The activist who urged Xi Jinping to resign is serving 14 years and is monitored around the clock.

By Yitong Wu| Published by Radio Free Asia (Cantonese)

“It’s very common for the Chinese Communist Party to abuse political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. They particularly target prisoners of conscience like Xu Zhiyong who have had some impact at home and overseas.” ~ Teng Biao

Summary

High-profile Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong has been subjected to unusually harsh conditions inside prison, says U.S.-based legal scholar Teng Biao.

Xu, who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, is serving a 14-year jail term for “subversion of state power.” His trial alongside rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi was criticized by rights activists as the result of trumped-up charges.

According to Teng, Xu is being held in a four-bed cell separately from other prisoners and is subjected to round-the-clock monitoring by three cellmates, who act as proxies for prison guards. He is also forced into labor and is referred to by a code (003) as opposed to his name. Xu’s basic rights are being violated, says Teng, including being deprived of phone calls, and reading and writing materials. His family has never received any of the letters Xu has written to them.

Teng said one of the reasons for Xu’s harsh treatment was tied to a letter he wrote calling on Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping to step down, which is believed to be the trigger for Xu’s 2020 arrest.

Xu’s detention and subsequent sentencing were linked to a dinner gathering in Xiamen in 2019, where he and other activists were detained on suspicion of “subversion of state power.” The case against Xu was marred by rights violations, including being held incommunicado and denied permission to meet with family members or a lawyer for two years.

The treatment of Xu has been described as even harsher than that of late Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo. The international community has called for Xu to be treated humanely and for his release, in line with international human rights standards.

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