Christmas Eve: Chinese students and dissidents gather globally to demand that the CCP stop persecuting Niu Tengyu and release all political prisoners

On Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24, 2023, in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, nearly 200 Chinese students and dissidents gathered together to participate in the global Christmas postcards to pay attention to Niu Tengyu. They called on the Chinese Communist Party to stop the persecution of Niu Tengyu and immediately release him and all political prisoners detained by the Chinese government.

The event was jointly organized by China Democracy Party, Dialogue China Think Tank, New York June 4th Memorial Museum, Liberty Sculpture Park, Los Angeles China Democracy Platform, China Human Rights Concern Group, Los Angeles White Paper Movement Ending China Communist Alliance, etc. In addition to Los Angeles, there were also rallies held at the same time. Many countries including New York, Washington, London, Tokyo, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Canada protested against the Chinese Communist Party’s violation of human rights and persecution of Niu Tengyu, his mother, and other imprisoned political prisoners.

During the protest, some participants wore red Santa hats with slogans such as "Free Niu Teng-Yu," "Niu Teng-Yu not guilty," and "Free Niu Teng-Yu" printed on them. They held signs with Niu Tengyu's photo on the table across the road from the entrance of the Chinese Consulate. They expressed their concern for Niu Tengyu and his mother, as well as the political prisoners detained by the government in China, by writing postcards and sending blessings.

The voice of protest behind the postcards

Jie Lijian, the person in charge of this event, said that the postcards they wrote on the spot will be communicated with Chris Smith, Chairman of the U.S. Congressional and Executive Committee on China, Mike Gallagher, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, and U.S. Postcards from Scott E. Flipps, Director of Congressional and Administration Policy and Media Relations, and others were sent to China. These postcards will be sent to Sihui Prison in Guangdong, where Niu Tengyu is imprisoned, and to his mother in his hometown.

"The postcard in my hand was handwritten by Chris Smith, who has been the chairman of the China Commission in the U.S. Congress for 43 years. One of his words was: 'The People's Republic of China must be destroyed,' expressing his disapproval of the Chinese government's human rights abuses. , and the indignation that created a human rights disaster. Today, at the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, we issued the loudest roar: political persecution is shameless," Jie Lijian said.

Jie Lijian emphasized that today is Christmas Eve, but they are not safe. Because the Chinese Communist Party and its overseas police stations in the United States and around the world are threatening these dissidents who dare to speak out and criticize the government, and harass them at any time.

"The Chinese government's transnational persecution and long-arm jurisdiction are being carried out not only in the United States, but also in many countries around the world. I have been attacked many times before, and I can only wear cameras, recorders, and body armor, but I still have to stand up. In Ping An I wrote a postcard to Niu Tengyu and his mother that night to tell the Chinese government that we will not be afraid of all your threats and harassments.
Overseas, don’t you claim to have Chinese police stations? So if one person does something, one person is responsible, please don’t threaten our family members in China. This ‘involvement model’ of persecuting family members is very shameless and can only show the incompetence of the Chinese government,” Jie Lijian told VOA.

Jie Lijian pointed out that, like Niu Tengyu, there are many prisoners of conscience who have endured brutal persecution in prison. As one of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China has the responsibility to abide by the United Nations Declaration and its own Constitution and protect the human rights of Niu Tengyu, mother and child from infringement.

"We advise the Guangdong Provincial authorities to stop persecuting Niu Tengyu and her son and protect their rights to visit, communicate and see a doctor. You will be held accountable for your human rights crimes and leave a way out for your family and children. When you are persecuting human rights, You will eventually pay a tragic price, because the civilized world does not welcome you, developed countries do not need you, and you are human rights criminals," Jie Lijian said in an interview with Voice of America.

The dilemma of human rights under the Chinese system

Event host Zhu Xi said that before coming to the United States, he worked in government agencies in mainland China for more than 20 years. The purpose of organizing this event is to call for the release of Niu Tengyu, and to let everyone have a deeper understanding of China's human rights situation through this event. Many people believe that the reason why Niu Tengyu's family encountered such a situation is because they are ordinary people in China and have no power or influence. However, Zhu Xi believes that what happened to Niu Tengyu's family is not an isolated case, but because they live under the Chinese system. Niu Tengyu is not simply lacking power and influence.

