At the request of Geng He (耿和), wife of Chinese rights defense lawyer Gao Zhisheng (高智晟), Human Rights in China (HRIC) is releasing a statement by Ms. Geng today, following recent reports that Chinese authorities claim that Gao is living and working in Xinjiang and has been in contact with Ms. Geng.
In the past few days, according to news media reports, the Chinese Embassy in the United States disclosed the current whereabouts of lawyer Gao Zhisheng, claiming that he is working in Urumqi, Xinjiang, and that he has been in contact with me and with his relatives in China all along. As lawyer Gao Zhisheng’s wife, ever since I was forced to take our two children into exile in the U.S. a year ago, there has not been a single moment when I did not worry for his personal safety, but for a very long time I have not heard from him, and I do not know where he is now. Unless the Chinese government truly makes good on what it is declaring to the outside world and allows my husband to get in contact with me directly, I have no way of verifying his current whereabouts and whether he is safe and free.
At this time of Chinese New Year festivities, a time of family reunion, I particularly long for my husband. According to the provisions of Chinese law, even family members of convicts serving sentences in prison have the right to visit the prisoners. I earnestly request the Chinese government to, in the spirit of humanitarianism, allow my husband to contact and speak with me and to, at the same time, ensure his personal safety, treat his illness, and let him return to our Beijing residence.
For more information on Gao Zhisheng, see:
Gao Zhisheng’s account of his September 2007 kidnapping and torture:
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