(Guangdong province) Chinese human rights activist Guo Feixiong (pen name of Yang Maodong) was sent to prison to serve his sentence last month. His family has not been informed of the specific prison where he is being held, nor have they received any written notice of Guo Feixiong’s imprisonment.
No News
Guo’s older sister, Yang Maoping, recently received a phone call from the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) public security bureau. They informed her that “Yang Maodong has been sent to prison to serve his sentence on July 24.” However, the authorities refused to disclose the specific prison. Despite inquiries from his lawyer, relevant officials refused to provide any information or issue a notice of imprisonment.
Eight years
On May 11, 2023, Guo Feixiong was sentenced eight years following a trial in a Guangzhou court in China, without any family in attendance. Guo Feixiong was arrested in January 2021 at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. He was preparing to travel to the United States to visit his then-critically ill wife, Zhang Qing. He was detained by the authorities following his arrest.
Hunger Strike
On January 12, 2022, just two days after his wife Zhang Qing passed away from cancer, Guo Feixiong was formally arrested. The authorities charged him with “inciting subversion of state power.” During this period, he conducted a hunger strike as a form of protest, leading to significant weight loss.
Guo Feixiong was sentenced to eight years, and the Guangzhou court refused to provide the written verdict letter to his family and lawyers.
Persecution tactics
CCP officials in Guangzhou used a series of persecution tactics against Guo Feixiong. They started with arbitrary arrest, followed by fabricating charges, and ultimately sentenced him to eight years in prison. The CCP’s verdict on Guo Feixiong sparked strong criticism from human rights groups. Several governments around the globe and the United Nations have issued a statement condemning the judgment.
Previous prison sentences
This is another sentence for Guo Feixiong after serving a total of eleven years in prison, having been sentenced to five years in 2006 and six years in 2013. If he serves the full sentence this time, Guo Feixiong will spend up to a total of nineteen years in China’s prisons.
Target of the CCP
Since 2005, Guo Feixiong has been involved in advocating for the rights of Chinese citizens using China’s laws. In response, the Communist Party relentlessly persecuted Guo Feixiong and his family. He was kidnapped and tortured on numerous occasions. Meanwhile, his family constantly faced harassment, and his children have been denied access to education. In 2009, his wife Zhang Qing fled to the United States with their two children in search of asylum.
Inhumane
Guo Feixiong’s wife tragically fell ill, but the CCP prevented him from leaving the country and repeatedly refused his request to visit Zhang Qing. As a result, the couple was unable to see each other one last time before she passed away, leaving him with a lifelong regret. Shortly after his wife’s death, Chinese authorities formally arrested him and subsequently sentenced him. These inhumane acts by the CCP have sparked widespread public outrage and go against the very laws they have enacted themselves.
~Gao Zhensai, Special Correspondent of ChinaAid
