THE CASE AND TREATMENT OF PROMINENT HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER GAO ZHISHENG HEARING BEFORE THE CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION FEBRUARY 14, 2012 Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.cecc.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 74–543 PDF WASHINGTON : 2012 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS House Senate CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, SHERROD BROWN, Ohio, Cochairman Chairman MAX BAUCUS, Montana FRANK WOLF, Virginia CARL LEVIN, Michigan DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California EDWARD R. ROYCE, California JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon TIM WALZ, Minnesota SUSAN COLLINS, Maine MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio JAMES RISCH, Idaho MICHAEL HONDA, California EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS SETH D. HARRIS, Department of Labor MARIA OTERO, Department of State FRANCISCO J. SA´ NCHEZ, Department of Commerce KURT M. CAMPBELL, Department of State NISHA DESAI BISWAL, U.S. Agency for International Development PAUL B. PROTIC, Staff Director LAWRENCE T. LIU, Deputy Staff Director (II) CO N T E N T S Page Opening statement of Hon. Chris Smith, a U.S. Representative from New Jersey; Chairman, Congressional-Executive Commission on China ................ 1 Brown, Hon. Sherrod, a U.S. Senator from Ohio; Cochairman, Congressional- Executive Commission on China ........................................................................ 4 Wolf, Hon. Frank, a U.S. Representative from Virginia; Member, Congres- sional-Executive Commission on China ............................................................. 5 Geng He, wife of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng .......................................... 8 Li Jing, wife of democracy advocate Guo Quan .................................................... 10 Genser, Jared, Founder, Freedom Now and Managing Director, Perseus Strat- egies, LLC ............................................................................................................. 11 Fu, Bob, Founder and President, ChinaAid Association ...................................... 14 APPENDIX PREPARED STATEMENTS Geng He .................................................................................................................... 28 Li Jing ....................................................................................................................... 30 Genser, Jared ........................................................................................................... 34 Fu, Bob ..................................................................................................................... 39 Smith, Hon. Chris .................................................................................................... 68 Brown, Hon. Sherrod ............................................................................................... 70 SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Article from the Epoch Times titled, ‘‘An Open Letter to China’s National Peoples’ Congress—Gao’s First Letter to CCP’s Leaders,’’ dated December 31, 2004, published March 25, 2006, submitted by Geng He ........................... 72 Article from the Epoch Times titled, ‘‘Stop Persecuting Believers of Freedom and Mend Your Ties With the Chinese People—Gao Zhisheng’s Second Open Letter About the Persecution of Falun Gong,’’ dated October 18, 2005, published October 24, 2005, submitted by Geng He ............................... 76 Article from the Epoch Times titled, ‘‘We Must Immediately Stop the Bru- tality That Suffocates Our Nation’s Conscience and Morality—Gao Zhisheng’s Third Open Letter to Chinese Leaders,’’ dated December 15, 2005, published December 16, 2005, submitted by Geng He ........................... 83 ‘‘Dark Night, Dark Hood and Kidnapping by Dark Mafia,’’ by Gao Zhisheng, submitted by Geng He ......................................................................................... 98 ‘‘AP Exclusive: Missing Chinese Lawyer Told of Abuse,’’ by Charles Hutzler, Associated Press, dated January 10, 2011, submitted by Geng He ................. 103 Gao Zhisheng’s Statement Withdrawing From the Chinese Communist Party, dated December 13, 2005, submitted by Geng He ............................................ 110 Freedom Now Media Release titled, ‘‘Imprisoned Chinese Human Rights Law- yer Gao Zhisheng’s Legal Team File Petition With United Nations Urging His Immediate Release,’’ dated January 25, 2012, submitted by Jared Genser ................................................................................................................... 111 Written Statement of Michael Horowitz, Senior Fellow, the Hudson Institute, submitted by Bob Fu ............................................................................................ 119 Gao Zhisheng’s Open Letter to the U.S. Congress, dated September 27, 2007, submitted by Hon. Chris Smith .......................................................................... 119 (III) THE CASE AND TREATMENT OF PROMINENT HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER GAO ZHISHENG TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA, Washington, DC. The hearing was convened, pursuant to notice, at 12:31 p.m., in room 2118, Rayburn House Office Building, Representative Chris Smith, Chairman, presiding. Also present: Senator Sherrod Brown; Representative Tim Walz; Representative Frank Wolf. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. CHRIS SMITH, A U.S. REP- RESENTATIVE FROM NEW JERSEY; CHAIRMAN, CONGRES- SIONAL–EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA Chairman SMITH. The Commission will come to order. I want to welcome all of our distinguished panelists and guests, and thank you for being here. Ladies and gentlemen, as President Obama welcomes Vice Presi- dent Xi Jinping, Chinese Leader-in-Waiting, to the White House today, our Commission will hear testimony from two wives who are appealing for the immediate release of their jailed husbands, great human rights leaders back in China. We will also hear from two human rights experts as well who will give great insight and detail as to the issues before us. As Chairman, I hope that President Obama does not put human rights last on the agenda, or not at all, as he did when President Hu Jintao visited the White House on January 19, 2011. One of the wives, Li Jing, says that ‘‘only the United States can make this case to China,’’ that is the case of her husband and the case of the disappeared and incarcerated human rights leaders. Please, President Obama, listen to these courageous women, Geng He and Li Jing, and act decisively. The China Commission hopes that the issue of human rights abuses in China will be raised in a serious and visible way during the Vice President’s visit, and particularly that the detention of Gao Zhisheng, Liu Xiaobo, Chen Guangcheng, Guo Quan, Liu Xiabin, Pastor Yang Rongli, and Alimujiang Yimiti, and others is raised often and discussed in detail. This important and timely hearing recognizes one of China’s most important human rights leaders and lawyers, Gao Zhisheng. In early 2000, Mr. Gao, a self-trained lawyer, emerged as a cham- pion of human rights causes and a defender of marginalized groups (1) 2 in China. Today, we know little about Mr. Gao’s current condition or his whereabouts. Then the issue of Guo Quan, who is an academic and professor who published an open letter to President Hu calling for multi- party elections, posted a charter for a new democracy party online and called for the end of China’s notorious reeducation through labor system. For that, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Gao Zhisheng’s brilliant legal advocacy on behalf of marginalized groups in China, including religious practitioners, the Falun Gong, and others, Christians, rural workers, human rights activists, and more, resulted in him being sentenced on trumped up inciting sub- version charges in 2006. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment, but granted a five-year suspended sentence or period of parole. During this time, however, Mr. Gao was subjected to years of brutal torture and he repeatedly ‘‘disappeared.’’ An outspoken Christian, Mr. Gao has been disappeared into official custody since February 2009, with only a brief reappearance under official supervision in March and April 2010. Information on Mr. Gao’s enforced disappearance and current condition remain a closely guarded secret. For months and years we heard nothing of Mr. Gao’s ongoing detention or torture. Two months ago, however, Chinese officials announced that Mr. Gao would be forced to serve out his original three-year criminal sen- tence a week before he should have finished his five-year parole pe- riod. The announcement claimed that Mr. Gao violated the conditions of his parole. Of course, no details were provided. One can only wonder what violations Mr. Gao committed since he has been held incommunicado during a majority of his parole period and has been, as I said, brutally tortured by the Chinese Government throughout. In the past month, his brother and other family members have been turned away in their attempts to visit Mr. Gao. We have re- ceived no word on his health or condition. An expert witness will demonstrate the official case against Gao Zhisheng is not only rife with villainy, but also bereft of any semblance of humanity. In an account of Mr.