Xu Zhiyong on Hunger Strike in Prison: Human Rights Organizations Call for International Support

Archived Photo: A photo of Xu Zhiyong taken by his lawyer, Wang Ying, during a meeting at the Linyi City, Linshu County Detention Center in Shandong Province in January 2023. (Photo credit: Wang Ying)

According to People News, prominent Chinese human rights lawyer and founder of the “New Citizens' Movement,” Xu Zhiyong, has been on hunger strike for forty days in protest against prison abuse and being denied communication with his family. On Tuesday, the “Xiamen Gathering Case Concern Group” issued an open letter in both Chinese and English, calling on the international community to pay attention to Xu Zhiyong’s health.

According to Radio Free Asia, on November 12, the “12.26 Xiamen Gathering Case Concern Group” published an open letter revealing that Xu, a leading figure in China’s civil rights movement, has been on hunger strike for forty days, and his requests for basic rights have still not been approved by Lunan Prison. The Concern Group urged the international community to condemn the inhumane treatment of Xu Zhiyong in Lunan Prison and urged the prison to stop the abuse.

Force-Feeding Apparatus Observed

Born in 1973, Xu Zhiyong is the founder of the democratic advocacy organization “Gongmeng,” a human rights lawyer, and an advocate of the “New Citizens' Movement.” He served as a representative in Beijing’s Haidian District People’s Congress for the 13th and 14th sessions. Due to his advocacy for nonviolent civil rights protests, Xu has been imprisoned three times: in 2009, 2013, and March 2020. On April 10, 2023, the Intermediate Court of Linyi City in Shandong Province sentenced him to 14 years for “subverting state power.” Xu is currently detained in Lunan Prison in Shandong Province.

Teng Biao, a former human rights lawyer from China and now an adjunct professor at Hunter College, State University of New York, told Radio Free Asia: “Xu Zhiyong began his hunger strike on October 4 in Lunan Prison. After international calls for intervention, Xu’s family was allowed to see him on October 29, where they saw a forced-feeding tube in him. However, family members still could not communicate with him, so no one knows his current situation.”

Teng also shared that Xu’s lawyer attempted to visit him in prison, but “the prison found minor excuses, claiming the lawyer was not ‘qualified’ and denied visitation. The lawyer waited for two days but had to leave. In this situation, Xu cannot pass messages through his lawyer, so what happened after October 29 remains unknown to the outside world.”

According to Teng, Xu’s friends and lawyers have called Lunan Prison to inquire about his condition, but “the prison denies any hunger strike and is unwilling to disclose further details.”

Family Threatened

Lawyer Ding Jiaxi, arrested along with Xu Zhiyong in connection with the Xiamen gathering case, was sentenced to 12 years for “subversion of state power.” Ding’s wife, Luo Shengchun, told Radio Free Asia that both Xu’s and Ding’s cases were handled in secrecy from detention to trial. “Both cases involved secret detentions, secret interrogations, and secret sentences. To this day, family members have no detailed information, and lawyers were required to sign confidentiality agreements on trial documents.”

Luo Shengchun said Xu’s immediate reason for his hunger strike was the humiliation he faced in prison, “We know very well that his main reason for hunger striking was because someone tore up a letter written to him by Li Qiaochu. This was intolerable for him. As far as we know, Li Qiaochu’s communication rights have still not been restored.”

Luo also shared that authorities have restricted Li Qiaochu and other family members from speaking publicly and even used a flimsy excuse to prevent her from communicating with Xu: “They implicated Li Qiaochu, treating her as a family member when they detained her. Now, as she tries to regain her communication rights, they say, ‘You’re not his family member; you’re his co-defendant.’ What kind of logic is this? It’s shameless.”

According to the “Xiamen Gathering Case Concern Group,” Xu has also been subjected to mental abuse in Lunan Prison since July through “cell-surveillance” methods.

Teng Biao explained, “It involves six people in one cell, with five inmates assigned to monitor him around the clock. They even require approval for him to use the toilet and frequently subject him to humiliation, threats, and physical punishment, a form of torture that greatly diminishes a person’s dignity.”

Teng believes that this form of close surveillance is related to Xu’s refusal to plead guilty.

Luo Shengchun and Teng both note that, since the prison has cut off Xu’s contact with the outside world, this information has been pieced together from various sources. Teng expressed, “Regardless of who becomes the next U.S. President, we hope that the U.S. State Department, Congress, and agencies focused on democracy and human rights will increase their calls for Xu Zhiyong and for China’s conscience prisoners.”

Human Rights Organizations Call for Greater Attention

Since Xu Zhiyong began his hunger strike, there has been some international attention. On October 28, U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns issued a statement on social media platform X, urging the Chinese government to release Xu Zhiyong and to treat him and all detainees with dignity in line with China’s commitments as a member of the United Nations.

Liesl Gerntholtz, Director of the PEN America Barbey Freedom to Write Center, also stated to the media, “As he enters his third week of hunger strike, governments worldwide must clearly support Xu Zhiyong and other writers and dissidents unjustly detained in China.” Xu was awarded the PEN America Barbey Freedom to Write Award in 2020.

However, Yaqiu Wang, a researcher with the China division of Human Rights Watch, told Radio Free Asia that under Xi Jinping’s crackdown, the situation for human rights lawyers in China is deteriorating, while international attention is decreasing.

“Although international concern for China hasn’t decreased, the focus of issues has shifted. Now there’s more attention on political issues, China’s national security matters, its actions in the South China Sea, and cyber attacks on the U.S. But human rights issues are still worthy of attention,” she said.

A group of Chinese democracy activists in Los Angeles recently formed a hunger strike group, protesting in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles and holding a relay hunger strike in support of Xu Zhiyong. Geng Guanjun, one of the organizers from the China Democratic Party National Committee, told Radio Free Asia that the hunger strike has continued with 35 volunteers so far. On November 12, Ren Wei, who joined the hunger strike, stated, “I voluntarily fast for one day to support Xu Zhiyong. He risks his life for China’s human rights cause. Those who fight domestically are our examples. We, abroad, must show support for these democracy fighters.”

Geng told Radio Free Asia that, as Xu’s situation remains unchanged, the China Democratic Party National Committee plans to respond to the domestic “Night Ride Kaifeng” event by cycling to the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles and tearing down the Chinese flag at the consulate in protest, responding to prison guards tearing up Xu’s letters.

The “Xiamen Gathering Case Concern Group” urges more people to join in raising awareness to help Xu Zhiyong obtain his legal rights to medical care, communication, and lawyer visits.

The open letter concludes, “Xu Zhiyong has made tremendous sacrifices for a better China, unafraid of the long prison term and harsh treatment. Humanity’s struggle for justice and freedom will not cease. Believe that your concern and support for Xu Zhiyong will defend justice and inspire change beyond borders, religions, and political ideologies.”

On Tuesday, Radio Free Asia reporters attempted to contact the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. and Lunan Prison via public phone numbers to inquire about Xu Zhiyong’s latest status, but no one answered the calls.