read a one-pager formulated by ChinaAid stating a series of concrete actions that individuals can take. He urged people to “publicly remember” Gao Zhisheng, as well as others unjustly imprisoned, such as Jimmy Lai. He emphasized the importance of contacting elected officials: “Tell them to tell Trump, to tell Marco Rubio… you help them do the right thing; it’s a partnership.”
Professor Saunders mentioned an upcoming bill by Chris Smith, which aims to make the U.S. government take action on China. The bill urges China to disclose Gao Zhisheng’s location, demanding China to end enforced disappearances, and comply with various international treaties that China has ratified. Crucially, the bill seeks to “impose Magnitsky sanctions on individuals implicated in his disappearance,” thereby sanctioning human rights violators. The bill also called for Gao Zhisheng’s case to be integrated in the State Department’s country reports.
Dr. Fu emphasized the power of public awareness and advocacy. “Social media is very important… When he first disappeared, we launched the campaign called Free Gao.com. Within a month or so, we received the first 50,000 signatures, and in the next few months, we received over 100,000 signatures from over 200 countries, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and all over the world.” Dr. Bob Fu also noted that Representative Chris Smith, along with him, were invited to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, and they displayed these signatures in front of the Chinese embassy in Oslo.
Dr. Fu’s unwavering conviction resonated as he articulated the fundamental weakness of the CCP despite its vast institutions. “The CCP, despite its claims to have 100 million party members, nuclear weapons, one of the U.N. security members, and all this military might, is very weak. Actually, really very weak.” He argued, “Any country that is strong enough would not jail a blind man, make a fake trial, and charge him with disrupting or blocking public traffic, and then sentence him to five years imprisonment.” He continued, “Anybody that is really strong would not feed 20 yellow mystery pills to those 709 arrested lawyers. Many of them were mentally impaired, and some, as soon as they were released, went insane. That is not really a show of strength.”
Saunders went on to say: “They (the Communist Party) realize just how tenuous their control and power is. They are vicious, and they are desperate to hold on to power. At least, Guangcheng tells me they are really tottering. The real estate market is in trouble, the stock market, and the economy in China is in trouble. Young people, lots of people are angry, and lots of government workers haven’t been paid for months and months and months. There are all kinds of things happening.” He believes now is the crucial moment to take action. “You can do your part. You can do your little push to bring this thing down and get people like Gao out.”
He broadened the scope, pointing out that bringing Gao Zhisheng out “that helps the students that were crushed, it helps the religious people, they crash everything, from Falun Gong to Christians, the Uyghurs and the Tibetans. Because any religious person has a higher authority they answer to, rather than the Communist Party, so they are threatened by that.”
Chen Guangcheng noted that even small actions can have a profound impact. He recalled receiving “a lot of letters from the resident country” when he was released from prison. He noted that even if the letters were sometimes short, even a single sentence was incredibly powerful and helpful. Dr. Fu specifically urged legal professionals to speak out: even just a sentence, ‘Where is lawyer Gao?’ our colleague in China.” He believes this would also draw the Communist Party’s attention, because there are lawyers from many countries involved.
In a poignant moment, Dr. Fu introduced Bao Zhuoxuan (also known as Bao Mengmeng), the son of Bao Longjun and Wang Yu, a couple who were victims of the 709 Crackdown. He stated that when Bao Mengmeng was 15 years old at the time, his parents were taking him to Beijing Capital Airport to send him to Australia for college. Bao Mengmeng was declared a national security threat, and they arrested both of his parents, and also arrested 15-year-old Bao Mengmeng. This highlights the generational impact of the CCP’s repression.
The struggle for human rights in China is a global cause, and the message from Washington, D.C. is clear: the international community must remain vigilant, speak out boldly, and actively take action to challenge the CCP’s brutal regime and demand accountability for those who have “disappeared into the abyss.”
(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai of ChinaAid)