Persecution Blog

Help Free Gao Zhisheng by Writing Him a Letter While He's in Prison

A few weeks ago we started the new year finding out that Gao Zhisheng was located in a prison in China and we let you know that his brother tried to visit him, but was denied access. 

We also shared a letter that Gao's wife had written, which you may read here.

Today we would like to ask you to take a few minutes and write Gao Zhisheng a lettr of encouragement.

We would also like to ask you to email the government officials of China on Gao's behalf also.  Here is a screen capture of what you'll see when you click on the link that says "add your voice" next to the words Government Officials Emailed.

Once this box pops up, all you have to do is follow the links and write your email.  Click either link - Ambassador or the Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations.  Remember to be respectful when you write.

Click here to write your letter to Gao today and don't be afraid to share this with others who want to be an active voice for the persecuted church.

To learn more about Gao's past and the torture he has endured, and may still possibly be enduring, click here to visit FREE GAO and sign the petition.

Gao's Brother Banned from Seeing Him in Prison

Recently we reported that Gao Zhisheng was found alive in a prison in western China and we invited you to write Gao a letter while he is in prison. If you missed those posts you can read them here and here.

Today China Aid is reporting that Gao's brother has not been allowed entry to visit Gao in prison.

Gao Zhiyi, who had traveled several thousand miles to reach the desolate Shaya Prison, is now waiting in Shaya county for permission to see his brother, who had disappeared into official custody for more than 20 months before the Chinese government announced last month that he was being sent to prison to serve a three-year sentence.

Accompanied by Gao Zhisheng’s father-in-law and two sisters-in-law, Gao Zhiyi arrived at the prison after an arduous overland journey from inland China only to learn that no visits were permitted. Prison authorities told him that Gao was “not willing to see his relatives” and he is also under a three-month observation period. If he is deemed to have been cooperative during that period, he would be allowed visitors.

As you can imagine, this is a heartbreaking experience for the family.  Please remember to pray for Gao and his extended family. Learn more at China Aid.

Prisoner Alert: Please Write Gao Zhisheng

A few days ago we shared with you the news that Gao had been located in a prison in China.  We are thankful for your prayers and concern for Gao and his family and would like to ask for your prayers for him and his family on a daily basis.  Please read a letter from Gao's wife here, in case you missed it when we posted it earlier.

We would also like to invite you to write a letter to Gao using our new page for him on our Prisoner Alert page.

I would also like to encourage you further to email the government officials of China on Gao's behalf also.  Here is a screen capture of what you'll see when you click on the link that says "add your voice" next to the words Government Officials Emailed.

Once this box pops up, all you have to do is follow the links and write your email.  Click either link - Ambassador or the Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations.  Remember to be respectful when you write.

Click here to write your letter to Gao today and don't be afraid to share this with others who want to be an active voice for the persecuted church.

Going Home: Today Should Have Been Gao Zhisheng’s First Day Back Home

I saw this important post over on the China Aid blog a few days ago, but due to the holidays didn’t have a chance to share it with you until today. As you know, if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, we’ve asked for your prayers for Gao Zhisheng and invited you to sign our petition at http://www.freegao.com. Thank you to all of you who have supported Gao through your prayers and support this past year. As you read the letter that Gao’s wife has written, please pray for her strength as well as for all of Gao’s family.

Going Home

Today should have been Gao Zhisheng’s first day back home

By Geng He

I remember one evening in September 2006, two domestic security protection officers suddenly showed up at my house, asking me, “Where have you hidden Gege?” It was only then that I suddenly realized that it was already past the time when my daughter should have returned home from school. Shocked, I started to cry and said to them, “You are the ones who follow my daughter to school. If anything’s happened to her, I’ll end my life.” Having confirmed that I had no idea where my daughter was, they then said to me, “We know where Gege is. Do you want her home?” I replied, “Of course. Where is she?” They said, “She is at Fan Yafeng’s. We’ll go there now.”

My son Tianyu and I got into their car, and saw them restlessly playing with the cover of their cellphones, opening and closing the cover, opening and closing … . When we got to Anzhen Bridge, where we should have turned right, they said fretfully that they needed to make a phone call first, and then abruptly made a U-turn, going back to the small supermarket near my home (where there is a pay phone). They kept saying to me, “You are your daughter’s guardian. Are you comfortable about a girl being at someone else’s home so late? If Fan Yafeng does not send her back right away, you’ll have to report it to the police and say ‘Fan Yafeng has kidnapped my daughter,’ etc., etc.”

After dialing Fan Yafeng’s cell phone number, they handed the phone to me. When I put the phone to my ear, I heard the ringtone playing the saxophone recording “Going Home”, which instantly made me cry. What a familiar and sweet tune! This “Going Home” saxophone rendition was what used to play as I completed the day’s grocery shopping. In step with this “Going Home” song, the whole family would walk back together to our guesthouse to rest. Accompanied by this “Going Home” song, we would go out to eat together…. Oh, the difference with what I am facing now is like the difference between earth and sky!

