On December 18, 2024, it will be the 76th birthday of Wang Bingzhang, a Chinese dissident who has been detained by the communist regime for 22 years. Responding to the initiative of the “Free Wang Bingzhang” support group, various democracy and human rights organizations around the world have recently launched a “Global Action to Rescue Wang Bingzhang” rescue movement, calling for support and solidarity for this imprisoned political prisoner.
The “Free Wang Bingzhang” support group issued a statement on December 11 through the overseas platform X account @FreeWBZofficial, urging the global public to participate in the “Global Action to Rescue Wang Bingzhang” movement and send birthday greetings to Wang Bingzhang in various forms.
The statement reads: “Dr. Wang Bingzhang was abducted by the Chinese Communist Party from Vietnam in 2002, sentenced to life imprisonment, and has been in solitary confinement for 22 years. Dr. Wang Bingzhang will turn 76 on December 28 this year. As his birthday approaches, your greetings, a postcard, a drawing, will all bring him infinite warmth and care. We call on everyone to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Wang Bingzhang, who has been imprisoned in solitary confinement for 22 years, in different ways.”
Following the issuance of this initiative, it quickly garnered widespread response from democracy activists, human rights groups, and various sectors of society around the world, forming a wave of international support.
On the overseas social platform X, netizens commented that the best way to rescue Mr. Wang is through a hostage exchange, and the United States and the European Union should find a bargaining chip for exchange. Many more people extended birthday wishes to Wang Bingzhang.
Wang Bingzhang was born in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province on December 28, 1947. He was the first medical doctor from China to study in North America before the 1980s. In 1983, he founded the first democracy movement organization overseas to fight for the democratic freedom of the Chinese people. He is hailed as the “pioneer of the overseas Chinese democratic movement”. Wang Bingzhang was abducted by the Chinese Communist Party from Vietnam in 2002. On February 10, 2003, he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court on charges of “engaging in espionage for Taiwan and leading a terrorist organization,” and has been in solitary confinement ever since. During his detention, he has suffered from severe hypertension, multiple strokes, but has been denied medical parole.
This year marks the 26th anniversary of the founding of the China Democracy Party. On September 15, International Democracy Day, nearly a hundred Chinese people gathered outside the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, United States, under the organization of the China Democracy Party Joint Headquarters, demanding the immediate release of Wang Bingzhang and other prisoners of conscience by the Chinese Communist Party.
Wang Bingzhang’s sister, Wang Yuhua, wrote an appeal letter. She mentioned that she has not been allowed to visit Wang Bingzhang since 2013, and the Chinese Communist Party still detains him in solitary confinement, which violates international human rights.
According to a report by a rights protection website on June 28, 2024, Wang Bingzhang’s brother revealed to the outside world the conditions of his brother in prison, stating that although Wang Bingzhang is alive, his health is poor, with his blood pressure often reaching 200/mmHg, and he has collapsed at one point, causing concerns among family members that he may suffer another stroke.
Wang Bingzhang’s brother mentioned that if any unfortunate incident were to happen to his brother, all family members would follow his instructions to go to China with lawyers and forensic experts to investigate the responsibility of the Chinese Communist Government.
Reported by Radio Free Asia on December 27, a dissident Mr. Zhang, who was imprisoned with Wang Bingzhang in Shaoguan Beijiang Prison, said in an interview that he was warned by prison guards not to approach Wang Bingzhang’s cell: “I entered Beijiang Prison in 2013, in the third cell; I was held in the same prison as Wang Bingzhang but in different units. I remember when I first entered the prison, a warden told me not to think about rescuing Wang Bingzhang from the inside out, and not to get close to Wang Bingzhang’s cell. At that time, I thought, how would I know where Wang Bingzhang was being held. Later, I found out that Wang Bingzhang was under solitary confinement.”
Mr. Zhang mentioned that he only learned before his release that Wang Bingzhang had been in solitary confinement since his imprisonment began, as the authorities feared someone might inform Wang Bingzhang about the outside world and help him escape: “I met Fan Yiping in Guangzhou, he is a second-generation red, and he was sentenced to three years in prison because of involvement in the Wang Bingzhang case. Fan had met Wang Bingzhang coming back from the United States in Guangzhou, and at that time, Wang Bingzhang wanted to follow the revolutionary path of Sun Yat-sen, which was intolerable for the domestic authoritarian regime.”
Ten years ago, Wang Bingzhang was detained in Guangdong Shaoguan Prison, later transferred to Beijiang Prison. At that time, lawyers Liu Zhengqing and Ge Wenxiu in Guangzhou represented Wang Bingzhang in his appeal case, but the Guangdong Provincial Prison Administration repeatedly refused the two lawyers to meet Wang Bingzhang.
A lawyer in Guangdong told Radio Free Asia that due to pressure from the authorities, many lawyers dare not accept the family’s commission to represent Wang’s appeal case. He said: “He has no more lawyers, probably ten years ago he had some. In recent years, we haven’t heard any news about him (Wang Bingzhang), and Wang Bingzhang has made great sacrifices, which is commendable.”