Following an extensive history of politically sensitive posts on Chinese social media, a southern Chinese blogger and practitioner of the persecuted spiritual practice Falun Gong has been abducted by communist authorities, according to reports by Chinese-language media based outside China.
Known by his Sina Weibo username “Huaxia Zhengdao,” or roughly “China on a Righteous Path,” the 29-year-old blogger had gathered a significant online following with his commentaries on the current Chinese political situation and the persecution of Falun Gong.
He disappeared from the net on Feb. 3, according to a New Tang Dynasty Television report.
Falun Gong, which the Communist Party has aimed to eradicate since 1999, is a traditional Chinese spiritual practice. “Huaxia Zhengdao” had posted information about various abuses carried out by the authorities against practitioners of Falun Gong, such as unlawful incarceration, torture, and the harvesting of organs from living captives.
The blogger’s account was frequently blocked and deleted. Following every deletion, however, “Huaxia Zhengdao” would resurface with a new numeral attached.
Active since mid-last year, the blogger had gone through no less than 225 unique iterations of his account.
On Feb. 7, the overseas-based Falun Gong website Minghui.org published an article reporting that the blogger was Zheng Jingxian, a Falun Gong practitioner from Guangdong Province. The report confirmed that Zheng had been taken away by the Public Security Bureau on Feb. 3.
Zheng posted his last message on the day of his arrest.
“Seeing everyone’s comments, I can tell you’ve understood. I feel relieved.”
No further contact has been had from Zheng, according to the Minghui report.
“Vivid Example” of Rights Violation
Falun Gong became vastly popular in the 1990s, before being targeted by then Party boss Jiang Zemin who believed its traditional moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance posed a threat to the Communist Party’s atheist ideology. Throughout the fifteen years of repression, practitioners in and outside China have undertaken many efforts to raise awareness about the persecution and its victims.
Political commentator Tang Jingyuan told NTD that “The kidnapping of ‘Huaxia Zhengdao’ is a vivid example of the Chinese Communist Party repressing online freedom of speech and is a severe violation of human rights.”
The Chinese regime’s state security organizations have long attacked outspoken online celebrities, dissidents, rights lawyers, and Falun Gong practitioners through shady and often outright illegal means. The persecution of Falun Gong itself has never been legal according to the Chinese constitution, which guarantees the freedoms of speech and belief.
Netizens who followed “Huaxia Zhengdao’s” posts expressed concern about his disappearance and called for public focus on his situation.
“I’ve long followed him. What crime did he commit? The crime of free speech? Or crime of conscience?” netizen “Liuxu 2009” inquired.
Another poster called “Iron Tower Wife 23rd” commented, “If one person is not safe, none of us are safe. If one person has no freedom, none of us have freedom!”
“Huaxia has made many people see hope, but he disappeared in the darkness before dawn. God bless Huaxia!” said “Bolan Buxing.”
According to insider sources, Zheng Jingxian has likely been detained in the Nanzhou detention center located in Guangzhou’s Zhuhai District, New Tang Dynasty Television reported.
