RFI was able to meet Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan at their home in Beijing in the summer of 2022. The couple was then under surveillance but relished the lawyer’s newfound freedom. Here is the script of our interview.
RFI: How do you feel? And how is the family?
Yu Wensheng : My body and mental state have almost recovered. I would also like to say why I moved from Shijingshan District to Mentougou: because in the neighborhood I lived in…I couldn’t stand the management of the compound. There were three doors in the area, two of which were closed and only one of which was accessible. And there was a barbed wire fence. It was like being in prison… I don’t know if it was specifically for me, but there was a room under our building, and there were often police officers, or people from the local neighborhood committee, and sometimes police cars were parked there. This environment was very depressing, (one had the) feeling of being controlled.
Mentougou is primarily a distant suburb of Beijing and is relatively inexpensive. Then, it is a commercial and residential area, that is to say an area with a strong commercial environment. There are all kinds of people living here, from businessmen to foreigners, so it is not so easy for them to manage and monitor the area, because if they monitor me… it will affect business of others and the people who live here.
RFI: you published a column in defense of lawyers 709, explain to us…
The vast majority of customers “709” [pour le 9 juillet / 7-9] and lawyers who were arrested at the time, as well as many lawyers… are no longer able to work as lawyers. Among the lawyers arrested in 709, I remember only one, Zhou Shifengis still in prison, and later Xie Yang, was arrested again. There was also a lawyer named Qin Yongpei, who was also a 709 advocate at the time, and they are all still in prison and detention. The vast majority of those who defended 709 and their clients are no longer able to work as lawyers. They suffered all kinds of crackdowns and repression, I think.
RFI: Although some of them are still lawyers, they no longer dare to speak
I have been in prison for over four years and I find the existing environment even more brutal than it has been in over four years. Many people are afraid to speak. The kind of pain many people felt over those four or so years is beyond my comprehension. For me, China is now taking a big step backwards. This regression makes me very depressed and that’s why people are afraid to speak out. What people have experienced over the last four years, I think everyone knows perhaps better than me…
After experiencing the occupation of Hong Kong, I was also arrested for 99 days. I was then released. After these 99 days of pain and suffering, there was a need for some people in China to be at the forefront, to contribute their part to the cause of democracy and freedom in China. Since then, I have defined myself as an “anti-fascist fighter”. This is called being a pawn in the revolutionary army. To be a paving stone for those who will come after. This is why I have undertaken work advocating for human rights and human rights causes, using my knowledge as a lawyer to serve the people.
The end result was as I imagined, I was arrested and sentenced to four years. I gained more than I lost during these four years.
At the time, before my arrest, many friends worked for human rights, just like me. There are still some today, but they are much less numerous than before. It’s not that they don’t want to do it now, but they have to take a stoic approach to such a difficult environment, but I think there will be a lot more people who will stand up to do this work in the future. ‘future.