International Political Prisoners Day: US Officials Urge the CCP to Release All Political Prisoners

Photo: Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media mogul Lai Zhiying arrives at the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. (December 31, 2020/VOA)

[People News] October 30 marks the International Day of Political Prisoners, a day dedicated to supporting political prisoners around the globe who have been unjustly incarcerated for exercising fundamental rights, expressing peaceful beliefs, reporting news, or voicing political dissent.

In the People's Republic of China, the persecution of political prisoners is among the most severe in the world. Numerous individuals, both well-known and lesser-known, including Fu Juan, Zhang Chao, Ding Jiaxi, and Dorji Zaxi, have been imprisoned solely for adhering to beliefs outside the CCP's control or for advocating democratic ideals. Many rights defenders, courageous lawyers, and dissidents remain missing to this day. Notably, the prominent lawyer Gao Zhisheng has been missing for nearly a decade, with his fate still uncertain.

On October 30, John Moolenaar, Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Special Committee on China, released a statement calling on the Chinese Communist Party to free all political prisoners in the People's Republic of China. He stated, 'The tragic cases of Joshua Wong, Jimmy Lai, Dr Chen Younlin, Minxin, Pastor Gao Quanfu, Dr Gulshan Abbas, and countless others vividly demonstrate how the Chinese Communist Party employs arbitrary detention, illegal imprisonment, and collective punishment as political tools to suppress those who strive for freedom.'

Huang Zhifeng is a prominent pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong, while Lai Zhiying is the founder of Hong Kong's Next Media and Apple Daily. The U.S. President later mentioned that during several meetings with Xi Jinping, he brought up the issue of releasing Lai Zhiying, but Xi expressed a sense of helplessness. However, this is not true helplessness; rather, it reflects the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) intention to demonstrate its power over those it seeks to persecute.

For many years, Western leaders have consistently urged the CCP to respect and uphold its international human rights commitments, as well as to comply with its own laws. Yet, for the dictatorial CCP, political power supersedes everything else. The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly told reporters at press conferences that human rights in China are currently at their best... Aren't you all doing well, just like me? Hua Chunying has also stated that if a government does not care about the lives of its own citizens and fails to protect them, how can it be trusted to genuinely care for and protect the human rights of people from other countries?!

Naturally, individuals like Hua Chunying enjoy the privileges of human rights, claiming to represent the people. In contrast, the real citizens and powerless civilians are dismissed by Lin Jiaxiang, a high-ranking official sent by the Ministry of Transport to Shenzhen, who remarked, 'You people are insignificant!'

This regime's simultaneous persecution and deceptive embellishment raise serious questions about its legitimacy. Some argue that the CCP is afraid to speak the truth and does not genuinely grant human rights to the Chinese populace, as doing so would threaten the interests and safety of powerful interest groups.

Today, we honour the courage and determination of all dissidents who have bravely resisted the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party and have consequently found themselves imprisoned," stated Mullenar in a statement. "We must remember that these individuals are imprisoned by the Chinese authorities solely for their steadfast belief in freedom and democracy," he emphasised. "I once again urge the Chinese Communist Party to release all political prisoners."

The U.S. House of Representatives' Special Committee on China Issues was established in January 2023. This bipartisan, permanent committee does not have direct legislative authority; its primary role is to investigate, research, and provide policy recommendations regarding U.S.-China strategic competition to a permanent committee of Congress. The committee frequently addresses a variety of topics, including U.S.-China security, economics, and human rights.
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