Photo: Wang Bingzhang with his three children before his arrest (ChinaAid source)
(Guangdong province— March 20, 2023) Wang Bingzhang, a well-known Chinese dissident and pro-democracy activist, recently had eight of his teeth fall out while imprisoned in Shaoguan, China. His other teeth also have issues, and he constantly experiences dental pain.
Update from Wang Bingzhang’s family
Wang Bingwu, the younger brother of Wang Bingzhang, currently resides in Canada. He updated the world on his brother’s condition on March 9: “I finally received a letter from Bingzhang and learned that he got COVID-19 in January and has now recovered.”
Dental health concerns
Wang continued: “In the past few months, eight of his teeth have fallen out, other teeth also have issues, and now he is in constant pain. The prison tried its best to provide treatment, but it failed to solve the problem. Now he needs dental implants. But there is no such service in Shaoguan. We have applied for a dentist from out of town to implant his teeth. It is estimated that it will cost around ten thousand US dollars.”
Wang Bingwu invites the public to pray for his older brother and hopes that “friends who are able can give generously!”
No word for four months
Just a few days before this update, Wang Bingwu was discouraged, having not heard from his brother in four months. “[I] am very worried,” he said on March 6. “[I] just gave a call to the prison and asked about Bingzhang’s situation. Police officer Zhang said he was doing well. I asked him why there had been no letters, and he said that Bingzhang was writing a manuscript, and its revision was quite slow, so he had no time to write letters. He said that older brother was not sick.”
Previous health concerns
Currently, Wang Bingzhang is still being held in solitary confinement by the Chinese authorities. His son, Wang Daishi, once revealed that his father suffered three strokes while in prison.
The family’s concerns
The Chinese authorities and the Shaoguan Prison, Guangdong, refused to allow Wang Bingzhang’s family members to communicate with him directly. He was sentenced to life in prison, and his sentence has not been commuted or changed to this day. Sometimes, there will be no news for several months. His family members are extremely worried about his safety.
Photo: Yan Jiaqi (left) and Wang Bingzhang in 1995 (Yan Jiaqi)
Open letter from 2022
Yan Jiaqi, a renowned scholar of China’s political science, issued an open letter in December 2022 to Wang Huning, the fourth highest-ranking member of the Communist Party. The open letter requested: “let him [Wang Bingzhang] leave China on humanitarian grounds and return to his home in Canada.”
leveraging previous friendship
In the letter, Yan Jiaqi appealed his request using his ten-year friendship with Wang Huning while he held his term in the CCP.
Yan made a moving appeal, hoping that Mr. Wang would exert his influence, “From a humanitarian standpoint, do a good deed. Wang Bingzhang’s relatives in Canada and all overseas Chinese will remember that he and the Chinese government finished this matter.”
Unknown effects
The outside world does not know yet whether the letter was known to Wang Huning or whether it could have played a part in improving Wang Bingzhang’s solitary confinement at Shaoguan Prison or eventually will play a key role in his release.
Wang Bingzhang’s background
The 75-year-old Wang Bingzhang was born in China in 1947. He was the first student to study abroad and obtain a doctorate after China opened its border. As the head convener of the “China Spring” movement, he participated in the creation of several democratic political parties. Since the Chinese Community Party (CCP) no longer renewed Wang Bingzhang’s passport in the 1980s, he lost his Chinese citizenship. He has permanent residency status in the United States, but he holds deep affection and sentiments for his home country.
The pro-democracy movement
Engaged in the Chinese pro-democracy movement, Wang broke through barriers and returned to China to form a political party. The Communist Party expelled Wang from the country and even drove him out of Thailand. In 2002, Dr. Wang Bingzhang was kidnapped by Chinese secret police in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, and brought back to China. In 2003, the Chinese authorities sentenced Dr. Wang Bingzhang to life in prison on charges of “espionage and terrorism” and kept him in solitary confinement for a long time. Imprisoned for 20 years, Wang asked his family to send him books. He wrote the book “Decoding The Oracles of Biblical Constitution” in prison, which was published in 2017. He is now working on writing a new book.
Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
As a Christian, Wang Bingzhang has always adhered to a peaceful and rational pro-democracy movement. He was nominated twice as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008 and 2012.
Our commitment to Wang Bingzhang
ChinaAid has not stopped appealing to the Chinese government and continues to contact the US government, the European Union, and international human rights organizations; and uniting with friends from all walks of life who are concerned about the human rights situation in China to continue to pay attention to the rescue of people of conscience in China who are imprisoned. May the Lord bring love and justice upon the land filled with deep suffering in the east.
~Gao Zhensai, Special Correspondent of ChinaAid
Write a letter to Wang Bingzhang!
When sending a letter to Wang, please take a look at ChinaAid’s suggestions!
Address:
Dr. Wang Bingzhang
Lishi Township, Zhenjiang District,
Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, China,
Box 7, 6-5
Zip code 512140
