RFA’s Mandarin service got hold of a tape of a conversation between Chen Guangcheng, the Shandong-based family planning activist and legal adviser, and his lawyer. This was taped in the Yinan county detention center in July, before Chen’s first trial.
In choosing the best news angle for this exclusive material, the RFA English Web team chose to focus on the attempt made by one branch of China’s law enforcement system to have Chen tortured.
What’s quite amazing, in terms of the human story of civil rights activists in China, is the emotional impact they must have on anyone within the system that they come into contact with.
Why did the detention center guards refuse to beat him up? It’s not as if they are usually squeamish about such things? Did they think it was beneath them to set upon a blind man, and that they would harm their own macho image? We may never know. But Chen himself seems to think he is having an impact, if only on the private opinions of the officials he meets.
This interview suggests that the overturning of his verdict by the higher-level appeals court was the best message the judicial officials could send, and that their hands were otherwise tied by those in power locally, who were angered by the disrepute brought upon Yinan county by his work on behalf of families abused by the one-child policy.
Here is an extract from his interview, which you can hear in Mandarin here.
The conversation took place on Nov. 3 at the Yinan detention center between defense lawyer Li Jingsong and Chen Guangcheng. This is the first recorded sound of Chen Guangcheng since he was taken away by police in March this year.
Chen was delighted that his case had been remanded to the lower court for retrial. Chen Guangcheng said, “We only ask that the authorities act in accordance with the law. As long as we try our best and stay strong, justice will prevail. We must rely on ourselves to resolve the case instead of counting on others.”
Chen Guangcheng expressed faith in basic human kindness and decency. He said, “In late July, a certain individual – either from public security or the judicial branch – came to the detention center and ordered that I be tortured. His order was flatly rejected by detention center officials. The force of justice will prevail.”
Chen recounted a meeting between him and Yi’nan county court presiding judge Wang Jun. Chen said that Wang Jun told him that the lower court decision (that convicted him and sentenced him to four years and three months) had been influenced by extrajudicial factors.
Chen said: “On August 28, presiding judge Wang Jun paid me a visit. The first thing he said to me was ‘Chen Guangcheng, you should not regard everyone as bad. Someday the truth about your case will be known to the whole world. Is there anyone who is not clear on the truth in this case?’ And so I asked him why he did what he did if he was clear on the truth. He said it was because the communists are still in power. I told him that from what he said he seemed to have a darker view of the system than we. I told him that what motivated us to join the rights campaign was our confidence in democracy, the rule of law, and government policy. But the fact that they feel they can resort to any tactics – including depriving you of the right to defend yourself and to appeal a verdict – it just shows that they have a much darker view of the system. We have a fundamental faith in the system. We ask the government to fulfill its promise to the people.”
Finally, Chen Guangcheng had this message to the outside world: “I am still engaged in the rights campaign. Don’t worry about me. Think of it as if I have embarked on a long journey. My resolve has not been shaken. I will never give up.”
It was during this meeting that Chen Guangcheng authorized Li Jingsong to represent him in the retrial.
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