Mr. Sun Chuanheng was born in Beijing on January 7, 1970. He worked at the Beijing Geological Instrument Factory before he was arrested. In the 1989 “June 4” Patriotic and Democratic Movement, 19-year old Sun actively participated in all kinds of democratic activities launched by college students. He was arrested on June 7, 1989 and was charged with leading college students to burn two military trucks about 200 meters east of Xinhua Gate on the morning of June 4. On August 14, 1990, Sun was charged with “armed gathering rebellion” condemned to life imprisonment and deprived of political rights for life by the Beijing Intermediate People’s Court. On April 26, 1993, his sentence was changed to 16 years and 6 months in prison. On February 25, 2006, he was released after serving his sentence. He is currently enduring a five-year deprivation of political rights for additional punishment.
During the 17 years in prison, Sun pleaded not guilty and refused to be transformed. Because of this, he was locked up many times and suffered quite a bit. He developed nephritis, anemia, intestinal tuberculosis and a lumbar disc sharp while in the prison. He still has not fully recovered.
Sun is a strong fighter. Between 2000 and 2005, he passed the higher education self-study examination and received a college diploma with a major in law and a bachelor degree in psychology (a total of 48 certificates of individual courses). His spirit for hard work is rare in prison.
Sun has been busy looking for a job in the past half a year since he was released from prison in February 2006, but he has found nothing. There are two reasons: First, he has been away from society for too long and has no working experience; second, he was a “thug” and nobody dared to hire him—and no private employers were willing to bring trouble to themselves. His two degrees are useless and he is quite frustrated now.
Sun’s parents are retired workers from the Beijing Electronic Tube Factory. His father Sun Kekuan has a duodenal perforation and sepsis (abdominal infection caused by perforation) and his mother Liu Guizhen has heart disease and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Since the work unit has shut down, it has been impossible for them to get reimbursement for their medical expenses.
Sun is having a very hard time right now. He is sick, but has no money to see a doctor. He has no job and has been living on his parent’s pension (his parent’s total pension is 2,120 yuan (US$ 250) a month. As the only son of his family, he feels sorry for his old parents. His parents have been working hard during the 17 years he has been in jail, but he has increased the burden on his parents instead of taking good care of them after he was released from jail.
There is no doubt that Sun is a victim of the “June 4 movement” and he is still suffering today...Is there anything we can do for him?
Mr. Sun Chuanheng’s contact information: +86-13146141170 (cell)
