Labour activist Zhang Shanguang, formerly a secondary school teacher, was first sentenced to seven years imprisonment after the June 4, 1989 government crackdown for his role in organising the Hunan Workers' Autonomous Federation in May of that year. While in prison, he contracted a severe case of tuberculosis. After his release, in early 1998, Zhang was interviewed by several overseas radio stations about widespread labor and peasant unrest in his home county of Xupu. He also attempted to officially register with the authorities, a labour rights group that he had recently founded – the Association to Protect the Rights and Interests of Laid-Off Workers (APRILW). By July 1998, this association had attracted more than 300 members from all walks of life, including workers, peasants, intellectuals and cadres, and even some local officials were initially supportive of the group’s aims. On July 21 1998, the police detained Zhang, searched his home and confiscated all documents and correspondence relating to APRILW. Zhang’s wife, He Xuezhu 何雪竹, was questioned and threatened by the police, who also urged her to divorce her husband. His many supporters in Xupu County rose swiftly to his defense, writing numerous appeals and even staging hunger strikes demanding his release. According to one such appeal letter, “The work of Zhang Shanguang will surely encourage the people of Hunan and the whole country to wage an even wider-scale struggle to win democracy and freedom.” Subsequently charged on the twin counts of “passing intelligence to hostile overseas organisations” and “incitement to subvert state power,” Zhang was tried on 27 December 1998 and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. His tuberculosis has continued to worsen and he is reportedly now in very poor medical condition. There have been numerous reports of ill treatment and torture while in prison.
June 2005
[ close ]