STATEMENT OF WANG MEI ON BEHALF OF HER BROTHER,

DR. WANG BINGZAHNG

 

OCTOBER 28, 2003

HONG KONG

 

 

Good afternoon,

 

 

My name is Wang Mei, and I am deeply honored to appear before the Greater Hong Kong Lawyers Association.  I am the youngest sister of Wang Bingzhang, who, as you know, was sentenced to life imprisonment in China last February for crimes he did not—could not-- commit.

 

Today, I speak to you out of a real sense of urgency on behalf of my brother, who at this hour sits in solitary confinement in a tiny prison cell, isolated from any and all human contact. It is a fate both cruel and inhuman. It is tantamount to psychological torture. 

 

My brother is a doctor, trained to heal. He is also a pro-democracy activist, trained to promote human rights, the rule law and the political participation of all Chinese people in the governance of their country. For those who don’t know, my brother earned his PhD in 1982 in coronary-arterial research at McGill University in Canada. Thereafter, heeding the powerful call of justice, he chose to sacrifice his professional career in medicine to contribute his leadership to the Chinese overseas democracy movement. He claimed at the time that, "Medicine can only cure a few patients, but cannot cure the disease of a nation."

 

Now regrettably—my brother has paid a very high and very cruel price for his commitment to the cause of political freedom in China.  Ironically, he has lost his own freedom at the hands of an arbitrary and unjust Chinese legal system that ignores internationally recognized human rights standards in its judicial proceedings, as if they were irrelevant and unnecessary.

 

But things have gone from bad to worse in recent days and months. My brother is not well. His health has gone into a steep and precarious decline. We fear for his life.

 

When I saw my brother at his sentencing last February, he was very pale and very gaunt. The dramatic change in his appearance was deeply shocking. As some of you may know, he suffers from gastritis, varicose veins, Phlebitis, and now an alarming depression.  There can be no doubt that time is not on his side. My family fears for his future and so we have determined to do whatever is necessary to bring about his release. And we ask you—the legal leaders of Hong Kong-- to join with us to help us map out a campaign in Hong Kong to bring pressure to bear on the Chinese government to release him at the earliest possible date.

 

Without your help, there will be no end to his incarceration. We must not let my brother wither away in prison. We must save his life, as he has tried to save the life of body politic of a nation stricken with the disease of authoritarianism.

 

Of late, however, there has been some good news in my family’s campaign to free my brother from his unjust incarceration.

 

In July 2003, the UN Arbitrary Detention Working Group, under the auspices of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, declared my brother’s detention to be manifestly arbitrary and in violation of international law. The UN Opinion noted that during Dr. Wang’s first five months in detention, he “did not have knowledge of the charges, the right to legal counsel, or the right to judicial review of the arrest and detention: and that, after that date, he did not benefit from the right to the presumption of innocence, the right to adequate time and facilities for defence, the right to a fair trial before an independent and impartial tribunal, the right to a speedy trial and the right to cross-examine witnesses.” Nor did the UN find any basis for China charges of “espionage” and “terrorism.” The Working Group called for his release and for China to honor its human rights commitments.

 

Then, in October 2003, the United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China released its annual report. One of the Commission’s key recommendations was for the US President and the United States Congress to hold China accountable for the release of all its arbitrarily detained prisoners. The report highlighted Dr. Wang’s case, emphasizing the UN Working Group’s finding and declaration. There can be no question now: My brother is a victim of arbitrary detention in violation of universal human rights standards.

 

Moreover, and perhaps of most immediate importance, my brother’s 24-hour-a-day solitary confinement—where he is denied the right to associate with any other prisoners—must end.

 

It is not only a form of psychological torture, especially in light of his declining health, but it is also a violation of Chinese laws associated with the rights of political prisoners. It is at once barbaric, vicious and vindictive. It constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, and is unbefitting of a nation that seeks to join the family of civilized nations that respects the rule of law.

 

In closing, I would simply say this:  Please help my brother. Please help Dr. Wang Bingzhang. Join with my family in mounting a campaign in Hong Kong to elevate the profile of his arbitrary detention case. Join with my family in calling for his immediate release on the world stage.

 

Stand with us, stand with him, in our—in his-- greatest hour of need.

 

Thank you.