My speech in the worldwide Human Rights Defenders platform
In china most of the time that people have their rights violated,it is government officials or people who have close ties with government who violate them.As a human rights defender(HRD),when we help the victims of these violations,we challenge powerful interests and local officials make use of the courts,among other things,to retaliateagainst us.
What the Communist Party fears most is that people will form together into a community.The Party is afraid that when Human Rights Defenders(HRDS) gather together to defend the rights of others,they will attract more and more people to the cause,and eventually there will be a fully formed group of people determined to engage in human rights defence.As a result of this,the Communist Party sees human rights defenders as a threat to their rule.
In 2010 Ms Ni Yulan,a well-know HRD,was left homeless after her house was torn down and she evicted from her temporary lodging by police.With no other choice,she
forced to live in a tent in a park,close to the headquarters of the CCP.After she was driven from this park by the police,a number of HRDS,including me,planned a large protest on a central street on the day of the Dragon boat festival.The day before the protest was due to take place,Beijing secret police spent 2 hours prying open the door of my home,abducted me,beat me and abandoned me in the middle of the night by a roadside in a mountainous suburb of Beijing,with mo way for me to return.
During the time of the revolutions in the Middle East in 2011,the Communist Party was living in fear,afraid that a similar revolution might happen in China.They detained and disappeared scores of human rights defenders nationwide and subjected us to various kinds of torture,including beating,electric shocks and starvation.When they grabbed me and were interrogating me,they said:"you guys shout loudly to defend human rights everyday,don't to know that the Tunisian government was brought down by a street hawker who was defending human rights?"They even threatened to bury me alive or shoot me dead.In the end,I was "disappeared"for six and a half weeks.
These cases show that in China human rights defenders are treated as enemies by the government,and they will do anything they can to suppress us.
We Chinese HRDS have drawn the following security lessons from our work:
NO.1:In preparation for detention,we sign blank power of attorney documents so that when we are arrested,lawyers can immediately act on our behalves.
NO.2:We know we must stay calm,when being harassed and abused by the police.in order to avoid police retaliation,we do not swear at them or fight back.In China,there is no way for people to supervise police illegal activities without drawing police retaliation.
No.3:When we are in danger or face increased risks,one of the best strategies we can use to publicise the danger we are facing online,to let people know that if we suddenly "disappear".it is probably because of our human rights work.
