Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Goes Missing During Hunger Strike
Attempt to Travel to the US to Care for Wife Stopped
Disappeared During Hunger Strike at Shanghai Pudong Airport
[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Chinese prominent human rights lawyer Yang Maodong, well known by the pen name Guo Feixiong, has gone out of contact while on a hunger strike, Hong Kong's Apple Daily reported on the 3rd.
Apple Daily reported that Lawyer Yang was prevented from boarding a flight to the United States at Shanghai Pudong Airport on the 28th of last month, and in protest, he went on a hunger strike at the airport, after which contact was lost.
Lawyer Yang planned to go to the United States to care for his wife, who had undergone cancer surgery and was about to start chemotherapy. However, immediately after passing through airport security, authorities reportedly stopped him from boarding the plane on charges such as "threatening national security."
Yang's family told Apple Daily, "They (the Chinese authorities) do not understand the most basic and normal human emotions." They added, "We hope the U.S. government will raise its voice on this matter and assist Lawyer Yang's travel to the United States."
They stated that Lawyer Yang had no plans to reside permanently in the United States and intended to return to China with his wife as soon as her chemotherapy was completed to seek help from traditional Chinese medicine.
Lawyer Yang has fought for human rights since participating in the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests as a student and has been imprisoned twice since 2006, serving a total of 11 years.
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He has demanded political reforms from the Chinese leadership, including ratification of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, allowance of freedom of the press and publication, and experiments with direct elections of the top officials in 100 counties, which are local administrative units. Since his release in August 2019, he has been under government surveillance.
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