Gao Zhisheng’s wife appeals seven years after he disappeared: ‘tell me if he is still alive’
On social media, Geng He appeals to the US government and the international community for news of her husband, a Christian lawyer and activist. She is not asking for his release, but wants to know about his fate. Five members of the Shengjia Church in Shunde are on trial on spurious charges of "illegal business operations", a generic term used to persecute believers.
Beijing (AsiaNews) – “My husband Zhisheng Gao has been missing in China for seven years. Today, I once again appeal to the Chinese Communist regime. I do not ask you to release him, nor do I expect you to give him freedom. I just hope you can tell me if he is still alive,” writes Geng He, wife of the jailed Christian lawyer, on X (formerly Twitter).
Since he went missing seven years ago, yesterday, Zhisheng’s fate has been unknown; for this reason, his wife issued a public appeal, also addressed to Western governments and advocacy groups.
“I also implore the US government, the international community, and human rights organisations to help find Zhisheng Gao!” she says in the post, which comes with an accompanying video.
More than 140 international human rights organizations have heeded Geng He’s words, including ChinaAid, signing a statement demanding the Chinese Communist Party provide information about Gao Zhisheng’s fate and current whereabouts.
The appeal was echoed at a protest in front of the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles (United States) yesterday evening that drew a crowd.
Best known victim of forced disappearances
Gao Zhisheng comes from a poor family. His father died when he was 11, leaving the family in hard times. At 16, he was admitted to a county middle school, but due to the family's poverty, he had to interrupt his studies and go home to work in farming. Later he spent two years digging coal, unpaid.
To earn a living, when he was 21 he enlisted in the army where he met his future wife Geng He, whom he married in 1990. After leaving the service, Gao remained in Xinjiang, selling vegetables and fruit to support himself.
Witness to abuses and violations, he decided to study law. As a self-taught student, he passed the bar exam in 1995 and the following year began practicing law in Urumqi, at the age of 32.
His first job consisted of providing legal assistance to vulnerable groups, an important and appreciated work that saw him recognised by China's Ministry of Justice as "one of the country's 10 best lawyers” in 2001.
He was one of the first human rights lawyers to gain public visibility in the early 2000s and was an important leader in China’s rights movement, dealing representing migrant workers and people persecuted by Communist authorities for their faith, including Christians.
In 2006 he was convicted for the first time “on suspicion of inciting subversion of state power” and sentenced to three years in prison.
After his sentence was suspended, he was released on parole, but between 2007 and 2011 he was repeatedly rearrested and tortured in detention by police.
His story is one of the best known and best documented cases of enforced and prolonged disappearances, whereby the Chinese government openly violates international law.
For seven years, his wife Geng He has been appealing to the Chinese government to provide information on her husband’s fate.
Her request is very simple: to know where her husband is. However, Beijing has never provided any information, not even basic news such as where he is being held.
Christians on trial
Meanwhile, Christians continue to be arrested and tried in China, "guilty" in the eyes of the authorities of practicing the faith.
Five members of the Shengjia Church in Shunde, Guangdong province, went on trial recently. Deng Yanxiang, Wang Weicai, Zhu Longjiang, Zhu Qiaoling and Zhu Longfei must answer the charge of "illegal business operations".
Shengjia Church is a house church that has not joined the government-approved Three-Self Patriotic Movement.
On 24 May 2023, several government agencies, the Public Security Bureau, the Religious Affairs Bureau, the Education Department, and the Industry and Commerce Department raided the Church’s premises.
Rev Deng Yanxiang and other members of the community were arrested on suspicion of illegal business operations.
Over a hundred agents also raided two Bible study venues, confiscating books and religious material.
On 9 August 2023, Elder Zhu Longfei was summoned by police in Shunde and arrested on suspicion of illegal business activity.
The so-called business operations that the accused are charged with are printing certain Bible study materials for internal use, with no for-profit activity.
The Church has been the object of endless persecution, causing great suffering to its members and their families.
After the arrest of the five Christians, their families and several members of the church launched a public appeal in their favour, stating that they are honest people and have not committed any crime, and for this reason must be released.
In court, their lawyer pleaded their case by insisting on their innocence since the charges are generic and “completely unfounded" since there was no "profit", yet that was not enough and the five remain in prison.
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