GAO ZHISHENG, MY HUSBAND - WHERE ARE YOU?
By Bi Zimo, Radio Free Asia, Via The epochtimes, Oct 5, 2009 -
Geng He is the wife of prominent Chinese human rights lawyer, Gao Zhisheng. Gao is known for representing a range of groups being persecuted by the Chinese regime, particularly Falun Gong. Arrested in February, Gao’s current whereabouts are unknown. Geng He and their two children escaped to the U.S. earlier this year.
Geng He wrote an open letter to her husband on the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival which fell on Oct. 3. It was their family’s first Mid-Autumn Festival in the U.S. Their life in a new country can be best described by the famous Chinese poem that goes like this: “A lonely stranger in a strange land I’m cast, I miss my family all the more on every festive day.”
In her open letter entitled “Gao Zhisheng, my husband and the father of my children—where are you?” she wrote that she and her children have worried terribly about Gao because they had not heard anything from him, and do not know whether he has been alive or not for the past ten months.
She stated that in the past they endured enormous pressure when Gao was illegally detained and the whole family was put under the surveillance by the Chinese authorities. In particular, their two children were mentally tormented.
She said that she did not want the Chinese authorities to use their family to threaten Gao; therefore, as a wife and mother, she had to made the choice to escape to America with their children.
However, they have since lost contact with Gao. Their children constantly asked where their father was, but she could only remain silent whenever the question was brought up.
Geng also mentioned the difficulties she and the children had faced as new immigrants in the U.S. Fortunately, they were able to gradually overcome a great deal of adversity with the help of many friends in this country. She wrote that she and the children had been diligently learning English; their daughter Gege has received counseling to help overcome the emotional instability caused by the trauma she suffered in China.
Geng concluded the letter by calling for Chinese and people of the world to continue to pay attention to what happens to Gao. She stated, “My children and I need him. My children cannot be without their father,” and “Only when you are alive can we reunite one day.”
An RFA reporter contacted Mr. Albert Ho Chun-yan, member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and chairman of China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, on Oct. 5. He said that that Gao had been persecuted by Chinese authorities for a long time and had been subject to the most excruciating mental and physical torture; they were extremely concerned about Gao’s condition. Ho also called for people’s continuous attention to the persecution against Gao and other human rights lawyers in China.
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