China rights lawyer vows fight to reunite with family

BEIJING: Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang says he is drained after years in jail but ready to fight to reunite with his family in Beijing as authorities keep him confined in a distant province.

Detained in 2015 as part of a sweeping crackdown on hundreds of lawyers and rights activists, Wang was freed earlier this month after four-and-a-half years behind bars in a case that drew international attention.

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During his imprisonment, Wang's wife, Li Wenzu, became a high-profile advocate for his freedom, meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2018, and famously shaved her head to bring attention to his plight.

Following his release, Wang said he was taken to his hometown of Jinan in Shandong province to undergo a 14-day coronavirus quarantine, despite having tested negative five times.

The quarantine ended six days ago, but Wang says he has not been allowed to leave Jinan to reunite with his wife and seven-year-old son in Beijing.

READ: China rights lawyer released after five years in jail

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"I will definitely fight this, I cannot accept it. Reuniting with my family is a matter of course," Wang, 44, told AFP in a video call.

Wang, the last of the lawyers caught up in the crackdown to be released, was also deprived of political rights – including freedom of assembly and publication – for five years.

"Being deprived of political rights doesn't mean having your human rights and freedoms limited as well," he said.

"This time, they used the epidemic as a convenient excuse to limit my freedom."

Wang said authorities also cited the annual session of the National People's Congress, which usually takes place in March but was postponed due to the pandemic, as an "excuse".

Officials usually make activists leave Beijing on a forced "holiday" during major political events.

"I just wanted to reunite with my family," Wang said. "Why worry so much?"

The United States urged China on Monday to give Wang "freedom of movement, including the ability to join his family in Beijing".

Beijing responded that other countries should not interfere in its internal affairs.

Police in Jinan and Shandong could not be reached for comment.

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A prominent lawyer who has defended political activists and victims of land seizures, Wang was convicted for "subverting state power" in a closed-door trial that only took place in January 2019.

Now stranded in Jinan, Wang is still slowly adjusting to life in confinement, and the only Internet access he has is through his mobile phone, which was returned to him by authorities on Monday.

His communications are under constant surveillance.

"I feel a bit disjointed from outside life, I cannot walk a short distance without panting," Wang said.

"I thought that my body could recover well after prison, but now I realise I can't, I don't have very much energy."

Wang said heRead More – Source