Where is my husband Gao Zhisheng? When can he start on the road to come home? The situation then is still fresh in my mind. Now, it’s been more than five years … yet the road home for us is still so far.

Geng He
December 22, 2011

Please read the full post at China Aid and pray for all Christians in China today.

Gao Zhisheng Named ABA's International Human Rights Lawyer of the Year

The following is from a China Aid email alert.  Please remember to keep Gao in your prayer.  Visit http://www.freegao.com for all the latest news.

At the annual American Bar Association conference, held in San Francisco on August 6, 17-year-old Ge Ge smiled as she walked to the podium to accept the International Human Rights Lawyer of the Year Award on behalf of her missing father, Gao Zhisheng.

"I am so very proud of my father," she said. "This is the first time that this award [has been] granted to a Chinese person. If my father knew that I accepted this award for him, he would be very happy."

The President of ABA expressed warm regards toward Gao Zhisheng, praising him for his breadth and depth of work for human rights in the Chinese legal system. Ge Ge then shared her admiration for her father and his devotion to his work. "Deep in my heart, my father is the type of person I admire very much. He can get over any difficulties, and he is not afraid of anything.. I feel that my father is an outstanding father."

Though proud of her father's accomplishments, Ge Ge admitted, "I have been really worrying about my dad's situation." Ge Ge and her family continue to dread the reality that Gao continues to be held hostage by the Chinese government and may never return home. Read the Interview with Ge Ge and coverage of Gao Zhisheng's ABA award.  (You may also watch a short video clip of the presentation of the award)

...

"Gao's continued forced disappearance is a blatant disregard of the basic human rights of the Chinese people," says Pastor Bob Fu, who visited Gao's family in June. "If there is no regard for even a well-respected, human rights attorney's dignity, what stops the Chinese Government from exploiting the dignity of its citizens? We will not stop until Gao's rights are restored, as a law-abiding citizen of China. We will not rest until Gao Zhisheng is allowed to be reunited unconditionally with his family in the US."

Gao Zhisheng's Life in Danger - Please Help Now!

Late  yesterday I received an email from China Aid that has the latest information on our brother Gao who has been under persecution for some time now.  Please keep him and his family in your continued prayers.  Here's the latest from China Aid...

 Supporters around the world were shocked on March 27, 2010, when Gao Zhisheng spoke with his family for the first time since he was abducted on February 4 last year. Media buzzed with news of his reappearance, as Gao Zhisheng connected with friends, family, reporters and colleagues. But even this brief reprieve from silence was not free.

"Gao was being held under tight security during the time he spoke with his family," says President of ChinaAid Bob Fu. "When I spoke with him on the phone in March, he was being closely monitored, not at liberty to give details about his location or condition."

On April 15 and 16, Gao Zhisheng visited his in-laws in Xinjiang, telling them he would be flying home to Beijing at 10 AM on April 20. Gao never arrived home at his apartment, and has not been seen or heard from in more than 8 weeks. See the media reports on Gao Zhisheng's forced "Re-Disappearance."

Now that he has disappeared again, it is clear that Gao's life is in danger as long as he is in the custody of the Chinese government. During this complex and difficult time, efforts are already in progress to push for Gao's release from China and for a safe reunion with his family in the United States.

"We continue to denounce the Chinese Government's brutal and unjust treatment of Gao Zhisheng!" says Bob Fu. "We will not rest until Gao is released and allowed to reunite with his wife and children in peace."

Please urge more of your friends to Sign the Petition and let the Chinese Government know that Gao Zhisheng is not forgotten. We must show them that the world will not allow this defender of truth and justice to fade from our hearts and minds. We will not rest until he is united with his family.

Gao Has Gone Missing After His Release

Breaking news in from the New York Times, Gao is missing again, please keep him and his family in your prayers.  Click here for the full story. 

BEIJING — Gao Zhisheng, a prominent human-rights lawyer whose 14-month disappearance at the hands of Chinese security agents stirred an international outcry until his release last month, has again vanished, his friends said Friday.

Associates said Mr. Gao failed to return to a Beijing apartment on April 20 after spending more than a week in Urumqi, the capital of western China’s Xinjiang region, where he had been visiting his father-in-law. Mr. Gao had telephoned his father-in-law as his plane left Urumqi, saying he would call upon his arrival in Beijing, they said.

That was his last contact with the outside world. Li Heping, another Beijing human-rights lawyer and a close friend, said he had visited Mr. Gao’s apartment repeatedly but had not found him.

“There was a thick layer of dust on the door handle,” said Mr. Li, who last went to Mr. Gao’s apartment on Thursday. “No one had been there for a while. I have no idea who to call, or who has taken him.”