"The CCP system is a meat grinder. No matter you are powerless, like Niu Tengyu's family, or you are the president of the country, like Liu Shaoqi and Hu Jintao, they have no ability to resist when they are persecuted. Liu Shaoqi's family was ruined, At the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Hu Jintao was publicly dragged away from the venue in full view of the public. We also saw such a scene at the scene. When leaving, he patted the then Premier Li Keqiang on the shoulder, as if to say, I'm leaving. , No, you can take care of yourself in the future. As a result, less than a year after he patted his shoulder, Li Keqiang died inexplicably. We don’t know how he died. The former No. 2 figure, the Prime Minister of the State Council, died suddenly, We don't know what happened," Zhu Xiqiu said.

Zhu Xi emphasized that no matter whether he is the president of the country, the prime minister of the State Council, or Niu Tengyu's family, there is no sense of security under this huge meat grinder. As long as the authorities target you, you will have nowhere to redress your grievances and nowhere to find safe haven.

"Today we are here to speak out for Niu Tengyu's family, hoping that this kind of tragedy will not happen again in China. Because today we help a Niu Tengyu, and tomorrow there will be Zhang Tengyu, Wang Tengyu... and before that, there will be Peng Zaizhou. If we don't fundamentally solve China's system, It would be very hard and impossible to save them one by one. We are organizing this event today just to let more people understand the current situation in China and find a way to fundamentally solve China's human rights problems," Zhu Xi told Voice of America.

Zhu Xi pointed out that don’t be fooled by China’s high-rise buildings and high-speed railways, because even if you are behind these brilliance, even if you are a member of the system, as Lu Xun said, you may be able to hold on to this bowl of slave food and enjoy it. Relatively good. However, it is important to remember that you must not offend the slave owner, because if you make him unhappy one day, he may send you to the eighteenth level of hell.

"For example, Liu Shaoqi, Lin Biao, Hu Jintao, Li Keqiang... Once you fall from a high position, such as today's Boss Xi, one day he will be overthrown, and the end will be very tragic. In front of this system, everyone is small, we are today I am here to speak out for all Chinese people, and let Americans, including the U.S. government and Congress, pay more attention to China. Because we have helped China today, we are not just helping the Chinese people, but also helping the American people. What is happening in China today It is becoming more and more like Nazi Germany during World War II, which is expansionary and aggressive. We do not want the Pearl Harbor incident to be repeated in the United States in the 21st century," Zhu Xi said in an interview with Voice of America.

International students call attention to human rights issues in China

Event participant Zhang Hanyu is a 2019 undergraduate graduate in applied physics from the University of California, Irvine, and currently lives in Irvine. He said that he participated in this event mainly to support Niu Tengyu, hoping that the Chinese Communist Party could stop its persecution of him as soon as possible, and called on the international community to pay early attention to China's human rights issues.

"His experience made me feel very heartbroken, and he no longer even recognized his mother. This actually touched my heart a lot, because my mother was also arrested by the police in China because of her remarks. They threatened my father and me by coercing a confession, saying that if my mother did not curb her behavior, they would further control my whole family," Zhang Hanyu said.

Zhang Hanyu pointed out that when he first went to school in the United States, he had a dubious attitude toward many pro-democracy activities, thinking that they might have different motives. However, when he experienced it personally, especially after his mother was taken away by the police, he truly realized that these things could happen to every ordinary person. This is why he was deeply touched by the Niu Tengyu incident, because this incident is the epitome of every ordinary citizen.

"So today I would also like to send my best wishes to Niu Tengyu. I hope that the CCP can stop persecuting him as soon as possible. I also hope that the CCP's human rights issues will receive international attention as soon as possible. I hope that all overseas democracy activists can work together to condemn the CCP , let the whole world see what the CCP is like." Zhang Hanyu told VOA.

Event participant Lu Cong is from Zibo City, Shandong Province. She said that she participated in today's event mainly to support Niu Tengyu and hoped that the CCP could release Niu Tengyu as soon as possible so that he could regain his freedom.

"We hope that Niu Tengyu's mother will never lose heart. We will always be with her and fight side by side," Lu Cong said.