Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong on hunger strike over prison treatment

Chen Zifei for RFA Mandarin

Prominent Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong has begun a hunger strike in protest at his treatment in prison, where he is currently serving a 14-year jail term for “subversion of state power,” sparking concerns for his health, fellow activists said on Thursday.

Xu recently complained via his lawyer that he is being held separately from other inmates alongside three cell-mates who are charged with monitoring him around the clock.

Xu, who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in February, is no longer referred to by name, but instead by a code name, 003. He has also been deprived of phone calls and reading and writing materials, and his family say they’ve never received any of the letters he writes to them.

His trial alongside rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi was widely criticized by rights activists as resulting from a trumped-up charge. Activists and rights lawyers say Xu has never advocated violence, and has paid a very heavy price for advocating for his personal ideals.

According to fellow legal activist Teng Biao, Xu began his hunger strike on Oct. 4, and has kept it up for 20 days so far, despite deteriorating health.

“It’s very important to Xu that his girlfriend and family members are able to contact him at any time,” Teng told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview. “That’s why he started his hunger strike on Oct. 4; it’s been 20 days now.”

A group campaigning for dissidents jailed after attending a gathering in the southeastern port city of Xiamen in December 2019 also reported Xu’s hunger strike.

“This was a decision forced upon him to regain his human rights, which had been violated,” the 12.26 Xiamen Gathering Case Concern Group said in a statement on Thursday, adding: “It is unclear whether he has received adequate medical care.”

Not normal

Teng Biao, a visiting professor at New York’s City University of New York who worked with Xu Zhiyong for many years, said the “special” treatment being meted out to Xu in prison wasn’t part of the normal running of the facility, but had likely been ordered from higher up.

“Xu Zhiyong is in a very bad way right now,” Teng told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview. “The constant monitoring hasn’t changed, and he is still being deprived of his right to communicate with his family.”

“His family members are frequently obstructed, harassed and threatened when they try to visit him.”

Ding Jiaxi’s wife Luo Shengchun said she has tried to contact Xu Zhiyong’s family to learn more, but his family members didn’t dare to give out any details.

“If Xu Zhiyong’s rights were being respected and his family members were free from threat, they wouldn’t be afraid to speak out, and update me,” Luo said. “So clearly the family have been heavily persecuted, and Xu Zhiyong’s situation is very bad — no news really doesn’t mean good news.”

Xu’s former defense attorney Wang Ying said Xu’s situation must be unbearable for him to consider refusing food.

“He’s had torture, humiliation and discriminatory treatment, deprivation of communication and visitation rights and other human rights violations during this sentence,” Wang told RFA Mandarin. “Faced with this unbearable human rights persecution, it’s no surprise that he has chosen this drastic form of protest.”

“I’m very worried about his health, and I fear he could die in prison like Liu Xiaobo did,” Wang said.

Calling for Xi’s outster

U.S.-based rights lawyer Wu Shaoping said having other people escort you everywhere and watch you round the clock is “extremely inhumane, and a form of cruel mental abuse.”

He said the likely reason for this mistreatment is that Xu penned a letter calling on President Xi Jinping to step down.

“A big reason why Dr. Xu is being treated like this is that he wrote a letter trying to persuade Xi Jinping to resign, and now the authorities at the highest level are retaliating,” Wu said.

“Human rights under the Chinese Communist Party are just getting worse and worse.”

Patrick Poon, a visiting researcher at the University of Tokyo, said long-term hunger strikes take a huge toll on a person’s health, and called on the international community to be vocal in its support for Xu.

“I’ve been working on human rights in China for more than 20 years, and I’ve never heard of any negative effects resulting from international attention,” Poon said. “The main thing is whether or not the voices are loud enough.”

“If they are, then they can definitely improve the situation of people in prison, or at least win them improved communication privileges,” he said.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.