Others said they were sure that he had been returned to government custody and that his brief release had been a ploy to try to demonstrate to the outside world that he had not been mistreated while in detention.

Christian Activist Arrested on the Heels of Human Rights Attorney's Release

Thank you to our friends at Mission Network News for this story.  For more great missions stories, be sure to visit MNN often.

China (MNN) ― After over a year of imprisonment for his faith, human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng was finally set free. Still, persecution in China has yet to die down.

Gao was abducted by Chinese officials on February 4, 2009. Petitions were signed by thousands for his freedom, and international leaders eventually pressured the government as well, recognizing the fact that Gao had done nothing more than defended the causes of Christians. (For more on Gao's arrest, click here.)

Voice of the Martyrs, Canada reports that Gao was finally released in early April. He has decided to stop his practice to reunite with his family who had to flee to the United States in the heat of persecution.

Although Gao's long-awaited freedom may have finally come, the persecution persists for other believers in the country.

Shen Peilan, a Christian and a well-known activist against government corruption, was abducted at the end of March by Chinese officials, and has not been seen since. Officials from the Bureau of Letters and Petitions had raided her home twice earlier that day.

Shen's abduction came right on the heels of an unwarranted arrest that took place in early March. She was taken on her way to a protest against her house being destroyed by officials earlier in the year.

Gao's freedom is a victory in the fight on Chinese persecution, but clearly religious freedom is still in danger. Pray that believers would continue to be bold in sharing of their faith regardless. Pray that those on the receiving end of religious injustice like Shen Peilan would put all of their trust in the Lord and would gain back the freedoms they deserve.

The Latest on Gao

⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.- 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Yesterday we posted the latest from China Aid about Bob Fu's interaction with Gao, and today China Aid has updated their latest information.  Click here to read the full report.

Here's an excerpt.

BEIJING--Gao Zhisheng told reporters from the Associated Press on April 7 that he would cease his legal activism in the hopes of reuniting with his family in the future. The reporters captured the first live images of Gao in their discussion, since his arrest in February 2009. (See the AP Report) While international supporters have expressed concern in seeing such a strong figure agree to back down from his position, ChinaAid President Bob Fu says Gao's decision is understandable.

"Gao Zhisheng is a man of integrity and heart. Facing such enormous pressure and knowing that his family needs him, he has chosen to fulfill his duty as a father to his children, and husband to his wife. I understand that decision. He has faced a long and painful separation, and it is a tragedy that he still cannot see his family."

CHINA: HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER ALIVE

Yesterday we shared with you that Gao is alive.  Today I wanted to share with you the official release from The Voice of the Martyrs news team.

On March 28, human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who has been missing for more than a year, contacted his wife and children, according to ChinaAid Association.

Gao’s wife, Geng He, and children were relieved to hear from him after such a long time. Geng He hopes her husband can rejoin the family in the United States soon. In recent months, rumors had circulated that Gao had died of torture at the hands of Chinese government officials. 

“Gao’s brief phone conversations with western media on Sunday mark the first official contact the public has had with him since his abduction by police on Feb. 4, 2009,” ChinaAid reported. Gao told the Associated Press and Reuters news agencies that he was released from Chinese custody six months ago and taken to Wutai Shan mountain, a Buddhist landmark in Shanxi province. He declined to give other details on his condition, saying legally he could not give interviews.

ChinaAid reported that Li Heping, Gao’s friend and colleague, had also spoken to Gao on Sunday. “It’s certainly him,” Heping said. “I spoke to him over the phone. I could tell from the way he spoke and the way he spoke to me that it’s him.”

ChinaAid President Bob Fu confirmed that Gao is alive. “After examining Gao’s voice in the interview, I too am convinced that it is Gao,” he said. On Feb. 4, 2009, Gao Zhisheng was abducted from his hometown by Chinese secret police. Since 2005, Gao has been repeatedly arrested, imprisoned and severely tortured by Chinese authorities, mostly for his work defending Chinese Christians. In 2006, he and a group of prominent human rights lawyers created the Association of Human Rights Attorneys for Chinese Christians. In 2007, he was arrested and spent more than 50 days behind bars, where he was also tortured. “I was beaten so badly that my whole body began shaking uncontrollably on the floor,” Gao wrote of his torture in an open letter.

The Voice of the Martyrs and ChinaAid has lobbied for Gao’s release from prison, and The Voice of the Martyrs has featured Gao on its Web site at www.prisoneralert.com. The Chinese government would not acknowledge that Gao was in one of its prisons, so letters of encouragement for Gao were mailed to the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C.

VOM encourages you to pray that Gao will soon be able to rejoin his family. Praise God that Gao is safe for now, and ask God to encourage him and his family during this challenging time. Pray that God will give Gao the grace to forgive his persecutors, and pray that the Holy Spirit will minister to him.